tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31795963278147626382024-03-23T03:19:23.583-07:00Young PR KenyaYoung PR Kenya blog is written by a young flack in Kenya.Paul Barasahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12984358281319420141noreply@blogger.comBlogger90125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3179596327814762638.post-25388984171350230832020-12-01T04:43:00.000-08:002020-12-01T04:43:26.021-08:00 Joint efforts needed to enhance efficiency in regional cargo business<p><span style="background-color: white; color: #111111; font-family: "book antiqua", serif; font-size: 18.6667px; text-align: justify;">This article was also published in the <a href="Standard... https://www.standardmedia.co.ke/opinion/article/2001395570/joint-efforts-needed-to-enhance-efficiency-in-cargo-business" target="_blank">The Standard</a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #222222; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Calibri Light",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Seaports play a key
role in in the economic growth of a nation and neighbouring land locked
countries. With the majority of global trade facilitated by sea, developing
strong, well-functioning transport infrastructure that connects with the
hinterland is a key element of growth for emerging regional markets.</span><span style="color: #222222; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Calibri Light",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Given the importance
of the Port of Mombasa for international trade for Kenya and countries in East
and Central Africa, efficiency and unified operations, cannot be taken for
granted.</span><span style="color: #222222; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Calibri Light",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Development and
management of ports is a major objective of economic development in many
countries. As ownership and operations of seaports have traditionally been in
the public sector, restructuring has often been a slow and frustrating process.</span><span style="color: #222222; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Calibri Light",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">However, for Kenya,
the new Kenya Transport and Logistics Network (KTLN) is meant to enhance
efficiency and coordination by fortifying public-private sector dialogue and
leveraging on the efficiencies and synergies of relevant state agencies.</span><span style="color: #222222; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Calibri Light",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">It is hoped that
through KTLN, Kenya will achieve its strategic agenda of becoming a regional
logistics hub. Additionally, the Lamu Port-South Sudan-Ethiopia-Transport
corridor (LAPPSET) is expected to give Kenya an edge over other players in the
region.</span><span style="color: #222222; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Calibri Light",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Without a doubt,
efficient transport and trade facilitation require highly specialized
managerial and operational skills as well as use of modern technologies.</span><span style="color: #222222; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Calibri Light",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">In recent times, the
Port of Mombasa has reported improved efficiency it attributed to construction
of the second Container Terminal, improved cargo handling services and faster
transfer of cargo via the standard gauge railway. In 2019 alone, the port
handled 1.425 million Twenty-Foot Equivalent Units (teus) representing a 7.3%
growth over the previous year.</span><span style="color: #222222; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Calibri Light",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The Port of Mombasa is
projected to handle above 2.5 million teus by 2022 after the completion of the
second Container Terminal, which is expected to increase the holding capacity
by more than 950,000 teus.</span><span style="color: #222222; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Calibri Light",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Actually, rail freight
demand between Naivasha and the Nairobi Inland Container Depots (ICD), and the
Port of Mombasa has significantly increased, with the operator hauling 264,696
containers between January and August this year.</span><span style="color: #222222; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Calibri Light",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Despite the growth,
partnering with business operators remains critical, to ensure efficiency and
sustainability of transport and trade not only in Kenya but the larger East and
Central Africa region.</span><span style="color: #222222; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Calibri Light",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">In the context of the
COVID-19 pandemic, lower trade volumes and falling freight rates, governments
have to increasingly seek partnerships with private sector players for
strategic engagement in operating and maintaining port infrastructure and
services.</span><span style="color: #222222; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Calibri Light",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">However, all is not
lost, the current construction, modernization, and upgrading of our dry ports
with associated rail and road networks will definitely facilitate the trucking
of cargo between Mombasa to designated intermodal yards.</span><span style="color: #222222; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Calibri Light",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The movement of cargo
from the designated intermodal destinations is an ideal platform for private
sector players to ensure the efficiency and sustainability of transport and
trade in order to leverage private sector capital with</span><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"> </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Calibri Light",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">the aim of redefining
how goods flow across the continent.</span><span style="color: #222222; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Calibri Light",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">As we ponder over our
COVID-19 recovery, and assume a new normal, this is an ideal time for all
stakeholders in the transport and logistics industry to work together to bring
about the growth we have always desired as a regional business hub.</span><span style="color: #222222; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;"><b><i><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Calibri Light",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The writer is a
Communication Consultant</span></i></b><span style="color: #222222; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;"><b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Calibri Light",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Ends</span></b><span style="color: #222222; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>Paul Barasahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12984358281319420141noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3179596327814762638.post-87760698094339298922020-04-14T05:48:00.001-07:002020-05-06T04:20:46.698-07:00Cargo transportation could heavily contribute to post COVID -19 economic recovery<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background: white; color: #111111; font-family: "book antiqua" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">This article was also published in the Star <a href="https://www.the-star.co.ke/business/kenya/2020-04-14-freight-is-key-in-post-covid19-economic-recovery/" target="_blank">Freight is key in post COVID–19 economic recovery</a> and in the Business Daily <a href="https://www.businessdailyafrica.com/corporate/shipping/How-cargo-will-play-key-role-in-economic-recovery-after-corona/4003122-5543574-h7f2at/index.html" target="_blank">How cargo will play key role in economic recovery after corona</a></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background: white; color: #111111; font-family: "book antiqua" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background: white; color: #111111; font-family: "book antiqua" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Kenya as a country
is currently going through a bruising cycle. From the sporadic inflation
movement in 2019, to the current Covid-19 pandemic that is yet to fully
showcase its impact on not only Kenya’s economy but the continent at large. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background: white; color: #111111; font-family: "book antiqua" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Already,
unemployment is on the rise, the economy is taking a hard beating and we do not
know for how long. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background: white; color: #111111; font-family: "book antiqua" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The government is
working on stimulus checks to help jump start the economy during our recovery
journey. Indeed, the ability of stimulus programs to boast the economy quickly
by getting cash into <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">mwananchi’s</i> hand
is welcomed. However, this has to be complemented with many other initiatives. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background: white; color: #111111; font-family: "book antiqua" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Job creation and
optimization of existing infrastructure will be key in the next phase of
recovery as we seek to create jobs, raise real wages, and bolster the various
sectors that have been hard hit including hospitality, aviation and
manufacturing. To the greatest extent possible, these investments should be
targeted to the workers, families, and communities and lowest end of the
economic pyramid.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background: white; color: #111111; font-family: "book antiqua" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">As the supply chains
around the world are disrupted, business leaders must prepare for the effects
on production, transport and logistics, and customer demand. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background: white; color: #111111; font-family: "book antiqua" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">For a start, the
country’s investment in the sea, air and rail networks provides an ideal
platform to rebuild our economy and safeguard our position as the regional
economic hub. The Port of Mombasa in conjunction with the now fully operational
Standard Gauge Railway cargo transport network should lead in generating
revenue for our country by ensuring that we efficiently deliver all the delayed
cargo to the hinterland- not just in Kenya but the region at large.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background: white; color: #111111; font-family: "book antiqua" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">For Kenya Ports
Authority, this is the time to optimize the expanded yards and berths to handle
more cargo, ride on the revamped ICT system and modernized cargo handling
equipment to literally dominate the EAC market.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The Inland container depots (ICD) should be a beehive of activities,
that will employ and re-engage the youth labour resources in clearing and
processing the cargo to regional markets. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background: white; color: #111111; font-family: "book antiqua" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">On the other hand,
rail transporters like Africa Star Railway Operation Company should be at the
forefront in offering significant cost efficiency for cargo haulage into the
ports to enable the truckers and other last mile players to deliver the goods
to the end users at an affordable cost. As a local feeder, an affordable road
transport will definitely impact the cost of consumer goods.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background: white; color: #111111; font-family: "book antiqua" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Even at its lowest,
once back in operation, our regional flier Kenya Airways, has the ability and
capacity to airlift cargo shipments that will be vital today in the
re-connectivity and regional economies.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background: white; color: #111111; font-family: "book antiqua" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">To ensure these
measures deliver all round economic value to the different economic segments,
all the industry beneficiaries of the tax waivers and exemptions should be
required to retain all their workforce and ensure that they are optimizing the
youthful resources in linking up the regional market partners.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background: white; color: #111111; font-family: "book antiqua" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Even as we grapple on
where to channel our resources in the recovery stage, we have to be cognizant
that infrastructure optimization has the effects of contributing to this
‘economic resuscitation’ and is expected to contribute to future economic
growth.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background: white; color: #111111; font-family: "book antiqua" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">To set priorities and
better evaluate potential outcomes, the government could set a mechanism for
calculating projects’ economic and social impacts, and a system for measuring
and reporting performance. For now, a transparent pipeline of well-planned
projects, with appropriate risk-adjusted returns, could help to attract public
and private investment into the infrastructure ecosystem.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background: white; color: #111111; font-family: "book antiqua" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The uncertainty and
turbulence in the economy locally and across the world,</span><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="background: white; color: #111111; font-family: "book antiqua" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">the reality, of course, is that many players in
the transport infrastructure sector will have some level of debt going into this.
