MacLean Brodie appointed as new CEO of MSL Middle East

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Digital

07.10.23 / MSL Staff

MacLean Brodie appointed as new CEO of MSL Middle East

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Publicis Groupe Middle East today announced the appointment of MacLean Brodie as Chief Executive Officer of MSL Middle East.

 

Publicis Groupe Middle East today announced the appointment of MacLean Brodie as Chief Executive Officer of MSL Middle East, a strategic communications agency.

In his new role, MacLean will be responsible for overseeing client business and driving growth for MSL Middle East. Drawing upon the Groupe’s ‘Power of One’ strength, he will focus on harnessing talent, fuelling creativity, and strengthening MSL’s presence and earned media capabilities in regional key growth markets.

“We are delighted to welcome MacLean onboard; he brings a wealth of public and private experience that will provide MSL with invaluable insights and solutions. His deep understanding of the regional media ecosystem combined with his advocacy experience and strong communications skills will be a tremendous value add to clients and our capabilities”, said Bassel Kakish, CEO, Publicis Groupe ME&T.

MacLean’s career in communications has spanned more than 15 years, with senior roles in Asia and the Middle East. A long-time advisor in strategic communications, he will be joining MSL from his current role as Head of Public Affairs at the Qatar Foundation. Formerly, he led the Corporate and Public Affairs work for Ogilvy across the MENA region and managed a substantial public relations practice for Ogilvy Qatar, overseeing clients such as Qatar Tourism Authority, beIN Media Group, the Ministry of Transport and Communication (TASMU Qatar), Hamad International Airport, Sasol, and Doha Forum.

Margaret Key, CEO of MSL APAC/MEA said, “We are excited to welcome MacLean to the MSL family to lead and strengthen MSL’s capabilities in a key region. As the PR industry continues evolving, MSL has developed an exceptional approach to servicing an array of clients that looks at integrated work across digital, PR, creative, socials and analytics. I look forward to working closely with MacLean to further expand MSL’s growth in Middle East.”

For more than ten years prior, MacLean was based in China, where he anchored Ogilvy China’s Public and Government Affairs practice and built a strong reputation in communications strategy, campaign planning, crisis management, state/location branding, and market entry programmes. During his time in China, he worked closely with Emirates Airlines to promote their aviation and aero-political affairs agenda and was instrumental in launching Dubai Week in China. Further client roles include experience in health innovation with J&J and Janssen Pharmaceuticals, mining with Teck Resources and Rio Tinto, destination branding with the city of Chengdu, and development work with the World Bank in Ulaanbaatar Mongolia.

Commenting on his appointment, MacLean said, “It’s an incredible moment to be joining MSL and the Publicis Groupe. The ambition and growth of the region are matched by a leadership team making transformational moves in digital, creative, and analytics that are changing how we work and enhancing the power of earned media to generate influence and make a bottom-line business impact. I am excited to be a part of MSL and harness this growth for our clients and our team!”.

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07.24.23

New MSL Data Identifies Specific Barriers to Entry and Success for Diverse Creators
The agency also announced two new actions, including providing transparency into its own practices

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07.10.23

Meta launches Twitter alternative app, “Threads”

Last week all across the planet pinged to life with a notification about Threads. No, I don’t mean the apocalyptic British movie from the 80s, but Meta’s new Twitter competitor, Threads.

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Meta launches Twitter alternative app, “Threads”

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Digital

07.10.23 / MSL Staff

Meta launches Twitter alternative app, “Threads”

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Last week all across the planet pinged to life with a notification about Threads. No, I don’t mean the apocalyptic British movie from the 80s, but Meta’s new Twitter competitor, Threads.

 

What’s up with Threads?

Last week all across the planet pinged to life with a notification about Threads. No, I don’t mean the apocalyptic British movie from the 80s, but Meta’s new Twitter competitor, Threads.

Ever since Twitter was purchased by Elon Musk last year, the world has abandoned the platform in droves. In particular, we’ve seen follower numbers decline across multiple clients over the past six months.

