While I Was Away…

Yes, I know. It’s been quite  a while since I last made a post on this blog. Hard to think that almost eight months have passed ... just like that! I’m not even going to try and offer an explanation – everyone who’s followed the Nigerian story since the beginning of this year, knows that developments in the polity would appear to have thrown the country into a state of suspended animation.  The social and economic cost is still unravelling. But that is  another story entirely.

A lot happened in the Nigerian PR space during all that time, and I’d like to fill you in on some of the important events  – though not necessarily in a chronological order.

So, while I was away…

1. PRCAN Joined ICCO

The Public Relations Consultants Association of Nigeria (PRCAN), the umbrella body of PR consultancy firms practicing in the country, was formally admitted into membership of the International Communication Consultants Association (ICCO). PRCAN’s inclusion was announced during the bi-annual Board Meeting of ICCO which held in Vienna, Austria, on April 16-17, 2015.

http://www.iccopr.com/2015/04/icco-announces-latest-new-members-public-relations-consultants-association-of-nigeria-hk-strategies-golin-and-grayling/

ICCO represents 31 national PR associations, who in turn collectively represent over 2,000 agencies around the world in Europe, Asia, Africa, the Americas and Australasia.

2. Yours Truly Was Appointed to the Board of ICCO

Following PRCAN’s admission into ICCO, the President of PRCAN, Mr. John Ehiguese, was appointed a member of the Board of Management (BoM) of ICCO.

http://www.iccopr.com/members/whos-who/#top

As the highest decision-making authority in the organization, the BoM meets twice every year and is formed by representatives of all the national trade associations affiliated to ICCO.

3. We Lost a Gem

A very important member of PRCAN, and its former treasurer, Ms. Alima Atta, MD/CEO of Sesema PR, succumbed to the cold hands of death, after a brave and protracted battle with cancer. Alima passed on  June 6, 2015 at the age of 48.

It is such a tragic loss, and once again my heart goes out to her family and the staff of Sesema PR, arguably one of our most dynamic PR firms and the Edelman affiliate in Nigeria.

4. The MTN Nigeria PR Pitch Went To An Advertising Agency

Once again, the four-yearly ritual of the MTN Nigeria PR pitch (undeniably the biggest PR business in Nigeria) came up again in March this year. At least eight agencies were invited to pitch for the business, out of which two were eventually selected.

The curious twist to the tale however  is that one of the successful agencies (DKK) is an advertising agency! Of course the Nigerian PR community (led by the NIPR and PRCAN) is practically up in arms in protest against this travesty. I suspect that the way this matter is eventually resolved will invariably have grave implications for how the PR consultancy practice evolves in Nigeria over the immediate future.

At the very least there is bound to from now on be increased interest in how client organizations call for and conduct pitches for their PR business.

5. The PRCAN Monthly Breakfast Meeting Made Its Debut

After a couple of unavoidable postponements, the maiden edition of the PRCAN Monthly Breakfast Meeting finally held on Thursday, July 23, 2015. Special Guest Speaker was Mr. Kufre Ekanem, the Corporate Affairs Adviser of Nigerian Breweries Plc. (a Heineken company, and biggest brewer in West Africa).

Ekanem spoke on: “Culture - The Next PR Frontier”. The kernel of his presentation was that the employees of an organization constitute a very critical group in the PR stakeholder matrix, and for that reason, an organization’s culture (invariably projected in its Employee Relations programme) is emerging as a key driver of  Corporate Communications.

It was a highly successful and well attended event, attracting more than 30 participants, many of them agency heads. The plan is to sustain the MBM as a regular monthly feature on the PRCAN events calendar.

6. Mediacraft Associates Entered Into Affiliation With A Global PR Network

Our agency, Mediacraft Associates, has finally signed an affiliation agreement with one of the leading global PR networks. I am not at liberty to give details at this point, until a formal announcement is made – which should happen in the next few days.

We’re excited about this development, and looking forward to reaping the full benefits of the affiliation, chief of which would be capacity building, global exposure and new business opportunities.

There was certainly a lot more that happened while I was away, but these updates will do for now. It sure is good to be back, and I’ll try to see to it that I do not take such a long break away from this blog, ever again.