‘Technology is reinventing public relations practice in Nigeria’

Ann-Melody Oluwakemi Areola currently SA (New Media) to Minister of Communications is the prime mover behind Vivacity Public Relations. After completion of her Electronic and Communications Engineering degree at London Metropolitan University, she went on to chart a new course and sort to experience the adventures and education a diverse work life could bring.

She started her modeling agency “Vivacity Models “In 2005 when she wasn’t contented with the treatment given to young ethnic models.  The modeling agency was accompanied by a clothing store “Urban Vivacity” and both gave the young urban communities of the United Kingdom a glimmer of hope. The agency created jobs for over 500 models and clothing store kept everyone looking trendy.

Kemi somehow found herself promoting and running events, presenting her own TV show on B sky B and a contributing writer for online and print publications as well as presenting on radio shows here and there.

The media loved her and she loved the media, Kemi became the go-to person whenever anyone needed anything, from models to venues to car rentals to advertising space – You could always “Ask Kemi” it was time to monetize this interaction with the public and hence the birth of Vivacity PR.

Vivacity PR is a Public Relations firm that has over the last 10yrs served a number of clients worldwide. Vivacity PR consults develops and implements effective Public Relations strategies.

Vivacity PR’s services span over a wide range of areas, with specialization in Entertainment, Corporate and Political PR. Over the years Vivacity PR has been involved in promoting many ground-breaking events, international artists, corporate firms and political aspirants.

Currently, Areola is boosting her operational profile to ensure that her firm represents Nigeria in major cities of the world, including New York, London, Shanghai, considering that her firm has served a number of clients worldwide for the past 10 years with cautious effort to develop and implement effective public relations strategies.

In this interview with Ifeoma Okeke, she speaks about public relations practice in Nigeria: the prospects and challenges.

Do you think government should legislate against social media?

No. Freedom of speech is paramount but part of what I am working on and I would advice government to do is social media for good governance.  What we are trying to do at ministry of communication is to educate Nigerians on the best use of social media. A lot of individuals are not aware of the benefits of social media. They are not aware of what you can achieve with a phone and a laptop. You can send messages on whatapp that could fetch you money than sending negative messages all the time. Until we are able to explain what people can do with social media, people may not realise the power of the media. Today, I am the special adviser to the minister on social media. This is a job I got through my use of social media. I did not study social media, I did engineering but because I was constantly posting on social media, I became known for my skills in social media and now social media is making me money. That must not happen for everybody but there is a way you could use the huge human capital that are using social media. Use your data and megabits to your advantage.   We need to sensitise top level on the best use of social media; social media for job creation; social media can contribute to the Gross Domestic Product and I feel we are at that stage now when we need to use social media.

What are the challenges of public relations in Nigeria?

Public Relation is not totally understood in Nigeria. When I tell people that I am a PR consultant, they just ask me what it is, ‘are you a PRO or a blogger?’ I am the interface between the brand and the public or the public and the brand. I feel we need to educate more people on what PR is and the benefits of PR. Public relations encompasses marketing, advertising but it is not limited to these, so it is more about brand development. It could include research and development. You also need to understand that it is a two way thing. We are listening as well as we are talking. We don’t just put our products out and not understand how the public feels. We need positive PR. Nigeria itself needs more positive PR. The PR at the moment drags people down and we are not so much focused on the positive. We are not looking inward for ways to create jobs. PR can play a great part in facilitating these things. 

What is the future of PR in Nigeria?

Technology is currently creating ways to do things differently. It has its advantages and disadvantages. I think the future is bright and technology will impact the industry more in a positive way. Social media will enable the industry get messages out better and quicker.

How can public relations firms focus on content creation and storytelling?

Public relations firms in Nigeria still don’t understand their primary function. People see public relations firms as an advertising agency. They don’t understand that content creation forms the bedrock of what they truly are. What we need is to create better understand of our role as PR experts. Content in PR firm is sometimes different from how you see it in advertising firms. We create a third person story and so the way the content is created is different. We need to look at the foundation across our institutions and address key issues. What I will also advocate for is more PR courses that experts can attend. I attended courses in my MBA programme and you can see that I am on the right line.

How can budgets be made for PR campaign?

Nigeria firms don’t make budget for public relations. The bulk of the work for PR is mental. It is for you to sit down and think of how to create an outside the box campaign or plan or content but we don’t respect intellectual property. If you don’t invest enough into that, you are not going to get what you deserve because you don’t understand the creativity that is behind a PR expert. People feel you can employ just anybody. They think it is not a difficult job. You need to hire someone, who has experience or outside the box thinking and those people don’t come cheap. If you are not investing into that, you may end up spending much more in solving problems.