So in this disillusionment for Twitter, Meta has done what they always do – see a gap in the market and either copy it or buy it. In this case, the former. Threads is like Twitter. But Twitter, in the very early years. Hashtags, a core innovation of Twitter, don’t seem to work yet, and multimedia like photos and videos are clunky. But it looks good, and the user interface is fresh, clean and modern.

Oldschool Twitter was mostly about the power of written words. Comedy thrived. News thrived. And brands, as we know, can say a lot with brilliant copywriting. Twitter was the most Darwinian of all social platforms – it was the survival of the funniest, most interesting, and most relevant – and in many ways, I welcome that back. 

Will it succeed?

Unlike other new social platforms, Threads has the core advantage of its Network Effect. Allow me to use a metaphor of the party.

Parties can have the best music, food, atmosphere, and confetti cannons (I put on a great party, ok?), but if your mates aren’t there? It can suck. Conversely, a pretty bad party can be turned around completely with the addition of all your buddies.

Lots of new social networks are like the former. New and exciting but the most important thing is missing….the people you care about. Threads is so exciting because it transposes your existing Instagram connections, so your mates are already there. Its a genius move that we think will make Threads swim where other new platforms have sunk.

So how do I use it?

Like any social platform, Threads needs a content strategy and, like Twitter before it, a more informal and witty tone of voice.

Don’t just jump straight in. Ensure you have secured your Threads account, feel free to post a “Hello World” type greeting, but don’t run before you can walk.

If you can’t wait, we’d recommend you overlay your existing Twitter approach to Threads and try it out. It’s new and exciting, and we can’t blame you. Test, learn and have fun.

Curious, but don’t want to dive straight into Threads? 

In this Insider article, a Gen Z social media writer takes a look around on Threads so you don’t have to.

The author, Charissa Cheong says “My Threads homepage was initially saturated with a bunch of random companies trying to post “relatable” and “funny” content promoting their brands. I wasn’t too fond of this…”

It would be worth bearing this in mind when considering what to post, as touting products or services right off the bat may be off-putting to some users.

That said, the opportunity to bring your brand to life on a new platform right from the start is a rare opportunity. While Threads has already amassed more than 70 million users, compared to other platforms there is currently a brief period where the competition is not so great.

MSL’s advice? Have a go, test and learn. 

If you want to learn more about Threads or have any other questions about social channels, please get in touch with us at sayhello@mslgroup.com. 

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07.24.23

New MSL Data Identifies Specific Barriers to Entry and Success for Diverse Creators
The agency also announced two new actions, including providing transparency into its own practices

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07.10.23

MacLean Brodie appointed as new CEO of MSL Middle EastPublicis Groupe Middle East today announced the appointment of MacLean Brodie as Chief Executive Officer of MSL Middle East.

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New MSL Data Identifies Specific Barriers to Entry and Success for Diverse Creators

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Diversity

07.24.23 / MSL Staff

New MSL Data Identifies Specific Barriers to Entry and Success for Diverse Creators

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The agency also announced two new actions, including providing transparency into its own practices

Click here to download MSL’s Influencer Equity Best Practices.

Today, MSL U.S. released new data identifying critical moments, milestones and barriers in a diverse creator’s professional trajectory. In particular, BIPOC creators experience the most notable hurdles entering the field: while 73% of white influencers will have landed their first paid engagement within a year, just 46% of BIPOC talent will reach the same milestone – a delay that ultimately impedes their long-term success. MSL has also announced two actions it is taking as a follow up to industry-leading ‘Time to Face the Influencer Pay Gap’ report, including publishing its own pay equity best practices.

“With these new data, best practices for benchmarking and commitments, MSL is continuing critical work to improve DEI in the influencer marketing space at a time when creators are continuing to evolve the professional community,” said MSL U.S. CEO Diana Littman. We encourage the industry to move from advocacy to action and applaud those in our industry who are driving awareness and change around this important issue.”

Key takeaways from MSL’s latest data include:

A new world: creators wield unprecedented influence with Gen Z

MSL’s latest consumer pulse survey found Gen Z is nearly twice (43%) as likely to be influenced by social media influencers compared to previous generations of Americans (22%), with Americans aged 45+ most influenced by experts (70%) and journalists (59%).

