A New Era for Nigeria’s Out-of-Home Advertising Industry
Nigeria’s Out-of-Home (OOH) advertising industry is on the brink of a transformative shift, driven by data-driven planning and investment. This change is being spearheaded by OOH Academy Nigeria, which has launched an extensive nationwide study on audience behavior and consumer penetration. The initiative aims to provide the sector with credible, independent, and actionable market intelligence that will shape the future of outdoor advertising in the country.
The study, titled the Nigeria OOH Advertising Consumer Penetration and Audience Behaviour Study, was officially unveiled at a press conference in Lagos. It brought together key players from the advertising, media, research, and outdoor advertising sectors. Among those present were Jonathan Kalu, Lead and Principal Investigator at Research Brooks Ltd; Marvelous Idowu, Lead and Data Analyst at TMKG Consulting; Kingsley Onwukeme, Founder of OOH Academy and Convener of the LOMA Awards; Emmanuel Adediran, Business Unit Director at Plus Acuity Ltd; and Felix Ehikhuemen, CEO of Landmarks OOH Media and former Exco OAAN.
This initiative is seen as one of the most ambitious independent research projects ever undertaken within Nigeria’s OOH advertising sector. It is being conducted by Research Brooks Limited in collaboration with TMKG Consulting, with support from key industry stakeholders.
Addressing a Major Industry Challenge
Speaking during the commissioning ceremony, Kingsley Onwukeme, known as the “King of Ads,” described the project as a transformational intervention aimed at addressing one of the biggest challenges in the industry: the lack of comprehensive audience measurement and consumer intelligence.
According to Onwukeme, despite the growing importance of OOH advertising in Nigeria’s integrated marketing communications landscape, the sector has operated without a detailed, independent study focused on audience penetration, consumer engagement, movement patterns, and broader market realities.
“For over a decade, since I joined this industry, there has not been any comprehensive independent study of this nature focused on understanding OOH audience penetration, consumer engagement, movement patterns, audience behaviour, and industry market realities in Nigeria,” he said.
He emphasized that the media landscape is evolving rapidly, with changing consumer attention, technological advancements, and urbanization making reliable audience intelligence essential for the sector’s growth.
Key Objectives of the Study
The study is expected to generate critical insights into several areas, including:
- Audience mobility patterns
- Media consumption habits
- Visibility and effectiveness of outdoor advertising assets
- Consumer interaction with outdoor campaigns
- Market intelligence
- Industry spending trends
- Emerging opportunities shaping location-based marketing in Nigeria
Beyond the immediate study, Onwukeme revealed that the initiative is designed to become an annual industry benchmark publication under the broader continental platform known as ‘LOMA Outlook: The State of Out-of-Home and Location Marketing in Africa.’ The long-term goal is to create a body of knowledge that tracks the growth, challenges, opportunities, and transformation of the OOH industry over time, enabling stakeholders to make informed decisions based on evidence rather than assumptions.
Global Partnerships and Methodology
Onwukeme also acknowledged the support of several international partners, including Singapore-based Moving Walls, South African screen network aggregator Polygon, and LED display technology manufacturer Absen. Their involvement reflects growing global confidence in Africa’s outdoor advertising industry.
Providing details on the methodology, Jonathan Kalu, CEO and Lead Principal Investigator at Research Brooks Limited, explained that the study has been carefully designed to meet global standards of credibility and methodological rigor. The project will cover twelve strategically selected cities across Nigeria, including Lagos, Ibadan, Benin, Asaba, Onitsha, Enugu, Aba, Port Harcourt, Abuja, Kano, Kaduna, and Sokoto.
Kalu noted that the geographical spread was deliberately chosen to ensure national representation and capture the diversity of consumer experiences, movement patterns, and media interactions across the country. The research will focus on socio-economic classes A to D, using indicators such as household assets, purchasing power, and living standards to ensure balanced representation across demographic groups.
To guarantee transparency and professional oversight, an independent committee of respected industry experts has been constituted. The committee is chaired by Emmanuel Adediran, Business Unit Lead at Plus Acuity, with members including Ikechukwu Ogbonna and Felix Ehikhuemen.
Future Implications
Adediran described the study as a crucial investment in the future competitiveness of Nigeria’s OOH sector. He observed that while the industry has demonstrated resilience and sustained growth, the absence of a unified audience measurement framework has limited its ability to attract greater investments from advertisers and agencies.
Ehikhuemen echoed similar sentiments, stressing that the future of advertising globally is increasingly dependent on measurable outcomes, audience intelligence, and technology-driven decision-making. He called on stakeholders to embrace the findings and ensure that the study translates into practical reforms capable of strengthening the sector.
TMKG Consulting, with over two decades of experience in media monitoring, OOH auditing, and market intelligence, pledged its support by making available relevant datasets to enrich the research process and enhance the quality of the final report.
The final report is expected to be officially unveiled at the fourth edition of the LOMA Conference and Awards in September 2026, where copies will be distributed to industry stakeholders to guide planning, policy formulation, media investment decisions, and future market development.
