Modion Communications Boss, Odion Aleobua, Advocates For Compelling Integrated Marketing Communications Campaign For Nigerian Insurance Industry
Odion Aleobua
An avid integrated marketing communications expert, who is also the Convener of Insurance Meets Tech (IMT) conferences and Founder of Modion Communications, Odion Aleobua, has advocated for a Compelling Integrated Marketing Communications Campaign for Nigerian Insurance Industry instead of establishment of a radio station.
He made the advocacy in his response to the recent suggestion by media and insurance stakeholders that the N300 million insurance rebranding fund should be channeled towards establishing a dedicated radio station to drive sustained awareness and reputation-building in the Nigerian insurance industry.
Aleobua who said the suggestion has sparked significant debate, noted that while the intention of improving insurance education and awareness is commendable, the proposition overlooks critical challenges in today’s dynamic media environment.
He, however, called for a more effective strategy, instead of a single, isolated radio station.
“The Nigerian insurance industry does not need a single, isolated radio station to build awareness and sustain its image. The industry needs a comprehensive, compelling, data-driven integrated marketing communications (IMC) campaign that addresses the heterogeneous audience’s needs, leveraging the full spectrum of traditional and new media platforms,” Aleobua explained.
He posited that the radio medium, though an impactful mass media platform, has inherent limitations, stating that a recent report by Statista shows radio penetration in Nigeria is just 65% compared to the over 80% penetration of mobile phones and the internet.
Additionally, he said, urban youth—one of the key demographics for increasing insurance penetration—are migrating towards digital and social media platforms for usable information and peerless entertainment.
“While a dedicated radio station might address a niche audience, it cannot match the reach and versatility of a well-executed IMC campaign that combines radio, television, print, out-of-home, digital media, and experiential marketing.
A contemporary IMC campaign would empower the industry to meet its audience where they are— listening to the radio in their cars, watching TV in their living rooms, browsing social media on the go, engaging in local communities, or accessing contentand relatable narratives on their smartphones.
“The essence of successful communication is convincing a heterogeneous target audience with intentional messaging, brand positioning and call to action.
“Instead of fragmenting our efforts, we must build campaigns that integrate various platforms, amplify consistent messages, and create emotional connections with the audience and risk management education. This is how we can shift the perception of insurance from a complex product to a necessary tool for wealth creation and financial security.
“Whilst we cannot allocate a ball park figure to a proposed IMC creative industry campaign, the 300 million Naira in question could be deployed through various tactical vehilces”, Aleobua stated.
He listed some of the strategies that can be adopted to include:
Digital Engagement: Develop entertaining and relatable social media campaigns and narrative engagement that help demystify insurance as the most reliable non-banking financial services for wealth creation, lifestyle maintenance, and asset protection.
Community Engagement: Activate well-thought-through hyper-local, grassroots and community outreach programmes tailored to Nigeria’s diverse socio-cultural realities, positioning insurance services as a wealth creation tool, prosperity protection and generational wealth transfer.
Strategic Partnerships: One of the banes of insurance offtake is the dissuasion from unrealistic myths about cost and religious beliefs. However, Nigerians believe in the fidelity of credible opinion leaders and community leaders. So, the campaign must strategically target collaboration with credible influencers, Nollywood, and music artists as champions of insurance messaging within the country’s pop and mainstream cultures.
Subliminal Content Creation: Insurance messaging and marketing can be very boring. So, we need to be very tactical in producing high-quality, entertaining and relatable content across platforms, including podcasts, blogs, and video series that subliminally tell insurance stories that are easy to relate to and help educate Nigerians.
Odion Aleobua further stated that these initiatives would educate, inspire trust, and foster long-term relationships with prospective off-takers.
To ensure the industry can track the effectiveness of the proposed IMC campaign, he enjoined the campaign team to consider the following:
1. Conduct pre-campaign market research to scientifically understand the target audience’s preferences, habits, and pain points to help the comms strategy tailor messaging to be more impactful.
2. Regularly monitor and modify the campaign strategies by implementing analytics tools to track engagement and feedback, enabling continuous campaign improvement.
3. Foster Collaborative Learning: Inviting different stakeholders, including insurance providers, tech startups, and marketing experts, to share insights and best practices can lead to more innovative approaches. Insurance Meets Tech is already doing this in the space.
A Vision for the Future
“The Nigerian insurance industry must be audacious about innovating its awareness and marketing communications efforts, infusing technology and digitalisation, especially as the country’s future consumer population and demography are over 50% young, under 35 years and tech-savvy. With a compelling IMC campaign, the Nigerian insurance industry can transcend traditional boundaries, increase penetration, and ultimately become a cornerstone of financial inclusion in Africa”, Odion Aleobua concluded.
About Odion Aleobua
Odion Aleobua is an international award-winning Public Relations and Marketing Communications professional who is passionate about creating avant-garde communication solutions and breaking new ground. Before founding Modion Communications, a 360-degree boutique PR firm, he was Head of communications and Brands at Forte Oil PLC (now Ardova PLC).
Since its inception in 2015, Odion has led Modion Communications to provide strategic, creative, and insight-led advisory to multi-billion-dollar brands, corporates, government agencies, startups, and individuals in the Oil and gas, Governance and policy, Aviation, Finance, Tech, Mobility, Education, Renewable Energy, Lifestyle, and Manufacturing sectors, among other sectors. Amidst his industry-shaping ideas and disruptive strategies is the birth of Insurance Meets Tech (IMT) in 2022 – a multi-industry discourse platform targeted at culminating in actionable outcomes for the insurance industry.
For almost a decade, he handled Strategic Media Engagement,Public Relations and Investor Relations across two continents and three Stock Exchanges for Oando PLC, Nigeria’s leading indigenous integrated energy solutions provider.
A recipient of notable industry honours and recognitions, Odion has also guided the Agency to clinch multiple local and international awards, including the highly coveted Platinum SABRE Award for ‘Best In Show’ in Africa – the first by a Nigerian PR agency.
An avid reader and follower of new media trends and technologies, he also offers bespoke executive training and business advisory to individuals, boards and institutions in various capacities.