With Gen Z (18 to 26 years old) emerging as the world’s most powerful and diverse consumer by 20261, achieving equity for diverse creators in influencer marketing is a moral and business imperative.

“While there has been some debate around the future of the creator economy and how much influence they actually wield, the bottom-line is that Gen Z is unpersuaded by standard marketing and demand a high degree of engagement — which means influencers, especially with lower follower count hold an outsized value. Our pulse check gave us a clear signal of exactly that. Simply put, reaching this audience who are driven by values like authenticity and equity means unleashing a diverse team of influencers who don’t just look like them but share their mindset and values,” said Shreya Mukherjee, MSL U.S. Chief Strategy Officer.

The first year: a pivotal moment in a diverse creator’s journey

Diverse creators must work harder and smarter to succeed as a professional influencer or creator. MSL’s research pinpoints the first moment of pay disparity in a white versus BIPOC influencer’s career – the very beginning. By the end of their first year in the influencer marketing industry, white influencers are nearly twice as likely (73%) to get a sponsored brand deal than BIPOC influencers (46%).

Additional findings on barriers to entry and success creators face include:

  • Compared with BIPOC influencers, white influencers are twice as likely to secure their first brand partnership in the first six months of influencer work – a critical milestone in a creator’s career (42% white vs 21% BIPOC).
  • A strong majority of BIPOC influencers (81%) state they must work harder to be successful on social media compared to white influencers (70%).
  • Perceptions of bias driven by a lack of transparency around platform algorithms are significant concerns. BIPOC influencers say that platform algorithms were the top barrier to their success (37%).

“The realities of pay inequity run much deeper than the amount written on a check to an influencer. As our data reveals, persistent undervaluing of the worth of BIPOC-created content can be masked by looking only at the dollar value of an influencer’s contract,” said Rob Davis, MSL U.S. Chief Digital Innovation Officer. “To reach true pay equity, it is incumbent upon brands and agencies to define the total value a creator brings before settling on pay rates. Hiring an influencer is not just about creating content; we are paying for their talent, their reach and the quality of the audience they have built.”

Lack of equitable pay: Black and BIPOC creators charge less for more

MSL’s latest data found Black and BIPOC creators often charge less per post, despite having a higher median number of followers across platforms. This suggests gaps in equity, fairness and transparency drive a systemic undervaluation of BIPOC influencers.

The findings also suggest Black and BIPOC influencers are held to a different standard than white influencers for less pay:

  • When looking specifically at Instagram stories, Black influencers make 67% less than white influencers (White: $1,500; Black: $500).
  • BIPOC creators report making up to 67% less per in-feed Instagram post. Additionally, BIPOC and Black creators charge 25% less for sponsored YouTube content compared to white creators.
  • More than six in ten Black (65%) and BIPOC (64%) influencers feel unfairly impacted by a lack of transparency of influencer pay rates, and over half of BIPOC influencers feel unfairly treated by social media platforms (54%).
  • Twice as many Black influencers say ethnicity negatively affected their pay compared to white influencers, and nearly a quarter (23%) of Black influencers say their ethnicity played a role in being offered a lower rate than expected, with only 12% of white influencers expressing the same sentiment.

Equity comes from looking at everything a creator brings to the table, and this latest data underscores the need for creator compensation to be calculated as a combination of multiple social media metrics, resonance and content quality. Hiring an influencer is not just about creating content. Brands are paying for talent, reach, quality, engagement and much more.

Steps toward equity
A recent study by The Myers Report finds nearly two thirds of respondents (61%) feel the media and advertising industry overall is doing its best to advance DEI, while only less than half of Black respondents shared the same sentiment.

