APCON Should Regulate the Industry Better – Oladapo
Soneye Oladapo is a copy-writer with Eminent Communications. He spoke with Buki Oyedemi on his passion for advertising and his hopes for a properly regulated body.
I am Soneye Oladapo, a copy writer with Eminent Communications. At a time when people thought all there was to Mass Communications was journalism, I decided to enroll at the Moshood Abiola Polytechnic to study Mass Communication because I believed I could make something out of it. I knew that there was something else in Mass Comm. apart from journalism that I could do. As time went on, I began to coach my colleagues, I would write poems, plays, political copies and so on.
The people around me encouraged me to try my hands on copy writing. I did so and began loving it. My love for my course of study made me to work hard. I won the award for the best graduating student in Advanced Copy Writing for APCON in 2007. Currently, I hold a higher diploma certificate from APCON while my Master’s programme is in view.
My career in advertising started when in 2004 I got employed as a trainee in the marketing department of Lagos State Television. From there, I moved to Novetas advertising and in 2005 I got employed with Campaign Palace Ltd. That was where I worked until 2008 when I had to go for the youth service programme. After my NYSC, I became a copy writer with Eminent Communications.
Many creative people get their inspiration from a variety of sources. For me, when I get a brief, I read and read over and over again to help me understand what I need to do. Sometimes, I do not think about it at that moment. I leave it and then come back to it. One thing I know is that you can’t force creativity and that is why sometimes, if I have an idea, I pen it down immediately so I don’t forget. I watch a lot of local and foreign stations, I am active on the internet and I read professional materials. Sometimes I look at an advert copy, consult with my MD who has been a copywriter for over 30years, and try to make amends where necessary. No wonder I have been able to write copy for companies such as Intercontinental Distillers (IDL) Ltd; Portland Paints; Money Box Africa, a mobile money transfer company; Hungry Man, a restaurant in Abuja; and some socio cultural groups.
Maybe because of my love for the profession, I am always hoping for an improvement, that the industry should get better. However, my only grouse is with APCON. Personally, I believe the body has not been properly regulating the industry well. First of all people who did not study Mass Communications or any related course come in and practice. Though I know that the Registrar, Alh. Kankarofi, has come up with a law that practitioners should be properly certified by APCON, which is a good thing, I still think the regulatory body is defaulting in that aspect. It’s like what obtains in banks where if an individual studies Yoruba Engineering, he will get one month training and then become a banker. Advertising should be different from that and if there is a body then things should be properly regulated.
Another thing I have realized is that the APCON certificate cannot give you direct entry into foreign universities for a Masters degree. I know people who have abandoned the programme at the project stage. For some who have one or two references, they have refused to go back to finish up because they feel it would be of no use to them outside the shores of Nigeria. Most times the schools that recognize APCON are those that are far away and people hardly know. Other professional bodies such as ICAN, CIM and so on are recognized outside the country and I think that is one area APCON needs to pay particular attention to.
