Jubilee is NOT a PR Government

For some time now, I have been following conversations about how the Jubilee government is allegedly governing the nation through Public Relations. Apparently, instead of delivering on their promises, the current government has employed the expertise of a number of publicists to do ‘PR’ for government.

Well, before we get political about who is not doing what in Government, let me share with you some definitions of Public Relations. According to the Charted Institute of Public Relations, PR is the discipline which looks after reputation, with the aim of earning understanding and support and influencing opinion and behaviour. It is the planned and sustained effort to establish and maintain goodwill and mutual understanding between an organization and its publics.

The American chapter of PR, PRSA (Public Relations Society of America) defines PR as a profession that helps an organization and its publics 
adapt mutually to each other. Public Relations broadly apply to organizations as a collective group, not just a business; and publics encompass the variety of different stakeholders.

Simply put, “Public Relations is a truthful and sustained effort with lots of planning and research to enable an individual or an organsation to grow and guard its reputation” Barasa2014

Back to our government of the day; while a lot of what the official government flacks have been doing is somehow planned and researched. Goggling is research, right? What makes me refute the governance by PR claim is the fact that one of the main characteristic of this widely misunderstood profession is being real, complete and without fluff. The crux of Public Relations is ethical behavior.

Telling the truth is at the heart of the profession and so-called spin is incompatible with that. Spin is the enemy of public relations professionals. In other words, candid, truthful, complete communication is of utmost importance.

In my opinion, Jubilee Government is deliberately attempting to persuade people to think and behave in a manner that they desire. This endeavor is not so far from PR, however the difference is that these stabs go over and above relying on facts thus making it Propaganda- a distant cousin of both advertising and Public Relations that has been used world over by governments and military to appeal to the emotion of people and not necessarily their intellect, seeking to mobilize them for specific needs. In reality, propaganda shapes the nebulous into concrete images.

Hitler, a well-known propagandist, had this to share to his stewards during the world war: “If you are going to tell a lie, don’t tell a little one because it will be recognized as a lie. Tell the biggest and most unthinkable lie. Keep on telling it and people will think it must be truth and believe it.” He went further and concluded: “The greater the lie the more effective it is as a weapon.”

But wait, isn’t propaganda a tool of PR? NO, you're conducting PR if what you are "spinning" has a solid basis in facts. If not, it's propaganda, plain and simple.

All said and done, the Jubilee publicists seemed to have nailed the art of creating and inculcating perception of the general public. This was achieved through their calculated messaging and positioning of the Head of State.  Remember when The President was captured randomly purchasing peanuts from a hawker? How about when he dinned and wined with all and sundry in a Mombasa Hotel? Those were definitely moments of brilliance. What they did not achieve is making it sustainable and backing it up with actualities on ground.

All went south when they were hit by a perennial Public Relations menace in the form of incoherent communication and lack of a crisis communication kit which is necessary to a communications expert more than how a fire extinguisher is to a city hotel kitchen.

This allowed the previously aligned population to scrutinize the communication that would have otherwise been ingested without questioning due to an already questionable reputation of the original massaging source.

Redemption time is not nigh for the flacks; all they need is a centralized communication hub, sustained & planned messaging and tangible results to report home about. This will leave little image crisis to manage and thus allow for a more proactive and planned PR strategy for the Government.

An Award Winning PR Practitioner it is...

It will amount to self-destructing if I don’t blog about this... Anyway, last week on Friday, 5^th November 2014, Redhouse Group scored again!!! MediaEdge Public Relations, one of the country’s youngest PR agencies, scooped the PR Excellence Award for Sponsorship Campaign of the Year.  Dubbed ‘Fashion Goes to Golf’ the winning entry was put together by a team of three brilliant and perky ladies that I have enjoyed working with on this account under the tutelage of one Maureen Sande. Suzanne, Emily and Yvonne rummaged through our previous reports to put together an entry that was characterized by deep understanding of the role of research in communication and well documented evidence showcasing what the team had done to get golf out of its shell and showcase Barclays Kenya Open as an event worth attending for both golf enthusiasts and fashionistas.