MSL is committed to driving change and taking actionable steps towards equity, ensuring everyone is moving from advocacy to action. These latest steps include:

  • Influencer Equity Best Practices. As part of this data release, MSL has published its own guidelines and best practices, including its red flag system. By transparently sharing the agency’s own best practices, MSL encourages the adoption of these best practices across the industry as an important step to increasing discoverability for BIPOC creators and ultimately closing the influencer pay gap.
  • Creator Evaluator. In order to even the playing field, MSL will develop an algorithmic standard blending social media metrics (views, engagement, follower count, etc.) along with categorical relevance (content type, brand category, exclusivity, boosting rights, etc.), which the agency will use when evaluating influencer pay. MSL will consult with industry leaders and allies driving work in this space, including those convened at MSL’s closed-door July 2022 influencer equity summit (a follow up to MSL’s 2021 ‘Time to Face the Influencer Pay Gap’ commitments).

Additionally, MSL’s partnership with The Influencer League extends into 2023, including the creation and implementation of an industry-leading curriculum covering best practices, content creation, pricing and negotiation for creators.

Methodology

MSL’s latest survey engaged influencers, brands and agency leaders in providing insights into experiences, challenges and practices related to diversity, inclusion and pay equity.

MSL conducted comprehensive research from October 2022 to March 2023. The work encompasses a multi-platform research approach, including expert interviews; this primary research tapped into 550 U.S. influencers, review of the cultural, societal and influencer landscape; and distinct findings from MSL’s proprietary influencer marketing platform, Fluency. Influencers surveyed were asked to report their follower count engagement rate, views, pay rates, race and income from brands. Additionally, MSL and Reputation Leaders surveyed a nationally representative sample of 1,000+ consumers in the US about cultural and societal influencers.

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07.10.23

Meta launches Twitter alternative app, “Threads”

Last week all across the planet pinged to life with a notification about Threads. No, I don’t mean the apocalyptic British movie from the 80s, but Meta’s new Twitter competitor, Threads.

Continue reading

View all news

07.10.23

MacLean Brodie appointed as new CEO of MSL Middle East

Publicis Groupe Middle East today announced the appointment of MacLean Brodie as Chief Executive Officer of MSL Middle East.

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Real Vs Fake News

Real Vs Fake News

Information is an important part of our society. People depend on it to guide them through a complex world. This free flow of information eventually led to a free press in many parts of the world. Advances in media technology have made words and images more powerful and widespread than ever. Smartphones and social media have become quick and easy tools to receive and share news and information. These tools have even made it possible for anyone with a device to gather and circulate “news.”

This media environment makes it important for us to be able to recognize reliable information. True information gives us the facts to guide our decisions and actions. In addition to informing, news can also divert. This means it can focus our attention on something we are interested in as a kind of escape. An example would be news about subjects we seek out for enjoyment, such as entertainment, celebrities or sports.

A free press is important in a democratic society. It allows citizens to speak freely to issues in the country and criticize the country’s leaders without fear. But, it can also lead to news that is false.

Today, information moves around us in many forms, every hour of every day. Even if we do not seek out news on our own, we often receive it anyway, instantly, on our phones. So how can we manage this mountain of information so that fake news does not mislead us?

Here at Quadrant MSL, We believe this requires news literacy. News literacy is the ability to use critical thinking skills to judge news reports. Are they credible? Can you rely on the reports to be true?

The need for news literacy is possibly greater now than ever before. Learning this important skill can give us the power to take full control of our own search for the truth.

In our country today where propaganda and rumor munging thrives, here are 5 simple steps to decipher between real and fake news.

