The Executive Committee of the Experiential Marketers Association of Nigeria (EXMAN) led by Executive Director of Connect Marketing, Tunji Adeyinka has been returned for another year of service by members of the association.

This followed the vote of confidence passed on the Executive Committee by members of the association at its ninth Annual General Meeting held over the weekend between the 15th and 17th of July, 2022 in Asaba, the Delta State capital.

Tunji Adeyinka who is also the GMD of the Republicom Group was sworn in alongside other members of the executives who include Tolulope Medebem, Vice President (MD, Aster Integrated Marketing); Owolabi Mustapha, General Secretary (MD, Maxx Connection); Shola Antwi, Financial Secretary (Chief Operating Officer, Divergent MS) and Orunkoyi Adedeji, Publicity Secretary (Project General, iPanache Communications). A Former President of the association Dr. Rotimi Olaniyan also returned as member of EXMAN’s Board of Trustees while Managing Director, Ideas House, Kehinde Salami joins him to fill the position left vacant by pioneer President of the association, Kayode Olagesin.

As part of its activities at the three-day event, new member agencies were inducted into the fold of EXMAN. The inducted agencies are Radar Brand Research, Watermark & Victoria, Livespot360, 360 Market Solutions, and iD8 – Innovation & Ideation Place Limited. The new inducted agencies joined over 50 other agencies as members of the association.

A day earlier, the association facilitated a session with undergraduates, geared towards bridging the widening gap between gown and town at the Dennis Osadebe University (DOU), Asaba. Mr. Olagesin, who is also the Managing Director of TownCriers Limited commenced the session, speaking on what he entitled, “Making a Career in Marketing Communications-Experiential Marketing” while Rosemary Akpo, Managing Director of EXP Nigeria and GA Productions delved deeper into what experiential agencies and professionals do with a topic that centred on “Consumer Experience & Experiential Marketing.”

Additionally, Mr. Adeyinka led a delegation of EXMAN members to the Delta State House on a courtesy visit to the Executive Governor of the State, Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa who expressed optimism for the development their visit could facilitate. The governor who was represented by the Delta State Chief of Staff, Rt. Honourable Festus Ovie Agas welcomed the members of the association, commending them on the great works they do to promote the integrated marketing communications industry.

Also as parts of the visit to the State House, the association presented the award of the ‘Business Friendly Governor Award of the Year’ to Okowa for his efforts in creating an enabling environment for businesses to thrive.

Two keynote addresses were delivered to the members association. Bolale Austin-Peters, the enigmatic movie producer making waves globally presented the first address while members were given more enlightenment on “The Nigerian Code of Advertising Practice, Sale Promotion and other Rights/Restrictions on Practice.”

The high point of the AGM was the relaunch and rebranding of the EXMAN’s Certified Brand Ambassadors Program (ECBAP) which has been renamed Gateway To Experiential Marketing or GXMN for short. GXMN is a partnership between EXMAN and ExperientialNG built on the pillars of the ECBAP programme and intended to be the foundation of a more responsible and structured vocational development programme while serving as a gateway into the experiential marketing industry for prospective professionals. The programme is expected to fully kick-off on the 1st of August, 2022.

The publicity secretary of the association, Adedeji Orunkoyi reiterated that the programme is in line with the vision of the body which is to be the respected force for the growth of brands through meaningful experiences, and its mission to protect, promote and regulate the strategic interest of certified players within the Nigerian experiential Industry. Recall two years ago, EXMAN was officially recognized as a sectoral body in the nation’s advertising business by the Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria (APCON).

EXMAN is the sectoral trade body for forward-looking experiential marketing communications agencies in Nigeria. The association protects, promotes and regulates the activities of certified players within the experiential marketing industry in Nigeria and boasts over thirty billion naira as total billing.