Top public relations (PR) and media practitioners across the continent are calling for more to be done in strategically positioning the communication sector to support economic growth.
By harnessing the power of PR and maximising the synergy between traditional and digital media, they said, businesses and governments across the continent will be able to thrive in today’s competitive landscape and rapidly changing markets. They singled out the tourism sector as an area in which positive PR and media reports yield immediate results.
Programmes Manager-Arise News, Nigeria, Suleiman Alede, opined that PR and journalism have a key role to play in changing the narrative about Africa through the promotion of positive cultures, tourism and thriving businesses to be able to rub shoulders with the Europeans, Americans and Asians.
“The negative content about Africa must stop. With a well-executed PR strategy coupled with synchronised media efforts, we will have brands in Africa that have better resilience and capacity than some of the well-respected multinational brands. And by so doing, economies will expand and more jobs be created for the youth to stay on the continent,” he said.
Acknowledging the dynamics of an ever-changing media and communication landscape, influenced significantly by technological advancement and innovation, Mr. Alede and other experts said by leveraging PR and media synergy, businesses can build a positive brand image, engage target audiences and establish themselves as trusted industry leaders. This in turn drives investor confidence, attracts new customers and, ultimately, fuels economic growth.
Communications Manager-Ghana Grid Company (GRIDCo), Dzifa Bampoh, emphasised that the media cannot survive without PR, and vice versa, because both depend on each other for business and income. She added that advertising has remained the most important source of media income and PR has been the facilitator for most of such deals, hence the need to build synergy for the sector’s continuous development.
The experts made these remarks in a webinar on the theme ‘Collaborating for success: unleashing the synergy between media and PR practitioners’ – organised by the Newmark Group Limited, a leading Pan-African integrated marketing communication firm, to mark World PR Day.
Similarly, Director-Portland Communications, Africa Region, Joel Churchill, taking his turn stated that artificial intelligence (AI), digital contents, and the various social media platforms have all come in play to impact content generation and dissemination, but content creators like journalists must be deliberate about projecting local economies and countries on the continent positively to the rest of the world.
“We have reached an era when we have all the tools and resources to tell our own story to the rest of the world as a continent. National branding is very important. Let’s create brand direction for our countries that will be sold to the international world. Rwanda is doing well in this aspect, but every country must begin to create and sell itself as a brand,” he said.
CEO-Newmark Group, Kenya, Gilbert Manirakiza, emphasised the need for organisations to create learning ecosystems that promote skills acquisition in new technologies; and traditional mediums must also create room for professionals like doctors, lawyers and engineers to bring expertise into the newsroom.
Future of PR and journalism
Managing Editor-Glazer NG, Nigeria, Omamumi Ogbe, is of the view that the future of PR and media looks great – but the mediums will continue to change; and as they do, the message or content should be presented to suit the medium. Hence, practitioners must up-skill and catch up with trends.
Mr. Alede, reiterated that traditional media will continue to play an important role in verification and authentication of news in the information explosion due to AI and social media. Nonetheless, he said, contents must resonate with the audience and take into consideration background and culture in corporate communication.
