It’s no longer news that the digital sphere has rapidly changed the face of the media world. Due to digital, our definition of what we call media has deepened. This has therefore changed media realities and trends.

This trend of evolution is what The Academic Summit (TAS) has successfully highlighted and tracked for the past seven years.

Now in its eight year, TAS seeks to make concerted efforts in making stakeholders in the media industry see how far the media has come, present realities and trends and then projections for the future.

TAS 7.0, last year, tried to track the tools needed to survive in this ‘Content-thirsty’ age of the media. We found out that Creativity and Innovation are very much potent tools needed to survive.

This year, TAS 8.0 seeks to take a different route. The theme is “The Digital Leverage: Opportunities in the contemporary media.” We are seeking to help students/participants find out how the digital space is creating new opportunities in the media sphere. We are aware that ‘digital’ has brought new opportunities but our focus this year is the newer opportunities.

Be it in broadcasting, with Digitisation giving you power to practically own a TV station or in Advertising with Digital agencies and the need for digital marketing experts rising, it is needless to say that digital is the new way. Traditional advertising campaigns are not complete without a digital adaptation, Public relations is ineffective if there’s no digital engagement and social media being flooded with the story the brand is telling. Newspaper readership is on the decline while blogs and online news sites are garnering more traffic by the day. Even newspaper houses have had to invest significantly in their online operations. Every facet of Mass communication has had to incorporate a new level of digital in its operations.

With all this in view and with the vision of TAS of equipping media students with the necessary knowledge to thrive in the media space, it is expedient that we draw attention to the new leverage ‘digital’ is providing. Guinness Nigeria recognising the gap TAS is trying to bridge has already committed its resources to the event. Other top organisations are also committing resources to make sure that TAS lives up to its billing.

The structure of this year’s TAS shies away from the established pattern of a key note speaker and a Panellist session. We would like to give time to each segment (Journalism, Public Relations, Advertising and Broadcasting) to explain the leverage digital has afforded each of these segments.

Workshop sessions intended to expose students to new territories will also be part of the event. Classes such as Copy writing, Art Direction, Content Marketing, Still and Motion Pictures have already been planned with top coaches for each class.

The list of the speakers would definitely leave you gasping. The official photographer of the President of Nigeria, Bayo Omoboriowo would be taking one of the classes. Enitan Denloye, Vice President, Brands and Advertising of Airtel Nigeria would also be around. Other guests include Chuka Obi, Creative Director DDB Lagos; Adekunle Ayeni, CEO, BlackHouse Media; Feyi Olubodun, CEO, Insight Publics and a host of others.

Without a doubt, all is set for the biggest media event. Participants can be sure that after the event they’d begin to see and explore the numerous uncharted opportunities that surrounds them.