Institute to boost Nigeria’s image at confab

In a bid to contribute to government’s efforts at marketing a positive image of Nigeria, National Institute of Marketing of Nigeria (NIMN) has chosen as theme ‘Marketing Nigeria’ for its conference, dinner and awards night and annual general meeting.

The conference will hold on Thursday, February 15 through 16, 2018 at Sheraton Hotel, Abuja. The Minister for Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr. Okechukwu Enelamah, is expected to declare it open.

While elaborating on the choice of the theme, President of NIMN, Mr. Tony Agenmonmen, said it was in line with the institute’s commitment at contributing to efforts to move the country forward, adding, “The theme was informed by the strong conviction of the institute that marketing can be used as a strong vehicle to project and promote the image of the nation externally but more importantly, share the great strides our nation has achieved and what it means to love Nigeria by the citizenry.”

Group Chief Executive Officer, Prima Gernet Africa and past Chairman of Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria, Mr. Lolu Akinwunmi, will deliver a keynote on the theme. The institute has selected marketing and public relations persons in the country, and people in different sectors to discuss in a panel to be moderated by Mrs. Maupe Ogun-Yusuf. The key sectors the conference would focus on are sports, entertainment, media, government and marketing professionals.

A panel will feature Aisha Folade to speak on sports, Mr. Femi Adesina to talk on the role of government while Mallam Mahmaud Jega and Mr. Atunyota Akpobome will both speak on role of media and entertainment industry respectively. Mr. Lampe Omoyele will talk on the role of marketing professionals

Agenmonmen explained that NIMN wants to expose the possibilities of how marketing could be used to run Nigeria as every country has the need to market itself.

“Marketing does not necessarily mean you have the problem you are talking about,” he said. “It only shows you need to reach your consumers. In the end we hope to come up with the conclusion on the role marketing can play in our nation.”

He noted that the conference was first of its kind by the institute to support government’s efforts, adding, “Marketing never ends; knowledge is never too much. NIMN is back to play its role as a professional institution; we believe that the principles of marketing could be adopted in running any business or country.”

He stressed that the outcome of the event would be shared with relevant bodies, adding, “The summary of actionable conference conclusions will be presented to government as our input to policy making and good marketing practice in governance.”

He, however, noted that the annual general meeting would present accounts of stewardship for the year ended December 31, 2017. The conference will also feature election to fill the positions of Vice President one and two, and two other council positions.

Also speaking, chairman of event committee, Mr. Onyekachi Onubogu said marketing Nigeria was not about what was or what was not, but serves as a consistent reminder of the values that makes the country great.