To get little bit technical for fellow practitioners, this year’s Barclays Kenya Open PR campaign went beyond the traditional sports media relations and golfer interaction to create engagement with Media Owners, lifestyle and entertainment media (and the audience that they bring) as well as community through integrating messaging on Barclays’ flagship CSR program.

In a nutshell, the MediaEdge PR team basically brought a fresh twist to the 2014 Barclays Kenya Open Golf tourney, which has always been perceived – and covered – purely as a sporting event profiling it as lifestyle event with a tinge of human interest too.  Remember the light up Kenya campaign launched by Barclay’s a few months ago? Well, all the funds raised during the tourney will go towards lighting up the country with solar lamps.

The annual Public Relations Society of Kenya (PRSK) Awards for Excellence fetes PR agencies and corporate organizations for exemplary campaigns executed in each year.  The Sponsorship Campaign of the Year category considers campaigns that leveraged brand sponsorship assets to demonstrably support business objectives and community engagement.

Once more… here’s to celebrating the award winning practitioners!

Customer service is vital for PR success

While we emphasize the importance of communication in the business, it’s important that we strive to develop specific communication for each and every stakeholder that one business entity deals with. Why am I raising this concern? While PR has been celebrated world over for its role in brand building a big percentage of business leaders are quickly letting loose other facets of business communication expecting PR to cushion the business.

Despite the similar roles in the organization, Public relations (PR) and customer service should be considered two separate areas of responsibility in the business, simply because while PR is the company’s face that’s presented to the public and to gatekeepers, such as media and other organizations, customer service is the company’s face that’s presented to its customers.

One of the biggest threats to PR practitioners in Kenya are the consumer watch columns that  media houses have provided for customers to rant about service delivery by their day to day interface with brands. Columns like the Cutting Edge in Daily Nation and Point Blank in the Standard are what communication managers’ dread every week they are published.

But why do customer complaints hit the newspaper pages?  Any sane customer will never run to the media to get his issues sorted out, they only do it when they have exhausted all the possible avenues of getting an amicable solution to the problem. The main reason why brands land into these columns is poor service delivery which leads to complaints that are met with a pathetic customer service desk.

Once, the customer compliant has been published in the media, the PR team is called upon to perform magic and get rid of the ‘bad story’. While, the opposite rarely, happens, in this new media era, happy customers become your best public evangelists. A simple tweet or Facebook update about your excellent services will go a long way in your brand building exercise.

All in all, PR and Customer Service Departments should be actively involved with each other simply because the customer care desk is the first line of PR in any organization; they need to understand the values of PR before they engage the customers. As a PR practitioner, one should proactively look at the customer service scripts and see where he or she can plug in the overall company messaging. Encouraging your good customers to share their feedback via social media will also go a long way in building a loyal online army for the brand.

Lastly, it’s important for the whole company to know that they form the key components of the PR machinery for the organization.

World Public Relations Forum to be held in Kenya.

Kenya will host the first special world conference examining public relations and communication management in emerging economies. The conference will be hosted by the Public Relations Society of Kenya on November 15-18, 2015 in cooperation with the Global Alliance for Public Relations and Communication Management. 

The conference will bring together practitioners and academics from across the globe to look at the particular challenges facing practitioners working in evolving and continually changing environment.

The confirmation came after a high powered delegation led by the Principal Secretary, Ministry of Information Communication and Technology (ICT), Mr. Joseph Tiampati ole Musuni and other practitioners from PRSK, the Kenya PR Society chapter represented the country and proved beyond doubt that the regional ICT savanna was ready to host  communication practitioners from all over the world.

Kentice Tikolo outgoing Chairman of the Public Relations Society of Kenya said: “There is real need for an exchange of information and ideas surrounding practice in emerging economies and we are very happy to be able to invite practitioners and other interested professionals to meet in Kenya to discuss the challenges and opportunities presented during periods of development and change.

“We will have specialist speakers on the subject as well as some academic insights and contributions - it promises to be an absorbing and useful conference.”

