3 PR LESSONS FROM NIGERIA’S ELECTION
For the last 9 months, there was one topic that bore prominence on the lips of almost every Nigerian; the general election. The economic situation made the common man on a commercial bus express his expectations, dissatisfaction with the existing realities and the need to vote for a competent leader that can, at least, better the situation so he can put bread on his table with ease. The interests the elections generated made it probably the most anticipated one in over sixty years of the country’s existence.
With the increased public attention the election garnered, you would expect public relations to play a major role in shaping public perceptions and promoting goodwill.
From public activations (medical outreaches and cleanups from political parties) to media relations (numerous press conferences, media parleys and debates) and then, the massive publicity (you heard the one million marches and road rallies? Even if you didn’t, I’m sure your streets still have the gradually-fading posters of politicians).
The social media sphere witnessed the biggest sustained incursion in a while. Hardly a day passed by when a candidate’s political movement didn’t find itself a comfortable position in the top ten trending topics on Twitter. Even Uncle Musk must have been astonished at how our Twitter spaces never stopped and of course, so many statements, visual proofs and strategic responses to quickly avert a disparaging or scandalous piece of information capable of causing a reduction in the number of votes that would be collated by the electioneering officers and announced by the Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu.
The elections have come and gone, if your candidate won, pay your PR team some extra bucks for an excellent job; if your candidate secured very decent numbers at the polls, take your PR team to get pizza, they contributed to it; and if your party did not churn out good numbers, your campaign council and party executives should get a public relations team on board; that was probably the reason you guys didn’t do well, we never can tell, you know. However, we picked up some lessons from the PR efforts deployed by the different political parties and their teams in the
campaign season.
❖ Be the Media’s “Best Guy”: The media has in recent times proved to be one of the biggest partners for any political candidate en route to conquest and this election did not prove to be any different. From Peter Obi’s multiple appearances on Television to the weighty editorials written by veteran journalists adorning the candidature of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, it was easy to spot the contenders from the pretenders during the campaign season. How about social media? The Labour Party supporters, especially, had a stronghold on Twitter till they were dubbed the social media party. Either way, it paid off as the party in less than 9 months created one of the biggest upsets in the political scene, coming third in the Presidential elections and producing a Governor, 8 Senators, 34 House of Representatives and 68 State House of Assembly members respectively.
Lessons Learnt: A vibrant media relationship with a great execution strategy puts your brand in an advantageous position.
❖ An Active Crisis Management Team: Irrespective of the position you’re vying for, members of your crisis response team cannot afford to miss or you just might be buried within seconds. The political sector allows your
opponent to dig up your dirty linen (whether past or present) and wash it
in the public space just to score political points. The Tinubu camp understood the mission and they delivered perfectly. Amidst the physical
absence of Tinubu, rumours of death and withdrawal from the race on health grounds, the team released a seven seconds video showing Jagaban riding on a stationary bike and that was it. Of course, many questioned the
authenticity of the video, but the goal had already been achieved — attention was shifted from his whereabouts to the controversial video. The
spokesperson for the campaign council, Festus Kenyamo was always quick to clarify confusing statements and rumours.
Lessons Learnt: Always be ahead of the curve in responding appropriately to crises. When there’s no realistic response, divert the attention and focus.
❖ Strong and Bold Messages Always Win: The political scene is not for the
fainthearted. You cannot predict the reaction of the public to a campaign
message; they are ready to tear down your interview, looking for the tiniest
of mistakes or a false or approximated statistic to denigrate you with. To
have your candidate’s publicity stand tall from the crowded political arena,
strong catchphrases and copies are needed to have your campaign and
manifesto always in the minds of the electorate. There might be trolls and
banter as feedback, just like it happened with the “Emilokan of Doha” caption that the APC Presidential candidate’s handler tweeted shortly after Messi and Argentina won the world cup, but in reality, there is no such thing as bad publicity.
Lessons Learnt: Lazy copies would get buried and submerged in a pool of
endless content striving for traction and acceptability. PR specialists or
communications strategists must always think outside the box to deliver weighty, witty and sometimes cryptic content that will stay in the minds and lips of the audience — sticky story content.
Elections might be over but PR stays. Politicians who have won need PR specialists in their comms teams to guide the information flow. Even candidates who lost still need PR to stay relevant in the game for subsequent elections and so, the onus lies on specialists to improve their craft and hack the political landscape.