  1. CONSIDER THE SOURCE: Not all news sources are reliable or trustworthy. Many companies claim to be news sources but are really entertainment blogs or websites driven by advertising money, clicks and website traffic. As a personal consumer of news, it is your responsibility to evaluate the news sources you wish to cite. You should click away from the story to investigate the platform carrying the news. Is it an Instagram page of a friend, a celebrity blogger, or twitter feed of a politician? More often than not, the source of the news is often a great indication as to the veracity of the news. For instance, the BBC will be a more credible source of news than
  2. READ BEYOND THE HEADLINES: Headlines can be outrageous in an effort to get clicks. What’s the whole story? People form an opinion based on a summary, or a summary of summaries, without making the effort to go deeper. Since users aren’t paying as much attention to internal content, the strength and popularity of a piece sometimes comes down to the strength of its headline. In a read article, headlines are one of the most powerful contributors to performance, and in a non-read article, it’s the only contributor to performance. As a result, headlines have become almost like articles in and of themselves. According to a study done in 2016, 59% of all links shared on social media aren’t actually clicked. This means most people share news based on the headline alone.
  3. CHECK THE DATE: How recently was this information published/posted? Can you find a publication date? This is a very important point to note, as some news reports might have become obsolete and there could be more recent stats or reports on the issue. When news breaks, some sites decide to post old news about the happening. But reposting old news stories doesn’t mean they’re relevant to current events.
  4. CHECK THE AUTHOR:  Who wrote the information – are they an expert or knowledgeable in the field or industry? If it is a health related news, did a Doctor or Nurse write it? If it is on Politics, did a Lawyer or Political contributor write it? You should do a quick vetting of the author, find out if they’re real, and determine if they’re credible.
  5. BACKUP SOURCES: Is the information supported by evidence? Can it be confirmed by other sources? Chances are if the news is credible, it’ll provide enough evidence, most of the questions you might have will be answered in the post. Also, there will be other platforms that will broadcast the very same news. Look out for these.

The next time you come across any news article and you’re tempted to hit the share button, make sure you authenticate the news before you do. You don’t want to be part of the chain of people peddling fake news…

Has Social Media Come To Replace Email Marketing?

Has Social Media Come To Replace Email Marketing?

Email marketing or social media marketing; which one is better? With so many consumers on social media these days, many are wondering if email marketing is still effective.

Over the past decade, social media visitors have grown at an exponential rate. t is clear that social media is not just a fad, and that it is worth utilizing. In fact, 83% of marketers 83% of all marketers actively pursue social media marketing initiatives.

In light of these trends, some marketers are wondering, is social media going to replace email?

Let’s examine both channels using the under listed measures.

ROI

When asked what the most important measurement to gauge the effectiveness of any given channel is, most marketers agreed that the overall return on investment (ROI) is the most important. A marketer is result oriented and wants to discover which platform drives more customer engagement, click-throughs, and conversions.

Don’t be surprised but email beats Social media in a landslide here. On the average, one in five marketing emails gets opened, with a click-through rate of 3.57%, while on Facebook; you can expect a click-through rate of a measly 0.07%. Clearly, if you’re trying to market as efficiently as possible, email is the way to go. In fact, of all the marketing strategies you can adopt, email marketing has the highest ROI. After all, business is all about return on investment and the cost of opportunity.


Reach

As a marketer embarking on any campaign, you obviously want to get your message out to as many people as possible. Email dominates in this area again. It has been around longer than social media, and it’s used for various purposes, so it naturally has a bigger user base. The Radicati Group estimated that by the end of 2017, more than 3.7 billion people worldwide will use email.

By contrast, Facebook, which is far and away the most popular social media platform, sees “only” 1.9 billion unique visitors every month. Two of the other most popular networks, Instagram and Twitter, have 600 million and 317 million visitors every month, respectively.

People also tend to check their email more frequently than they do social media. In fact, more than half of internet users (58%) check their email first thing in the morning – before looking at Facebook, doing a Google search, and almost 9 out of 10 email users check their inbox at least once a day. With numbers like that, the odds that your subscribers will see your marketing emails are pretty good.

Your odds of getting noticed on social media, on the other hand? Not quite so good, even if you have an equal number of email subscribers and social media followers. Why is this? It has to do with social media algorithms. Users don’t see every single post, tweet, and pin from the people and businesses they follow because there are simply too many updates to fit on an average news feed. On Facebook, for instance, you can only count on about 6% of your fan base seeing anything you post according to Social Ogilvy.

