After the rumble and stumble that characterised the nation’s business environment in 2015, it appears this year will be starting with a big bang as industry sources indicate that many multinationals and local companies are set to review their communication businesses in the first quarter to reposition ahead of the imminent competition in the year, reports Raheem Akingbolu
The first stroke for business owners last year was the anxiety that preceded the election, which necessitated general lull in business. Even after the election was won and lost, the inability of the new government to constitute its cabinet made the remaining part of the year inactive as there was no clear policy direction.
With everything now set within and outside the government, handlers of top brands have begun a kind of rethinking to play big this year. THISDAY investigation has revealed that Nigerian Breweries, arguably one of the biggest quoted companies in the country and a controller of the larger chunk of the beer market, may set the ball rolling, with six agencies already slugging it out with one another to clinch its multi million naira Public Relations account.
The preparation was said to have started towards the tail end of last year, when the agency called for the review of the account. To this end, seven agencies, including four incumbents –Mediacraft and Associates, Black House Media, Synthesis Communications and TPT International, were invited for pitch. However, PF Africa, Red Media and one other agency are fresh firms invited for presentation.
In what looked like a strategic move to avoid unnecessary undercurrent that often put many companies on the defensive after a pitch result is announced, the exercise was said to have been based on global template and corporate governance procedure. To achieve this, the management of the company had directed its Sourcing Department to supervise the process with the involvement of the Corporate Affairs, Marketing and Strategy Department. The source further informed THISDAY that top personnel from the two departments were on seat while the exercise lasted in order for the company to arrive at the choice of agency or agencies that will have the full understanding of multinational business.
Considering the size of the NB Plc business, which is almost bigger than the economy of two or three African countries put together, it is expected that the company will, at the end, consider competence and nothing else. With 21 brands or thereabout in the market after its merger with Consolidated Breweries, whoever that wins the account sure has a lot to do to sustain the status of the company in the market place.
Two years ago, the directors of Nigerian Breweries Plc and Consolidated Breweries Plc, agreed to merge the two companies into one.
The agreement was expected to help realise the objective of actualising their common aspiration of establishing an unassailable market leadership in Nigeria. In a way, the marriage could be said to have paid off based on the performances of their various brands since the business was sealed.
A glance at the profile of six of the agencies gives one the feeling that the company must have considered many factors while compiling the list. Mediacraft and Associates, a leading agency that successfully handled the just concluded Guilder Ultimate Promo for the company is owned by the president of the Public Relations Consultants Association of Nigeria (PRCAN), Mr. John Ehiguese. Before the promo, Mediacraft had handled other successful works for the company.
BHM is one of the fastest rising firms in the industry and it has also handled many successful campaigns for Nigerian Breweries, including the Heineken Green Light Party, a global initiative. Between 2014 and 2015, Adekunle Ayeni, leveraged on his deep knowledge of digital PR to calve a niche for BHM and position it as an agency to watch in the future.
Through Synthesis Communication, under the leadership of Desmond Ekeh, the profile of Goldberg has been boosted. Like Mediacraft, Ekeh and his team have done a lot to further connect other NB products with relevant patrons. TPT International was the last to join the train but it didn’t find the terrain unusual, having in the past helped nurtured similar brands from a different company.
At Nigerian Breweries, the agency was said to have proved its mettle with the effective management of the two editions of the symposium and other activities that centered on the misconception around beer consumption. Chairman of TPT, Mr. Tokunbo Modupe, is believed in many quarters to have gotten the Midas touch to turn things around for any brand he lays his hands on.
For PF, owned by Yemi Odusote, it may be hard to dismiss the agency on the basis of being a new comer on the account, considering the experience of Odusote and members of his team.
Before setting up his own agency, Odusote had garnered the required experience in PR practice and managed many brands as the head of a leading PR agency. This may also apply to Red Media, an agency that became popular recently for its involvement in the Media Relations management of President Muhammadu Buhari and Vice President Yemi Osinbajo when the duo were still their party’s flag bearers.
The fact that Red Media is not known to have successfully managed a corporate account might at the end be among its disadvantages, but the global approach adopted during the exercise may override this.
The agency is being run by Mr. Chude Jideonwo, a law graduate.
Until the result is out, nobody is sure of where the pendulum will swing but a source within the company revealed to this reporter that the company may still at the end settle for more than one agency for effectiveness
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