By Emeka Oparah
The other incident
was the launch by BlackHouse Media, a Public Relations company, of the first
ever Nigeria PR Report inspired by the founder and CEO of BHM, Ayeni Adekunle.
At the BHM event, the panelists and indeed the audience raised several issues
of interest, which I solemnly believe were (are) crucial, if not everything, to
the practice of Public Relations. I will return to these events presently, as I
seek to highlight some of the key issues that are driving the new paradigm in
public relations practice in Nigeria, from my perspective as a practitioner in
one of the more active sectors of the economy, Telecommunications.
Identity crises: I
am of the opinion that Public Relations industry in Nigeria is facing an
identity crisis, and this hasn’t got everything to do with the moribund
existence of the Nigeria Institute of Public Relations (NIPR), but with the
obvious lack of certainty of what professionally constitutes Public Relations.
At the BHM event, Mr. Yomi Badejo-Okusanya, Chief Executive Officer of
CMC-Connect and one of the more successful practitioners in the industry, decried
how Experiential Marketing, Below the Line (BTL) Activations and Events
Management were painfully excised from their business. Badejo-Okusanya’s
lamentation lent credence to my position that the industry needs to define or
redefine the content or components of the business. We cannot be into
everything and still expect to be accorded respect as professionals.
Public Relations,
based on my experience, should focus on communication, perception and
reputation management without dabbling into the more mundane details of
organizing events and producing calendars, diaries, Christmas hampers and
“killing” stories in the media (a task made extremely difficult, if not
impossible with social media and citizen journalism). The question here really
is: What is PR and what is NOT. Or who are we and what do we really do? When
will the Nigeria Institute of Public Relations (NIPR) cease to be an arm of the
Federal Ministry of Information? Can PRCAN and IABC jointly champion the
birthing of another institute that will be truly professional and devoid of
government inference and control?
Content creation
and Story-telling: These are two important elements of Public Relation, which
seem to have climbed out of the back burner, perhaps with a gentle nudge from
the burgeoning advent of social media. The communication aspect of Public
Relations is purposive, that is, communication with a purpose. There might be
no communication without a purpose, but the true defining characteristic of
this form is the clear objectification, which is pursued logically and then
measured, at the end of the day. Story-telling simply means bringing the
functionality of your product or service or even idea to the consumer in a
tangible, demonstrative manner. For instance, a video or article on how a customer
has used and benefitted from Airtel’s SmartTrybe detailing the functionalities
and benefits is a good story to tell, and should be told often by PR
practitioner managing Airtel Nigeria. In other words, the PR practitioner, and
not the media, should lead and drive the narrative of every sensible
organization.
There are,
however, some lamentable limitations, which are militating against the creation
of good quality content and effective use of story-telling as PR tools. One,
lamentably, is the paucity of skills, good writing skills on the part of the
practitioners, and the other is a lack of interest in reading by customers as
against the keen interest in deals, promos and freebies (which, on face value,
are by no means illegal). The solutions are as simple as the problems are
complex. Practitioners must go back to the basics.
One of the core
competencies of a good PR professional is good writing skills, which is powered
by reading and a sharp analytical mind. You cannot give what you do not have.
Consequently, the customers or the audience, if you like, can then easily be
segmented by an intelligent practitioner and messages designed and targeted to
appeal to them, in their comfort zones. Communication has long evolved from the
Hypodermic Needle Theory, where every message, like an injection or the traffic
light is supposed to elicit similar reactions, to Berelson’s Catch All Law,
where some kinds of communication, when brought to the attention of some people
through some kinds of mediums will elicit some kinds of responses. Enter social
media.
DIGITAL AND
SOCIAL MEDIA:
I cannot resist the temptation of saying that my friend’s boss,
whom I mentioned in my opening lines, is not in tune with current trends. He is
still analogue and needs to be converted very quickly. The conundrum in his
ignorant comment was that the online publication rather than his old school
hard copy newspaper will give him the mileage he has spent the organization’s
scarce resources for.
