By Clifford Amuzuo
The Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria (ARCON) has announced the flag off of the Special Recognition Awards for advertising industry practitioners who have excelled and contributed significantly to the growth and development of Nigeria’s Integrated Marketing Communications ( IMC) sector
The Awards, first of its kind in the industry is initiated by the industry apex regulator ARCON with the aim to reward and recognize outstanding performances of both past and present industry players , including notably, historical founding fathers and est-while professionals across the industry.
Speaking during a media briefing announcing the Awards , ARCON Director General, Dr Olalekan Fadolapo said the move is aimed at shifting the focus away from the council’s statutory regulatory functions, and to also commend excellence in practice and compliance rating by the practitioners to the rules and stipulated guidelines governing advertising practice in Nigeria.
The awards which is stipulated to take place in Lagos precisely on October 23rd 2026 already enjoys back up and support of the leadership of the various sectoral groups in the industry namely : Association of Advertising Agencies of Nigeria (AAAN), Out-of- Home Advertising Association of Nigeria (OAAN), Experiential Marketing Association of Nigeria (EXMAN), Media Independents Practitioners Association of Nigeria (MIPAN), Advertisers Association of Nigeria (ADVAN) among others.
The Awards will specifically recognize leading icons of the industry early beginning, including the likes of Late S I Moemeke, first President of the AAAN and Chief Ayo Owoborode who gave direction to the industry current path of growth.
Giving detailed highlights on the proposed industry Awards, The Chairman, Planning Committee on the Awards, Yinka Adebayo said the maiden edition of the Awards would cut across four broad areas of critical framework, namely : the advertising compliance awards, Public Sector recognition Awards, Private sector Recognition Awards and Individual Recognition Awards.
According to him, the Advertising Compliance Awards category is intended to recognize and celebrate advertisers, brands and industry practitioners that demonstrate exemplary compliance with advertising standards, while promoting responsible advertising services, encouraging adherence to the Vetting process, and establishing benchmark for the best practice across the Nigerian advertising industry.
The Industry Life time Contributions Awards , he explained aims at recognizing individuals who have rendered exceptional and sustained service to the growth, regulation, professionalism of the Marketing Communications with footprint across the sectors.
The distinguished service recognition Awards category also aims at recognizing individuals who have rendered exceptional and sustained services to the growth, regulation, professionalism of the Marketing Communications industry with footprint across sectors.
Other categories in the Awards include, the Public Sector Awards framework, the Private sector Awards as well as the Sectoral awards to recognize individuals who bell the cat in a sector and pioneered the sector up till what is presently on ground
Sponsorship of the Awards is open to all interested stakeholder in the industry. Already , Tolaram Group is leading the pack having emerged tops with Platinum sponsorship in the worth of N20 M million.
Present at the media briefing includes AAAN President, Lanre Adisa, EXMAN President, Mrs Tolulope Medebem and MIPAN President, Mrs Brenda Nwagwu.
While commending ARCON over its initiatives in creating the industry Awards , the sectoral heads pledged their support to ensure that the Awards meets its target of becoming the flagship event in the industry
