Iabc Nigeria

28/07/2016

IABC to recognise business leaders who excel in communication

Lagos, July 19, 2016: The Nigerian chapter of the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) has called on business leaders in Nigeria to compete and win an Africa-wide award for executives who excel in using communication to drive business outcomes.
The International EXCEL Award programme of IABC “honours a top-level executive for contribution to business communication. This contribution can include initiating, directing, supporting or sustaining outstanding and effective communication programmes. The award is frequently given to a chief executive officer, managing director or general manager.”

IABC Africa operates the EXCEL Award for participants on the continent. Nominees do not have to be members of the association. Now in its fourth decade, “the EXCEL Award is the IABC's highest honour to be bestowed on a non-member. There are no restrictions or biases based on the size of organisation or budget.”

The Award looks at the role of a leader in communicating effectively with internal and external stakeholders during tough times as this is crucial to a company’s long-term success. In the call for nominations, IABC Africa through Zanandi Allers said the award takes in six criteria.

These are a demonstration of exceptional leadership, management and communication skills, use of a communication strategy that demonstrates creativity and innovation and that contributes to the business success of the organisation as well as some experience in communicating with global or multicultural audiences, where possible. Others are a commitment to the communication programmes for all of the organisation's audiences, both internal and external, and at local, national and international levels, must have participated in communication, not simply directed communication staff in their efforts. The nominee must also show commitment to the highest ethical and professional standards.

Nigerian chapter president of IABC Mr Chido Nwakanma urged communication professionals in Nigeria to take advantage of the opportunity to nominate their business leaders. He appealed to both in-house professionals as well as consultants on the agency side.

Nwakanma stated, “Many firms in Nigeria have done excellently in communication as the cases we have examined in our Business Leaders Forum reveal. Many have managed challenges with change, employee engagement, consumer outreach, or dealing with stakeholders in the community, government, or advocacy. We believe Nigerians should step up for recognition for their contributions in communication, now a key driver of business.”

Entries are open to July 30. Entries should go to email: [email protected] or
phone: 076 624 8204.

SIGNED
Abiodun Olaniyi
Director of Communications, IABC Nigeria

28/07/2016

IABC Africa opens registration for annual conference

IABC Africa communication conference 2016 will convene communication leaders, business owners, consultants and corporate communication professionals to discuss key issues facing the communication industry today.

Johannesburg/Lagos – July 14, 2016 – IABC Africa has announced the opening of registration for the IABC Africa Conference 2016, the annual conference designed by and for communication professionals on the forefront of strategic innovation in the field. The theme for this year’s conference is innovating business communication, covering a myriad of topics including the new skills-set required of communicators in a rapidly changing landscape. The conference will hold from 2 to 4 November 2016, at the Vineyard Hotel and Spa in Cape Town. An early bird rate is available until 31 July 2016.

The conference will host more than 15 distinguished panellists and speakers, including business leaders, communicators, reputation and crisis management experts, students, and consultants. Presenters include communication expert Robin Russell McCasland from Fort Worth Texas; Janine Lazarus, media, and reputation specialist; and Gert Schoeman, head of communication at Anglo American Platinum, among others. Closing off the first day of the conference, communication specialist Daniel Munslow will chair a panel discussion with leading communication practitioners about the skills readiness for 2020.

“We are very excited about the level of enthusiasm we have received from speakers, sponsors, and attendees for this annual conference on business communication,” says Daniel Munslow, past chair of IABC Africa and a member of the IABC International Executive Board. “We look forward to bringing together the many communication leaders in our profession for a substantive discussion of real-world solutions to key issues facing the industry today.”

“The speakers at the IABC Africa conference represent many important facets of the communication profession – the consultants, industry, government, non-profits, and thought leaders,” said Carol Allers, Chair of IABC Africa. “We feel that it is important that all stakeholders are given a platform to share their knowledge and experience as we work toward driving an understanding of the key skills communicators need, to stay on top of their game in the years to come.”

Topics include: ‘youthification’, agility, digital communication, risk and resilience, leadership, strategic measurement, business acumen, crisis communication, and cross-cultural communication.

The main sponsor for the conference is DevCom, a leading South African agency specialising in development communication.

For more information and to register for the conference, please visit www.iabc.co.za or [email protected].

28/06/2016

02/11/2015

Research and community relations in focus at 5th Business Leaders Forum of IABC Nigeria

02/11/2015

Research and community relations in focus at 5th Business Leaders Forum of IABC Nigeria

Seventy professionals and stakeholders in business communication gathered August 13, 2015 to share insights, experiences and best practices at the 5th Business Leaders Forum of IABC Nigeria.
It was courtesy of Mobil Producing Nigeria Limited, an ExxonMobil affiliate.
The event held at FourPoints by Sheraton Hotel, Oniru Estate, Victoria Island, Lagos.
Three speakers led presentations and discussions on the themes of Research as well as Community Engagement at what IABC Nigeria President Chido Nwakanma described as “a feast of best practice ideas.”

Speakers were
• Paul Arinze, General Manager, Public and Government Affairs, Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited (MPN), on Key Learnings in Community Management.

• Dr. Margee Ensign, President, American University of Nigeria, Yola, shared experiences on Community Relations in Higher Education: Lessons from North East Nigeria.

• Lampe Omoyele, Managing Director, A.C. Nielsen Nigeria and West Africa, on Mapping the Nigerian consumer: indicators for communication and branding.

The American University of Nigeria announced the launch of an N1billion Resettlement Appeal Fund to assist returning Internally Displaced Persons rebuild and resettle in their homes in North East Nigeria devastated by Boko Haram. It builds on the institution’s successes with the Adamawa Peace Initiative through which it hosted about 400, 000 Internally Displaced Persons. By March 2015, they were still catering for 276, 263 IDPs.