Some layoffs and drastic cost measures will be inevitable, however,</span><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="background: white; color: #111111; font-family: "book antiqua" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">operational improvement might just be the pivot
point in ensuring that the costs of transport is fairly shared across the
different players and not hipped onto the consumer of the transported goods. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />Paul Barasahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12984358281319420141noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3179596327814762638.post-19904872160128808962017-01-24T07:02:00.002-08:002017-01-24T07:02:53.608-08:00Millennials have driven brands to Influencer Marketing<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif";">This articles was also published in the <a href="http://www.businessdailyafrica.com/How-millennials-are-driving-brands-to-influencer-marketing/539444-3482472-view-printVersion-dh6bvn/index.html" target="_blank">Business Daily</a></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif";">Today’
consumer behaviour has fundamentally changed. The millennial generation has
changed the way we do business. This generation has not only influenced how
products are packaged but how they are marketed. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif";">In
less than a decade, everyone is rethinking on how we to advertise their
products; how to communicate without being intrusive- brands are no longer
riding on billboards to launch their campaigns. Instead, everyone is directly
engaging with the consumers or get them through their peers. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif";">In
2015 alone, there were over 2.5 million Facebook posts and 277,000 Tweets.
Moreover, 347,000 photos were shared through WhatsApp and Instagram. Without a
doubt, marketers can no longer afford to ignore online platforms and in App
Messaging considering that users remained connected for 23,300 hours during
that year. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif";">But
amid this content explosion, consumers and product manager alike are turning to
peers and recognized voices online to inform purchase decisions whilst closing
an eye on branded content and advertising.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif";">Already,
innovative marketers have shifted their investment focus to social media and
the more disruptive and collaborative brand communications tactics as priority investments.
The aim is to cut through the noise and deliver lasting impact on the relevant
authoritative conversations for their products.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif";">As
we start planning for the 2017 budgets, brand managers the world over have to
figure out how their brands can effectively future-proof their marketing
strategy and spend and reshape brand communications activities to cross the
chasm towards social media driven sales initiatives. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif";">People
trust people over brands. 77 per cent of consumers say they do not want to have
a direct relationship with a brand, according to the Harvard Business Review.
Consequently, word of mouth, peer recommendation and review culture are
powerful and are here to stay: we look to each other and to our favourite
digital personalities on Youtube, Instagram, Snapchat, Pinterest and other
social platforms to be informed about the experience of a product or brand
prior to purchase. And the influence is considerable.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif";">With
consumers spending more time on social media every day, it is only natural that
all increase their social media presence both through paid and non-paid forms.
However this rapid flight of brands craving to tap into the social media frenzy
has led to considerable lack of interest from consumers in branded content.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The millennial can sniff branded content and
discard it with a click; hence the need to have a strategy anchored on
strategic partnerships with social media influencers. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif";">While
this shift continues to challenge marketers across the board, it at the same
time creates a new art form and platform for creative young minds to light the
way for future content development and monetization. Through this new form of
marketing, influencers ranging from musicians, actors and other mentors that
the millennial generation look up to can now capitalize on their influence to
earn revenues from their art forms. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif";">By
co-creating content directly with social media influencers—that is to say
providing the right kind of assets and opportunities for influencers to share
and create relevant messages—brands will be able to amplify their presence in
the right way, targeting the conversations that their audience is interested
in.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif";">As
communicators we are cognizant of the fact that conversations and engagement
are created by a very small number of people within each conversation topic: and
it is the top 3 per cent of social media commentators who drive 90 per cent of
the impact.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif";">Indeed,
influencer marketing isn’t just an alternative to traditional media activities
—it’s turning the traditional model completely on its head. It’s a longer-term
investment that requires a structured approach and time to onboard the right influencers,
and together, to generate the right kind of content that they can tailor and
that will resonate. But the impact is laudable and delivers invaluable consumer
data and a brand voice that is deeply persuasive, engaging and palatable to the
consumer.</span></div>
Paul Barasahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12984358281319420141noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3179596327814762638.post-6152630385973533732016-09-30T07:06:00.000-07:002016-11-15T07:08:01.618-08:00Sports Sponsorship should be made more impactful, sustainable<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-size: large;">In the past
five years, hundreds of millions of shillings have been pumped into various
sponsorship initiatives in this country. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-size: large;">In addition
to soccer and rugby, which have received immense support from betting
companies, telcos and beverage manufacturers, athletics has also been at the
funnel-end of a lucrative web of organisations keen on contributing to Kenya’s
economic growth through sports.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-size: large;">A decade
ago, the sponsorship conversations revolved around specific initiatives like
stadia development and specified tournaments or partnerships with sports
governing bodies. The board leaders then were Safaricom and EABL, yet little
did we know that those would not be long term flicks. The betting companies
moved in and changed the sponsorship game not only on the numbers front but
also in regards to the objectives of sponsorship.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-size: large;">Considering
the huge amounts involved, you would imagine that sports and event sponsors would
have clear answers when asked about their expected return on investment (ROI).
You would be wrong to assume that. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-size: large;">A simple
dipstick survey among key stakeholders reveals that about a third to half of sponsor
companies do not have a system in place to measure sponsorship ROI
comprehensively, which potentially costs these organizations in many ways.
Failure to comprehend the impact of sponsorship on our economy through sports
might just be one of the key reasons for our poor performance in various sports.
