I’ll have to say that, these are the top 9 Publicity Designs and Branding Projects at @bravepublicity for the year 2021.😌🥰
Some proved to be more challenging than others,🤷🏽♀️ and they all reflect Brave Publicity’s growth and progress this year as a young business in Corporate Communications, Public Relations and Publishing.😆😊
I’m thankful for the opportunities of service, strength of consistency and successful execution.
Looking forward to a rewarding new year in advance.😄👍🏽
For further inquires, send us a DM (using the contact details on the web below or on the home page). You can also reach out via our social media platforms).
Appraisal is a very important phase for strategy improvement and implementation in the field of corporate communication and public relations.
It helps publicists and communications specialists define accurately action steps and improvement opportunities required for a brand or business to achieve certain milestones or success.
In light of the present-day communication assets and innovations, a number of things define brand appraisal for Corporate Communications and Public Relations.
Present-day Communication Assets Utilized.
Growth Strategies and Impact of Communication Assets.
Relevance of Communication Assets and sustainability.
Ranking and Search Engine (Optimization and Marketing).
Brand Name, Brand Positioning, and Impression.
Let’s explore some more, these five (5) areas:
Present Day Communication Assets Utilized.
One of the first steps for towards “Brand Appraisal” is identifying the current communication assets being utilized by the brand. You’re most likely to find the following:
Zero utilization of present day communication asset. This is so, for those who just love to do things the old fashioned way and are averse to change, new methods and trying new things. Such brands most likely have a physical outlet and marketing is done through word of mouth and physical exchange of products or services.
Some utilization of present day communication assets. This is so for some brands who have some level of exposure to the importance of establishing some communication assets such as an official email, an online presence for the brand or a simple website.
Full utilization of the present day communication assets. This is the case for brands that recognize the importance of establishing communication assets and strongly utilizing them.
The appraisal here means determining for each of these three categories, if the chosen communication assets are suitable and relevant for the brand. As this affects greatly the growth and impact of the brand, leading us to the next point.
Growth Strategies and Impact of Communication Assets.
The second step towards “Brand Appraisal” is assessment for growth and impact. In terms of communication and public relations, one needs to determine how strong an online presence is and how visible the brand is to the public.
Things like the online presence across key communication assets, the follower count, the visibility of the brand, and the level of engagement for created content etc. All are important aspects to consider. Rich engagements ultimately determine the reach for brand awareness and potential of great content going viral.
In terms of communication, this determines if a brand is doing well enough to reach the target audience.
So you need to ask growth and impact questions like:
How strong is the brand’s online presence?
Is the brand well represented across the relevant and key communication channels?
Is there more awareness of the brand presence, growing across the key communication assets?
What’s the follower count across the key communication assets, in relation to the time of brand takeoff?
What’s the level of engagement by people across the key communication assets? Inquiries, Collaborations, Comments, Shares, Saves etc.
What percentage of sales can be attributed to communication, advertising and marketing efforts across the communication assets?
Relevance of Communication Assets and Sustainability.
The third step towards “Brand Appraisal” is assessment for relevance of the selected communication assets. This is based on the brand focus, the uniqueness of each communication asset and it’s use by the brand.
Case Study: A Fashion Brand
Take for instance, a fashion brand, a great communication asset for great publicity would be one that aids visualization and ease of purchase. Some options for communication assets that would be a good fit for such a brand should be one that enhances clarity, simplicity and aesthetics.
A good match would be a website and social media platforms like Instagram for great images/ videos and TikTok for videos which showcases the variety of fashion items. The choice of content presentation would often vary for fashion brands.
A brand’s budget often determines the approach. Sometimes, brands operating on a cost effective budget may rely on great “Design” (graphics, animation and videos) and “Marketing” using actual products and mockup designs of same. Another popular option with a wider budget for marketing and advertising is the engagement of influencers and models who showcase such fashion pieces or items. So the Short videos on Instagram, Longer Videos on IGTV, Instagram reels and TikTok videos become instrumental for content creation in this regard.
Of course, other communication assets such as Facebook and Twitter and other internal communication platforms for email conversations and email marketing may be useful in the long run, however prioritization should be for the most relevant asset that aids publicity and gives the fashion brand better awareness that ultimately drives growth and sales.
This also implies that relevance and choice of communication asset for brands across different sectors will vary. This is a choice that needs to be carefully decided when prioritizing the relevance of a communication asset for a brand.
Ranking and Search Engine (Optimization and Marketing).
The fourth step towards “Brand Appraisal” is assessment for ranking and search engine optimization for the brand. How often does the brand show up on the web while surfing the web for key things pertaining to the brand’s industry, niche or area of focus?
To address this, it’s important to ask the following questions:
How optimized is the brand’s website?
Can the brand be easily found when searched for on the web?
Is the website adapted for both mobile and web, thus aiding the user experience?
