by Thinus Ferreira
At its glitzy 10th DStv Media Sales Industry Event at The Royal Box on Lagos' Victoria Island in Nigeria, Canal+'s DStv Media Sales executives from the West African nation and for the continent tried to assuage the fears of advertisers that the Canal+ takeover will lead to disruption.
At the swanky lifestyle space, Canal+'s DStv Media Sales execs met ad buyers, agency leaders and market strategists on Thursday evening to tell them that everything will be okay.
In attendance were Fahmeeda Cassim-Surtee (group CEO of DStv Media Sales and CEO of Canal+ Advertising), Shamiel Sallie (senior vice president for digital advertising at Canal+), Kemi Omotosho (MultiChoice Nigeria CEO), and Doris Ohanugo (senior vice president of DStv Media Sales in Nigeria).
"The coming together of MultiChoice and Canal+ gives us an opportunity to be Africa's biggest stage for your brand," Fahmeeda Cassim-Surtee said.
"It is about giving advertisers access to premium audiences at scale in premium video environments. Whether headquartered in Lagos, Cape Town, Nairobi, or Abidjan, Nigeria remains a fundamental anchor of who we represent."
The advertising arm of the pay-TV operator is investing in AI-enabled scheduling, digital automation, cross-platform ad management and other tracking and measurement tools, with Fahmeeda Cassim-Surtee promising ad buyers on DStv "Access to richer content and shared tech expertise that allows us to build our digital muscles and deliver true value, because advertising and technology now move hand in hand".
Kemi Omotosho, MultiChoice Nigeria CEO, tried to talk up Nigeria's struggling economy with advertisers, although the struggling West African nation's economy remains stuck in a never-ending microeconomic struggle for households who can't get through the month due to a a very high cost-of-living crisis.
"The stats are telling us that this economy is going in the right direction, and there is no better time to invest in your business than right now," Kemi Omotosho claimed.
"We know viewer habits have changed; consumers spend more time on their personal devices than ever before. Our promise is to maintain our local flavour while offering world-class content at scale."
Shamiel Sallie noted that "Our digital tech stack in Nigeria is ahead of most European markets within Canal+. My single ask to advertisers tonight is simple: lock in your budgets early to secure the biggest moments, premier positions, and maximum return on ad spend".