.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-size: large;">To manage
sponsorship spending effectively, stakeholders must first develop a clear
sponsorship strategy—the overall objective of the sponsorship, the target
demographic, and which area the sponsorships can support. For instance, a lot
of funding has been pumped into the soccer arena in this country; the national
league plus the top five league teams command a staggering one billion in terms
of sponsorship. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-size: large;">While this
figure looks appealing, the general growth of the sport is wanting. All we have
been doing is adopting short term measures of branding team apparel and stadia,
which has contributed zilch to the growth of the sport. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-size: large;">In an ideal
situation, potential sponsors should be jostling for strategic opportunities to
put up or revamp stadiums in the outskirts of Nairobi which would serve as
feeders to the league groups. Granted, we have Wanyama at Tottenham in the
English Premier League, Mariga in Serie B, Italy. But what we require to drive
the sports agenda as a nation is a strategic plan that is supported by a talent
identification mechanism at the grassroots level as well as development of sports
infrastructure that is driven by government in collaboration with sponsors.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif";"><span style="font-size: large;">Without
a doubt, sponsorships have the potential to reach beyond short-term sales to
building a brand’s identity. Brand strength contributes between 60 and 80 per cent
to overall sales, making this benefit critical for sustained, long-term sales
growth. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif";"><span style="font-size: large;">While
in the beginning it might make sense planting all your logos on Yego’s apparel
for visibility and brand identity, as a brand you are likely to reap more value
if you took the bold step of establishing where Yego and his javelin prowess
originated from and set up a world class Javelin training facility that is open
to locals. In five years, your brand could be hosting its colours on 10
athletes flying high in the junior championships and by the time you are done
with the medal marathon in junior championships, half of that team will have
joined the national team. At this level you could get nothing short of Olympics
glory for your brand!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif";"><span style="font-size: large;">On
soccer, the journey to the EPL might not be just through the apparel. It should
be be a journey for many local stars who in return will deliver national glory
for the country and your brand too.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif";"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif";"><span style="font-size: large;">This article was also published in the <a href="http://www.businessdailyafrica.com/Opinion-and-Analysis/-Let-s-have-long-term-sports-sponsorship-plan/539548-3413026-i3xixyz/" target="_blank">Business Daily</a> </span></span></div>
Paul Barasahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12984358281319420141noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3179596327814762638.post-41696573957405212992016-07-27T02:22:00.000-07:002016-07-27T02:22:14.192-07:00Climbing The Ladder Of Social Engagement With Influencers <div id="traackr_infographic">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQdCVNv4CXoX2m7SFEmeIfDZoliV9abZHaz01BvP-KbGGYDDV9-k-UqZRoGLjr-jQZdGDiJIlQ7Y48pLPqJqdse1dJ972FmYqnuHW4F1kE_sDsRTsOBj9axq0P9o1h_WAMUbZqdEUtV4Y/s1600/5786c0ae10c15d9651420814_EngagementLadder1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQdCVNv4CXoX2m7SFEmeIfDZoliV9abZHaz01BvP-KbGGYDDV9-k-UqZRoGLjr-jQZdGDiJIlQ7Y48pLPqJqdse1dJ972FmYqnuHW4F1kE_sDsRTsOBj9axq0P9o1h_WAMUbZqdEUtV4Y/s400/5786c0ae10c15d9651420814_EngagementLadder1.jpg" width="375" /></a></div>
<a href="http://traackr.com/influencer-engagement-ladder" target="_blank"><img src="https://traackr.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/InfluencerEngagementLadder.jpg" /></a> </div>
<div id="by_traackr">
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><a href="http://traackr.com/influencer-engagement-ladder">Climbing the Influencer Engagement Ladder</a> by <a href="http://traackr.com/">Traackr</a></div>
Paul Barasahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12984358281319420141noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3179596327814762638.post-11907583976296007352016-07-11T09:57:00.001-07:002016-07-11T09:58:05.884-07:00Leveraging Public Relations to grow the Kenya Rugby brand. <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKM5sf16dftyMbzkQB00AcJ7xtNpkBXycIk3kVti9tneRdwnyZXWgMfQXBMg3mtZRliykwaP7aIukg69PaWqW_rP7TySQeAURLXyI7JisSqpL7RI2vQ84zjd7_tJzUjQXT9YhsNoKow8Y/s1600/images.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="166" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKM5sf16dftyMbzkQB00AcJ7xtNpkBXycIk3kVti9tneRdwnyZXWgMfQXBMg3mtZRliykwaP7aIukg69PaWqW_rP7TySQeAURLXyI7JisSqpL7RI2vQ84zjd7_tJzUjQXT9YhsNoKow8Y/s400/images.jpg" width="400" /></a><span style="font-family: "book antiqua" , "serif";">Every
so often, I get opportunities to shed light about PR as a profession and the
opportunities that this practice can provide to many organizations. For the
longest time, my presentations were always for aspiring PR practitioners in
schools thank to the <a href="http://www.prsk.co.ke/index.php/events/pr360" target="_blank">Public Relations Society of Kenya that has been spearheading this initiative of knowledge sharing with upcoming practitioners.</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "book antiqua" , "serif";">However,
one week ago, I got a totally different assignment. The Kenya Rugby Union,
which is the governing body for Rugby in Kenya, was hosting their second
National Rugby Conference. This is an
annual conference that brings together all the rugby stakeholders across the
country. Essentially, this delegation meets to deliberate on issues that
revolve around the growth of Rugby in Kenya. This year’s conference came at a
time when Kenya is preparing to make the maiden appearance into the Olympics
with our Rugby Sevens team. This team has been awesome all through the season bashing
many renowned nations in the World Series before walloping other African teams
(apart from South Africa) to book a slot in the cherished competition.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "book antiqua" , "serif";"><a href="http://ur7s.com/news/kenya_sevens_living_the_dream_amongst_the_big_boys" target="_blank">Alot has been said about this team that is yet to become a professional team but has overcome many hurdles to stand on the same medal podium</a> with other great rugby
nations. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "book antiqua" , "serif";">Yet,
as a nation we have not optimized our efforts in building this Rugby bran. All
people think when they see Kenyans is a group of long legged athletes ready to
conquer another marathon. From a PR perspective,
the K<a href="http://www.kru.co.ke/" target="_blank">enya Rugby Union</a> has an opportunity to profile this sport as a Kenyan
brand. That’s all I was <a href="http://www.slideshare.net/PaulBarasa1/levaraging-pr-to-grow-rugby-in-kenya?qid=fdbd003c-8af6-4faf-bcda-9191dc6a3a3c&v=&b=&from_search=1" target="_blank">tasked to talk about at the Rugby Conference</a>. Feel free to share your views too. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />Paul Barasahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12984358281319420141noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3179596327814762638.post-8202812153167794072016-02-24T01:00:00.000-08:002016-02-25T01:02:00.765-08:00With digital migration, market segmentation has moved a notch higher in Kenya<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif";">We
live in interesting times. In today’s world of crisis and scandal, all we look
up to is an avenue to unleash our positive or negative energy.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif";">We
have evolved as a species. But so has the media we consume. Forget about the
chariot-led armies that ruled the world. We now live in or are part of the
strong-fingered, yet faceless online army.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif";">Once
upon a time, all you needed as an adman was to feature a product with a short
description of its uses. For the platforms, all you needed was to plug the
commercial onto any television channel.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif";">In
Kenya, digital migration gave birth to tens of new television channels, from a
nation that thrived on very structured news segment that was dominated by
political, business and sports news to targeted channels that are sector-specific
in terms of content. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif";">In
2015, <i>Elimu TV</i> became the first
channel to deliver digitized educative programs that are aligned to the
country’s curriculum. The launch of Farmers TV, which is purely an agriculture-based
station, has opened up a direct forum for engaging farmers in the East African
region.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif";">As
we migrated Kenyan eyeballs to segment-specific television channels, the ever
rigid print publications were also on a revolutionary trend, moving from the
typical full page adverts to customized special covers with defined numbers of
issues set for delivery to certain towns.
Furthermore, publishers have taken it a notch higher by mapping databases
that can deliver the specific publications to the relevant target. How about
running a cough syrup advert in a daily that will be delivered to all the new
mothers in all the leading hospitals in Nairobi and Mombasa? Clearly, market
segmentation has moved a notch higher.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif";">What
we are experiencing in Kenya is an evolution of communication channels. With
digital embedded into more traditional channels where most radio, TV, print
channels now have an active social media page, always competing to broadcast their
content online while engaging their consumers.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif";">Programs
on radio and TV are keen to push their Twitter and Facebook assets as the
points of engagement rather than the usual call-in sessions that we were
accustomed to.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif";">With
over 70 per cent of the county’s population being youthful, the entreprenual
nature of Kenyans will drive media consumption to another level, whether you
either target your communication to the right audience or your brand will
perish. Truly, the combo of a devolved government and a fully digital television
platform riding on our high internet connectivity is poised to drive this
youthful economy. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
Paul Barasahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12984358281319420141noreply@blogger.com0Africa-2.1088986592431254 38.671875-33.006103659243124 -2.6367189999999994 28.788306340756876 79.980469tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3179596327814762638.post-12932654966362132452015-11-23T05:49:00.001-08:002015-11-23T05:58:06.458-08:00Corporate Social Responsibility is not a one day affair<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "bookman old style" , "serif";">A
colleague of mine has been playing Christmas jingles for the last one week. My
local mall is already glowing with the Southern stars only that this time round
the stars are centrally controlled by our unreliable power provider. Wait, I
even spotted a Christmas tree in town, complete with Father Christmas watching
over. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "bookman old style" , "serif";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwdR2QT_n_JIa4limjHtodcomLDDJmHwkgHENJ1kK6BCTj92PJS__Z8oQiszcy3F1YEwBtfW9qqnU5inwA3UBMIGJxDns6S0i561DlWVSkxXvbgK1qnP60i_PcHQqgaJI9kOsW0HnSveA/s1600/Xmas.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwdR2QT_n_JIa4limjHtodcomLDDJmHwkgHENJ1kK6BCTj92PJS__Z8oQiszcy3F1YEwBtfW9qqnU5inwA3UBMIGJxDns6S0i561DlWVSkxXvbgK1qnP60i_PcHQqgaJI9kOsW0HnSveA/s400/Xmas.jpg" width="400" /></a><span style="font-family: "bookman old style" , "serif";">That
time is here with us. Exactly 32 days left, before Christians troupe back to “Bethlehem”
to offer their gifts. Corporates are not left out. This is the time when they
are all competing to pay their “annual dues” to children homes, old
people homes et-al. Christmas is the time for giving and corporates are
about to open their wallets to give back to the community.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "bookman old style" , "serif";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "bookman old style" , "serif";">Marketing
and communication organisations will come up will come up with unique
fundraising tactics to top up their corporate wallets before they throng into
children homes to give back to the society they never thought about the whole
year. Is that the best way to do it?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "bookman old style" , "serif";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "bookman old style" , "serif";">Businesses
in almost every industry wind up with unused or obsolete (at least from a sales
point of view) products and supplies. Give out the many promotional items that
you kept on saving for the next big event. You won’t need them next year
because they will be old fashioned and your brand strategy will most likely
change. While at it, don’t rush to Mama Ngina Children’s Home, start with your
guards both at the office and in your estate, they surely deserve an umbrella
and a cap this rainy season.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "bookman old style" , "serif";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "bookman old style" , "serif";">Volunteerism
is the best way to make a long-term impact. Teach, teach and teach. You can
teach an organization to maintain its own website, or handle its bookkeeping,
or create more effective outreach materials... charities are often the ultimate
in bootstrapping. Anything you can help a charity, or the people it serves, do
more efficiently helps their dollars go farther. Imagine if you offered to
spend 6 hours in December to impart photography knowledge to the youth in your
local church. Giving should be voluntary, not mandatory.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "bookman old style" , "serif";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "bookman old style" , "serif";">Apart
from soup which is averse to many cooks, everything else can be made easier
when you work together. You don't have to spend money from your own
pocket. Sparing your team lunches for a week would make an enviable kitty for
countable gifts this Christmas. The more specific the cause, the more likely
people are to participate. You can participate in an established event or
create your own. The more creative the better—and the more likely you will be
to inspire others to give. In the process you will create a sense of community
and shared purpose within your team.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "bookman old style" , "serif";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "bookman old style" , "serif";">I
hear of companies that contribute each month Ksh 1 which goes into this kitty.