The Public Relations Society of Kenya (PRSK) aims to advance excellence in public relations in Kenya and to ensure that the practice continues to thrive within the ethical framework defined by the profession.

The Global Alliance for Public Relations and Communication Management is the confederation of the world's major PR and communication management associations and institutions, representing 160,000 practitioners and academics around the world. The Global Alliance works to raise professional standards all over the world and share knowledge.

New team to steer PRSK for the next 24 months

Elections are indeed a complex process; you have to combine both the social being of mankind as well as the legal and scientific processes of determining why and who should lead the society.  The Public Relations practitioners in Kenya had to go through this process on Monday evening to select the team that will lead the Kenya PR chapter- Public Relations Society of Kenya.

A typical PR practitioner is known to be witty, eloquent speakers and also agenda setters. The election forum was not an exception; issues were debated and argued about involving proxy voters for about an hour before participants opted for a vote on the issue. 

The members finally resolved that only present members would vote for the team to move the profession to a notch higher.

However, them being voted as the torch bearers of this association did come with set targets and their job is already cut. 

 

Standing from Left to Right - Margaret Maranga - Head of Secretariat, Beatrice Kungu - Assistant Treasurer, Sam Karanja - Assistant Secretary, Eunice Muthamia - Exco Member, Raphael Mworia - Exco Member, Edna Onchiri - Exco Member, Philip Cheruiyot - Exco Member, Joyce Gituro - Exco Member.Sitting from left to right - Musyoki Kivindyo - Treasurer, Jane Gitau - Chair, Sylvia Mwichuli - Vice Chair, Angela Nganga - Secretary

Some of the key issues that they are expected to achieve are;

• Ensure that that they lobby and position Kenya as the next host of the World Public Relations Forum

• Position the Society as the home of PR in Kenya so that we can be able to attract membership especially for the young practitioners who have for a long time felt that the society doesn’t address their issues.

• As we move closer to the deadline of implementing the CPD point’s module, the executive team should ensure that members take up courses to improve their ratings.

Public Demonstrations are not necessarily negative

By the time you read this, Babu Owino, the leader of SONU (Students Organization of Nairobi University) and his mates will have probably calmed down after an athletic smoke-filled day.  Would they have achieved the desired results from the day long demonstrations?  Well, to some of the rotten eggs in the basket, they will be a few side mirrors and phones richer, but I doubt if the university folks will have achieved the goal of getting Jacob Kaimenyi the Cabinet Secretary for education to listen to them.

For a long time, certain images have been printed on the brains of Kenyans, shouting crowds, with sketchy banners full of demands marching towards the city centre only to make a hasty return trip a few hours later with the police in hot pursuit in a tear gas filled environment that will culminate with running battles, injuries, loss of property and in some cases fatalities courtesy of police batons, stray bullets or flying stones.

This is the local definition of a demonstration, groups of people organized to come together at a specific place and time to call attention to a specific issue. Although we often think of demonstrations as negative--against "something," they can also be positive, supporting particular politicians and their ideas, specific initiatives, or existing programs. They are usually meant to influence the way things are done, or the way people think. Whether they're aimed at politicians, bureaucrats, corporations, or the general public, they can take many forms. From large, media -covered marches, to small gatherings at Jevanjee gardens to address an issue within a certain region. World over, demos have been used as a way of getting their points across to those in power.

While many of us are used to thinking of demonstrations in the form of mass marches or gatherings, often with signs, there are actually several ways to shape a demonstration. Some, especially those which address very local issues, such as the use of a neighborhood parking lot, don't require huge numbers of people in order to be effective. Others don't aim directly at issues, but use humor, theater, music, or other methods to make a point. Remember the pig-filled Occupy Parliament demonstration against the parliamentarian a few months ago?