Engagement And Virality

Experts agree that social media has a higher engagement rate than email. Sharing content on social media channels results in higher traffic on your blog and website. This will surely build your brand. It is a major advantage Social media has over email. It offers the possibility of going viral. Your posts aren’t restricted to your own network of followers, so if someone shares your content, a certain number of their followers will see it too. Social media channels like Facebook have access to a wealth of third-party data. This data allows you to reach a uniquely targeted group of consumers who are most likely to be interested in your product or service. When it comes to email marketing, you can only reach your current email list. Unless your post is shared, the same goes for organic social media posts. However, with social media ads, you can reach brand new audiences.

57% of global content sharing activities occurred via Facebook and 18% occurred via Twitter, whereas email only accounted for 4%. See table below.

 


Combining Both

When it comes to promoting your sales, email marketing, and social media ads don’t need to be rivals. In fact, there is no reason why you cannot use them both together to reach your sales goals.

The key to getting the most out of your marketing budget is knowing when to use each tactic to optimize your impact. Social media is a great tool for reaching new audiences, engaging individuals and gauging interest in promotions.

On the other hand, email marketing can help you engage with those who have a direct interest in your brand as well as users who don’t have social media accounts on the platforms you use.
For your next marketing campaign, use email and social media marketing together and see the magic at work.

Quadrant MSL Partners Social Media Week To Deepen Digital Conversations

Quadrant MSL Partners Social Media Week To Deepen Digital Conversations

Lagos, Nigeria; 12th February, 2018:  In demonstration of its commitment in contributing its quota to shaping Nigeria’s digital conversations, Nigeria’s leading Strategic Communications Consultancy, Quadrant MSL has announced its media partnership with Social Media Week Lagos to further deepen connections, impact and influence with Nigerian audiences.

Speaking on the partnership, Director, Group Account Management, Quadrant MSL, Anurika Azubuike said that the partnership was borne out of the company’s desire to encourage the continuous use of social media and technology as a whole for everyday conversations, as well as a strong tool in strategic business communications. “Today’s consumers are very discerning and have access to platforms at their fingertips. Technology has made this possible by becoming a potent tool that enables collaboration and resourcefulness, bringing people and organizations closer together in simple conversation styles,” she said.

While pointing out that the conference has continued to play a huge role in connecting Nigerians to the global space and giving Nigerians the opportunity to tell their own stories, Azubuike stated that Quadrant MSL’s partnership at this year’s Social Media Week will further advance the use of digital storytelling to push narrative boundaries.

She further said, “At Quadrant, we understand that great stories change the world and there’s no better way in this time to tell great stories than using digital platforms to engage with people, cultures and perspectives. It is for this reason that we have put our weight behind Social Media Week 2018 to drive that connection and the values it stands for.”

Social Media Week, Lagos, currently in its 6th edition is themed ‘Closer’, held at the Landmark Event Centre, Lagos, and came up between the 26th of February to 2nd of March 2018. The event featured a wide variety of discussions covering the Future of Media, Travel and Tourism, Governance, Gender inclusion with dedicated Women in Tech platform, Entertainment as well as Emerging ideas and trends across the globe.

Quadrant MSL Wins 2017 Model Agency Of All Time Award

Communications Trends in 2019

December 26, 2017, Lagos, Nigeria: Nigeria’s foremost public relations Consultancy, Quadrant MSL has received the All-Time PR Achievement Award as it was named the Model Agency of All Time by the Lagos State Chapter of the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (LaPRIGA) at the second edition of the LaPRIGA Awards held recently at the Four Points by Sheraton Hotel in Victoria Island, Lagos.

Quadrant MSL was recognized by LaPRIGA for its role in pioneering Nigeria’s first full service Public Relations Consultancy twenty-eight years ago, and defining standards of excellence that changed the landscape of the professional practice.

Speaking on receipt of the award, Group Accounts Director, Quadrant MSL, Anurika Azubuike said the Company is delighted to have been in the playing field for this long while maintaining good business standards and executing Public Relations programs with cutting edge strategies.

“On behalf of the entire Quadrant MSL, we are thrilled to be recognized for the standards that we set in the Industry as the pioneer Public Relations Consultancy. We will not be able to achieve this laudable feat without the strong minds and determination of the people in our company, our esteemed clients who acknowledge the sterling work that we do, and for the best global practice we uphold and maintain in the industry.”

