Abuja has hired Levick, a public relations and
lobbying firm based in the United States, to manage its image and the All Progressives
Congress (APC) proposes to engage another American entity, AKPD, to handle its
campaign for the 2015 vote.
This does not go down well with the majority of communication professionals, who say it undermines local content pursuit.Contrary to this position, however, a respected player and former President of Public Relations Consultants Association of Nigeria (PRCAN) and Global Strategist for JSP Communications, Phil Osagie, maintains that any organisation, even the government, is free to seek communication solution anywhere in the world.Osagie, who holds a PhD in Communication and has recently expanded his firm to North America, spoke with Goddie Ofose of The Niche from his base in Canada:
Professionalism in Nigeria compared with the West
Government apathy towards PR
This does not go down well with the majority of communication professionals, who say it undermines local content pursuit.Contrary to this position, however, a respected player and former President of Public Relations Consultants Association of Nigeria (PRCAN) and Global Strategist for JSP Communications, Phil Osagie, maintains that any organisation, even the government, is free to seek communication solution anywhere in the world.Osagie, who holds a PhD in Communication and has recently expanded his firm to North America, spoke with Goddie Ofose of The Niche from his base in Canada:
Global appreciation of PR in integrated marketing
communication
Appreciation of public relations and integrated
marketing communications (ICM) is growing all over the world, because the need
to communicate, connect and persuade is greater than ever. With the explosion
of social media, the appreciation and strategic deployment of PR (public
relations) is on the rapid increase globally.
Management guru, Peter Drucker, once came up with a
tagline, “innovate or die”. Whilst that still remains a truism, “communicate or
die” may soon be the motto of growth hungry brands.
Professionalism in Nigeria compared with the West
As in other areas of endeavour and societal
development, Nigeria still has some catching up to do. There has been
tremendous improvement in PR practice but we still have a long way to go.
There is a positive correlation between societal value
systems and overall professionalism. Professionalism does not exist in
isolation. Commitment, the relentless pursuit of excellence, great work
attitude, desire for continual improvement and a strong value system are the
main components of professionalism.
In North America and other countries in the West,
professionalism in most sectors is integrated into the system and is almost a
way of life. Professionalism and authentic consumer satisfaction and
sovereignty is far more than fancy talk or brand posturing.
Government apathy towards PR
The federal government has a right to seek the best PR
solutions from anywhere in the world. What is of greater importance is
communications authenticity and message credibility. Whether the PR message is
crafted in Washington or some back office in Mushin in Lagos, the action and
intention behind the message is more important than the message itself.
Brand authenticity is when a brand delivers on its
core promise and measures up to the inherent consumer expectation.
The question then for Nigeria and the greater priority
for its communications managers is the need to drive the campaign from the
inside out.
Sincerity of intentions, clarity of focus, leadership
credibility and authenticity constitute the foundation of any communications
campaign, whether for a product or country.
The fundamentals of PR and communications do not
change and the key success factor remains maintaining harmony between words and
deeds. Because “you cannot carve fine art out of rotten wood.”
Read the rest of the interview here:
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