[Intl-tobacco] Nigeria: PR is central to corporate brand positioning

[Robert Weissman]

PR is central to corporate brand positioning - Quadrant GM

by Clifford Amuzuo / Vanguard Daily  INTERVIEW

NIGERIA;
Source: All-Africa.com, Monday, 9/11/00
MISS Ben Upaa Ayede is the General Manager of The Quadrant Company a
leading
public relations professional outfit in the Troyka Holdings and an
affiliate
member of worldwide PR conglomerate, the GCI group. With an excellent
career in
the Advertising and Public Relations field spanning over two decades she
has
held forth in many public relations departments in the private and
public
sector organisations.

At MC & A where she worked several years, she rose to the position of
client
services director before heading the PR department at Minaj
Communications
Limited. In this interview with vanguard's Clifford Amuzuo she speaks on
the
numerous challenges to PR practice in Nigeria's ever dynamic marketing
communications industry. She sees public relations as central not only
in
corporate brand positioning but also in the creation of a total package
that
would contribute to the bottom line of the profession. Excerpts:

EXCERPT


Vanguard:Benson & Hedges and Samsung are two major brands on the
Quadrant's
stable today. To what extent have you tried to re-position market
outlooks of
these major brands especially in the Nigerian content?

Ayede:

EXCERPT

And the Quadrant had done so well for Benson & Hedges being one of the
oldest
accounts that the agency has had.  We've been with Benson & Hedges
through
thick and thin so to say, thick when the days were good, thin when we
had to
suffer issues like the anti-tobacco sentiments that are now prevalent.
So it
has not always been rosy trying to address these issues. Having to come
from
the days when we never had these anti-tobacco sentiments, I would say
that the
challenge has been in trying to bring out the fact that vis-a-vis the
anti-tobacco sentiments, there is some good Benson & Hedges is doing for

instance, Benson & Hedges have been strong in promoting the development
of
music in this environment as you can see recently in the sponsorship of
the
Nigerian musical award starting with the PMAN's patrons dinner and
activities
leading up to the NMA awards in October. We are taking up into the
direction of
the fact that Benson & Hedges is basically a socially responsive
organisation
and music is one the vehicles through which they show that care about
these
environments. So, our relationship is one that has lasted overtime and
we hope
to continue to nurture its development into the future.

END EXCERPT