Is the brand’s web content crafted to include relevant keywords for its line of business, including Broad Match keywords, Phrase Match keywords and Exact Match keywords that ultimately aids search for the brand’s industry?
How often do Search Engines recognize that the website has relevant content for search?
How high up in terms of ranking, does the brand’s website appear in search?
Does the brand need to drive some search engine marketing efforts for better visibility?
Are there any local listings that aid search for the brand’s visibility?
These are questions that need to be answered in view of appraisal for Ranking and Search for the brand.
When a brand/business is willing to set aside a budget for Search Engine Marketing (SEM) / Advertisement efforts, then visibility for search can be worked upon. What ultimately drives the success of visibility for search is the “Bid” (maximum amount an advertiser is willing to pay for a click on an ad) for SEM efforts and the “Quality” of content on websites. So, search engines look at these two things before prioritizing content they show to users; those they think are most relevant to the search in question by users.
Optimization efforts and local listings on platforms like “Google My Business” can also be very useful for small businesses/ brands that can’t afford a budget for SEM efforts and advertisements to aid search.
However, it’s very possible to achieve great visibility with Search Engines over time for a niche, an industry or a line of business. This is achievable when relevant content/details are shared often and consistently regarding the area a brand intends to dominate or become relevant.
Brand Name, Brand Positioning, and Impression.
Finally, the fifth step towards “Brand Appraisal” is an assessment for brand’s name, brand positioning and impression.
Some questions to ask for this include:
Is the brand name reflective of what they do (the core area of focus, niche or industry)? Is it memorable and easy to pronounce and recognizable amongst other brands? Does it stand out from similar brands? What do we (brand owners/ strategists/ publicists) want people to know this brand for (for new brands)? What have people come to know this brand for, or what area, industry or niche do people associate this brand with? Are people’s interpretation of what the brand stands for accurate? Are those impressions positive? What are people saying about the brand? What does analytics for the existing communication assets say about the brand? How can we work on the improvement opportunities based on the data obtained from these assessments or analytics?
These are some of the questions that can be addressed to decipher if a brand has the right name, impression and is positioned accurately in the market place.
Remember, data driven decisions are always relevant for growth and improvement for brands, and when one is willing to listen and learn from the information obtained from the appraisal of brands, then a great strategy can be drafted; aimed towards growth, development, brand visibility, brand reach, engagement, impact and ultimately sales.
Thank you for reading.
Article by Opeolu Adeyemi. Corporate Communications and Public Relations Consultant Founder, Brave Publicity Ink!
In 2020, Nigeria was named home to the ‘largest’ music industry in Africa and undoubtedly continues to gain local and global attention; due to numerous internationally award-winning musicians, artists, managers, producers, promoters, record labels, marketers, and distributors. This global attention also extends to international recognition, comprising innumerable international performances and collaborations with renowned foreign artists and record labels.
Background
The Nigerian music industry has birthed several genres of music with a hearty mixture of hip-hop, R&B, reggae, and gospel as it continues to flourish in the spotlights; as a result, one might be curious about what the financial and economic implications are for these artists and Nigeria as a whole.
According to Statista Research Department[1], This industry’s revenue grew from 26 million U.S. dollars in 2014 to 34million U.S. dollars in 2018 and is estimated to generate about 44million U.S. dollars by 2023. This contributes a tremendous amount to Nigeria’s GDP[2], which was 448.1 billion U.S dollars in 2019 only.
For this article, we would be considering the importance of protecting the Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) [3] of creatives in the Nigerian music industry.
Further considering how profitable this industry currently is, one would envisage that ‘top’ safety measures are put in place to secure the intellectual properties of these creatives from infringement both locally and internationally. One would expect that these creatives fully profit from their works without undue hindrance.
However, that is not the case as there is an unusual norm that plagues both the upcoming and the ‘biggest’ artists in the Nigerian music industry. There is an inability to protect IPR from infringement.
CASE STUDY
According to Celebrity Net Worth[4] Wizkid is a Top Nigerian singer, performer, and songwriter who has a net worth of 4 million U.S. dollars. He is widely recognized across Africa and in the Afrobeat community, reaching international prominence by collaborating with famous persons in the music industry such as Drake, Beyoncé, Tyga, Swae Lee, and Major Lazer to name a few. After working with other high-profile musicians, Wizkid branched out into the mainstream music scene. Being the first Nigerian citizen to amass 1 million followers on Twitter; He is undoubtedly one of the most famous Nigerians of all time.
Wizkid V. Wisekid
A Wizkid imposter ‘Wisekid’ set up to illegally profit from copying Wizkid on the digital space. ‘Hosea Yohanna’[5] an upcoming Nigerian artist; acquired millions of streams in just 7 months, starting from October 2020 by cloning Wizkid’s ‘Made in Lagos’ album with his album named ‘Lasgidi Made’ having 9.3 million plays and 1.2 thousand purchases on Apple music alone.