The institution also took in 21 students from the Chibok School and rehabilitated them.

Paul Arinze shared key lessons from the work of Exxon-Mobil with host communities. He said it was important for firms to earn and continually renew the social license to operate by maintaining good relations with their host communities.
Omoyele shared research insights on the five key trends playing out in the Nigerian consumer environment.

The Business Leaders Forum of IABC Nigeria was hitherto called the CEO Breakfast Forum. IABC Nigeria renamed it to enlarge the scope as well as enhance flexibility in timing. The Business Leaders Forum encapsulates the IABC essence: communication, community, and connection.

The International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) is a global network of communication professionals committed to improving organizational effectiveness through strategic communication. Established in 1970, IABC (www.iabc.com) serves members in more than 70 countries for networking, career development, and personal growth.

IABC is a not-for-profit association that provides the content, credibility and community to help communication professionals succeed in their careers. It provides knowledge products, education, certification, and research.
The Nigerian chapter (http://www.iabcnigeria.com/) has about 145 members.

17/11/2014

Lean Forward or Lean back? Notes from 3rd CEO Breakfast Forum of IABC Nigeria

There were several learning points at the successful 3rd CEO Breakfast Forum of the International Association of Business Communicators, Nigeria chapter.
Our speaker from South Africa Dr Sean McCoy shared insights on social media in his presentation on “Stand out communication in the age of digital: an integrated approach”.
One is the fact that the evolving social media eco-system fits in with the African paradigm. According to McCoy, “Africa is very social, localized and networked”. Africa is grouped in communities that are highly networked, interact widely and share strong inclination for social engagement. Not surprisingly, social media uptake in Africa is very high despite challenges with broadband access and connectivity.
Of course, engagement is the key thing with social media. The Facebook nation of 1.3billion people leads in user engagement (visits per day) at 63 percent, followed by Instagram at 57 percent and Twitter at 46 percent.
Next point is mode of engagement. Do you“lean forward” or “lean back” in your engagement with social media?
Citing research, McCoy shared that user behaviour with media alternates with kinds of devices.
Lean forward users are multitaskers, browsing the web, scanning newspapers, and zapping TV. They concentrate flittingly and experience low absorption because of low sustained attention and high attention to external activities.
On the other hand, lean back users are those involved in either reading a book, reading a magazine or watching a movie. They are relaxed, have high sustained attention and pay little attention to external activities.

Dr McCoy submits that of existing devices the tablet best combines lean forward and lean back behaviour in user engagement. The tablet offers “curl-up” behaviour. With tablets ranging from phone handsets to dedicated tablets, he added, “we become one with our device, we hold it dear to ourselves.” This is because, “the content is ours, it is personal, it offers more possibilities.”
For the industry the implication is the recommendation to a shift in designing messages for mobile devices such as tablets as they are growing in user affinity and engagement.
McCoy is CEO of brand and strategy consulting firm HKLM which has offices in Accra, Dubai, Johannesburg, Lagos, Nairobi, and Pretoria. HKLM developed the branding for Go, Conoil, FCMB, among others in Nigeria.
McCoy loves Nigeria and its possibilities. When I went to see and welcome him ahead of his presentation last Thursday, I had with me a copy of Nigeria Monthly. The back page ad, created by Paul Nwabuikwu, has as headline “Africa’s Most Formidable CV”. It lists Nigeria’s positives and affirms, “If you’re not in Nigeria, you are not in Africa”. McCoy looked at the advert and stated, “That’s why I love this market. It is exciting and full of possibilities.”
He shared his experience of the dynamism of our market at the presentation. On arrival, Sean McCoy tweeted that he was in Nigeria. He got a follower immediately. It was from and he tweeted: “Grow Your Followers with Real, Active & Nigerian Followers from 1k to 30k Followers. Call 08028454883, BBM7EFDE4A7 or DM for Office Address”!

16/10/2014

IABC DECLARES OCTOBER MEMBERSHIP MONTH, OFFERS FREE REGISTRATION

Lagos, Nigeria; September 29, 2014 - With the campaign theme, “Wake Up to IABC!” the International Association of Business Communicators has announced October 2014, as its international membership month with enticing offers for fresh and lapsed members.

New members would enjoy a waiver of the $40 registration fee and only pay their annual dues for a year. So would lapsed members. For Nigerian chapter, that translates to a fee of only $221 (as against $261).
The association also revealed that one lucky winner will get the opportunity to select from two prizes: A $500 Starbucks card, (for countries/cities where this is applicable), or a Gaggia espresso machine.

The President of the Nigerian chapter of IABC, Mr. Chido Nwakanma, while making the announcement disclosed that the Nigerian chapter of the association had recently undergone some major restructuring as part of a strategic approach to reposition itself as a resourceful support system for communication professionals in the country. He stated that IABC Nigeria had lined up a number of networking, professional development and mentoring programmes to enhance the value of membership as well as contribute to discourse on business communication in Nigeria.

Mr Nwakanma stated, “Exciting times are ahead for IABC Nigeria with the verve and commitment of the new leadership team. We will activate our programmes in networking, professional education and continuing professional development as well as mentoring to ensure that members take advantage of their membership to contribute at the leading edge in the fast changing communication landscape. A huge body of knowledge and literature is available within IABC that would help members gain the insights to perform better at what they do, whatever their current levels.”

The IABC Nigeria President noted that it was fortuitous that IABC would declare Membership Month in Nigeria’s Independence Month and called on professionals in all fields of business communication, from public relations through advertising to editing, human resource management to photography and teaching, to take advantage of the offer.

Leading extractive industry player ExxonMobil has signed on to sponsor the CEO Breakfast Forum at the end of October 2014.

15/10/2014

iabc Nigeria activities