Assignment and submission by Akingbulu Oluwatosin, in response to a class assignment on



Download 50.77 Kb.
Date01.02.2018
Size50.77 Kb.
#37389

public relations strategies, school of media and communication, pan-atlantic university

Assignment and submission by Akingbulu Oluwatosin, in response to a class assignment on:

PR Strategies by Dr Phil Osagie at the Pan Atlantic University, School of Media & Communications. Topic- PR plan for Eko Atlantic City


PR PLAN FOR THE LAUNCH OF EKO ATLANTIC CITY

FOR THE LAGOS STATE GOVERNMENT

BY

AKINGBULU OLUWATOSIN (PAU/SMC/MSCFT6/130010)



In response and a submission to a class assignment on: PR Strategies by Dr Phil Osagie






CONTENTS

Page

Executive Summary ………………………………………………………… 2

Background to the Brief ……………………………………………………. 3

Strategic issues …………………………………………………………….. 4

Key stakeholders and publics ……………………………………………… 5

Objectives …………………………………………………………………. 6

Key messages ……………………………………………………………… 6

Strategic approach and timescale ………………………………………….. 7

Campaign Tactics …………………………………………………………. 7

• Pre-Launch: April to May 2014 ………………………………….. 7

• The Launch Itself: June 2014 …………………………………….. 11

• Follow-up: June to September 2014 ……………………………… 11

Budget ……………………………………………………………………. 12

EXECUTIVE SUMARY

This report has been prepared in response to a brief from the Lagos State Government and proposes a public relations strategy for the launch of Eko Atlantic City; an impressive urban land reclamation development project in Lagos state which will be launched in June, 2014.

It sets out the potential impact of Eko Atlantic City, providing context in which to view PR plans and budgets. It also analyses both environmental and internal factors, focusing on the key issues which may impact on the launch. Key publics have also been identified. This has resulted in clear, achievable campaign objectives and targeted messages, which focus on Eko Atlantic City.

The recommended strategy is based on a 6-month plan, with three phases of activity: pre-launch awareness-building, the launch itself and follow-up to maintain momentum. Activity focuses on the primary publics of people living in neighbouring cities, developers, investors and other stakeholders.

At the heart of the campaign is: social media engagement, a series of press conferences and media chats, advertisements, live broadcasts and monitoring. The report concludes by outlining a budget needed to carry out the campaign.

The campaign theme: ‘Africa’s super city of tomorrow’, draws heavily on stakeholder opinion and features of the project.



BACKGROUND TO THE BRIEF

Lagos State is the economic capital of Nigeria, located in the southwestern part of the country and home to about 16 million people. Although, among the states in Nigeria, it is one of the smallest in area, Lagos State is the nation's largest urban area. In the West, it shares boundaries with the Republic of Benin and behind its southern borders lies the Atlantic Ocean. 22% of its 3,577 sq km are lagoons and creeks.

The proposed new city of Eko Atlantic would be built on a part of Victoria Island in Lagos state that has been taken over by rising sea levels. It is the most impressive urban land reclamation development project in Africa. Eko Atlantic city would be a new home to 250,000 people and the workplace of another 150,000. The ten square kilometer development will have waterfront areas, tree-lined streets, efficient transport systems and mixed-use plots that combine residential areas with leisure facilities, offices and shops.

Eko Atlantic city’s story started in 2003 when the Lagos State Government was in search of a permanent solution to protect Bar Beach in Victoria Island from the effects of severe coastal erosion, and to safeguard Victoria Island from the threat of flooding. Between 2003 and 2005 South Energyx Nigeria Limited, the developers and city planners of Eko Atlantic, engaged in a feasibility study with international experts to solve the problem once and for all.

Eko Atlantic city has since then evolved rapidly from a visionary design concept into reality. Infrastructural road works are already in progress and underground surface drainage pipes are being laid along major routes in the new city. Piling works are also underway for the many bridges in Eko Atlantic. The Great Wall of Lagos sea revetment, which is being built more than two kilometres offshore and had reached 3.5 kilometres in length by early 2013, is now protecting over 5 million square metres of Eko Atlantic and Victoria Island as a whole. Dredging is continuous and sand-filling for phase one was completed in April 2011. Over 3 million square metres of land had been reclaimed by March 2012.

The development brings together private individuals and companies who have the knowledge and expertise to transform land lost to the power of the sea into an ocean-front city that will be one of the wonders of the 21st century.

The multibillion-dollar investment is provided solely by private investors. Those already on board include local and international banks – First Bank, FCMB, Access Bank Plc, GTBank, BNP Paribas Fortis and KBC bank – as well as a growing number of private investors.