There are few
questions to be asked here. How many people buy the so called newspapers? What
are the print run or circulation figures of the newspapers? What is the pass on
rate of those publications? In other words, how many people read the newspapers
as against the millions who own smart phones and are more often than not
connected to the internet and, therefore, follow online publications? You
cannot compare the potentials inherent in the 94m internet subscribers for
mobile GSM (according to the latest Nigeria Communications Commission figures)
to those of the paltry 1m (or even less) aggregate circulation of the traditional
publications. The latter is even less, if you discount for unsold copies. As a
matter of fact, many would rather invest in buying more gigabytes to browse the
internet and consume the social media than buy a hardcopy publication. Now,
this is not to say that those hardcopy publications are not relevant, but they
offer far less eye balls than the social media and are, therefore, more
effective.
In my former life
at Cadbury Nigeria, we got occasional feedback from customers through letters
from the post office, face-to-face encounters during market visits and
complaints by customers who graciously take the pain to return bad products. I
used the word graciously instructively because I believe that in those days of
zero or little feedback, it took serious effort and customer loyalty to bring a
defective product to the notice of a manufacturer. Today, a customer with
access to data will share the experience plus photos on social media and allow
the manufacturer to do the chasing. I should know this!
I must hasten to
add that most of the traditional media, including television and radio stations
have also established online presence, with varying degrees of perfection. So,
there you have it; some extra opportunities for telling your stories and
driving your narrative. Have you checked the volume of feedback that come with
online stories, especially with the traditional media, say The Punch, ThisDay,
The Guardian, Vanguard, Channels TV and AIT? Massive! And massive communication
opportunities too! It is such a conundrum that a platform which gives us so
much opportunity to tell our story and sell our products is equally a veritable
weapon of mass destruction. Talk about the law of unity and conflict of
opposites!
PR AS A
MANAGEMENT FUNCTION:
Most definitions of Public Relations enthusiastically claim it is
a Management Function. Perhaps, this is only practiced in the breach. But for a
few organizations like mine, the Public Relations functions are sequestered in
either the Legal or Human Resources or Marketing Departments. Let me share a
personal story: When GSM was launched back in 2001, I hoped and prayed to be
part of the revolution.
So, it was with open hands I accepted invitations to interview at
both MTN and Econet, as it used to be known then. When I checked, the PR
department at MTN was a part of the Marketing function, while that of Econet
was part of the Executive (CEO’s). I prayed more for the latter - for two
reasons. That was the model I was used to from Cadbury Nigeria, where I worked,
and, secondly, it was in synch with the textbook definition of PR as a
management function. You cannot be a management function, when you are not part
of senior management or executive management, as the case may be.
Thankfully, my
prayer was answered. MTN rejected me (in a manner of speaking) and Econet hired
me, and the rest, as they say, is now history. Today, as Director of Corporate
Communications & CSR, I sit in the Executive Management of the
organization, where I participate actively in the leadership roles and
responsibilities-looking after Public Relations (including online PR), Internal
Communications and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). Now, that is the
classical model and indeed the way it should be. Here, like other leaders in
the organization, you get a helicopter view of the business and contribute from
your perspective as a business executive managing communication and reputation.
BUDGETS:
Corollary to being a management function is having a budget line
strictly dedicated to Public Relations. In most organizations, the budget still
sits elsewhere leaving the function at the mercy or whims and caprices of the
budget owner. As a matter of fact, most organizations see Public Relations as a
cost centre and not revenue centre-understandably. I say understandably because
PR doesn’t generate funds directly. Even in our line of business, we struggle
to bring in customers, even if we try.
However, the
impact of what we do helps to not only retain the customer we have but also
encourage new ones to come on board. This is what most PR practitioners have
failed woefully to demonstrate to their employers or clients. How do we justify
the meager budget we get? And indeed the budgets are meager compared to Marketing,
for instance. After all, they will tell you, PR is prayed for and not paid for.
Well, that is not exactly the case in reality. Many things are certainly paid
for in PR but not news-and that is a subject I want to deal with presently.