This could be a noble idea; however do you think this can grow your social
capital. Why wait until the end of the year to donate few packets of unga,
sodas and bread to children who have been suffering the whole year? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "bookman old style" , "serif";"><br /></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "bookman old style" , "serif";">Again
I ask why should Corporate Social Responsibility become a one day affair? </span><span style="font-family: "bookman old style" , serif;">Let’s
not make Christmas a one off affair but strive to support families throughout
the season.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "bookman old style" , "serif";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
Paul Barasahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12984358281319420141noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3179596327814762638.post-5390631259022089142015-10-07T00:32:00.002-07:002015-10-07T00:32:23.903-07:00Brand Managers: The Final quarter of the year is here.<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic', sans-serif;">It’s
almost one week since we checked into Q4 2015.</span><span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic', sans-serif;">
</span><span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic', sans-serif;">The magical corporate budget season.</span><span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic', sans-serif;">
</span><span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic', sans-serif;">You survived on lean budgets all through here cometh a budget coupled
with a brand manager who is now ready for business.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic', sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8n5Q_VKN7j4l1dCxVzCm5OrcmvIDGL3Hjhv1g46qVZkCka8x_cb69Xv5tdHFLhU8WbUUV9McQSSxrtz2WFjVQdID7HVay31vQkEdFwlGjzfFDI9QTl33DPTNTyxoeRHlIiaTD7Q-IT14/s1600/TW-christmas-ad-620x438.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="282" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8n5Q_VKN7j4l1dCxVzCm5OrcmvIDGL3Hjhv1g46qVZkCka8x_cb69Xv5tdHFLhU8WbUUV9McQSSxrtz2WFjVQdID7HVay31vQkEdFwlGjzfFDI9QTl33DPTNTyxoeRHlIiaTD7Q-IT14/s400/TW-christmas-ad-620x438.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif";">Remember
that great PowerPoint presentation that was stopped midway for the client to go
and confirm if ‘her’ banners had been delivered? That day should be vivid,
considering that the whole agency had to keep off the printer as you went to press
printing bound copies for the brand manager, the Marketing Director and the
Managing Director respectively. Am sure you still emailed it to them after the
presentation.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif";">Well,
that presentation is now a gem, not because you are an award winning practitioner
but because the numbers are looking bad, really bad. The last three quarters
are way below the Q1 targets. The PR agency has to do ‘something’ to support
the brand. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif";">It’s
running really fast, we missed the elephant target, still couldn’t reach the antelope
target that PR budget reflected and now even the squirrel looks like a pipe
dream. The number four player in the sector is quickly catching up with our
brand. We have lost significant market share, dealers have swapped our branding
with the competitors. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif";">Anyway,
back to the business that I am passionate about. “We have budget can you guys
come up with some kick-ass idea that will help us to drive sales” roars the
brand Manager. “Remember we will gauge your performance on this, we pay you
guys so much retainer “She further roars to remind you that you are seated next
to the user department boss. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif";">The
meetings ends prematurely as you all head back to the agency to prepare a week
by week plan on how PR will support the brand and push the overall sales. Thanks
to the great minds in agencies, the geniuses, the untrained magicians, the ever
ready energy bunnies-a great plan will be developed.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif";">An
inter-agency meeting will be held, rival agencies - PR, Advertising,
Experiential and Digital will finally sit together and deliver a pre-Christmas
campaign. The campaign will be aimed at driving sales in our key areas; the
media buying team will redo the media plan and squeeze all the possible
discounts from the media houses. The digital team will go for the low hanging
fruits which have been hanging since January, unless they are coconuts, those
fruits must be dry by now. The PR gurus
(are well really gurus) will leverage advertising to get strategic interview in
key outlets to support the sales drive. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif";"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">Welcome home quarter four.
We missed you.</span>Paul Barasahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12984358281319420141noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3179596327814762638.post-3276398006793154892015-08-28T02:18:00.000-07:002015-08-28T02:18:08.958-07:00Media exposure can fuel a crisis too.<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background: white; font-family: 'Century Gothic', sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">Effective crisis
communication is about saying the right messages to the right people at the
right time. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background: white; font-family: 'Century Gothic', sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">It is about seizing
the initiative and taking control of the narrative, explaining what has gone
wrong, how you feel about it and, crucially, what you are doing to make things
better.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background: white; font-family: 'Century Gothic', sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">For PR practitioners,
this is easier said than done, considering that our role is always advisory. Many
times, we end up playing the guitar to clients with muffed ears. We live in an
era where media is constantly evolving; an era where conventional media is live
and livid to digital migration. You no longer need masts and extraordinary
infrastructure to own and run a Television or Radio channel. While it took
decades to have KBC, KTN, NTV and Citizen TV respectively, it has taken months
to have Njata, Lolwe, 3stones, Utugi and the soon to be launched Inooro TV.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background: white; font-family: 'Century Gothic', sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">While media remains
one of the most heterogeneous forms of communication during a crisis, sometimes,
it becomes too costly to hit the media waves and pages before you engage your
stakeholders through</span><span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic', sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="background: white; font-family: 'Century Gothic', sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">conventional
crisis communication channels such as phone calls, meetings or town halls that
are able to convey empathy, concern and two-way communication, which media
cannot- not even Facebook and Twitter.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background: white; font-family: 'Century Gothic', sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">Recently, embattled
Pastor Ng’ang’a of Neno Evangelism Centre took to the media to redeem his brand
equity after he was arrested in connection with a fatal car crash whose case
files have been shuffled like bingo cards
between the Executive and the Judiciary. Well, the case is currently in court
but from a communications perspective, the ‘man of God’ opted to bungee jump
with a sisal rope. You do not turn up for
a live media interview without a tailored message when dealing with a crisis.
That is akin to committing suicide with a wet sisal rope, you won’t just die,
but you will also endure the sisal induced skin aches before your untimely
demise.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background: white; font-family: 'Century Gothic', sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">Nonetheless, crises by
their very nature, however, are unique, complex and fast-moving. There is no
‘one-size-fits-all’ approach or communications playbook for how to respond.
