When PR becomes both attack and defence

Henry Omafodezi

A while ago, I was engaged to handle an urgent brief from a desperate client. The client, a consortium backed by foreign investors, was on the verge of losing out on a multi-billion dollar government project.

For close to two decades, the consortium had doggedly fought through several bottlenecks including years of negotiations with a government supervisory agency as well as a long legal battle. The struggle finally bore fruit and the consortium got the nod to begin work, pending ratification by the executive council. This final bit was considered a mere formality since the council would normally toe the line of the supervisory agency.

Then it happened.

One fine morning, a totally different agency announced during a press conference that it had been awarded the rights to the same project. The new agency had no stakes in the matter, neither had it bothered to engage the other parties before making the announcement. The announcement came like a bolt from the blues.

So, it was back to square one for the consortium. With all hopes of settling to work dashed once again, it rolled up its sleeves and prepared for yet another battle. And, as is the norm in situations like this, they sought PR intervention, albeit, as an afterthought and a desperate measure. That was how I was brought into the picture.

During the onboarding meeting, the client presented me with the problem. They also presented me with their preferred solution: a press conference. Until that time, very little of the consortium’s activities regarding the project was in the public domain so it was clear that the interlopers had taken advantage of the lacuna to lay public claim to it. My client wanted an opportunity to tell their side of the story and they believed a press conference was the solution. But I didn’t believe an open confrontation was the way to go. Why, you would ask?

Firstly, even though my client had gotten an approval-in-principle and could literally smell the ink of the executive council formalising the contract; there was still that last bit remaining. Secondly, one good thing my client had going for it was the sympathy and tacit support of the supervisory agency. Power relationships count for something and one has to be sensitive to the nuances of their environment. An open confrontation would force the agency to pick a side and, from experience, I knew it would prefer not to publicly stand against a sister organisation; a more powerful one at that. I didn’t think it was to our favour to jeopardise the goodwill nurtured over the years as it might come handy.

So, what did we do? We called a few key contacts in respected media outlets, told them the full story, and tendered the corresponding documents for full measure. Considering that the new agency was literally everywhere in the news discussing their plans for the project, it was an easy pitch. Next, we embarked on one-on-one engagements with industry experts and opinion leaders, people who would ordinarily make the news on the basis of their own credibility. Everyone was encouraged to carry out their own investigations for balance.

The new agency went quiet. As documents continued to fly in the public space, my client gained public sympathy and the intruders were perceived as villains. In any case, my client had made strategic investments in the industry over many years and had proven competency in the area. The stakeholders trusted their intentions and preferred to stand with them.

Regrettably, I resigned the account due to personal reasons but I was satisfied that I left the client in a strong position.

• Henry Omafodezi, Founder/CEO at 7Gongs Brand and Media Limited, writes from Lagos.