“This Award is a testament to the how we have grown and revolutionized the industry. We will continue to live up to the standards that we have set, attract the best talents and deliver the best of services to our clients,” Azubuike added.

Quadrant MSL is Nigeria’s foremost reputation management company and has been operating in Nigeria since 1989. With services ranging from Brand & Consumer Marketing, Digital & Social media Communications, Corporate Communications, Reputation Management, Research and Analytics, Issues & Crises Management, Quadrant MSL offers services key multinationals and indigenous businesses some of which include Coca-Cola, Philip Morris International, CNN, Dell, British Airways, Fidelity Bank, among others.

The 2017 LaPRIGA Awards had the theme ‘Celebration of Success’ and provided a platform to appreciate and recognize Public Relations Agencies as well as Brand journalists. The Awards presented at the event included categories for Best PR Agency to work in, Best PR Agency using New media, Agency of the Year Award, and Best PR Training Consultancy Award.

HOW TO COMMUNICATE EFFECTIVELY

HOW TO COMMUNICATE EFFECTIVELY

While effective communication is essential to building a strong brand, excessive communication often has the same effect as not communicating at all. When you over-communicate, audiences begin to automatically ignore your content meaning it’s difficult to listen with full attention, and almost impossible to absorb in full.

Effective communication is how brands and businesses thrive. Overcommunicating may mean sending out unnecessary information about your brand or saying the same thing repeatedly, without changing the way the message is being said. It’s worth doing everything necessary to ensure your company is saying the right thing, to the right people, in the right way and via the right channels.

Decades ago, adequate communication opportunities posed a major challenge to emerging brands. Now, however, with an extremely long trail of communication platforms including various social media platforms, email marketing, and so on, the opportunities abound. These new options can increase the urge to speak excessively and quite frankly audiences are struggling to keep up with the many things brands communicate about. Overcommunicating, is often rooted in good intentions. It may stem from a desire to increase visibility or convince potential customers of the trustworthiness of your brand.

However, customers are becoming increasingly adept at filtering out excessive or in-genuine communications from brands. On this, Raja Rajamannar, CMCO (Chief Marketing & Communications Officer) of MasterCard, says, “It keeps me awake every night. Consumers look at advertisements as an annoyance, as an interruption to their experience. They’re very irritated.”

The answer to engaging your audience is not to speak constantly, but to speak more effectively.

Here are a few tips:

  • Ask Questions and Get feedback

    Effective communication involves an exchange of information. Be sure to know what your audience needs and provide it accordingly. Find out the type and quantity of information your audience desires, and think about how to make your communications easy for them to consume. Ensure that you answer questions that your potential target audience has, rather than constantly sending out information about your brand. By providing value, you create a mutually beneficial relationship.

 

  • Use a variety of communication methods:

    Make use of visual, audio and text driven media rather than sticking to one type. Also, ensure email engagements are reduce necessary. In 2015, an average of 205 billion emails were sent out daily. By the end of this year, that figure is expected to increase by 15 billion. Email newsletters are likely to get lost in the clutter or get opened very briefly. If you are sending emails make sure your content is engaging and visual so users are inclined to not only open it, but to read through in full. One last email tip, ensure that the subject line is very specific. This will gain your reader’s attention and differentiate your email from the pack.

 

  • Create solid content across platforms:

    Content is still king. By garnering more engagement, sign-ups, site click-throughs and so on, putting out the right content puts your company in a better position to compete. Also, don’t forget more traditional outlets. Leveraging established audiences through newspapers, magazines, and television is still worthwhile. Ensure that everything that goes out is in alignment with your brand and that it is genuinely useful to your audience. Be open to employing professional copywriters or content creators for this task. The more value you offer, the more visible you become.

 

  • Be concise:

    When in doubt, say less. The average reader lacks the time and patience to dig through tons of information in the slight chance of finding useful content. Sites that have wide readership usually have posts between 300-800 words. Whether online or offline the first few seconds of your engagement is what will determine whether the consumer continues to read, watch or listen. Be concise and edit your content to suit the platform you’re using.

