Kasie Abone
5 November 2009
As the maiden, and by extension, the 2010 edition of the Marketing and Communication A-List is preparing for publication; more top rated agencies have been listed in the about-to-be-published compendium.
According to the editor of the book, Mr. Samuel Ajayi, the response has been quite encouraging, though he added that it has been challenging to get 'A' rated to be listed in the book, which is due for publication by the beginning of next year. He said this could be attributed to the fact that it was the first edition and hence, the reason for the initial reluctance on the part of the top agencies. He said many of them are beginning to see why they should be listed.
"Some were initially skeptical," Ajayi explained. "Due to the fact that such publication had never been done in the country before, many are wondering if it was not another who-is-who. I have always taken pain to explain that it was not who-is-who. Therefore, it is not about being listed that is issue in most cases, but convincing them that they need to be listed." He disclosed that some top corporate bodies have already been contacting them (the A-List team) to supply them with details of 'A' rated agencies that they would invite for a pitch.
"When I got the message, I was a bit taken aback," Ajayi stated. "But the man who called me said since we are the publishers of the Marketing and Communication A-List, we should have information on advertising agencies as well as PR firms that they could invite to pitch for their accounts." The brand management consultant further stated that the man who called him was actually from abroad and believed that A-List had been in existence in the country long before now.
Ajayi explained further that the first edition will hit book stores by January and that by the end of November, they would not be taken forms again so as to give them ample time to work on the compendium so as to have a beautiful product. He added that work would start almost immediately on the 2011 edition as they want the 2011 edition to be ready by the end of third quarter of next year.
When asked to give names of some of the agencies that have agreed to be listed, Ajayi declined saying that he understood how potent the bandwagon effect could be in Nigeria, but he would not want that to have anything to do with being listed in A-List or not.
"I don't want to look as if we are mentioning names to convince others to be listed. No. We won't do that. While many will not see this as sensible, I still believe that anyone that knows he is qualified should not need another person to convince him to be listed," the former journalist explained. He added that it was not an all-comers affair as even the 2007 edition of United Kingdom A-List did not have more than 500 listees.
"We are looking for less than five hundred 'A' rated practitioners and less than one hundred 'A' rated agencies and these include brand management outfits, PR firms, media buying outfits and brand activation firms." He therefore said there was the need to preserve the primacy of the class of practitioners and outfits.
The Marketing and Communication A-List is a compendium of top practitioners as well as top outfits involved in the business of marketing and communication. It is fashioned after the hugely influential UK A-List, being published by Campaign magazine.
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