Reputation II - the Sony battle continues

It seems that the Minister for Communications firm letter to Sony after their Playstation advert highlighted Nigeria as a hotbed of Internet fraud has had the desired effect. Sony have made a public apology and removed the offending advert. You can view and read about it in my blog on reputation earlier this month.

"It has come to our attention that a recent TV advertisement for PlayStation may have offended some members of the Nigerian community.... We never intended to create a situation that would upset anyone, and we have taken action to immediately remove the advertisement from the air. We apologise to anyone this may have offended."

The turnaround by Sony must be a welcome boost for the Minister, but the battle to 're-brand' Nigeria is far from over. The movie District 9 was on general release at the cinemas here over the last couple of weeks only to be pulled, once again due to references to Nigeria as being a country of Gangsters, Cannibals and Prostitutes!

Sony Entertainment is the new target of the Honourable Minister this time and she has asked that all copies of the movie in Nigeria be confiscated...

Though it remains to be seen whether the Minister will have much luck battling Hollywood as well as the Gaming Industry...the Ministry seems to be heading for the style of the 3 wise monkeys rather than addressing the real issues at hand.

Reputation....

What words & thoughts spring to mind when you hear the word Nigeria?
Lets be honest; Nigeria's international reputation is questionable.
The recent Playstation 3 advert is perhaps testament to the reputation Nigeria has abroad.


The advert, much to the chagrin of the Minister for Communication Dora Akunliyi and many others who have called to boycott Playstation; highlights the thought that Nigerians are renowned amongst other things for internet fraud.
419 (a reference to the Nigerian penal code for fraud) is a well documented and sometime celebrated fact in Nigeria. So much so that within the country it has almost become fashionable with various songs referring to it.


The Yahooze song refers to 'Yahoo boys' who utilise Yahoo email accounts to perpetrate international scams. The song above was a popular tune with immense airplay in the country last year. The song and the 'yahooze' dance was heard and seen in many events across Nigeria, and through all walks of life. I can distinctly remember seeing a number of high profile individuals (who shall of course remain nameless) dancing along to this song at many events last year.

My problem, is that while on the one hand many Nigerians are quite rightly angry at their reputation abroad, they on the other, celebrate an example of it.
Before I first came to Nigeria, my friends, colleagues and family were amazed that I had chosen this country. They filled me with horror stories; don't go out at night, its unsafe, kidnappings, corruption etc etc.
Not wanting to tempt fate, but now in my 3rd year I can safely say that so far I have not been kidnapped, robbed or scammed (apart from the usual inflation of prices for an 'oyibo'!)
I have found the people, though challenging and different to us in the UK, to be kind, generous, creative and honest.
The attempt to brand Nigeria, does however need a deep seated culture change in all aspects of life in Nigeria if it is to succeed. A strongly strategic plan, stretching through all areas of life, rather than tactical actions aimed at brand logos and pay off lines is desperately needed.


A couple of months ago The Minister for Communication inspired debate throughout the PR industry and within the people of Nigeria as to how Nigeria as a country should be branded. This occurred during the launch of the new Brand logo and collaterals developed by the Ministry.

An interesting paper on Country branding can be found here:
http://www.brandchannel.com/papers_review.asp?sp_id=604

Commentary from the PR industry through PRCAN on the rebranding exercise is available through the link below; a number of interesting articles discuss the challenges that present themselves in branding Nigeria:

http://www.blueflowerafrica.com/PR%20Review%20feb%20009.pdf

How Nigeria changes its reputation over the next few months and years will be an interesting topic to watch. Hopefully a change can occur where the people are represented for what they truly aspire too: A successful, talented country with a wealth that can be used for the benefit of all, not just Yahoo boys and the like...