Nigerians have come to realise that PR is life – Chijioke
By Ibidunni Banjoko
Austin Chijioke, Immediate past General Secretary of the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR), FCT Chapter, said there has been astronomical awareness about the PR profession in recent times, making Nigerians realise that PR is life.
He made this assertion during an exclusive interview with MARKETING EDGE, while noting that more people have embraced the profession as the profession of the future, given the attitudinal change on how the profession was viewed before. The PR industry, he averred, is growing in Nigeria just like what is obtained elsewhere in the world.
According to Mr. Chijioke, Nigeria’s PR industry has fared better in recent times, as the profession is gradually gaining traction and momentum. The credit, he said, goes to the eminent professionals who have greatly encouraged upcoming practitioners to take pride in the profession by way of mentoring.
He noted that brand management is part of the brief and at the heart of the PR profession and stated that Nigerian PR practitioners have upped their game and stamped their expertise in all related fields of the profession, including helping to build and manage brands of many organizational products or services.
“The opportunities in the brand management sector are legion, strictly speaking. There is always a product or service as well as many individuals especially political actors or institutions who are in dire need of branding/rebranding. A brand must be constantly managed to gain recognition, attention and a good reputation.
“The only challenge is in the area of gaining or acquiring the right knowledge to be able to remain on top of your game in the brand management arena. But, when we consider that the era of meta technology is here with us and almost every necessary information to help us succeed in the digital space, such challenges may just pale into insignificance. A brand manager must remain active and ready to break new frontiers to remain relevant,” he said.
“Creativity is equally at the heart of what PR professionals do. A professional must innovate and create with strategic tools to push on with his/her assignments. Creativity does a whole lot in writing news releases, communicating with a diverse public and even branding etc.
“PR tools are deployed all the way in the entire Marketing Mix to gain the desired leverage,” he concluded.
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