The job of planning and building Eko Atlantic involves many different contractors and partners; some are based in Nigeria while others are international companies that are bringing their unique skills to the Lagos development. Building a new city that will become the financial centre of Nigeria, if not West Africa, is a major undertaking. The scale of the Eko Atlantic project is immense and progress is being achieved through a team effort between investors, planners, engineers and contractors.

Eko Atlantic will enhance the status of the capital city of Lagos and create a new and stronger financial hub for the whole of West Africa.

STRATEGIC ISSUES


  1. Rising concerns of people living in neighbouring cities about the linkage of ocean surges to the ongoing development work at Eko Atlantic City.

  2. Doubts of Eko Atlantic city achieving sustainable economic growth and creation of employment.

  3. Financial sustainability of the project.

  4. Uncertainty about adequate research undergone to ensure viability of project.

  5. Financial burden that the project might leave behind for the next generation.

  6. The model of the megacity does not explain issues like renewable energy and waste to energy cycles.

  7. Concerns about the devaluation of neighbouring cities like Lekki Peninsula and Victoria Island.

  8. Availability of affordable living costs for the support staff working in the Eko Atlantic City.

  9. Increased pressure on available infrastructure on the island.

  10. Deeper divisions between the rich and the poor that could lead to a wide gap in social strata.

KEY STAKEHOLDERS AND PUBLICS

Primary Publics:



  1. Residents of neighbouring cities

  2. Project partners and sponsors

  3. Developers

  4. Employees

  5. Housing agencies

  6. Real estate agents

  7. Surveyors

  8. Estate Developers

  9. Mortgage professionals

  10. Real estate brokers

  11. Financial institutions

  12. Architects

  13. Engineers

  14. Environmental consultants/scientists

  15. News/media organizations

  16. Bloggers

  17. Trade unions

  18. Potential investors

  19. Prospective buyers

  20. Local and foreign tourists

Secondary Publics:

  1. Lagos state government agencies

  2. Research bodies

  3. International agencies

OBJECTIVES

The communications objectives are:



  1. To project the economic benefits of creating the Eko Atlantic city.

  2. To counteract criticisms of the project as posing an environmental challenge.

  3. To reassure stakeholders on the viability and success of the project.

  4. To ensure that the employees and other contractors involved with the project understand the technicalities and are empowered to act as ambassadors for the project.

  5. To highlight the potentials of the Eko Atlantic city as a tourist attraction.

KEY MESSAGES

The campaign theme adopted for this strategy is: ‘Africa’s ubercity of tomorrow.’ This theme would be passed across to the various stakeholders using the following messages:



  1. The Eko Atlantic City puts Lagos on the world map of spectacular ultra-modern cities.

(Target audience: potential investors, tourists, developers, property acquirers, tourists)

  1. The Eko Atlantic City projects Lagos and by extension, Nigeria as progressive as it represents the city of tomorrow.

(Target audience: international agencies, foreign investors, developers, research bodies)

  1. The project would establish Lagos, which is already one of the busiest commercial cities in Africa, as a financial powerhouse.

(Target audience: financial institutions, investors, international agencies)

  1. The Eko Atlantic City will provide the following advantages:

  • Help reverse erosion along the coastline.

  • Provide an eco-friendly city and offer employment opportunity to some of its 17 million citizens.

  • Relieve pressure on the overstretched resources of Lagos, generating both living and business space.

(Target audience: people living in neighbouring cities, housing agencies, estate agents, surveyors, architects, engineers, environmental consultants).

STRATEGIC APPROACH AND TIMESCALE

Ideally, the plan would have taken a one year time scale. However, due to the closeness of the launch date to the issuance of the PR campaign planning task date, the pre-launch activities would have to be done in less time. A six month approach was thus, adopted. The 6-month campaign has three elements:



  • Pre-launch activities (April to May, 2014): building awareness and expectation in advance of the launch.

  • Launch activities (June, 2014): Intensive communication focusing on the launch event.

  • Follow up activities (July to September, 2014).

CAMPAIGN TACTICS

PRE-LAUNCH ACTIVITIES (APRIL TO MAY, 2014):

  1. Media training for employees:

It is important that the employees and other contractors involved with the Eko Atlantic City project development understand the issues and technicalities and are empowered to act as ambassadors for the project. Thus, the employees and contractors would receive a training session to equip them to answer questions and give a positive projection of the Eko Atlantic City.

  1. Lagos Carnival event: In order to position the Eko Atlantic city as a potential tourist attraction, the wide space in front of the grand entrance would be designated as one of the stops during the carnival dance procession. Thus, the proposed city would be given media attention as the carnival event is beamed to all parts of the world.



  1. Production of musical video: In anticipation of the opening of the new uber city, a musical video featuring Nigeria’s finest artists would be created. The theme of the song would be projecting the Eko Atlantic city as the future pride of Africa. Artists to be featured are: Tuface Idibia, Femi Kuti and Bukola Elemide (Asa).

