Nn’emeka Maduegbuna, Chairman of C&F Porter Novelli, a trusted business adviser focusing on strategic communications, has said that the ‘tried-and-tested’ public relations is losing shine and efficacy.
Maduegbuna said this recently during his induction into the BrandCom Hall of Fame, for his contribution to the growth of the Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) industry, at the 2020 edition of the BrandCom Awards, which took place recently in Lagos.
He stated that the public relations operating environment is moving away from traditional media, figureheads and brands, towards a plethora of decentralised and entangled ‘actors’. He noted that the public relations practice model is under challenge, even as value has migrated to Channel Management, Digital and Activation.
The C&F Porter Novelli Chairman added that the role of the Public Relations practitioner is under scrutiny because of disintermediation. According to him, the Public Relations industry needs to move away from the generalist approach to survive.
“The logical way to go, is to become communities of specialists organised in a manner to address the dramatic changes in the communications industry,” he reiterated.
Read Also: 5 Reasons why Bitcoin prices fluctuate
Maduegbuna mentioned that the challenges facing the industry is further exacerbated by the COVID-19 Pandemic. “First, are the massive disruptions. These have come in the form of business or income losses – budget cuts, staff lay-offs, salary cuts, remote working and the attendant virtual nature of communication. Complicating this is the impact of COVID-19 on consumer behavior, preferences, and priorities. “There is talk about a Next Normal rather than a New Normal as it is generally perceived. Whilst the latter assumes that it would be a new way of managing old challenges, the former is premised on the thinking that something entirely different is in the offing. It is thus imperative that we rigorously examine the current situation towards appreciating what will unfold,” he said.
In his opening remarks, the Publisher/Chief Executive Officer of brand Communicator magazine, Joshua Ajayi said that despite the challenges caused by COVID-19 and its negative impacts on businesses across the world this year, “some brands, agencies and individuals were outstanding within their space with their innovative solutions, campaigns and consumer engagements.”
He added that in line with its mantra for this year’s edition of the awards, ‘Prestige, Integrity and Credibility’, the awardees of the event which is in its second edition, were painstakingly assessed by a panel of assessors.
Nn’emeka Maduegbuna brings over three decades of experience in strategic communications planning, corporate positioning and reputation management, as well as extensive practice in the areas of issues and crisis management and litigation communications.
Recognised as one of the leading Public Relations practitioners in the West African sub-region, he continues to lead consulting teams on complex communications programmes, covering such sectors as energy, oil & gas, financial services, telecommunications, technology, pharmaceuticals, and fast moving consumer goods to mention a few.
