Global exposure for Africa’s creative industries

By Terena Chetty, 1Africa Consulting Head of Strategy. The forecast for creative industries in Africa is positive, with the next couple of years poised to be a turning point when it comes to global exposure, opportunities and bridging cultural divides through entertainment and edutainment. Events like Advertising Week Africa (AWAfrica), act as a catalyst to this long overdue process, and the continent embraces more such platforms of this kind.

This first ever global Advertising Week event was hosted in Africa in February. Advertising Week is a global media platform that brings together professionals from across the advertising, marketing, technology and brand-building spheres. The AWAfrica launch event took place in Johannesburg, South Africa, with central themes including innovation, entrepreneurship, inspiration and positive disruption. The four-day event comprised talks, workshops, special events and other networking opportunities that showcased different aspects of advertising and the creative industries. A major drawcard of the event was the hosting of international comedian and entrepreneur Kevin Hart, along with executives from his media company, Hartbeat.

“The inaugural Advertising Week Africa event was a major milestone for South Africa and the African continent. It was the first event of its kind to be held in Africa and demonstrated the growing importance of the region as a hub for innovation, creativity and business growth. In addition to showcasing South Africa and Africa’s creative industries, the event addressed some of the key challenges facing the African advertising and marketing industry, including issues around diversity, inclusivity and representation.

“By providing a platform for open and honest discussions around these issues, the event helped to drive positive change and create more opportunities for under-represented groups within the industry. This demonstrated the event’s commitment to promoting diversity, inclusivity and collaboration across different cultures and regions,” said Tosin Lanipekun, executive director of AWAfrica.

Jean Mboulé, chief commercial and marketing officer for Good Governance Africa, welcomed the launch of Advertising Week in Africa, stating: “Such an event provides the opportunity for the continent’s best to showcase their talents and share their experience with a global audience. Various multinational players also get to network with African experts and the cultural exchanges can lead to the production of ‘fit for culture’ advertisements. The experiences will also be mutually beneficial in the long term when it comes to ensuring advertisers customise their content to appeal to the intended audiences through emotions or particular values embedded in its products or brand, with a central focus on inclusivity, diversity and cultural nuances.”

What does it mean for African economies?

The launch of a global event of this scale in Africa is good news, particularly as the international Advertising Week brand has indicated its intention to scale Africa’s talent, cultural influence and solutions globally. Such an event extends far beyond the parameters of a single (albeit broad) industry, positively impacting African economies to an extensive degree.

Following the signing of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) pact by 44 African Union member states in 2018, the world was rocked by the COVID-19 global health pandemic and economic crisis. This severely impeded the timelines of projected growth outcomes as industries across various sectors felt the negative impacts of the situation. As we find ourselves exiting the economic crisis, initiatives such as trade shows and business events on a global scale are invaluable to boosting national host economies, as well as pan-African economic objectives.

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) states that the film and entertainment industry in Africa remains a largely untapped economic sector despite significant growth across the continent – for example, film production in Nigeria is now reaching over 2,500 films produced per annum. UNESCO argues that creative industries are pivotal drivers for the achievement of various Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for the continent. In an UNESCO 2021 report, titled, The African Film Industry: Trends, Challenges and Opportunities for Growth, the global organisation expresses that creativity is a sign of richness and diversity, which serves as a foundation for sustainable development.

The report explains that the creative industries are a source of economic empowerment, contributing to inclusive employment and entrepreneurial opportunities. With an estimated 10 million job losses worldwide across cultural and creative industries as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, mechanisms to boost this sector are invaluable to mitigating the negative impacts of the economic crisis and harnessing the potential that Africa has to offer.

According to Lanipekun, Hart’s presence at the event helped to raise the profile of Advertising Week Africa and attract a wider audience of industry professionals, entrepreneurs and creatives. He said, “Kevin Hart’s participation in the event helped to position Advertising Week Africa as a global platform for innovation, creativity and thought leadership. Attendees had the opportunity to hear from a successful and influential figure in the entertainment industry, gain insights into his creative process, business strategies and perspectives on innovation and entrepreneurship.”

Speaking at the event, Hart said, “The goal in my mind, and the thing that I foresee happening, is coming back here to premier the projects that we did here. Like, how do we come here and highlight South Africa properly? How do we produce content that showcases your talent, that showcases your actors and actresses on a very high level and put the Hartbeat brand on them to bring more awareness to them? The same way that we are now coming here, we are also taking your projects there – you’re coming with us to the States and we’re premiering South Africa’s names and South Africa’s faces.

“It’s a handshake, with a handshake in return. Nothing is one way. It’s one thing to say you are going to partner, it’s another thing to actually do it. We’re looking for the real partnership – being here is just our foot coming through the door, this is just the beginning. There’s value in words, but there’s more value in commitment – we’re committed to our international landscape, and South Africa will be a part of it.”

CEO at Hartbeat and President & COO for Laugh Out Loud Network, Thai Randolph, further expressed, “This is a bi-directional exchange. We’re looking for those relationships – all of our successes come from relationships. Relationships with those such as Advertising Week, relationships with creators. When meeting with young people, we don’t view it as just social impact initiatives – we are cultivating our future collaborators – these are business investments. For us, our hope is that that we are creating an accelerator. We want to take back with us stories, opportunities and talent, and this is just the beginning.”

Emphasising the long term growth potential of events such as AWAfrica, Prime Video and Amazon Studios head of originals for Africa and the Middle East, Ned Mitchell, affirmed: “There’s an enormous amount of talent here that is so expert in what they do, in their craft, in their ability to collaborate; that just simply creating the opportunity is the first step. When I look at five years from now, I hope to see new production companies that were founded by people who never expected to be in this industry.”

Looking ahead, Lanipekun added, “It is clear that Advertising Week Africa will continue promoting diversity, inclusivity and collaboration, whilst attracting the brightest thought leaders from key global and African sectors to share best practice and cutting-edge insights that will move Africa’s creative industries forward.”

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