As part of its efforts to promote inclusivity, collaboration, and continuous growth in the advertising industry, the Lagos Advertising and Ideas Festival (LAIF) has opened categories for Media planning and buying agencies in its 19th edition award.

The LAIF Awards, which celebrate creativity in the advertising industry, have expanded their scope by partnering with MIPAN and opening entries to creative agencies in West African countries.

This year’s LAIF award with the theme: “Staying A’ LAIF,” will be held on November 24, 2024, with many categories for participation.

Lanre Adisa, President of the Association of Advertising Agencies of Nigeria (AAAN) and Head of the Advertising Sectoral Group (HASG), emphasized the importance of sustaining the prestige of the LAIF Awards and recognizing the significant role of media agencies in the industry.

In his words: “As part of the growth of LAIF Awards we need to actually recognize the best of creativity and not just in Nigeria but in West Africa and Continent as a whole. As part of adulthood that LAIF has attained we need to be seen as big contributor to making things happen and moving the sub-region forward.”

Speaking on the need to expand the scope of the LAIF Awards, Adisa noted, “It is a new dawn in our industry. We have found a way to recognize the creativity in media agencies. This means there will be new categories and space for them as part of the Jury.”

Dolapo Ogunbambo, chief operating officer of Insight Publicis and LAIF Jury Coordinator, explained that the expansion of participation is important because it allows for a more comprehensive representation of the industry’s creativity.

“We have collaborated with MIPAN, and they are an integral part of this 19th-year celebration.”

Ogunbambo further explained that the categories open to media agencies will showcase their understanding of their work, including how they generate insights from data and target audiences.

We will be looking for seamless and integrated execution, as well as innovations, he added.

“For us, it’s beyond just an award for creativity; it’s an all-encompassing thing. This is how creativity is seen by the audience, and it helps us bridge the divide in the MARCOM industry and among stakeholders. Our focus is on fostering the agenda of LAIF, which is inclusivity. We aim to expand and elevate the game, driving ourselves towards excellence.