Client: National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA)

Project: Public Sector Marketing

Synopsis: The National Emergency Management Agency was established by the Federal Government as Nigeria’s response agency in times of emergency – man-made or natural. But NEMA had an image problem. This was at two levels. NEMA needed to communicate with Nigerians living in crisis-prone areas; and educate local and state governments on the development of proactive plans that don’t wait for disasters to strike.

At the second level, NEMA was also mandated to respond to emergencies at the continental front. Therefore, the body provided aid to Liberia during the war and helped to evacuate Nigerians in that country. At an even more strategic level, it helped to mitigate the effect of drought in neighbouring Niger Republic. Communicating these positive achievements was a challenge, and for it to surmount the challenge, it needs a PR firm with enough credibility.

Situation Analysis: NEMA needed to communicate its tactical and strategic roles. It required to change the perception that it was Government’s hand-out agency. NEMA also needed to change the perception that it was inefficient because people constantly criticised the agency for not been able to respond effectively during emergencies. For instance, the public expected to see NEMA helicopters, earthmovers and even planes. Lastly, the agency had to adopt communication practices that would make their work on mitigating the post-effects of disaster obvious to government whose policy may threaten the agency’s already inadequate budget.

The Challenge: Draw up a communication plan that shows NEMA as the co-ordinating organ during emergencies, not the sole provider of emergency services. It is simply a logistical organisation that co-ordinates efforts during emergencies, working with organisations like the Army, Police, construction companies, airlines, etc.

Our Strategy: We created the key message: Emergency management is everybody’s business. This message was particularly important for local and state governments, paramilitary bodies, armed forces and other relevant bodies with the capacity to respond during emergencies. Our key strategy was to exploit a multiplicity of media to send this message across to a rather complex set of target audiences.

Tactics: Having identified a major knowledge gap in the media, agency organised a national media seminar on Emergency services and the challenge of crisis reporting. The event featured leading media personalities including the Editor-in-Chief of The News, Bayo Onanuga, respected writer and journalism teacher, Adidi Uyo, and top officials of NEMA. Between them they were able to enlighten the large gathering of journalists on the key issues.

Step 2: We engaged in direct contact with top decision makers in the media with a view to sensitising them about the role of NEMA. All these actions were taken with the understanding that the media influence thinking with the use of language within certain contexts and that correct or appropriate usage will have the right effect on those who read.

Step 3: We developed a publication titled Response, a 36-page quarterly. This helped to document NEMA’s work but even more importantly, set the right agenda for the public to have a deeper grasp of the complex organisational issues involved in emergency management.

Step 4: To speak to the Presidency (and other federal, state and local government organs), we recommended the NTA Network News. We ensured coverage for the agency’s key actions on the network news. This proved very effective in establishing to the government that the agency was indeed fulfilling its statutory obligations.

Step 5: We recommended and executed a series of enlightenment road shows that NEMA to 12 state governors and several traditional rulers.

Step 6: A powerful editorial campaign targeted the features sections and took time to explain the relevant issues and everyone’s role in emergency management.

Step 7: We commenced a research process that identified the most popular, mass-oriented radio programmes pan-Nigeria. Educational materials were produced and run on paid basis on all these programmes nationwide.

Results: We achieved a clear change in the crafting of emergency related stories, the media moved away from accusatory to descriptive and socially critical reporting. Instead of constantly lampooning NEMA, they started engaging the real issues.
Government budgeting for emergency services improved tremendously the following year.

Over 16 states established state emergency management agencies, a key campaign of the national body. This figure was to virtually double within the next two years.