Affiliation Marks A Step-Change For Both Companies
On September 16, 2016, a major upset was pulled in the integrated marketing communication industry in the west African market as one of the leading global advertising networks, Dentsu Aegis Network Sub Saharan Africa (SSA) announced affiliation arrangement with Lanre Adisa’s Noah’s Ark.
According to sources this affiliation will enable both firms strengthened their footprints in West Africa.
Dentsu Aegis Network Sub Saharan Africa (SSA) is part of the global media group that specialises in media, digital and creative communications and spans over Southern Africa, Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda with both owned businesses and affiliates and affiliate partnerships in another 32 markets across SSA.
Noah’s Ark Communications Limited, is Nigeria’s fastest growing creative agency and a full member of the Association of Advertising Agencies of Nigeria (AAAN). The agency has won several awards both locally and internationally. The agency emerged the overall best agency in Nigeria at the 2015 Lagos Advertising & Ideas Festival (LAIF) with 10 awards including a Grand Prix. Also most recently, the agency won one Silver and two Bronze awards at the just concluded Loeries held in Durban, South Africa in August 2016.
Speaking on the affiliation, the Group Chief Operating Officer for Dentsu Aegis Network Sub Saharan Africa, Bevis Hoets, stated that the affiliation marks a step-change for Dentsu Aegis Network SSA, providing immediate scale, talent and new capability in the digital and creative arena in West Africa.
Hoets also revealed that the new affiliation will significantly increase the collective firepower of Media Fuse Dentsu Aegis Network and Noah’s Ark to provide industry-leading solutions for clients.
“We are beyond impressed with the outstanding work and results Noah’s Ark continues to deliver for their clients and we are honoured to have them as our partner in Nigeria. I am happy to welcome them to the Dentsu Aegis Network family and look forward to demonstrating the power of our partnership for our clients both locally and globally,” he said.
Also speaking on the affiliation, the Managing Director and Chief Creative Officer of Noah’s Ark Communications Limited, Mr. Lanre Adisa, stated that the affiliation with Dentsu Aegis Network is another significant milestone in the anals of the agency and would further help position the company as a thought leader in the advertising industry not only in Nigeria but also in the West African sub region.
Adisa noted that the affiliation would afford the agency the opportunity to attract global businesses and help in its pursuit of putting Nigeria on the creative world map through its audacious and non-conventional creative work.
“We are very excited and proud to be affiliated to the Dentsu Aegis Sub Saharan Africa (SSA). This affiliation gives us an opportunity to further actualise our vision of being in the top league of brand builders out of Africa. It’s an opportunity for us to plug into a global network that will go a long way in strengthening our equity as one of the new leading players in this part of the world. With this affiliation, we now have Media Fuse Dentsu Aegis Network, the Nigerian partners of Dentsu, as our media partners. Combining our creative engine with the media prowess of MFDAN will give our current and potential clients an unfair advantage in the subregion.” he said.
In his own remarks, the Group Managing Director, Media Fuse Dentsu Aegis Network, Emeka Okeke, stated that the combination of Media Fuse Dentsu Aegis Network and Noah’s Ark Communications Limited will create a compelling offering for existing and potential clients of both businesses.
“After a successful 2015/2016 for both MFDAN and Noah’s Ark, with whom we are now aligned through this new affiliation, we can expect to see great leaps within the communication industry in West Africa. This partnership will bring a new dimension to the region. Having the knowledge and skills in media with the innovation and creativity of Noah’s Ark, the region will be seeing campaigns that are ‘different and better’ which are set to shake things up. With Dentsu Aegis Network’s vision of being 100% digital by 2020, this partnership positions us as the leading communications network in West Africa’’ he said.