You can employ many forms of demonstration, ranging from rallies, sit-ins to marches and parades which is basically numbers of people marching on a route from one significant site to another to highlight their commitment to a particular issue. On a local level, such a demonstration could involve a march from the graduation Square at University Of Nairobi to parliament buildings in city center, where the marchers' concerns are expressed in speeches or other ways. Marches and parades are usually associated with advocacy, support, or protest, and often serve as well for public relations. In some cases, they may also serve as counter-demonstrations.

For rallies, demonstrators gather on their own at a particular place, where they listen to speeches or participate in other activities expressing their concerns (music, skits, and/or remarks by celebrities are common). Rallies, like marches, are usually associated with advocacy, support, protest, and counter-demonstration, in addition to providing opportunities for powerful expressions in the media. Politicians have mastered this form of communication, thriving on topical issues affecting the populace; they always amass popularity through such forums.

In a sit-in, demonstrators do just that: occupy a space in a government office, a street, a particular building, etc. and sit down. Sometimes, a sit-in is accompanied by speeches or other activities; sometimes it is silent. It may involve trespassing, and thus be illegal, it may simply be a statement of people's right to be in a particular place, or it may be meant as a moral statement. Okiya Omtata and the late Nobel Prize laureate Wangari Mathai are perfect examples on how impactful these sit-ins can be.

All said and done, all you need to do is to consider beforehand whether a demonstration is the right vehicle for you to get your point across, plan it carefully, carry it out well, and follow up diligently. A successful demonstration  should  be able to  accomplishes its goals either immediately or over the long term by getting buy in from the people involved, getting the message to those who need to hear it  and leaving a sense of success and support from all and sundry including the media. 

Battling Terrorism; Time to defend the society that we always mirror

Yester night I watched two interesting documentaries Tide of Terror and Samburu State of War on KTN and NTV respectively. Definitely a lot of time was put into these interesting productions but what I am not sure of is whether or not these productions added value to Kenya as a country. I know marketers are already planning to tell me about the target audience of the station, while the editorial team will certainly school me on the role of media in the society and how it mirrors what happens in our surroundings. The two schools of thought are right, but the extent to which they are correct is what I beg to differ with.

When the infamous invasion by the United States of America to Iraq started, we heard over and again that the war was going to be fought in two fronts; the battlefield and the minds of the people via propaganda. The good guy (read America) ensured they sustained an exaggerated and subjective communication strategy that warranted that the rest of the world supports them against the bad guys (Iraq). That’s how the war was legitimized.

Throughout the period, the US thrived on not very true communication to fuel the battle as they worked through the war torn country. Propaganda became one of the key weapons for the dreaded US army.

Anyway, why am I talking about war yet our country is only grappling with some little security threat from some disgruntled jobless youth... With the alleged terrorism related activities becoming rampant in our country, we have to fight back as a nation, not only with the security forces, but also with the society’s mouth piece i.e. Media houses. For once we must start ‘misreporting’ what our government is doing to curb this national threat. We have to let the government work without necessarily publicizing detailed reports of how the Eastleigh operation is going on. 

Our journalistic instincts might push us to want to expose the porous borders and how money exchanges hands to own an Identity card. However, the mere fact that the terrorist might be watching these channels should be reason enough to make use of selective stories that reinforce the reasons and motivations for the government to act on this threats on the security of our nation.

Sorry to say this but I don’t see why we should not demonize the “enemy” and make whatever the government is doing, look right even when we falter .The negative image of the “enemy” should be continuously reinforced with rhetoric about the righteousness of our forces so that we can muster up support from all quarters and nurture the belief that what is being done is in the best interest of everyone.

When all this is done, we will rest assured that on the information perspective the enemy was beaten; after all we live in a dirty and dangerous world. There are some things the general public does not need to know about and shouldn't. Democracy only flourishes when the government can take legitimate steps to keep its secrets and when the media houses can decide whether or not to publicize what they know. 

