Competing Brands on the Back-to-Back Run

Brand and media buyers agree that the media can make or mar a brand, so concerted efforts are made to ensure a brand’s positive presence in the media with a view to getting a fair share of public mind share. Desperation by some brands gives rise to cluttering, forcing APCON to make provisions in its rule of ethics to ensure the professional conduct of the business. This rule seems to be taking the back seat as practitioners shun the provision in deploying ad campaigns especially in the electronic media. Buki Oyedemi writes.
It has been observed that advert managers and electronic media managers are either oblivious of the APCON ethic forbidding back-to-back airing of competitor’s adverts, as is evident in repeated airing of ad messages of competitors or are deliberately looking away. APCON, in a bid to ensure professionalism, provides regulations against cluttering in its rules. This is particularly noticeable in out-of-home where the rule has been enforced. Practitioners seem to have shifted grounds to the airwaves, as is evident in the table below.
These are part of many examples of what is almost becoming a norm in the placement of adverts in the Nigerian media. The issue of running adverts of competing brands back-to-back remains contentious among stakeholders. Claims by some that efforts have been made by regulatory bodies such as APCON to proffer a solution without much success only make it more interesting.
Despite the fact that The General Principles of the Nigerian Code of Advertising Practice on advertisements for competing products or services Part 4, Section 1:19 clearly states that “Two or more advertisements for competing or similar products or services shall not be placed side by side in print or outdoor media, or as adjacencies in the electronic media”, adverts of competing brands are still run back-to-back, or aired immediately following one another in a manner that clearly violates the letter and the spirit of the above provision.

Root Cause
As the saying goes, there is no smoke without fire. Experts reiterate that those who violate this provision must have their reasons. Tunji Abioye, former managing director, Rosabel Leo Burnett, is of the opinion that lack of advertising materials could sometimes lead media houses to run adverts of competing brands back to-back. “The truth is that some of our media channels are defaulting in this and I think what happens is that they sometimes go short of advertising materials, and when this happens, they do not have a choice but to run these adverts.”
Still on the choice factor but from a different perspective, Tomi Ogunlesi, a strategic planner at Bates Cossè draws attention to the restrictions which prohibits airing adverts on alcoholic products before 8pm. Re-iterating that the trend is not a new phenomenon but became more vibrant with the introduction of the restrictions on advertising of certain products, he explains: “The present stipulation that prohibits advertising of alcoholic products before 8pm means that once it is about 9.00pm, you invariably find all the Guinness Extra Stout, Legend, Star, Gulder etc commercials jostling for airtime on prime time TV.”
Pointing out the repercussion of this, Ogunlesi adds, “This invariably means that at that time, brands begin to struggle for ad space because it is within this time-belt that viewership is guaranteed. The result of this is the high level of clutter in the media space. It is unbelievable; in fact, it is a little short of appalling but I will really not blame them because the regulation, in a way, constrains them to struggle for ad-space.”
Bamidele Orisanaiye, media strategist with Initiative Media gives a practical example: “There is a planner ‘A’ and a planner ‘B’. Both planners work for different agencies and different brands in the same product line and both of them are working at achieving the same goals – to get the best peak period to reach the target audience. Hence they both want to buy. The media is there to sell to them”.
Abioye believes that the media planner needs to give clear instructions on how his adverts should be run; “Of course he should have a say. The media buyer has to give clear instructions. I know for a fact that if those instructions are not properly executed, you, as the media planner should give sanctions that will make the media house to be more careful on how they run these adverts. He should also conduct researches to know which media channels carry out his instructions on advert placements.
Stressing the importance of the media planner in all of this, Ogunlesi says: “The media person’s role is very pivotal and fundamental as it includes planning the schedule, seeing to it that the schedule is interpreted in such a way that delivers optimum value to his client; he has to work on the checks and balances of the job.”

