Lead Strategist and Chief Executive Officer of Absolute PR Limited, Akonte Ekine, in this interview with Business Editor of The Trumpet, EDU ABADE, argues that Nigerian politicians always strive to connect with the electorate only during election periods. He insists that political marketing demands that politicians engage the people at all times. He revealed that a Consumer Value Awards which has been unveiled by Consumer Value Broadcasting (CVB) will be driven by a community of consumers and the value they derive from service delivery and fulfillment of brand promises.
Several politicians have already indicated interest to succeed President Muhammadu Buhari in 2023. From the Public Relations (PR) point of view, how can Nigerians ensure that they don’t repeat past mistakes in choosing the next president of the country?
We should be looking at evidence-based recognition of political candidates. We have a system that compels us to rely on certain people to appoint candidates and that system should not be allowed in this situation.
We should all be part of process of picking or getting the right person out from the small group level. It is from the small group that decisions are made about who gets there and so, it will be nice for us to get active at that level to the extent of making things happen before the final decision stage. And what are the past mistakes?
People were just allowed to be shown colours they like to see and then when the colours get to power, they fade away, which is the true colour except that we all decided not to challenge the messages and if really we want to avoid the same mistake, then the electorate should not only challenge the messages and messengers, but they should also validate activities that could substantiate the characters or the actors we are hoping to give power to.
Political marketing is based on substance of reputational capital and trust, but somehow, we seem not to have this in the right amount of quantity, hence we see campaigns trying to force such conversations from people without that capital PR Trust like you see a man dressed in traditional wear that he will not wear when he gets to power. Meaning that he is never a person of the section, but we have to colour him to look like he is, which means everything about him is false.
Are there specific roles Public Relations should play in ensuring robust voter participation in the electoral process?
Yes, there are roles that public Relations should play. One of such is education, there is the need to create messages targeted at educating members of the public on the power of the voter, the right of the vote and what it real mean to vote. It is the responsibility of Public Relations to create messages in various languages possible within geographical space we call Nigeria to engage the people to take ad- vantage of the opportunity to pick responsible leaders according to expectations.
They should be people who can enable improvement of the society and economy. Beyond creating messages from the institutions responsible for conducting elections, it is important that Public Relations opposing side of an issue, that should not be his/her headache, his duty is to do a good job.
The way of the politicians is seemingly to allow for such crossing of side without much ado. However, in other climes, it is a statement of the personality as inconsistent and poor minded that we could draw from in moving from one party to the other. Again, this will be on the grounds that we have ideologies that we can use to identify the parties in terms of what they represent to their publics. The move to realise ambition is not a mere value proposition of the politician, but a vehicle to a destination.
Over the years, we have had organisations and even media houses giving awards to governors and politicians. What is your opinion of such awards, given the performance of some recipients of such awards in the country?
I think the best way to look at these awards is to see them from the standpoint of the organisers and the people behind them and what they represent.
Then we also look at the awardees against what the awards represent, once we are able to establish the characters of the actors within and outside the awardees, we can then draw conclusions on the awards, which first and foremost, remain subjective to the people as our conclusion.
My opinion is that awards are meant to validate some assumptions or facts as the case may be, but we are in society that tend to bend subjects of value for self-gratification, but the giver and recipient of such awards are aware that members of the public are smart enough is employed by candidates to sell their agenda to the public.
A robust strategy should be developed to assist in selling the candidates and it should be a strategy based on the character and track record and less of colours that can’t be substantiated when the time comes. Public Relations should be used mobilise the electorate, as well as build relationship between the electorate and the candidates across board.
A school of thought has come up with the idea of political marketing as 2023 approaches. As a PR practitioner, what are your views on that term?
Well, one can say it is the season of the politicians, politics and political activities and based on that, applying the principles of marketing to drive political conversation means also that we are in the season of political marketing.