The similarities of both names were unmistakable, and though the album songs had different lineups, all Names were the same. Even the songs sounded similar. Wisekid also went ahead to create a clone Twitter and Instagram account with the handle ‘@wisekidaya’ which was indisputably made to look just like Wizkid’s handle ‘@wizkidayo’ for both accounts having a following of over 8.4 million on Twitter and 12.1 million on Instagram.
Wisekid was discovered sometime in early April 2021 by Wizkid fans when he posted screenshots of his Lasgidi Made album streams on his Twitter page captioned ‘on God’, stirring up so much controversy. After ‘@africafactzone’ on Twitter reported that he was making 30 million Naira monthly, which amounts to about 79 thousand U.S. dollars from copying Wizkid.
Wisekid replied to that tweet stating, “…I’m just an upcoming artist, I know nothing about this…” He also tweeted that ‘Freeme Digital’ distributed all his songs and said that he had no idea, ‘Freeme Digital’, however, stated that although they distributed his old songs, the album Lasgidi Made was never one of them.
Although Wizkid did not respond to the social media frenzy, one of his managers ‘Jada Pollock’ shared on her Twitter that the Radio Corporation of America (RCA) had begun working on taking down the album. Lasgidi Made was taken off of Apple Music, Amazon, and Spotify. Consequently, the wisekids Twitter account got suspended.
Akinyemi[6] Opined that ‘Wizkid’ had become a trademark attached to the person ‘Ayo Balogun’, his public ‘goodwill’ building for over 10years. Therefore such ‘goodwill’ is attached to the name Wizkid. He explained; that the trademark was associated with a certain level of excellence. Hence, whatever bears such a mark would attract the loyal audience of the brand who associate it with excellence and cause them to consume its products.
Consequently, if unauthorized persons benefit from the name Wizkid by exploiting or posing as though such a name belongs to them, the person named ‘Ayo Balogun’ the owner of the registered Copyright and Trademark to that name, has the right to bring legal actions against such individuals.
The Benefits of Protecting Intellectual Property Rights[7]
Protects it against infringement by others and ultimately defends in the courts your sole right to use, make, sell, reproduce or import it.
It stops others from using, making, selling, reproducing, or importing it’ without your permission.
It earns you royalties by licensing it.
It may be exploited by way of strategic alliances.
You can make money by selling it.
A farmer, who owns farmland with cattle and cash crops before he starts farming, puts up a fence around his property to protect it. That, in turn, prevents his cattle from straying and also discourages persons from trespassing. The farmer protects his farm and yields a lot of profit in return. Such a farmer experiences little or no loss in his business.
Similarly, if a person would put a fence around his physical property to protect it, what stops an artist from putting measures in place to protect his intellectual property(IP) of great value? Could it be due to the extreme intangible nature of IP; that he does not know how to protect it? Or has he refused to do so for other reasons?
Reasons Why Creatives Do Not Protect Their Intellectual Properties
There are hosts of reasons why creatives do not protect their IP. These reasons narrowed to a few such as;
Lack of awareness.
Attempting to do it yourself (DIY).
Refusal to seek professional assistance (or simply believing that it is not necessary).
Financial concerns.
The “Till I’m big” Mindset.
Reasons as these often pose ‘major’ threats to IP growth and development in the Nigerian music industry. Nevertheless, there are ways in which one can protect their IP rights.
How To Protect The IP Rights of Creatives in the Music Industry
Akinyemi Ayinoluwa, a Music and IP lawyer and partner at Hightower solicitors and advocates, stated in his interview[8] with Entertainment News that; regardless of the persistent problems of creation safety, artists still have options. He noted that the best way for an artist to protect their works is by constantly policing all aspects of their IP.
He further stated that handlers should always be on the lookout for infringements such as Copyright and Trademark, as seen in the case study above. Akinyemi advises that there would always be those who would try and illegitimately exploit the works of others. However, a creator must always be alert and have an infrastructure or Team that constantly policies IP rights.
Recommendations
The writer advises that every creative must prioritize the protection of their works from the onset. Such can either be by way of Copyright, Trademark, or Trade secret protection. No idea or creation is too little; so long it is the creator’s IP.
Creatives may not be able to stop infringers, but they can adequately protect themselves by being aware of their IPR, seeking professional help, and constantly keeping the IPR under scrutiny. Not only does this discourage infringers, but it also gives creatives full access to enjoy and exploit the benefits accruing from their works without interruption.
Conclusion
Creatives at various levels get affected by intellectual property infringement; no one is out of the grasps of this menace, big, small, upcoming, or established. There are always those seeking to take advantage of the IPR of others and make an undue profit. Others ride on the goodwill of creatives which they have worked hard to establish over time. Therefore one must be on the watch at all times.
Article by Ibukun Adeyemi. LL.B 2020 || Intellectual Property Law and Media and Entertainment Law Enthusiast || Legal Assistant.
Brave Publicity Ink! 