Israel Jaiye Opayemi, is the MD/Chief Strategist of Chain Reactions Nigeria, one of the country’s foremost public relations consulting firms. He wears two caps, he is also the President, Public Relations Consultants Association of Nigeria, PRCAN. In this incisive interview with Daniel Obi, he predicts with conviction what will happen in the marketing communications in the year 2020 and takes a dive into how technology is shaping PR practice in Nigeria. Excerpts:
How would you assess Nigeria’s marketing communication industry in 2019, the ups and downs?
It was not a particularly exciting year for the marketing communications industry just as other sectors of the economy except banking which defies all logic. This was due to a number of reasons. First, the Budget 2019 was only signed by President Muhammadu on Monday 27 May 2019. This meant that four months were lost in that financial year. Secondly, it was also an election year. Investors are usually circumspect and understandably so during an election year.
What are your expectations and projections this year?
Well, since Nigeria has been brought back to the long desired January to December budget cycle, I see hope of an early start of some real economic activities. Our industry rides on the wings of economic activities. So, unlike the past, there is at least some sense of direction in the economy today.
Some practitioners have predicted a busy year for marketing communication industry based on clients heightened desire to engage consumers, investment opportunities from border closure, do you agree?
This is true to an extent. I see stiffer competition in some key sectors of the economy such as banking, telecoms, and the FMCG sector. The competition in the FMCG sector will not be necessarily because of the border closure but because the Nigerian consumers will even be more rational than ever in their spending. The competition in banking and telecoms will heighten because value will trump brand loyalty. The era of emotive embrace some brands have enjoyed will end. There will be a lot of mobility and churning in the market. What this means for brand owners in these sectors is, they will need to spend more on consumer engagement campaigns. The communication will be more about value.
Let me also predict that, clients will begin to depend more on marketing communications agencies and firms with consumer neuroscience capabilities because everything we have always held on to about using emotional brand appeal to drive market growth is about to blow up. This is why at Chain Reactions, we have invested in developing consumer neuroscience capabilities. We saw this era coming and we prepared for it. The Nigerian consumers will become more rational. Mark my words, you will find more people using the calculators on their phones at the malls and in the open markets before making purchase more than ever before. It is the age of rational buying. Impulsive buying based on emotions is giving way.
Technology and analytics are re-defining business, how can PR leverage them to offer best services to their clients?
With the benefit of technology and analytics, we can help our clients save money. Gone are the days when clients will tell a PR or an advertising firm, “our CEO wants to see this campaign on TV by this night.” Thanks to technology and analytics, we can now respectfully show the client that his target audience is watching videos more on Facebook and Instagram and they stand no chance of seeing the campaign on TV. We are now in an era where we can by the benefit of technology and analytics, counsel a client to put a piece of campaign on HipTV and not because their CEO only watches Channels TV. One of the things we also do at Chain Reactions is predictive analytics. We exploit patterns we see in historical and transactional data to identify risks and opportunities. I remember we once pitched to one of the leading online shopping platforms in Nigeria. The Head of Marketing almost threw us out of the room when we used predictive analytics to warn that online shopping is trending towards what is called “omni channel shopping”. That Nigerian consumers love to see, to touch, compare the prices online and in a physical shop before buying. We outlined the opportunities to them. Madam would just not listen. Sadly, they are out of business today. I am pained because they would have continued to hold this market. Unknown to them, we were very spot on and confident of what research was telling us. It was a pitch, but we invested heavily to get that insight. They just did not listen. So, the type of PR we practice at Chain Reactions is already heavily dependent on technology and analytics. I am sure a number of PR firms in Nigeria are already walking this path too.
Clients are considering specialisations before they engage marketing agencies. Do you then see collaborations among agencies with different specialisations to service clients? Do you see mergers and acquisitions happening?
Unfortunately, I do not see likelihood of mergers by the local agencies. I also do not see collaborations happening. I guess it is just not in our DNA. The last time this happened, I had goose pimples when, Tunji Adeyinka, the MD of Connect Marketing invited us into a collaborative work on the tour of the Williams Sisters, Serena and Venus Williams to Nigeria. There was the PR aspect of that campaign and he said, we want an experienced PR firm like yours to manage this aspect for us. Connect Marketing could have done it alone. But I have come to respect him as a rare breed and one of Africa’s most brilliant professionals in that space.
To you, what is best way to solve agency/clients debt challenges?
I think the first thing is for us to enthrone the sanctity of contracts. I appeal to the legal professionals on the client sides to not only back off once the retainer contract has been signed, but to continually follow up with the finance department on compliance knowing that this speaks to corporate reputation too. If you have a contract to pay your agency in 30 days, make the plan to pay. Let the legal department remind the finance department of the implication of the default on the company’s reputation. We have an International client in the technology space that pays us every 30 days. The process does not require any human intervention. No phone calls, no begging, no reminder mails. They just pay because they know it is a contract and not a favour. It makes our work with them an amazing experience. My second proposition which we are currently discussing at our professional association’s level is the possibility of the insertion of a penalty clause in retainer contracts as it is done in places like South Africa. This makes default a burden for any client. What this entails is that, once a client defaults, the contract makes provision for a certain percentage to be paid as default penalty to the agency or the consultant. This is one of the things driving the growth of the marketing communications in other climes despite their own macro-economic challenges too. This default fee enables the agencies to be able to meet up with the default charges to their own lenders too.
Your firm, Chain Reactions is enjoying steady growth, could you recall to us how the firm started?
We began as a small media services consulting firm in 2007. It’s been a journey of grace and grinding. We opened for business with just two staff at inception and now we have grown to a 32 man professional army. Today, we are the Nigerian affiliate and West Africa’s Preferred Partner to Edelman, the largest Public Relations firm in the world!
You have affiliation with Edelman since 2016, how has this partnership assisted both parties?
Our affiliation with Edelman has been an amazing experience. I think for Edelman, our relationship has given Edelman the right finger on the pulse of the Nigerian market. Being the number one and indeed the largest Public Relations firm in the world, Edelman’s global clients now enjoy matchless market insights into the Nigerian economy; deeper understanding of media nuances, trends and government policies. This ensures they can take informed business decisions because of the quality of the depth of insights we often share. This is priceless for global businesses. For Chain Reactions, apart from life changing capacity development opportunities we have access to, the affiliation has availed us the unique opportunity of serving global and International clients GE, HP and Dubai Tourism amongst others.
Congratulations on your election as PRCAN President, what are your objectives for the body?
Together with my colleagues in the leadership, we are working on a strategic goal for the Public Relations industry in Nigeria named, “Better Business”. It is a mutually beneficial campaign for both the PR firms and the clients. Time will fail me to go into all the details in the cause of this interview. But watch out for it. The Public Relations industry in Nigeria will never remain the same again!
