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Marketers need to prepare, Merge is inevitable | PHD

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By:Sinmiloluwa Fadoju

PHD, a global communications planning and media buying firm, has launched its seventh publication, Merge, which dwells on how technology prepares marketers and advertisers for the future with regards to brands and audience engagement.

Wayne Bishop, Managing Director, PHD Johannesburg, who unveiled the book titled “MERGE: The Closing Gap Between Technology and Us,” at the 2018 Social Media Week in Lagos, said that looking at path towards the future, there is likely to be a fusion between technology and humans which may free us up to live more creative, more efficient and better connected lives.

He stated that as technology advances, marketers and advertisers should look forward to how they adapt to changes in technology and its application to brands, consumers and people within their environment.

He said the five evolutionary stages in Merge include surfacing, organising, extracting anticipating and elevating. These stages illustrate our journey from putting information up on screens, to organising that information via search engines, to managing to make sense of all this information as it is extracted. Finally, we look to how AI helps anticipate our needs which ends with us merging with technology, elevating us as a human race.

He said Merge is relevant to Nigeria because of the changes in the economy, the strong entrepreneurial culture and the growth in technological development over the years.

At the event, Dozie Okafor, Managing Director, PHD Nigeria, said that at this present stage of technological development, people interact more with brands online and other digital platforms as indicated in Merge.

He said the book helps marketers and advertisers understand the different evolutionary stages as well as their relevance to businesses. It also enables them to understand how they should perceive things and the evolving role they have to play if they want to remain competitive.

Okafor explained that Merge was launched at the Social Media Week because PHD felt it was a platform for a diverse audience, not just marketers and advertisers, but the general public, to enable them understand what the future is all about.

“But also important is the theme ‘Closer’ for this year’s Social Media Week, which is in line with how technology and human beings are coming closer till they merge. “We felt the event was a good platform to catapult the entire conversation,” Okafor explained.

Drawing on insights and foresights of experts, including world-leading inventor, author and futurist (and writer of the foreword) Ray Kurzweil, Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg, futurologist Dr Ian Pearson and Microsoft chief envisioning officer UK Dave Coplin, Merge sets out how technology and human evolution has progressed since the 1950s and what the world will look like over the next 25 to 35 years.

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IBEDC records 1,459 energy theft cases in January, February

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The Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company said it has recorded 1,459 cases of energy theft by its subscribers between January and February 2024.

This was disclosed in a press statement signed by the firm’s Chief Key Accounts Officer, Mr. Johnson Tinuoye, on Tuesday.

IBEDC added that it is actively pursuing investigations and legal actions against individuals and businesses involved in the theft in collaboration with the Federal Government Special Investigation and Prosecution Task Force on Electricity Offences.

Identifying the cases, IBEDC said they included various offences such as meter bypass and illegal meter tampering, which resulted in significant financial losses amounting to hundreds of millions of naira for the company.

The statement read, “We want to send a clear message to our customers that energy theft will not be tolerated. Our collaboration with the Federal Government Special Investigation and Prosecution Task Force on Electricity Offences underscores our commitment to ensuring a fair and just electricity distribution system.

“Energy theft not only undermines the integrity of our operations but also deprives IBEDC of the revenue necessary to provide quality services to our customers.”

Tinuoye emphasised that under the Electricity Act, energy theft is now recognised as a criminal offense, carrying severe penalties including imprisonment stressing, “In the Osun region, two individuals were apprehended for stealing energy through meter bypass and illegal connections. Their cases have been formally charged in court for prosecution.”

IBEDC further urged customers to refrain from engaging in any form of energy theft, emphasising that the consequences can be severe, as there is no room for negotiation with the SIPTEO Task Force team, which is actively patrolling and investigating instances of energy theft for prosecution.

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Copyright Breach: NCC Drags MTN, Others To Court Over Musician’s Works

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The Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC) has filed criminal charges against MTN Nigeria Communications Ltd. and four others over alleged copyright infringement.

The charge with number FHC/ABJ/CR/111/2024 filed in the Abuja Division of the Federal High Court was obtained by journalists on Monday.

News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reported that the four other defendants in the case include the chief executive officer of MTN Nigeria, Karl Toriola; Nkeakam Abhulimen, Fun Mobile Ltd.; and Yahaya Maibe.

In the three-count charge, NCC alleged that the defendants, between 2010 and 2017, “offered for sale, sold and traded for business’’, infringed the musical works of an artiste, Maleke Idowu Moye, without his consent and authorisation.

The commission alleged that the defendants used musical works and sound recordings of Mr Maleke with subsisting copyright as caller ringback tunes without the authorisation of the artiste.

The musician’s musical works and sound recordings allegedly infringed upon included 911, Minimini-wanawana, Stop Racism, Ewole, 911 instrumental, Radio, Low Waist, and No Bother.

The defendants were also alleged to have distributed the musical works to their subscribers without authorisation, thereby infringing on the rights of the artiste.

In the third count, the defendants were alleged to have in their possession, other than for their private or domestic use, the artiste’s musical works and sound recordings.

According to NCC, the alleged offences are contrary to and punishable under section 20 (2) (a) (b) and (c) of the Copyright Act, Cap. C28, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004.

The case has yet to be assigned to any judge, and no date has been fixed for the mention.

Meanwhile, no official statement has been released by any of the defendants as at the time of filing this report, while all efforts to get reactions from MTN by New Telegraph proved abortive.

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LASG, LCC ANNOUNCE REOPENING OF LEKKI CONSERVATION CENTRE AFTER REPAIRS

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Following the completion of extensive routine maintenance works on the Lekki Conservation Centre (LCC), the Lagos State Government and the Management of the Centre have announced that the Walkway will be reopened for public use with effect from Friday, 29th March 2024.

The Special Adviser to the Governor on Tourism, Arts and Culture, Mr. Idris Aregbe confirmed this on Friday during a visit to the Centre in Lekki alongside some officials of the Ministry.

Aregbe said that he was happy to see that all repairs and renovations on the facility, including the Walkway, have been completed and would be accessible for tourism during the Easter celebration.

The Special Adviser appreciated Lagosians and tourists across the world for their patience during the thorough maintenance works carried out at the Centre in Lekki.

The Director-General of the Centre, Prof Mathew Onoja also appreciated the State Government for its intervention following the viral video, which first circulated in December as well as the swift response and efforts towards making the repairs and renovations seamless.

He noted that the Centre being a major tourism asset in Lagos State has played host to tourists from all over the world as it offers a serene environment for nature tourism and also boasts of the longest canopy walkway in Africa.

Recall that the facility has been undergoing routine maintenance since January following apprehensions arising from the damaged section of the Canopy Walkway, which had been repaired before the viral video was posted on social media platforms.

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