DATA AND
MEASUREMENT:
I call him “Ayeni The Great” and indeed Adekunle Ayeni is a great
man. He is bold and courageous, and regardless of the limitations and
imperfections of his Nigeria PR Report, he has clearly set the agenda for
record-keeping, data collection and impact assessment of PR activities. This
has been a huge lacuna in the industry. How do we justify our budget? How do we
even justify our work and the attendant pay? How do we demonstrate the impact
of our work? How do we measure our work?
The first lesson
in Research Methodology is: What cannot be measured should not be done. One of
the banes of PR practice globally is the proclivity to compare its work and
effect with marketing. That is clearly defeatist, firstly, and downright
laziness, secondly. Public Relations must do away with comparing its output
with advertising column inches. In fact, it must move from output to outcome.
Several research methodologies are available to serious-minded professional to
demonstrate outcome and impact. Additionally, Public Relations practitioners
should start making informed commentary and intellectual interventions through
lectures, presentations and publications to deepen the knowledge base and
provide ready resources for reference by professionals and intending practitioners.
Ayeni, with his book, has broken the jinx, which, hopefully, will spurn a
rack of other similar, even better interventions.
BROWN ENVELOPE:
As far as I am concerned, this is a most embarrassing topic to
discuss, but I will discuss it. An age-long practice of inducing journalists to
report an organization or client positively or to use its press releases, it
has regrettably defined the relationship between Public Relations practitioners
and their friends in the media.
So, the question
one is compelled to ask is: Where is the love? Where is the so called goodwill
which PR practitioners seek to “build and sustain” between their organizations
and stakeholders? There are serious ethical issues surrounding this behavior
and any dialogue on the legality or illegality of it confers a status of
importance to the aberration. My position is NO! It is unprofessional to give
an envelope, whether brown or white to a journalist-and I am sad some
practitioners stood up to defend or justify it and described it as transport
facilitation, etc. NO sir! Even the use of phone recharge cards, airtime or
other products, which some of us in the telecommunications industry (and even
some outside of it) is unethical, because the objective is to “induce” or
“motivate” journalist to report your activity or use your material.
Why would I be
bothered about whether a journalist made a call or not, sent an email or not or
posted a photo or not, if it is not inducement? In the civilized world, samples
are returned after the trial period for products like mobile phones, laptops,
televisions, cars, etc, or the reporters are made to pay a book value for them.
In Nigeria, it is seen as a right, which unfortunately reflects the Entitlement
Culture prevalent in Nigeria.
To me, Brown
Envelope is ethically, legally and morally wrong. Journalists are paid to do
the job they do. I can even tolerate Christmas, wedding, birthday and
anniversary gifts (which, inexplicably, disappear once a journalist leaves a
relevant beat), but to assure journalists of “transport facilitation” or to
encourage the use of a report by any other means than a good copy is
reprehensible both for the giver and the taker. This is an issue the Institute
should be punishing people for, were it really in existence.
THE FUTURE OF PR:
Regardless of the sustained efforts of charlatans and the
inclement economic environment, Public Relations still boast a bright future.
The rise in consumerism with the full complement of social media has opened a
new vista for PR to flourish. People or organizations, who have products,
services or ideas to sell to an increasingly incredulous, highly fastidious and
very vocal and technologically empowered population surely need astute public
relations people to help them tell their stories and manage their narratives
strategically.
We have gone past
wondering what people were doing with their feedback and opinions before now.
They are really dishing them out now, and whether you like it or not, the
behavior is fast assuming the attributes of a culture, a culture of social
protest, vehemence or retort, if you will. For instance, managing the
reputation of the leading opposition party, the People’s Democratic Party
(PDP), will be one hell of a job and very rewarding too-probably not in pecuniary
terms, but who knows! The 2015 presidential election clearly illustrates how
much public relations can influence social conversation which in turn
influences behavior change-as exemplified by the change of the Buhari narrative
from pre-2014 to what it became from late 2014 to the time he was ultimately
elected in April 2015.
If there was ever
a time public relations should get its mojo back, it is now with the growing
social disquiet, confounding economic uncertainty and complicated political
manipulations-all needing the professional intervention of PR practitioners,
not charlatans.
Emeka Oparah is
Director, Corporate Communications & CSR, Airtel Nigeria
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