  2. Revamping of website:

The Eko Atlantic City website would be revamped to make it more interactive and complement the majestic project. Content on the website would be updated and reflect the objectives of the campaign. There would also be an integration of social media channels on the website.

A customized SEO measure would also be implemented to secure an improved site ranking across multiple search engines. Search ranking will also benefit from the increased level of social media channels integration.



  1. Virtual tour video:

A video would be created to take viewers on a tour of the city. The spectacular features would be highlighted as viewers are taken on a journey through the city. This way, potential tourists and property acquirers would be attracted. This video would be posted on the newly revamped website of the Eko Atlantic City. It would also be shared on its integrated social media channels.

Messages could be targeted at estate agents, brokers, prospective property acquirers and other stakeholders.



  1. Social Media engagement:

In order to ensure instant communication with stakeholders, social media accounts would be created on Facebook, Twitter, Google +, Nairaland and LinkedIn. Messages would be sent out to the public through this media and questions would also be answered in real time.

In order to allay the fears of the stakeholders (such as people living and working in neighbouring cities) about environmental effects and the consequent financial burden on the citizens, social media would be used to pass across messages of reassurance.



  1. Brochures:

A brochure would be created (both soft and hard copies) to be distributed to stakeholders via email and courier services. The brochure would contain facts about the Eko Atlantic City project and data to back up these facts. Graphic models would also be inputed into the brochure.

This brochure would be distributed to estate developers, housing agencies, surveyors and other professionals in the building sector.



  1. Billboards:

Advertisements on billboards would be used in strategic locations such as the giant billboard close to the third mainland bridge and billboards at the roundabouts in Victoria Island, and billboards at low brow areas in Lagos Island.

This would have incorporated messages targeted at people living or working in neighbouring cities.



  1. Flyers:

Just like the brochure, the flyer would contain information about the Eko Atlantic City project, but in a more condensed form. The flyers would be distributed on the streets, placed on counter tables in places like banks and inserted into newspapers.



  1. Press releases:

Press releases would be sent to media organizations such as reputable newspapers both online and in print. This would inform the public about the launch date and an overview of work in progress. The press releases would also be used to debunk claims that the project causes ocean surges.

The press release would be sent out 2-3 days before the event to avoid sending it out too early and then it gets forgotten or sending it too late when other stories may have already been assigned.





  1. Media chat:

At a media chat event that would be organized in Lagos state, questions from a panel of journalists and media executives would be responded to on current issues and developments arising due to the Eko Atlantic City project.



  1. Press conferences:

Press conferences would also be conducted in Lagos state to brief the public about the project and answer questions. A media junket would be distributed to participants at the event.

  1. Souvenirs:

There would be distribution of souvenirs to create awareness of the Eko Atlantic City launch. Stickers, Pens, T-shirts, Mugs etc would be distributed to key stakeholders such as media practitioners, bloggers, estate agents etc.

  1. Bus advertisements:

The LAGBUS would also be used to implement this strategy. Advertisements would be painted on buses plying routes within the island, from mainland to island and vice versa.

  1. Video Public Service Announcement:

These announcements would be made on national television such as NTA and also international television such as CNN. Messages would be targeted at local and foreign investors. They would be short length videos highlighting the spectacular features about the Eko Atlantic City. The video would be packed with colourful images that would appeal to the audience.

  1. Radio Public Service Announcement:

Announcements would also be made on radio stations such as FRCN. This is to increase awareness among radio listeners in the state. Since PSAs are very short in length, about 30 to 60 seconds, it is important that as much detail and facts are included in the announcement for our target public to fully understand the campaign. The PSA needs to be persuasive and specific about the campaign. Facts, statistics and other forms of data need to be presented in the PSA, but it also has to hold the audience’s interest.

LAUNCH ACTIVITIES (JUNE 2014):

  1. Live Broadcast:

A live broadcast of the event would be made on various types of media channels. These include: radio, television, Internet television, Internet radio, blogs and the Eko Atlantic City website. These channels would broadcast in real-time, as the event happens.

  1. Media coverage:

TV, newspapers and radio organizations would be invited to cover the event. They would also report the event as news bits.

  1. Feature articles:

Feature articles about the event would be written and distributed to various media organizations.

FOLLOW-UP ACTIVITIES (JULY – SEPTEMBER, 2014):

  1. Regular e-newsletters to stakeholders prompting them to visit the Eko Atlantic website for news, information and updates.

  2. Ongoing use of social media platforms.

  3. Media relations: regular media releases on new developments and work in progress.

  4. Continued monitoring of the media and public comment.


Download 50.77 Kb.

Share with your friends:




The database is protected by copyright ©ininet.org 2024
send message

    Main page