PR is People Oriented

Dotun Ajiboye set off studying Chemistry before his natural chemistry with PR made him pursue a Masters degree in Marketing. Presently, he heads the Media Relations and Strategy department at BD Consult. He speaks with Chris Olisa on his venture, achievements and the prospects of the PR industry in Nigeria.

My name is Dotun Ajiboye. I am the Head of Media Relations and Strategy of BD Consult. After my youth service, I started a career in research which lasted four to five years. From there, I came into the Public Relations industry joining CMC Connect in 2001/02, as a Strategic Planner.

From CMC Connect, I joined the Quadrant Company, the first PR firm in 2004. I was in the committee that made sure the British American Tobacco Company (BAT) got the right PR in Nigeria when they were kicking off in 2001. I also worked on Peugeot accounts as a PR Manager where we tried to endear the brand to Nigerians so they can accept it because the idea people had about it was almost ancient. But between 2001-2003, we were able to turn things around and people started appreciating the newer models.

Funny enough, I did not study Public Relations but Chemistry, with time I just discovered my love for the job and that’s why I went for a Masters degree in Marketing. I have just concluded a professional course in PR from the School of Media and Communications, Lagos Business School.  While still with Quadrant in 2004, I handled many accounts for companies such as V Mobile now Zain, DHL and Indomie, just to mention a few.

BD Consult is just three years old. I actually joined a friend and a former colleague to start this firm three years ago. We started BD Consult from the scratch so I am the pioneer Head of Media and Strategy. The passion I had and still have for the job made me team up with him when he called on me. We are growing very fast because over the years our clientele has grown rapidly. Presently, we handle accounts for the Toleram Group, under which we have Dufil, makers of Indomie; Panabis, the firm in charge of office automation and Nobel Carpet and Rugs. We also work with UAC. We have done some things for PZ Industries and also with Grand Cereals. Presently, we are working with Spirit of David on “Celebrities Takes Two”.

The Nigerian Institute for Public Relations (NIPR) needs to take the bull by the horn and reposition PR. We need to build relationships with firms and their target audience. To do this, there must be trust; there must be mutual understanding before any relationship can be established and this is what we are trained to do. For a brand to create awareness, there must be brand equity, quality and loyalty in the minds of the target audience. Nothing can do that for the brand more than PR because PR creates more depth than advertising itself.

PR is really growing in Nigeria because the generation trained by the experts is beginning to make their mark to ensure that things are done differently. They are now better positioned to give professional practice internationally, so in two or three years, PR in Nigeria should be really big and we’ll have the internet to thank for it. This will further help the job to reach its peak in the global village.

The world of PR has not yet found itself at the top because the measuring of PR value has been done poorly over the years due to the fact that no firm has the professional skill in Nigeria to measure the effect and value of the practice. It is good that global standards have been set on skills now and Nigerian practitioners should brace up to that challenge. Most people think that being a good journalist makes you a very good PR practitioner but that is a fundamental error as both are two different professional practices from different perspectives.

There is more to PR than meets the eye. PR is very wide. It entails a lot of research and has to do with a lot of rigorous work alongside strategic counsel. It is my general belief that one day people like us will take PR to the next level, giving the practice the voice that it deserves, because we are closer to the people.