Each crisis will require a communication strategy tailored to the particular
incident or issue, and a bespoke tactical plan for how to engage with key
audiences. For this case, it appears the cart was placed before the horse, the
legal team was most likely not involved or his communications team, the church
elder ended up throwing salvos at non-existent devils.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background: white; font-family: 'Century Gothic', sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">As we wait for the
judge’s call on this case, we are keen to see if this will erode or build the
brand equity of the religious leader. After all, religion remains the opium of
the masses</span><span style="background: white; color: #766e6c; font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Paul Barasahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12984358281319420141noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3179596327814762638.post-32568423982544323622015-08-11T02:02:00.000-07:002015-08-11T02:02:13.771-07:00Using events to sustain brand communication<div style="line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: .25in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua', serif;">It’s over two weeks since the great departure, a departure that
was filled with sighs, but not of relief. A departure that marked the end of
two great days that were packed with tonnes of inspirational and eye opening
conversations. A weekend that we played host to our very own son, the leader of
the free world, President Obama.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZKzRfMNIMRd6-O-R_iBWnCvK5l9vHdSrfLHoeBOvzRq7kln7-hNKUC0UZfeLk8L72wml5hMYfAcHfLQBoxy71lg2c9RC6LmBPePJVXLbCbnwt7MWXz-Q2ytB0Vw5HTi0tKgabmwQrsSY/s1600/Summit.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="369" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZKzRfMNIMRd6-O-R_iBWnCvK5l9vHdSrfLHoeBOvzRq7kln7-hNKUC0UZfeLk8L72wml5hMYfAcHfLQBoxy71lg2c9RC6LmBPePJVXLbCbnwt7MWXz-Q2ytB0Vw5HTi0tKgabmwQrsSY/s400/Summit.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<o:p></o:p><br />
<div style="line-height: 18pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.25in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua', serif;">We were good hosts: KNUT
opted to remain silent, COTU went on ‘leave’, we quashed the Al Shabaab to
smithereens hopefully and to cap it all we had artificial turf. Sorry, I meant
Kidero grass.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 18pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.25in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua', serif;">The Global
Entrepreneurship Summit was fruitful but before we could settle, it had come
and gone. And as they say, “a good time was had by all.” Now, all the brands
that played can bask in the post-event glory. But is that sufficient for the
millions that you pumped into this milestone event?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 18pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.25in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua', serif;">As a brand custodian, if
you succeeded in delivering an event that combined relevant learning
experiences with quality networking sessions, your attendees have left feeling
energised and enthusiastic about everything that transpired. As a result,
attendees as well as the public are keen on what will happen next. As a brand
this is not the time to take a break; while the appetite for information is
high, feed that post-conference enthusiasm!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: .25in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua', serif;">By now we know the winners from the summit, the amazing
entrepreneurship journey, the organisations that promised to support
entrepreneurs and even the investors that showed interest in the different sectors.
This is the right time to focus on their stories. Optimise the goodwill that
you had created with the media partner during the summit to highlight the
success stories through media interviews, special features or even guest blogs.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 18pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.25in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua', serif;">For the young entrepreneurs,
it’s time to start documenting their journeys now. What happens to Judith
Owigar and Akira chix after the Ksh154 million funds injection? Who qualifies
for the funds that Chase Bank promised to local entrepreneurs? What are the
focus sectors? All these questions are potential content generators for the
post-summit communication.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 18pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.25in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua', serif;">The media will
definitely be the perfect conduit for these rich messages. However, tactical
forums with well mapped stakeholders can also help in entrenching the brand and
creating a lasting connection with the first ever Global Entrepreneurship
Summit in Africa. Probably, it’s time to start a Kenya techprenuers Summit
sponsored by Chase Bank or Kenya Knowledge Exporter Forum courtesy of Kenya
Ports Authority.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: 18pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.25in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua', serif;">The moral of the story?
Begin with the end in mind for creating a complete event promotion strategy
that includes engagement methods that target your audience after the event. The
post-conference glow fades fast once we return to the hustle and bustle of our
everyday lives. Nurture that enthusiasm by providing value that extends beyond
the conference dates. Your efforts will keep your brand top of mind and
create a compelling reason for attendees to engage you.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.25in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Book Antiqua, serif; line-height: 18pt;">This articles was also published on </span><span style="font-family: Book Antiqua, serif;"><span style="line-height: 24px;">http://www.businesstoday.co.ke/news/management/1439277423/using-events-sustain-brand-communication</span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.25in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Book Antiqua, serif;"><span style="line-height: 24px;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.25in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Book Antiqua, serif;"><span style="line-height: 24px;"><br /></span></span></div>
Paul Barasahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12984358281319420141noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3179596327814762638.post-53705945084193109112015-07-22T05:14:00.000-07:002015-07-23T05:15:03.053-07:00Networks are invaluable in business<div style="line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: .25in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic', sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">Besides belonging to the
fourth Estate in a world that did not recognise the fifth estate, my
introduction into the world of banging copy was full of learning. A world where
conversations were filled with anecdotal phrases revolving around word count,
deadlines and trash. One immediate reward for choosing journalism and not
engineering like my father had wished was the number of events I attended with
the intention of nosing for news.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 18pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.25in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic', sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">In
all these events, networking was the key word. Not just for the swift adoption
of network technology that many establishments in the city were undergoing, but
the interaction between the different stakeholders who attended these events.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 18pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.25in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic', sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">Networking
has long been recognised as a powerful tool for business people and
professionals. Knowing more people gives you greater access, facilitates
the sharing of information, and makes it easier to influence others for the
simple reason that influencing people you know is easier than influencing
strangers. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 18pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.25in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic', sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">I
bet even the creators of LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter knew very well that the
social nature of the Homo Sapiens was a perfect spot to touch. Does it follow,
then, that social networks, by making connectivity easier, make leaders more
powerful? That’s why we worry about what administrators of populous social
media groups say or do because they are likely to influence the direction of
certain conversations.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 18pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.25in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic', sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">While
traditionally networking was viewed as a natural trait for man, it’s quickly
becoming a science that a successful PR practitioner should possess. The
curiosity of the proverbial cat, the ability to fluidly pick up conversations
like a matatu tout, the ability to passionately share on a common subject like
newly-met Arsenal fans contemplating on another loss.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 18pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.25in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic', sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">Networks
too have levels. It’s up to you to build the level you want to be, either the
network of people who know all the joints were second generation drinks are
sold or a network of the regional economy policy makers. Remember that whatsApp
group that got 80 % of its members in key parastatals in the country?
Well, it’s time to ditch, your ‘alcoblow checking’ networking group.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 18pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.25in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic', sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">Network
power depends on how strong your relationships are, on how much attention you
command when you engage people in your network, and on how attractive you are
as a member of other peoples’ networks. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 18pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.25in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic', sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">If
you are known as a source of deep expertise, for instance, and people can rely
on you for expert solutions or creative ideas, you will be a more attractive
network partner than someone who lacks that. If you know other powerful
people and can access them whenever you need to, you will be a more attractive
network partner. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic', sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">Similarly, if you are
in a position of authority in your organisation and can make things happen, you
will be a more valued network partner. Finally, you will have more power
in your network with the people you know best — with long-time colleagues,
close friends, and others with whom you have developed mutual trust and
respect.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic', sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic', sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">This article was also published here the </span><span style="font-family: Century Gothic, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 16.8666667938232px;">http://businesstoday.co.ke/news/management/1437632428/well-managed-networking-can-power-your-business</span></span></span></div>
Paul Barasahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12984358281319420141noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3179596327814762638.post-76298023570617228252015-07-02T05:17:00.000-07:002015-07-02T05:18:04.943-07:00The Science of Account Management<div style="text-align: justify;">
The business of client servicing definitely goes beyond the perfect brief. Every now and then one has to ensure that the client is well handled and the promises made are delivered to ensure that the business objectives are met in a timely manner. Whether your client is an entrepreneur or the marketing manager of a listed company, once they have signed your contract they will experience the same feeling: a combination of excitement at the wonders this top notch agency is about to deliver and fear that by appointing this not so affordable agency, they have made a very costly mistake. Probably, that six figure retainer fee could have been used to redo the interior of several of their branches across the country.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
As an agency, the first task is to reassure the client that they have made the right decision. Despite the fact that you are still in the process of immersing yourself into this new brand, the first week should be characterized by very few mistakes, always make sure that the entire team is enthusiastic and aligned with all the contractual obligations. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Your next step is to learn everything you can about the client’s business. Ask heaps of questions, be curious, subscribe to their media outlets, follow their competitors on Twitter .and make sure your institutional and industry knowledge is unparalleled. Always, remember that during the 45 minutes pitch, you promised to be part of the market intelligence team. To further allay their fears, you should dedicate disproportionate time to exceeding their expectations.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
