Advertisers and Marketing Communication professionals have been encouraged to tell the stories of their clients and organizations by themselves, instead of letting others to do that for them. The Executive Director, Sales and Marketing, Red Star Express Plc, Victor Ukwat stated this during his presentation at the ADVAN Marketing Masterclass organized by the Advertisers Association of Nigeria (ADVAN) held in Lagos recently.
Speaking to Marketing and Advertising practitioners at the event, Victor Ukwat mentioned that part of the job of a Marketing Communications professional is ensuring that the perception of his/her client or company should not be made up of information borne out of speculation. “Many times, we forget that people are watching us. People are watching how our companies operate and the media is looking for a good story to feed the public. Competition are constantly circling around, trying to take our place in the minds of our customers so our job is to ensure that no one talks about us better than we do.”
He cited the example of the fire outbreak at Red Star Express Plc, an incident which occurred back in 2005, as a good example of how to ensure that the right message is passed as soon as effectively. “The fire outbreak consumed a huge part of our Operations Hub. It could have crippled our business instantly and there was a lot of talk among our clients as regards our ability or inability to deliver shipments as we used to. We got a lot of calls that day from our clients and there was a need to state if we could still offer our services. We organized an interview at Channels Television and reassured our clients and customers that we could still deliver their packages. By the next day, we were back in back in business.” He added.