PR CEOs decry ridiculous practices in Nigeria’s public relations industry
By Zion Rufus
The public relations industry in Nigeria has been criticized for being too narrow and focused solely on press releases and media relations. This has led to a limited perception of PR and has caused some PR consultants and company heads to decry the ‘ridiculousness’ of the practice.
These professionals emphasized that PR is not just about crisis communications or issuing press releases, but about building relationships with stakeholders and driving business growth.
According to Tolulope Olorundero, CEO Mosron Communications and VP Communications ADMARP, “…one of the fundamental problems that has faced core Public Relations professionals over the years: the assumption that public relations = media relations. One of the biggest challenges PR is facing is this narrative, and perhaps one of the reasons why Tech PR has somewhat been reduced to how much media coverage you can get. PR is not just Media Relations. That is the least but unfortunately most visible PR function.”
“Business executives can be excused when they confuse Public Relations with Media Relations. But where public relations professionals reduce our work to just this subset, it becomes quite clear why executives insist that “if we are not in the news, you are not working,” the Mosron CEO added.
Temisan Ali-Balogun, a PR consultant and founder of Greyedge Consulting, asserted in a conversation with MARKETING EDGE that the limited perception of PR in Nigeria is a result of a lack of education and understanding about the industry.
She stated, “The narrow focus on press releases and media relations has led to a commoditization of the industry. Many clients and organizations do not understand the value of PR beyond press releases and media relations. They do not understand that PR is a strategic tool that can help them build and maintain relationships with their stakeholders and drive business growth.”
Ali-Balogun emphasized that the limited perception of PR in Nigeria is a problem that needs to be addressed as PR professionals must now educate their clients about the strategic role of PR in building and maintaining relationships with stakeholders.
“They must also be proactive in identifying new opportunities to showcase their clients’ value and help them achieve their business goals,” she said, adding that by doing so, they can help to dispel the ridiculousness of the limited perception of PR and elevate the industry to new heights.
In a previous submission, Yomi Olaniwun, Bold Brand Buzz CEO advised agencies to focus on new deliverables around strategy, content, channels, creativity, and measurement.
“PR has gone beyond sending out press releases to announce brand activities. It is all about connecting people with brands through storytelling; so we have to shift the narrative to reflect what people need and want,” he said.
According to recent reports, it has been alleged that PR practitioners in Nigeria have become mere press release factories, churning out the same old messages to the same old media outlets.
A PR CEO who spoke on condition of anonymity pointed out that this will not only limit the impact of PR on organizations, but also undermine the value that PR professionals can bring to the table.
The PR consultant advised that to elevate the practice of PR in Nigeria, practitioners need to educate their clients about the strategic role of PR in their marketing mix. They must also help their clients understand that PR is not just about media relations or press releases; instead, it is about building and maintaining relationships with stakeholders, influencing public opinion, and ultimately, driving business growth.
Additionally, PR professionals must also be proactive in identifying new opportunities to showcase their clients’ value to their stakeholders. They must use their creativity and strategic thinking to develop campaigns that resonate with their clients’ audiences and help them stand out from the competition. By doing so, they can help their clients differentiate themselves in a crowded market and achieve their business goals.
On the foreign scene, Parry Headrick, Founder of Crackle, a PR Agency also decried some of these unethical practices that prevail in the global PR ecosystem. Headrick stated in a LinkedIn post: “Fact: PR people do 20X more than people think we do.”
Lending credence to Headrick’s assertion, Poojah Singh an integrated communications strategist stated that it is about time businesses, and start-ups realize that PR requires time and effort investment.
According to Singh, this is a scientific process where the C-Suite and the PR teams need to work cohesively to develop preferred narratives across the funnel relevant to business goals, plan delivery via relevant communication tools for effective external and internal communications, and invest in effective monitoring tools to tune the campaign for the desired results.
She said: “It’s a long haul – and requires exhaustive investment tuned to the changing landscape of what constitutes ‘earned’ in a digitally connected world. While a PR professional may enjoy ‘good relations’ with media outlets/influencers/other earned channels, it will still require effort to create buy-in for the brand, which will only happen over a period of time and not instantly.”
For Peter Anderson, a writer and communications professional, there are still clients who don’t realize that between the words ‘Press’ and ‘Release’, there is the silent word ‘Compatible’ as well as people who don’t realize, if it looks like an advert, and sounds like an advert the media will charge for an advert.
“We are not a dying breed,” Anderson said. “In fact, as we sit silently in the corner, eyes closed, we are not even asleep. Just quietly contemplating our latest challenge from our clients.”
In Nicole Bott’s opinion, professionals should stop trying to say they do PR, because the perception of what PR means is so much smaller than the jobs they do.
Bott stated: “We are strategic communicators. We promote and protect the brand. We put the right message in the right channel at the right time. That’s huge- and so much bigger and more meaningful to a business than stunts and buzz. Being called “PR” is way too limiting.”
RECOMMENDED ARTICLES
Comment
No comments found.