Udeme Ufot Charges PRCAN To Reposition
The Public Relations Consultants Association of Nigeria has been charged to reposition the PR industry in Nigeria if the profession must attract top talents and secure the respect and admiration of clients.
Udeme, CEO SO&U Advertising, gave the admonition recently at the launch of the maiden edition of the annual PR Report by Black House Media Group, a fast growing PR agency based in Lagos. In a passionate plea which resonated with the PR professionals at the event, the prolific adman noted that except the industry makes deliberate efforts at strategically rebranding the profession, it will continue to slide and be regarded as inferior to other arms of the marketing communication sector.
He regretted that many people outside of the industry have been stereotyped into viewing PR as merely an effort at inducing journalists to write positive reports about clients, adding that practitioners have not done enough to disabuse such faulty notion. He noted while growth has been slow in Nigeria’s PR sector, the global PR industry has flourished considerably.
“I think this is a great moment for PR in Nigeria. For those of us in Integrated Marketing Communications, we look in concern sometimes at how the PR discipline seems to have struggled,” Udeme said, while commending BHM CEO Ayeni Adekunle for launching the first PR report in Nigeria.
Speaking further he noted that one of the ways by which the industry can reposition and attract the best brains in the IMC was to embrace global trends like the internet and incorporate it into its trade, adding that it is quality talents that deliver quality output and quality output attracts clients’ respect.
“You really cannot get the best brains in your industry unless your industry is respected. You cannot be respected unless you can be seen to deliver a clear value to clients. In this information age, data is everything. It is time for PR to reposition itself and become as professional as it can be. Being able to devise campaign strategies and deliver on promises; with proper tracking and accountability to clients is what the future should be about,” he said.
John Ehiguese PRCAN President who was at the event alongside several of his executives agreed with some of the issues raised by Udeme and promised to continue working to address some of the failures that have undermined PR practice in Nigeria. He also committed to rallying his colleagues to ensure a more robust PR robust is produced for the industry.
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