Issued by: FAPRA


PR campaigns must define strategic direction

"Public relations practitioners must understand that things that can't be measured, cannot be respected." This was a quote from David Maingi Corporate Affairs Manager East Africa for Portland Cement that started the debate around evaluating PR campaigns.

Maingi emphasised the fact that all campaigns should be able to be measured. At the same time it must have a component that must deliver a revenue enhancing result in order to justify the PR budget. Evaluation of the PR exercise should include familiarity and preference studies, behavioural shift gauge, understanding of the company's brand and perception landscape. The better we know our markets the greater our contribution will be to the justification for public relations.

He added: "PR's using gut feel and clip books are missing out on the importance of the bottom line."

Spin doctors get the boot at All Africa conference

With the advance of cross pollination of communication or integrated communications in organisations, Chris Skinner, fellow and Chairman of The Public Relations Institute of SA (PRISA), argued that public relations practitioners are the guardians of the image and reputations of any organisation.

"Therefore it is of utmost importance that practitioners form part of the decision-making team to market a product or to portray its image to the public" he said.

Skinner also added that practitioners under the FAPRA, PRISA and GLOBAL ALLIANCE umbrella should be held accountable for their actions. The Code of Conduct to which PR practitioners subscribe, is to uphold honesty and integrity; to be ethical, fair and responsible; and to ensure that there is no place for spin doctors in the industry.

The promotion and development of Africa was also in the spotlight with reference being made to the Brand South Africa campaign which seeks to portray the beauty, development and opportunities that are available in SA. Delegates at the conference also discussed the idea and possibility of a similar campaign that would portray the positive developments in Africa.

Corporate Social Responsibility - who is accountable?

In the fast changing world of public relations and the use of technology, we need to ensure that corporations are held accountable and socially responsible to the public that they serve. This was said by the chair-elect for the Global Alliance for Public Relations & Communications, South Africa's Sejamothopo Motau.

"It is important that companies not only look at the profits that they need to generate but also pay close attention to what they are ploughing back into communities. Corporate Social Responsibility should not be implemented because companies are obligated by law to do so, but rather it should be out of the sheer will to invest in sustainable development in communities".

The African challenge for Public Relations

Africa is losing the reform agenda because of a small section of non reformers who insist on using the old ways. The solution to the problem could be found in spirited PR practitioners to revive Africa and a 10-point recommendation (Commandment) plan to sort out Africa's mess. The 10-point recommendation plan encourages public relations practitioners to:
1. Ask relevant questions
2. Challenge the bad and the ugly
3. Celebrate the good in Africa
4. Think local but act global
5. Be accountable to the profession
6. Avoid the band aid syndrome
7. Become a professional institution
8. Don't leave politics to politicians
9. Take advantage of IT
10. Work with the media

Shabanji Opukah from British American Tobacco (BAT), involved with Corporate Social Accountability, made these pronouncements when he highlighted the good the bad the ugly and the light at the end of the tunnel.

Opukah added, "The youth, the African Diaspora, the emerging middle class, Nepad and the African Union, civil society, globalisation, reform minded leaders, the courage of the media and PR practitioners plays a particular vital role in meeting the challenge and creating Africa's prosperity."

Utilizing communication for development in Africa

In a spirited close on the first day's proceedings, Dr. P.L.O Lumumba, namesake of the great African leader, Patrice Lamumba, lambasted African politics that thrive on ignorance.

He suggested that PR practitioners as communicators should use the tools at their disposal to integrate public relations to release Africa from ignorance. The agenda for communications should be for Africans to communicate with themselves and not use the last resort as the first resort to address poverty and liberate ourselves.

"Africa has a challenge to harness the potential of information and communication to promote the development goals declared by individual member states; namely eradication of poverty, hunger, HIV Aids among other persistent maladies. The 21st century belongs to the African continent. While Africa has many challenges, the contribution of African heroes and heroines to humanity is just one example of Africa's potential. Because of Nelson Mandela, Kwame Nkurumah, Julius Nyerere, Amilcar Cabral, Modibo Kaita, Patrice Lumumba, to mention a few, the African landscape has never been the same."

Dr Lumumba concluded by saying, "Knowledge is power, education is the key to the alleviation of poverty. Information and access to communication should be used by PR practitioners for the expansion and development of public relations in order to add to the bottom line."

Visit our PRESS OFFICE: FAPRA is a non-governmental, non-political and non-profit making professional Association established to foster unity and interaction amongst Public Relations Practitioners in Africa as a whole. - more....

[8 Jun 2005 16:56]

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