How was your PR performance in Quarter One

As we approach the end of Quarter one of 2014, there is no gainsaying that a lot has been happening between the corporate affairs and marketing teams of any organization, together with their PR agency. Product launches have been done, corporate campaigns have been executed, and the internal communications tactics are in place with the company publications moving closer to the editorial review. Incidentally, 80 percent of the listed companies have actually announced their full year results. Some have recorded double digit profits while some have had a drop in profit (that’s the PR euphemism for making losses)

My interest is not really to share the PR diary since the beginning of this year, but to shed some light on how all this can be measured beyond the media clippings that we proudly fix on any single power point presentation we make to the business. But how can you prove beyond reasonable doubt that you played a key role in the business growth bearing in mind that the sales manager has already shared his sale numbers vs. the target while the IT manager has proved that he rolled out all the efficiency systems the business needed?

Well, do you remember the periodic PR audits I mentioned to you late last year; this is the opportunity for the internal team as well as the agencies to review together so that you can be able to measure the percentage of activities that you have undertaken so far. This PR audit should be combined with the annual PR plan that was presented to the business when you were lobbying for the budget from the business. 

This may sound like a tall order but as a PR practitioner this is the right time to engage the various user departments that you supported with PR activities, for instance the various product managers should be able to share with the sales figure before and after the product launch and campaign that was spearheaded by the PR team.

For the CEO’s office, you need to showcase the impact that the meeting you facilitated between the regulator and the business heads had on the business; after all a chat with the Kenya Bureau of Standards about the counterfeits being sneaked into your market is likely to have a lasting impact on the business articles in all the leading dailies on a Monday morning.

To cap it all, please spare a few slides to highlight the impact that the CSR campaign you launched in Q4 last year did to your business. But kindly desist from sharing the amount of money the business pumped into this noble initiative, instead quantify the impact. For instance, if at all you were investing in financial literacy, how many businesses picked up from that, and if all you did was on sanitation, did we see a drop on sanitation related illnesses?

This should secure you a speaking opportunity in the Q2 budget review meeting.

Public Relations : The Rejected Cornerstone.

As I was fighting insomnia a few hours ago I bumped into this lovely blog on  How to Identify Your PR Niche. Reading through it I discovered it had answers to many questions that I have been asked by both new entrants into the practice as well as seasoned ones who intend to venture into consultancy.

Public Relations is quickly becoming the cornerstone of any organizations after continuously being rejected by many professionals, because they believed that PR was an addition to the business and not part of the business. This year will even see more competition as many of the digital communication roles are moved from advertising to Public Relations as brands strive to get space in the blogosphere.

Blogs and webzines will quickly creep into the space currently being occupied by web banners and other online advertising tools in order to generate online conversations with the targeted online audience. In Kenya I expect many bloggers to move away from just plucking tit bits from press releases to deeply analyzed pieces that will keep readers glued to their blogs.

Nonetheless, all sorts of outfits have discovered the power of persuasion. Charities, trade unions and protest groups create stunts and “facts” as powerful, and sometimes as dubious as the piggy demonstration we had last year. Did they achieve their objectives? Only time will tell.

Battle for communication strategies: May the best PR team win

As the tempo for 2014 picks up, many are already folding their sleeves for the roll out of the communication strategies for the year. For the next few weeks, conversations will revolve around getting budget approvals for the year as well as aligning the communication plans with the business objectives for the organizations.

But wait, have you thought about the people who will be rolling out these strategies?

Though built on principles that have lived for ages, modern day PR is a practice that is based on continuous execution and creative roll-out that heavily relies on the individual brilliance of the teams behind the campaign. A brilliant team is able to get the word out as well as build lasting natural connections with your target audience.

To create a powerful brand, one has to maintain a consistent set of defining features. For instance, world over, Coca-cola has continuously employed emotive communication to engage its audience; this has gradually grown to make it an impregnable brand. Just like communication, the consistency of the teams driving the campaign will play a major role in its success because they are able to pick the learnings of the previous years and inject in new ideas for the 2014 plans.

A bad race only remains so if you do not learn from it.  This is why it is important to never quit a race. In 2014, I will carefully examine how I faired in my 2013 race and then modify my training to win this year’s race. Maybe my racing was right but my opponent proved better. Trust you me, I won’t leave anything to chance; I will train harder and smarter for all my campaigns in 2014.