Billboards Boom Again: Loatsad and the Outdoor Revival

By Maxwell Uzochukwu The online advertising industry is in trouble. Whether it’s companies pulling their ads from X, because they are being displayed next to unsuitable content, or the continued consumer backlash from being bombarded with ads whilst surfing the internet. This industry has faced huge challenges, along with reaping huge benefits, over the past […]

By Maxwell Uzochukwu

The online advertising industry is in trouble. Whether it’s companies pulling their ads from X, because they are being displayed next to unsuitable content, or the continued consumer backlash from being bombarded with ads whilst surfing the internet.

This industry has faced huge challenges, along with reaping huge benefits, over the past 30 years but even as they tackle this latest challenge, there is good news in one sector.

Billboard advertising is making a comeback and according to leading U.S. – based market research company, Grand View Research: “The global billboard and outdoor advertising market size was estimated at $38.32 billion in 2024 and is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 8.1% from 2025 to 2030.”

Here in Nigeria, one of the leading Billboard advertisers is Loatsad Promomedia, which is part owned by Seyi Tinubu, son of the current President, Bola Tinubu.

Along with Aderenle Olusoga, Tinubu launched Loatsad in 2013, with the main aim of establishing a renowned outdoor advertising company that could expand throughout Africa.

In a 2018 interview with Business Year, Tinubu commented: “We had a passion to create something that would be innovative and unique. We realized there was a new market for us to enter.”

Although Olusoga subsequently left the company, leaving Tinubu as CEO, things quickly took off for this new venture, as Seyi recalls: “We grew from just being static boards and lamp posts to LEDs. People were using the traditional methods of putting up a board, and we wanted to enter the space and make a change, giving advertisers something significantly more powerful for their brand.”

There has been continued growth over the past 10 years and today, Loatsad boasts a workforce of over 60 individuals. Having also acquired a number of other companies during their expansion, including

SDM Communications (Media Agency), Stenturion Engineering (LED board distributor) and E-motion Advertising, this total staff number quickly rises to over 120.

Today Loatsad boasts a strong presence on Lagos Island, with both modern LED boards as well as static, and have worked with an array of leading brands, including Nigerian Breweries, Access and FCMB Banks, GLO and DIAGEO.

Loatsad’s success has not gone unnoticed and the company has won numerous advertising awards over the years, including business of the year at The Entrepreneur Africa Awards 2019.

This continued success is, no doubt, a welcome boost to Seyi and all the Loatstad Promomedia team. But, as the son of a President, Seyi has always had ‘the bigger picture’ in mind, stating: “I studied Law in university but I wanted to break away from the norm and do something that will be innovative and improve Nigeria as a whole and also grow outside of Nigeria and throughout the continent.”

Thanks to his family name, there is little doubt that Seyi Tinubu, along with Loatsad, will always face greater scrutiny than most other companies in the region and this is, in many ways, totally understandable.

However, the 120 employees under the Loatsad umbrella have little say in what happens in the life of their CEO, along with his ties to the political arena in Nigeria. Much of their company’s accomplishments are, undoubtedly, down to them and their achievements should not go unnoticed.

This success has also been shared with local communities, with Loatsad having made charitable donations to various bodies over the years – including renovating the IT department of Pacelli School for the Blind in Yaba and renovating another school in Bariga.

Seyi and his team hope to keep expanding and, ultimately, always planned to move into the digital advertising arena (online and mobile).

No doubt, it is the LED billboard business that not only launched their company but today, also looks to be their brightest asset.

If the current forecasts are to be believed, it will no doubt be lighting Loatsad’s pathway into the future for some time to come.

Maxwell Uzochukwu wrote from Lekki, Lagos.