During the emersion process ensure that you establish and collectively agree with your client on the proposed metrics on which your work will be measured. For some clients, it may be as specific as the number of links to the website or new business enquiries. Others want something less tangible, such as ‘better awareness’. Whatever it is, you cannot measure your impact until you have established a base case. That could be an awareness survey, a coverage count pre-you, or a system for establishing where enquiries are coming from. Use this particular session to manage the expectations of this new client because from this particular point, all promises will be deemed as deliverables to the client’s business objectives.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Once the relationship has been established, by the way the agency & client relationship is more complicated than a marriage just that for marriage the retainer is paid well in advance in form of dowry. Anyway, always communicate the good and the bad in equal measures. The client needs to know when things are going well and when they are going bonkers. Make sure you are the first to tell them either way. That article in the Citizen Weekly, Oh My!! The number of times this publication has caught me napping on the job of handling my brands-should be emailed to them before their peers send them the article on WhatsApp. Likewise, when a key journalist says she just isn’t interested, the client has a right to know. Trust you me, the modern client, knows when you are buying time on something, they no longer believe in “To Be Confirmed” interviews.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Remember the metrics you agreed on? Ensure that you measure and report against base case. Please note, my few years in PR made me to learn that, all the urgent board and senior Management report request only come on Friday afternoons. So with reports, make sure you revisit them regularly (weekly, monthly, quarterly), and identify how you are doing. This might save you from the annoying Friday call, asking for a media performance report for the quarter.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
One more thing, every now and then the strategy might not work, it’s normal, how many times have you restarted your computer? It’s always not about you; it might be due to some external factor. In case you want to change the strategy, discuss and discuss again with the client. Account managers all too often see themselves as coverage machines, whose role is to churn out column inches. Remember, your client is running a business, and great coverage may not be everything to them, so make sure you are in tune with what they are thinking.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Lastly, one of my secret weapons in this business has been to always assume that the client is a busy, disorganised person- not my current clients though.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Just because you said something once in an email to a client, or reported something in your activity report does not mean that the client has read it or remembers it. Provide detail and context to every piece of correspondence (e.g. further to my email of 30th June…) and regularly summarise results in the body of an email (not just in your activity report) and provide summaries of outstanding actions and next steps.<br />
<br />
This Article was also published in Business Today. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
Paul Barasahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12984358281319420141noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3179596327814762638.post-54153868001413042942015-06-19T06:49:00.002-07:002015-06-19T06:49:32.854-07:00Kenyan PR blogger resurrects<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<b><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Blogging is not one of the
easiest routines, nobody was honest enough to tell me that when I decided to
blog. I have had to find out after nine years of blogging. Honestly I still
find it hard to blog consistently, probably because I chose not to go for the
hard news kind of blogs. <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<b><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">After discussing this with a
number of bloggers I admire in our local space. <a href="https://www.blogger.com/l%20http://www.kachwanya.com/" target="_blank">Kachwanya</a> and <a href="http://www.potentash.com/" target="_blank">Reyhab</a> you hear me!!!
I decided to come up with a strategy that will address the issue of consistency
and deadlines for my blog.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<b><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The strategy is simple, really
simple, for the next many months, I will be attached to <a href="http://businesstoday.co.ke/" target="_blank">Business Today</a>, a
leading online business publication in East Africa. Basically, every week I
will be sharing learning’s about communication, brands, Public Relations,
Public Relations and Public Relations. Let’s just say I will be blogging about integrated
communication.</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<b><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Again welcome to long lost Young
PR Kenya,<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
Paul Barasahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12984358281319420141noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3179596327814762638.post-45420806408642359062015-06-19T04:14:00.000-07:002015-06-19T04:17:28.965-07:00Good employee relations key in business growth<div style="font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;">E</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">ven with the sustained heartbeat, one can easily tell that the once yummy girl – <a href="http://www.uchumicorporate.co.ke/" target="_blank">Uchumi Supermarket</a> – is struggling to live, probably crafting her will, whose pages will be shared among the many suppliers she owes.</span></div>
<div style="font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">She has been bleeding for a number of years now, and to say that she is now pale is an understatement. That girl is not only withdrawn but has lately been forcing a vague smile, a clear sign that all the plastic surgeries in form of restructuring and the numerous financial injections did not work.</span></div>
<div style="font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.5em;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">As we prepare for a fundraiser or a burial ceremony for Kenya’s only publicly traded retailer, many questions are being asked. <a href="http://businesstoday.co.ke/news/management/1434370982/uchumi-board-sacks-ceo-who-saved-retail-chain" target="_blank">Was Jonathan Ciano a mortician? Or was he a neurosurgeon who delayed his exit from the theatre, only to carry the cross for the nurses who forgot to dispense the follow-up doses.</a></span></div>
<a href="http://businesstoday.co.ke/news/management/1434370982/uchumi-board-sacks-ceo-who-saved-retail-chain" target="_blank"></a><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://businesstoday.co.ke/news/management/1434370982/uchumi-board-sacks-ceo-who-saved-retail-chain" target="_blank"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6rx1wWgpbcBXoifYCRjesJA3u9azZ2wTJzwg5gLMK2Oe-3ZXMCfoY-rl9a3BaK4Klx9iXfQ3VvN0xHJ5B3oUltcx16JJyKVI-UQiKt-yFMvpgFlupgIje-ID8gsRcq3TtoFknwjbQC_k/s1600/download.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" height="232" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6rx1wWgpbcBXoifYCRjesJA3u9azZ2wTJzwg5gLMK2Oe-3ZXMCfoY-rl9a3BaK4Klx9iXfQ3VvN0xHJ5B3oUltcx16JJyKVI-UQiKt-yFMvpgFlupgIje-ID8gsRcq3TtoFknwjbQC_k/s400/download.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div>
<br />
<div style="font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Either the PR practitioners locally known as snake charmers had a role to play in this. What did they do to engage and manage the internal stakeholders of this giant retailer?</span></div>
<div style="font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">World over, the components of a strong company – in any industry – can be focused down to four critical areas. Good management, good products/services, good customer service and good employees. As a business owner, the first two are relatively easy to control. But how do you assure that your employees treat your customers in such a way that they stay happy and repeat customers?</span></div>
<div style="font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: maroon;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Unhappy employee = unhappy customer</span></span></div>
<div style="font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Customers can tell in an instant whether they are dealing with a happy or unhappy employee. Unhappy employees often take out their frustration and unhappiness on the customers. This happens when we you have to pack your stuff at the tills, break your nails as you rummage through your handbag for the elusive coins as well as when a 45-minute shopping walk around the supermarket yields twenty percent of your requirements.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 1.5em;">
</div>
<div style="font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">A happy employee will do all he or she can do make a customer happy. They will get the trolley across the road to where you have parked; they will save you the hustle of explaining why milk should not be packed alongside mosquito coils. They do all this because they want to retain their job and they have an interest in seeing the company flourish. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Regardless of how much you pay your employees, good companies understand the value of good employees, especially in such a competitive industry. Therefore, each company does everything it can to make its employees happy</span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">So how does the average company keep its talent happy and productive?</span></div>
<div style="font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">A good place to start is to understand that public relations applies to your employees, as it does to your customers. The company that understands that it’s most valued asset is hardworking, productive employees, will create and implement an internal PR programme to keep its employees in great form.</span></div>
<div style="font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Aside from the obvious – competitive salaries, benefits and bonuses – employees want to know that their work matters, that they are appreciated and that they will be rewarded for their effort.</span></div>
<div style="font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">That is why many companies have instituted reward programs that are administered on a team rather than an individual. It is often risky to pick out a few employees and reward them. This creates animosity and completion which is counterproductive. If a company division or team is productive, all members should be rewarded in some form or another.</span></div>
<div style="font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The most effective internal brand engagement programme for employees costs less and is easier to implement. This simply involves the boss or manager sitting down with an employee and telling them that they are doing a good job and it is being appreciated. Especially for younger workers who are trying to establish careers, this works wonders. The fact that their boss has taken time to tell them they are doing a great job and the company appreciates them is often worth more than a cost of living raise.</span></div>
<div style="font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Certainly backing up praise with money is better and expected, but taking the extra time to give each employee some personal attention is something too many companies neglect, thinking that wallet size is everything</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">That fat cheque is a definite yes, but so is identifying personal achievements and contributions to the company. Whether it is tangible rewards such as a raise, personal attention, company outings or whatever, every company that values its business will value its employees and go the extra mile to assure each employee knows it.</span></span></div>
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This article was first published in <a href="http://businesstoday.co.ke/news/management/1434518966/good-employee-relations-key-business-growth" target="_blank">Business Today </a></div>
Paul Barasahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12984358281319420141noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3179596327814762638.post-88445969500108939872015-06-11T04:22:00.000-07:002015-06-19T04:22:25.900-07:00Segment your audience for effective communication<div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; text-align: justify;">
“Make sure you reach all the different customers that we are targeting with this ‘revolutionary’ product”, ranted the voluptuous Brand Manager. Again! I wondered. Who was going to work through not just a long weekend but one that was climaxing with Madaraka Day holiday.</div>