To avoid compromising your brand integrity, focus on making your communication constant, clear, and transparent. Make every word count.

Quadrant MSL at Social Media Week Lagos 2019

Quadrant MSL at Social Media Week Lagos 2019

Quadrant MSL will be hosting a Social Media Week Lagos on a panel called, Fake News: How New Media is Changing the Course of History. Moderated by our Managing Consultant, Uche Ajene. The panel is taking place on Monday February 4th at 4pm, at Landmark in Oniru, Lagos.

Fake news has become a major world issue, Quadrant MSL be talking about just how pervasive it is in Nigeria and what we can do to fix it. We hope to see you at the panel, so click here to register now! In the meantime, read more about fake news below.

Fake news is a term we hear a lot today, it flies around the headlines, and it’s all over the radio, but most of us cannot conceptualize just how deep it affects us. Even when we do not seek news out news on our own, we often receive it instantly on our phones, particularly through various social media such as WhatsApp, Facebook, and Instagram. So how do we manage this mountain of information so that fake news does not mislead us?

The problem of fake news is pervasive, especially in developing countries where ethnic tensions can be high and news literacy (the ability to understand what news is genuine) is often low. But make no mistake, fake news is a problem on the world-scale – it has influenced elections in America, caused deaths in multiple countries including Mexico and Ethiopia, and devalued the currency in South Africa.

Previously, our news used to come only from established media houses like Channels, CNN, and BBC. Today, social media platforms have demolished the barriers to entry – anyone, anywhere can say anything and as long as the “news” is presented well, people may believe and share.

False information spread on social media has led to many violent deaths in Nigeria. We live in a country where propaganda and rumour mongering thrives, so we need to learn both how to spot and how to stop the spread of false information. Tech companies have realized the large role they play in spreading fake news. Facebook owned WhatsApp is currently running radio ads in Nigeria in order to educate people on how to discern real news from fake.

But we can’t just rely on tech conglomerates to keep us safe and informed. What is the role of the everyday Nigerian in combating fake news? What is the role of the government, and how do we move forward in a world that has rapidly changed?

Nigeria’s foremost PR agency, Quadrant MSL, will be hosting a panel session at Social Media Week Lagos 2019, to discuss this critical issue. At this panel session, the goal is to bring together experts in news and communication for better understanding of how the media landscape has changed in order to explore ways to lessen the likelihood of its spread, and to mitigate the damage it causes.

Moderated by Quadrant MSL’s Managing Consultant, Uche Ajene, panelists include Amaechi Okobi, Group Head, Corporate Communications, Access Bank, Kolawole Osinowo, Senior Business Manager, HMD Global, Laila Ijeoma, Founder, Laila’s Blog, Tolulope Balogun, Head of Presentations, News Central, and Tosin Ajibade, Founder, Olorisupergal, who will share their experiences and collaborate to seek solutions to the epidemic of fake news.

The audience will come away with an understanding of:

  • How much fake news has impacted the world, Nigeria and Africa as a whole.
  • Why developing countries are even more vulnerable to fake news.
  • How to discern between fake news and real news.
  • What is being done the world over to combat fake news.
  • Why your voice and stories matter to combat this.

 

See the event details below:

Fake News: How New Media is Changing the Course of History

Monday February 4, 2019 4:00pm – 5:00pm

Landmark Event Center

Click here to register!

Photos From Social Media Week Lagos 2019

Photos From Social Media Week Lagos 2019

Panel Session


Tolulope Balogun

 Head Presentations News Central


Amaecho Okobi

Group Head Corporate Communications and External Affairs Access Bank


Laila Ijeoma

Blogger


Uche Ajene

Managing Consultant Quadrant MSL


Kolawole Osinowo

Senior Business Manager at HMD Global


Oluwatosin Ajibade

Blogger: Olorisupergal


Anurika Uzubuike

Lead Consultant


Uche and Amaechi


Panelist


Participant


Laila Ijeoma

Blogger


Participant


Participant


Cross Section of Participant and Panelist


Cross Section of Panelist