‘PR must go beyond functional messages’

Chain Reactions is one of Nigeria’s leading PR consultancies. The chief strategist of the organisation, Israel Jaiye Opayemi, says in this interview that successful PR is about a message and the ability of that message to inspire action. Excerpts:

How would you describe the role of PR in Nigeria’s recent elections which turned out to be peaceful?

PR no doubt played a role but not as much as I would have wanted. I will speak perhaps for the APC (All Progressives Congress). Chain Reactions Nigeria was one of the lead communications consultants to APC and of course you know the result. We made it clear to the National Publicity Secretary of the APC, Lai Mohammed and indeed former governor of Lagos State, Babatunde Fashola  that the only way the APC was going to unseat the PDP was to have a strategy and a message and stay the course. Successful PR is about a message and the ability of that message to inspire action.

As I often say, we are a very unconventional and creatively rebellious PR consultancy. The first TVC we shot for the APC to mobilise the electorate for the voters’ registration was motivational in intent with the theme, “the power to change Nigeria is in your hands.” That was the TVC which featured Funke Akindele, Desmond Eliot, Kalu Ikeagwu and others. We knew where the votes would come from through a rigorous vote mapping exercise, intelligent analysis. So, we were heavy in the north in terms of our use of radio. Our media planning was scientific. PR must go beyond functional messages to emotional messages for it to endure in the hearts of the people. Like Neslon Mandela said, if you want to speak to the heart of a man, speak to him in his native language. We chose 14 different languages commonly spoken by the different ethnic nationalities in Nigeria and we produced radio advocacy materials in them.

What role would you say strategy played in the emergence of a winning campaign which the APC launched?

Research was the sound footing upon which that victory stood. The AKPD had conducted some polls for the APC before our involvement. So, the party simply shared the key issues emerging from the poll with us and we designed a strategy. The most challenging part of crafting that strategy was how to convince Nigerians the APC was a better choice. So, we came up with the idea of using the parts that make up the whole to sell the whole.

I can literarily feel sense of accomplishment in what you did for the APC and indeed what you do. Is that correct?

If you ask me, that was PR in action and today, the result is there. But it would have been much better if more PR professionals had been engaged. Indeed, we were very thematic and very strategic and I give the credit to  Lai Mohammed, Governor Babatunde Raji Fashola and Kayode Fayemi. They provided all the rare insights that we needed to put the information out there in the public domain and leave the people to decide.

PR agencies that supported political parties hid their identities, what do you think was responsible for this Ostrich game?

Of course hiding identity was a survival strategy. We did not hide because we were not proud of the APC and what it stood for. We were careful because we were working to unseat a government through the ballot box and they would fight back. Of course, we understood both the security and credit risks involvement.

What are the players in the IMC expecting from the new administration?

The Public Relations Consultants Association of Nigeria has set an agenda for the new government and I align myself wholly with that agenda. We want to see Nigeria managed as a brand. In destination marketing, you must accept the fact that no destination will ever be problem free. Switzerland with its perception still experiences steady increase in tourist arrivals, year on year. You must always accentuate your positive sides to market yourself as a brand. This is because if we fix power, fix the economy and gain control of the nation’s security, we still need to market Brand Nigeria. This is where we stand to gain. As business and leisure tourists storm Nigeria, our businesses will improve. Secondly and personally, I will also want to see the administration use professionals to manage the public communication architecture of the government.

In the last one year there have been PR account movements, what do you think is responsible for this?

I think this is healthy for the industry as it would inspire more creativity. What I think the media of which you are a part of should be more interested in is whether the account movements followed due process. Did the procurement departments of the companies concerned visit the agencies? Did they verify their credentials? Was the pitch organized merely to validate a predetermined end or was it competitively won in the real sense of it? Even on the global stage, accounts keep moving.

Do you think the level of industry practice is satisfactory to both local and multinational firms in Nigeria?

Well, by culture at Chain Reactions we are usually dissatisfied. We critique ourselves; we dissect our work and set new standards for ourselves. I have a different perspective of this issue of satisfactory standard. Excellence itself is a journey and not a destination. It is a function of exposure and a reflection of the understanding of the client. If a client sends you a brief and says, I will want my campaign in 12 national newspapers. He has already shut down the creative faculty of the agency. He has already said he wants to see12 tear sheets at the end of the campaign. We call such clients patient-physicians. They are the patients and also the physicians. They stifle creativity. Creativity is inspired when a client says, this is what we plan to do, kindly come up with a great campaign for us.  We love and adore such clients because they inspire creativity in our team. Governor Fashola will say to me, you are the PR expert, go and fix it. I have told you what my intent is. That is how a client inspires his consultant to think creatively.

Chain Reactions is a top rated agency in Nigeria, what are some of your unique features and where do you see yourself in the next 10 years?

Interestingly, we chose never to answer to the appellation agency and I say this with the greatest respect to my colleagues who answer to that. This is because, in Nigeria, the agency model is badly abused and fashioned more towards running errands. We run the consultancy model and position ourselves as Consultants. In as much as you will not walk up to your hospital and tell your Consultant Gynaecologist how you want him to extract a fibroid from you, for goodness sakes don’t come to us as your PR Consultants and tell us we must use the social media and newspaper to run your campaign. You just tell us your pain and your aspiration and leave us to come up with a plan to take your pain away and take you to where you want to be.  In another 10 years, we want to sit as one of the top three PR consultancies in Nigeria. We are currently thinking and working on our full in-house audio studio. We have invested in the right ambience, the right tools and the right people comparable to what you will find in PR agencies in the US, UK and perhaps South Africa.