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Anyway, here was another brief to the PR team, which needed tailored messages for different stakeholders that would ultimately ensure the brand achieve its target goals. We all agree that gone are those days of mass communication when all one needed was to shout loudest to be heard by the masses.</div>
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Nowadays, different audience segments have different behavour traits that can only be addressed by specific messages via well-selected platforms. Think about those millennials who drink, eat and sleep online but still prefer to listen to rhumba, a music genre associated with the old and not so savvy.</div>
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The process is referred to as Audience Segmentation where a communicator divides an audience into smaller groups with similar characteristics. Audience Segmentation is based on the assumption that different clusters of audience have different characteristics that influence the extent to which they pay attention to, understand and act on different messages.</div>
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We can identify audience segments, but it is not always practicable to reach them due to our limited resources. The ideal audience size is one person. However, it is not practicable to do this – too costly and time consuming. Even with the customised SMSes; sometimes I am addressed as Petronila or Pricilla yet I belong to the under four lettered name generation that had Peter, John, Mark, Tom, Ben, Ken, Saul and Paul.</div>
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The slicing and dicing of a list of people can be quite demanding, so the challenge is to find the balance between the smallest number of messages and channels required to distribute information, while at the same time form audience-segments that are as similar as possible. In essence, this is a balance between reach and specificity.</div>
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The greater the reach of a campaign, the greater the number of individuals who can be influenced, yet increased reach results in a mixed audience. Messages designed to reach a broad cross-section are likely to be less effective in bringing about higher-order (e.g. behavioral) changes than lower-order (e.g. attitudinal) changes because they are less tailored to the needs of individuals.</div>
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The problem is that audience segmentation is typically conducted in an ad hoc way or is put into the ‘too-hard basket’ because it takes time and effort to accomplish. Remember agencies are sometimes too busy. No, I retract, clients are always not ready to incur additional costs for someone to sit down and prepare multiple mailing lists of segmented groups. Often this sort of work is left to the most junior person (diplomatic term for the new intern) who may fumble with the job because they don’t know enough about the target audience or just don’t care because such a task is boring.</div>
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Communicators have to determine which channels are likely to be the most effective in reaching the intended audience. This targeting is the strategic use of communication channels to reach the audience segments, and is based on the principle that certain groups or segments of audience utilize certain types of channels and that cost-effectiveness can be maximised if the placement of campaign messages in particular channels corresponds with the use of the channels by the intended audience.</div>
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Once audiences have been exposed to campaign messages they have to be persuaded to make the ensuing behaviour changes. Remember how Coca-Cola successfully made you to chase name tags in your local supermarket? Hence, in addition to campaign messaging and targeting, communicators need to construct messages to cater to individuals’ needs, interests, abilities and motivations.</div>
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The ongoing NIC Bank Asset Financing campaign is keen to address entrepreneurs in various facets is a perfect example; the mama mboga who aspires to run a retail store and the truck driver who aspires to own a fleet of transport trucks.</div>
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The <span style="color: maroon;">P</span>R word for the week is<span style="color: maroon;"> TAILORING</span>, not the tailor made suits that are reserved for pitch meetings. Tailoring is the process of crafting messages to cater for individual characteristics. Audience members must perceive that the issue is relevant to them. Relevance of the message is the extent to which it fulfills the desires and motivations of individuals.</div>
Paul Barasahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12984358281319420141noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3179596327814762638.post-60838293662679102972015-06-05T04:40:00.000-07:002015-06-19T04:43:42.284-07:00What a good PR brief should not miss<div style="line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Having been privileged to sit on both sides of the PR divide, one as client and the other as agency, I would like to discuss a topic that we always overlook and yet it ranks top among the relationship wreckers in this noble profession.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">There’s a skill to writing a PR brief. If you get it right your agency will deliver first time – no surprises. If you get it wrong (or worse still don’t provide one at all), it costs time, money and on many occasions strained emotions to put it right.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">With close to a decade in this practice, my best advice is to always ensure that your brief is relevant, factual and more so engaging. It hurts to sit at the agency to go through a brief that sounds like an obituary of a spinster. Come on, you know very well such obituaries contain obvious information.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Anyway, back to business. When preparing a brief avoid jargon, lingo and acronyms. Include facts (no assumptions or embellishments). Use plain English and include as much detail as possible. It’s easier and quicker for your agency to cut out the superfluous rather than have to fill in some gaps.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Always include a brief of the new product or service. Pricing and sales processes should also be mentioned. Will there need to be any initial research, or do you already have some research findings that will help? ‘It’s important you cite this in your brief to allow the agency to explore further if need be. While at it, describe your target audience. Based on research explain what type of consumer they are. What do they read? What do they listen to? Where do they hangout?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">You exist in some space, so talk about competitor products and services. What marketing activity are they doing and are they doing it better? As client, you know who is doing better than you; feel free to tell your agency as it is. Remember you are asking them to get you a remedy to an existing problem or an upcoming one. We all know 90 percent of the clients briefs are as a result of some business issue. Why are you doing this activity? What objectives are you trying to achieve (raise awareness, increase sales, get someone to do something? What will success look like?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Third, always state the deliverables that you expect from the agency. You see, the agency is made up of creative energy bunnies. They sometimes over think! I mean they are likely to provide multiple solutions for you. To ensure that you reserve these creative juices for the next brief, always ensure you state your expectations as well as the timelines. An excellent strategy delivered well after the deadline is literally dead as a dodo.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">You know the tiger brief versus the cat budget? For sure, it’s much easier for an agency to respond to a brief if they know how much you would like to spend. Ballpark is fine, but unless you give an idea you may find you’re presented with an idea that’s totally unreachable. There are some simple equations you can use to work out how much you should invest, but saying there is ‘no budget’ either means you expect it for free, or the sky’s the limit! Wouldn’t that be great?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Finally, remember to include any Ts & Cs and legal requirements. We are living in an era where consumers, through lobby groups, are aware and keen on their rights including the fine print that for a long time they were not reading. There’s nothing worse than paying for a piece of work that just doesn’t do the trick. Agencies want to meet the brief… so if you get the brief right there should never be a wasted coin.. Furthermore, those emotional spats between you and your agency will be cut by half.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />Brief them correctly and they will dwell on it accordingly.</span></div>
Paul Barasahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12984358281319420141noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3179596327814762638.post-79844828217695386552015-05-13T04:24:00.000-07:002015-06-19T04:34:18.226-07:00Building a winning social media strategy<div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; text-align: justify;">
For the past month I have been moonlighting for a number of friends who run small companies trying to inculcate PR in their activities. Due to the small size of their businesses – many are entry level SMEs – our focus has been mainly on external communication.</div>
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All this was done with zero budget ideas. Hold on, Did I just say zero budget? Yes, many people believe that PR, especially via social media, should be free and the only expenses should be for some drink-ups here, there and Giggles Club.</div>
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Anyway, one area that each client wanted to get into was social media, and when I asked them why, many of them struggled to convince me how this was going to plug into their business strategies. After engaging a number of industry friends that have mastered the art of using social media to build brands locally, I came up with this few pointers to help clients and agencies to come up with a strategic plan for social media.</div>
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Before you actively engage in social media as a brand, it’s important that you first master the science of listening – listening to what your customers are saying, listening to what your employees think about their employer as well as listening to what the agency thinks you should be doing. If you are willing to do this, then you are close to building an effective social media programme.</div>
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</div>
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Be ready to be part and parcel of the process of putting together content. I mean, the precious hours you spend on putting together board papers for 15 people, you will need to spend fractions too on the content that you are about to share with the whole world. Trust you me, everyone can tweet, but building a true connection with people is where real value lies. This won’t happen without good content, and this is why spending time onthe strategic perspective of the business will help you to come up with succinct communication for your programme.</div>
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For the agency, you need to provide education, not just training. Clients shouldn’t just pay to be taught how to update the social network and blog. Make them understand why they are doing this by measuring return on investment (ROI) across the business.</div>
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Let social media be adopted across the company. Apart from the Marketing Director who requested for this ‘hot new thing’ that has made our competitors grow, What is Customer Service, HR, Sales, IT and Operations doing about it? Many are times, when HR team is keen to run job adverts in the dailies while their LinkedIn page is loaded with the recently launched product. Or when the IT Director is redoing the company website but shoving the twitter handle somewhere in other folders.</div>
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As you venture into social media be ready to leverage other exiting platforms to help grow your online assets. Just like your defunct postal address is always on all your stationery, start getting your Twitter handle and Facebook pages on them too. For the agency, be that third pair of eyes for your client, help them to borrow with pride from what competition is doing. Provided its working, ape it and optimize; be part of client’s discovery process, they will remember this and refer you when others ask who helped them with social media.</div>
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Even as you borrow with pride, remember to be authentic. Social media users are bad, really bad once they discredit you, even four centrespreads and prime time television commercials will not get you out of the lion’s dens.</div>
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All said and done, social media as a business component is maturing fast. As it becomes more of a necessity and less of an add-on service, it will be increasingly important that agencies mature their offerings along with it while clients reserve budgets for them too.</div>
