Loretta Ahmed is the CEO of Middle East, Turkey & Africa for Grayling, a leading global communications network which provides data-driven strategies for Digital Marketing, Public Relations, Government Affairs and Investor Relations for clients in 26 countries worldwide across Europe, North America, the Middle East and Asia. She is a public relations, brand reputation, and crisis communications expert with over 20 years’ experience guiding clients through transformational times.
In the last few months, Ahmed has been aggressively pushing Grayling’s expansion into Africa. Grayling now works with some high profile clients in Africa including governments and leading financial services institutions.
I recently had a chat with her where she opened up about the challenges of the PR industry in Africa, and the opportunities she sees therein.
Africa is witnessing robust economic growth. How exciting is this time for PR firms like yourself in terms of doing business in the continent?
Africa is clearly an important market for any business with global ambitions. Whilst the market is very exciting it has to be tempered with a deep understanding of the challenges of setting up a credible offer across such a diverse business landscape. However, the opportunity is most definitely there – six of the ten fastest growing economies in the world are in Africa and strong growth rates are predicted.
For a PR business such as ours, it is particularly exciting. African consumers are coming of age at the speed of light and they have leap-frogged their global counterparts when it comes to technology. Technological advancements in Africa are evident – the continent has skipped traditional landline connectivity to go online through mobile technology and this is creating a tipping point for the region.
It is this impact of technology that is most likely to accelerate Africa’s growth potential resulting in increased employment opportunities. More importantly, it will enable countries across the continent to diversify beyond the traditional industries of agriculture and natural resources and push on in areas like manufacturing and technology, particularly mobile commerce, amongst others.
How does the PR industry in Africa differ from mature markets like the US or Europe? What are some of the challenges you have seen in the market?
The main global players are now all establishing networks across Africa – either via wholly owned offices or local affiliations with independent agencies. Like any other emerging market, the main challenge we have witnessed in Africa is to find the right set of talent.
Despite a population that is skewed towards youth, it is still a real challenge to locate strong, experienced PR consultants. Employing expatriates is not necessarily the solution as home-grown expertise is critical in the business of PR and marketing.
To succeed in Africa your talent acquisition and development strategy is as important as your cash flow management. You simply have to get it right from day one and the businesses that parachute in their global teams for the odd meeting simply won’t survive in the long run.
It is important to keep in mind that home grown talent,first and foremost, understands the local market well and secondly ensures that campaigns are developed keeping in view the cultural sensitives which are the two key elements for succeeding in any particular market.
Therefore, if we are to deliver programmes for brands or corporations that change behavior, gain resonance or build advocacy then we must do it with empathy to local people – that means the right creative interpretation, the right language and the right tone.
What are the key markets in Africa that are on the radar of global PR firms like yourself?
South Africa remains a key target market and for the other markets that come up in our board meetings we consider the following three key factors: their political stability, their population size (to offer market potential and a labour force) and the richness of their natural resources.
For Sub-Saharan Africa this equates to Nigeria, Angola, Mozambique and the East Africa trio of Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. Rwanda and Ghana are now also increasingly on the radar.
International businesses are viewing Africa with a considerable amount of interest. Have any of your clients expressed interest to expand their offerings in this region?
We are seeing many clients now focus in on Africa. The African consumer is on the rise and their spending power is increasing year on year as more and more households move into the middle-income bracket. This is rightly gaining the attention of many industries, from banking to telecommunications as well as airlines and hotels looking to benefit from the boom in regional pan-Africa travel and tourism combined with the increase in inbound international business and leisure travellers.
What are the key elements that multi-national corporations need to keep in mind whilst looking to enter the African continent?
Africa is made up of 54 countries with variations in populations running from 1 million to more than 170 million and speaking more than 2,100 languages and dialects. So, the first and most important element is to understand and prioritise each market – and then adapt your business model accordingly. A cookie cutter approach will not work but a collection of hubs or clusters is possible. More importantly, be prepared to change your business model fast – life changes quickly in Africa and if you don’t stay ahead of the curve (or even keep up with it) your offer will soon lose relevance.
Africa has seen rapid growth in digital in recent times. What opportunities do you see in this sphere for Grayling as an agency?
This is where the biggest opportunity lies for marketing agencies. Smartphone penetration across Africa continues to march upwards and as broadband availability spreads even further the dual impact will be nothing short of phenomenal.Social media channels provide the platform for engagement and advocacy amongst a youthful, tech-fuelled population and with that comes the reputational challenges of a society that now has the power to communicate in real-time with its global ‘neighbours’ – power in the hands of social and political activists can wreak havoc for the unprepared communications consultant.
Therefore, content strategies, genuine engagement plans and real-time dialogue are essential tools for brand owners looking to reap the rewards and minimize the risks. This is what we do, day in, day out, for our global clients.
Lastly, tell us about your future plans in terms of expanding in Africa?
We are rewriting the market entry rulebook when planning our approach in Africa.
Grayling’s story for Africa talks more to home-growth digital and tech entrepreneurs joining forces with us. Tech-enabled remote workers who can drop into regional connecting and learning hubs as and when they need to tap into offline agency resources will be the essence of the model that fits this market.
So, once again, Africa will leap-frog an existing structure –the traditional agency model that exists in mature markets – and one that will soon be running to catch up.
As published on Forbes