However, it is important to let you know that political marketing is not something that should only be happening when we are close to election year, but should be an ongoing thing for ensuring that a bond between candidates and the electorate or the party and the people. We like quick fixes in the country hence all of a sudden since we are close to election year and we see more engagement close to the people, which is wrong.
The right thing is to create a chain of sustainable conversation founded on the principal quality deliverables from the exchange values between the political class and the public. If we are truly involved in political marketing, we will be working from foundation upward to establish the reputation of the actors, such that we will get some quality capital from the exercise.
What new approach would you like to suggest to politicians contesting various offices at the state and national levels in 2023?
First, is that there should be no one size fits all approach. Issues and situation of individuals will determine the approach against the character of the individual, as well as the office he or she is aspiring for.
There will be natural fundamentals in engaging the public, but even the public differs in various ways and expectations, so the approach for A will not be same for B, which will also shape the nature of the massages to be created alongside the programmes and platforms.
Some public relations experts have suggested a paradigm shift in handling political marketing for politicians, who defect to any party just to actualise their ambitions, what is your take on this?
I think defection is allowed in politics. So, I am not sure if that should be the headache of a practitioner, just as if a lawyer is asked to take a brief from an to know the motives behind the recognitions, especially when there is no performance to match some of the awards in the recipients’ domain.
If you were to organise an award for individuals or brands, what would it look like and what specific innovations would you bring to bear on such accolade?
Well, we try to ensure that things are done right and so, if we have the opportunity, we will do something that will make us responsible to the community of consumers across the country, something that will make us all accountable to each other as a guide as a touch point for decisions on what to buy or brands to be associated with.
We will be interested in celebrating reputational excellence of brands based on the experience of consumers, something like a value for money awards. It is purely Consumers Value Awards.
The consumers will simply just continue to vote for brands they interact with and tell us with simple one vote if the product or service is worth another touch by another consumer within a period of time.
What are some of the gaps you would like to fill in terms of Consumers Value recognition for brands, especially those that are seen to be delivering quality service and fulfilling their brand promises?
We have an experience where the behaviour of a service offering negates the service and then you see such service provider in the market place like nothing happened.
We are trying to ensure that beyond people that give awards based on observations, the Consumers Value Awards is value-based award on the consumers experience with the product.
It is a value for money award. Consumers will vote for products and services from aviation, airline to zoos. It is an award for best value on consumer experience. Does he appreciate the money spent on a product or service?
If yes, then he should vote. Consumers Value Broadcasting will only be responsible for collating and announcing the winners every other quarter through letters to organisations that have gained the trust of their consumers.
We want to address issues around consumer satisfaction, we can’t be buying things of lower standard and paying premium for poor service, this is an opportunity as a consumer to either shout down on poor service or celebrate one good one within the country.
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Judging from what many Nigerians see as harsh policies that have foisted suffering on majority of the people, how will PR practitioners enhance better governance post-2023?
Public Relations practitioners are also Nigerians and are equally affected by the issues and challenges of the environment. What we should be looking at is how the government can ensure that the policies are executed and the degree of the effect on the people.
One will expect that some the programmes of government are adequately scheduled for the citizens to have a frame of mind on time of execution before it happens. It is also important that the policies are segmented to enable the public to have an understanding of each.
So, in summary, there should be educational campaigns of policies before their introduction along the line of reality.
To wake up and see a new thing in the market place is not only harsh, but shows lack of sensitivity on the part of our leaders.
Should Nigerians look up to a better Public Relations sector and above all, a better country in 2023 and beyond?
Of course, we must remain optimistic as a people and as a body of professionals. On the PR front, we will get better as the Nigeria Institute of Public Relations (NIPR) and Public Relations Consultants Association of Nigeria (PRCAN) have been working to ensure improvement in standard of practice.
For instance, the PRCAN, which is a body of consulting firms in reputation management, will soon launch a code of practice standards for its members in the country, which will validate our global position as a body of consultants.
This is one of the many initiatives of the PRCAN executive to improve the level of our practice, among other goals.