Paul Barasahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12984358281319420141noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3179596327814762638.post-42146017370938858462014-12-16T01:43:00.000-08:002014-12-16T01:43:02.670-08:00Jubilee is NOT a PR Government <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">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. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">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,
<i>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.<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The American
chapter of PR, PRSA (Public Relations Society of America) defines PR<i> as a profession that helps an organization
and its publics </i></span><i><span style="font-family: "MS Gothic"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "MS Gothic";"> </span></i><i><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">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. <o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Simply put<i>, “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” </i>Barasa2014<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">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. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">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.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">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.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">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.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic', sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">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.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic', sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">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.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">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.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">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.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">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. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Paul Barasahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12984358281319420141noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3179596327814762638.post-88312941878086466942014-12-08T06:12:00.000-08:002014-12-08T06:14:11.546-08:00An Award Winning PR Practitioner it is...<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwa9PhawuBp9mw6fQoFXEfx6OzNXJoO3M3ChMI4hKr8r5zWI9mXxETuznc8j1L4G1wcESHvw1SMSq7nbeuBFWag5zXxO9dMDi-O4ItVfNBAGyvD2HVhZzt16UYcPmZooGHGdBhOYWkwWg/s1600/Award+Winning.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwa9PhawuBp9mw6fQoFXEfx6OzNXJoO3M3ChMI4hKr8r5zWI9mXxETuznc8j1L4G1wcESHvw1SMSq7nbeuBFWag5zXxO9dMDi-O4ItVfNBAGyvD2HVhZzt16UYcPmZooGHGdBhOYWkwWg/s1600/Award+Winning.jpg" height="400" width="265" /></a>It will amount to self-destructing
if I don’t blog about this... Anyway, last week on Friday, 5<sup>th</sup>
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.<o:p></o:p></div>
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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.<o:p></o:p></div>
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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.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
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.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Once more… here’s to celebrating the
award winning practitioners!</div>
<o:p></o:p>Paul Barasahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12984358281319420141noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3179596327814762638.post-49812716282675611622014-11-14T06:33:00.000-08:002014-11-14T06:33:46.627-08:00Customer service is vital for PR success<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
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.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
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.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
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 <i>Cutting Edge</i> in Daily Nation
and <i>Point Blank</i> in the Standard are
what communication managers’ dread every week they are published.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
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.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
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.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
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.<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Lastly, it’s important for the
whole company to know that they form the key components of the PR machinery for
the organization.<b><o:p></o:p></b></div>
Paul Barasahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12984358281319420141noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3179596327814762638.post-45165964556482155942014-09-29T05:36:00.004-07:002014-09-29T05:36:57.035-07:00World Public Relations Forum to be held in Kenya.<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
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. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
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.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
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.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
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.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
“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.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
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.<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
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.<o:p></o:p></div>
Paul Barasahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12984358281319420141noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3179596327814762638.post-46296277859846496482014-09-18T02:18:00.000-07:002014-09-18T02:18:11.490-07:00New team to steer PRSK for the next 24 months<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">E</span><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">lections 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.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">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. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The members finally resolved that only present members would vote for the team to move the profession to a notch higher.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">However, them being voted as the torch bearers of this association did come with set targets and their job is already cut. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> <span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; font-size: small; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOAFo-6OawJDwlrcei8ooAjtCW5tre-UXnE6huyeDGEIlZmZSUF2JAbCTolQvHpsUn5VtsS_0hBfURXtUHRPzhsngq53-vfF98xfyUTrZEM1vObuKS1AIog-7P63VTer1v1VCxYsj3ThY/s1600/61b04240-0427-4326-b62e-a7d26ae41826.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOAFo-6OawJDwlrcei8ooAjtCW5tre-UXnE6huyeDGEIlZmZSUF2JAbCTolQvHpsUn5VtsS_0hBfURXtUHRPzhsngq53-vfF98xfyUTrZEM1vObuKS1AIog-7P63VTer1v1VCxYsj3ThY/s1600/61b04240-0427-4326-b62e-a7d26ae41826.jpg" height="211" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</span></span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 10.3pt; margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 12.0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><strong><span style="color: #606060; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;">Standing
from Left to Right -</span></strong><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="color: #606060; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span></span><span style="color: #606060; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;">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.</span><o:p></o:p><strong id="yui_3_16_0_1_1411030001983_16030" style="line-height: 13.7333335876465px;"><span style="color: #606060; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sitting from left to right -</span></strong><span class="apple-converted-space" style="line-height: 13.7333335876465px;"><b><span style="color: #606060; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span></b></span><span style="color: #606060; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 13.7333335876465px;">Musyoki Kivindyo - Treasurer, Jane Gitau - Chair, Sylvia Mwichuli - Vice Chair, Angela Nganga - Secretary</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"></span></span></div>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: justify;">Some of the key issues that they are expected to achieve are;</span><br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ensure that that they lobby and position Kenya as the next host of the World Public Relations Forum</span></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">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.</span></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">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.</span></li>
</ul>
<br />
<div>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<div class="WordSection1">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
</div>
</div>
Paul Barasahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12984358281319420141noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3179596327814762638.post-50309080922481853042014-05-22T02:39:00.002-07:002014-05-22T03:21:06.111-07:00Public Demonstrations are not necessarily negative<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 10.0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">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.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaHV20vVFfRtYS3HGAhsuoenVGyF8b1mPAjczCPnkJ9dKQNPWZYSs_ILj9xmXIqCvAnDrK-KzxEf8brmUb4tdGXz1jM3HmbhuC0lrPC8C1PRt3ZHTadnKa8NUJedznQUM0U67Lx6gRUeY/s1600/demo.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaHV20vVFfRtYS3HGAhsuoenVGyF8b1mPAjczCPnkJ9dKQNPWZYSs_ILj9xmXIqCvAnDrK-KzxEf8brmUb4tdGXz1jM3HmbhuC0lrPC8C1PRt3ZHTadnKa8NUJedznQUM0U67Lx6gRUeY/s1600/demo.JPG" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 10.0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">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.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 10.0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">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.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 10.0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">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<i> Parliament</i> demonstration against the parliamentarian a few months
ago? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 10.0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">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.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 10.0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">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.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 10.0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">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.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 10.0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">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. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
Paul Barasahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12984358281319420141noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3179596327814762638.post-41803272836859345222014-04-07T07:44:00.000-07:002014-04-07T07:44:00.425-07:00Battling Terrorism; Time to defend the society that we always mirror<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Yester night I
watched two interesting documentaries <b><i><a href="http://www.standardmedia.co.ke/ktn/video/watch/2000076879/-special-report-tide-of-terror-some-of-the-fault-lines-in-the-war-on-terror" target="_blank">Tide of Terror</a></i></b> and <b><i><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQLb1uZxPzM" target="_blank">Samburu State of War</a></i></b> 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.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">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.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">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.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Anyway, why am I
talking about war yet our country is only g<a href="http://mobile.nation.co.ke/News/Terrorists-target-unemployed-youth-says-William-Ruto/-/1950946/2014568/-/format/xhtml/-/47tjum/-/index.html" target="_blank">rappling with some little security threat from some disgruntled jobless youth.</a>.. 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. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">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. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">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.</span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">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 </span><span style="line-height: 15.333333015441895px;">shouldn't</span></span><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">. 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. </span><span style="font-family: Century Gothic, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
Paul Barasahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12984358281319420141noreply@blogger.com0