Why we can’t have specialist PR agencies - Ehiguese

Ehiguese Charges IMC Practioners To Raise Their Game

President of the Public Relations Practitioners of Nigeria (PRCAN), John Ehiguese has charged marketing communications practioners in Nigeria to raise the standard of their game if they must remain relevant in the industry and survive the imminent challenge of doing business in Nigeria.

He made the charge against the backdrop of the activities of some Nigerian clients, which despite the growth of the integrated marketing communication industry in Nigeria- especially with regards to quality- are still in the practice of giving briefs to foreign agencies.

Ehiguese who is equally the CEO of Mediacraft Associates noted the client reserve the right to work with whomever he chooses. “At the end of the day it is actually the choice of the client to decide where he wants to get a particular service, the world is now a global village and people are free to seek service and support from any part of the globe in principle,” he said.

Continuing, he said “if you don’t raise your game, the foreigners are coming with their foreign direct investments and because they are used to having a certain level of support, quality wise, If they get here and they cannot find it then they will call their agencies abroad to come and work here in Nigeria, so it’s up to us to raise the standard of our game.”

Ehiguese’s charge is coming at a time when there has been a steady growth in foreign direct investment into Nigeria, as a result of her huge population, and the growth prospects for Nigerian agencies have also been boosted as a result, but he noted that if the local agencies must benefit maximally from the resultant economic growth they must be properly positioned.

“There is no longer a Nigerian standard; it has to be a global standard. If you don’t have that mindset, then you don’t have a future in this business,” he said.