Who Takes the Blame?
No doubt there are several instances of running adverts on competing brands back-to-back in the Nigerian media, but who is to be blamed for this? The regulatory body, media planners or media houses that eventually run the adverts?
Gboyega Akosile, an independent producer and managing director, BMN Network once reprimanded for violating this rule, says there is a limit to what the independent producer can do. “The only control you have is over your program; what the station eventually does with it is totally out your hands.”
Confirming that back-to-back airing of ads prevails in the media, he points out that brand managers are not taking it lying low. “We once lost a client because of this issue. We ran their advert on the show and the TV station, without notifying us, also ran a competing brands’ advert on the same show. Our sponsors did not like it and they withdrew their advert from us. So, for me, I think the media houses play a major role in this.”
Endorsing Abioye’s stance that “media channels are defaulting,” Akosile further explains that “in most cases, you can’t influence the time allotted to your programme. It takes their magnanimity sometimes to give you the specific time belt that will suit you and your programme.” Both men are tilted towards the opinion that media houses have the upper hand in deciding what to air and when.
However, Abioye notes: “First of all, APCON controls all these things and I think they should encourage media houses to do what is right. This has been going on for a long time and no one seems to be checking. APCON has to resume checking all these things because professionalism is being breached and no one is checking and that is not good enough.”
Ogunlesi, partly differing from Abioye, takes a more comprehensive look at the issue maintaining that “the media planner/buyer is the chief player by any standard. He is expected to deliver value in terms of strategic media placements across all media channels. So I believe that if there is any blame to be apportioned, equal measure should rest on the part of both media planners/buyers and the broadcast stations, as both parties are supposed to be partners.
Speaking on the other side of the divide – APCON’s role – he explains; “I really don’t think competing ads running back-to-back is much of APCON’s headache. It’s the brand custodians and marketing people who need to be concerned about getting maximum ROI for their marketing spend. APCON does a lot of monitoring in the form of pre-exposure vetting. ADVAN is the organ you typically will expect to champion the cause of the brands which I don’t think is being done.”

Resulting Effects
An ardent TV viewer who does not want to have his name in print told M2 that “Many of the times I switch on my TV all I see are adverts from competing brands all over the place. Sometimes I get so annoyed and I switch it off. Some other times I just try to bear the agony of watching these things; that way, I don’t even get the advert messages. I think these brands should develop other creative measures to engage us other than discouraging us from watching TV.”
He thinks that the aberration is also being manifested in the print media and has the potential of robbing TV houses of viewership just like it has the potential of denying the print media of readership.
For Ogunlesi, the effect of this communication clutter is not far-fetched. He reasons that the messages become diffused, such that the viewer or target does not really hold onto anything tangible, saying that “this could be disastrous as the advertiser does not get much value for his marketing communications spend. Let me also point out that the value conventional advertising adds to marketing drive is also being queried and scrutinized more in these contemporary times as most media channels are regularly clogged with messages or commercials.”
Abioye, in agreeing with Ogunlesi, adds that “the problem is the clamour for limited space. Brands are fighting to maximize the little time they have as much as possible.”

Way Forward
Abioye admonishes that media houses should not bow to media buyers’ pressure or place commercial interests above professionalism. “It should be done on the basis of first come first serve and they should allow for more spacing in the adverts. The truth is that the issue is a fundamental one, and irrespective of the monetary gains, media houses have to learn to set their priorities right. What has to be done is sustenance of brand presence as money is not everything.”
While Orisanaiye advocates that APCON should continue to devise measures to control the running of competing brands ads back-to-back through enlightenment programs, he also points out that if laws are made and are not implemented, then they are useless. “It is also left for us as media strategists to advice clients if they can buy the full airtime. It’s a lot of money and that is another issue. The simple truth is that in the Nigerian market there is no control.” Akosile also agrees with him, saying that it is of no use if a rule is made and it is not implemented. “I see this as a case of trying to implement unenforceable rules,” he quips.
Ogunlesi recommends what he calls clutter-busting creativity which bothers on advertising effectiveness. “Take for instance a TV spot like the Maltina ‘Family Dance’ ad which promotes the ‘Dance All’ currently receiving airplay on most TV stations. From my perspective, it’s one of the few TV ads you won’t really get tired of seeing because of the creative and humorous approach to its execution. It just tells the story in an interesting way. So, no matter how many competitive beverage ads are run back-to-back with it, you’re still able to remember.”
M2 findings reveal that a certain school of thought believes that bank adverts can run back-to-back as long as the products advertised are different, while another school thinks otherwise. Whether or not variants or brand extensions come into play in all of this, the situation is clear – some rules are breached and no one is monitoring compliance. The need for brand custodians and managers to evolve other measures to engage customers is also highlighted. Though efforts to reach APCON and ADVAN officials to comment on the issue met brick-walls, it is hoped that this long standing violation of advertising professional ethics will be effectively addressed in the interest of the industry.