As the world continues to grapple with an unprecedented pandemic, increased insecurity, extreme hunger and poverty, questions about the future of our world continue to arise. 16 consultants and advisers from one of Africa’s leading media and public relations companies – BHM Group – weigh-in.
Consumer behaviour, climate change, Corona economy, privacy, government communications, advocacy, marketing communications, and street mapping are some of the topics addressed in a special nine-thousand-word editorial released today.
Ayeni Adekunle, CEO, BHM Group writes on the expectations of consumers, and the rising power of value over brand, “We should expect a boom in health and fitness, in technology, spirituality, and entertainment. And the concept of value over brand could become mainstream, seeing many abandon expensive, crowded cities for the outskirts, or small towns. It will be the same for cars and food and education as consumers practise what the first pandemic in one hundred plus years has taught them. ”
Writing on how marketing communications agencies can survive the challenges of reduced client spend post-Corona, Femi Falodun, a Chartered Marketer and CEO of Lagos-based ID Africa predicts, “agencies, big and small, will need to behave more like product companies in order to survive the next decade. Mastering and adopting NoCode tools will help communicators navigate the unfamiliar waters of technology product development.”
“With the pandemic raging on, coupled with the apparent economic and societal instability, there is a very slim chance that a 20% reduction of greenhouse gas emissions will be achieved. The short and long-term solutions may lie in the country’s estimated 2 billion metric tonne coal reserve, as well as a sustainable approach to wind and solar power – two options that the country has grossly under-utilised,” Iretomiwa Akintunde-Johnson, a Lead Adviser at ID Africa opines, focusing on climate change and its impacts on Nigeria, a West African country of over 200 million people with a nominal GDP of over N43 trillion (over $100 billion).
Africa has a population of over 1.3 billion people and some of the world’s fastest-growing economies. The continent’s GDP is expected to jump to over $5.6 trillion in four years. When compared with the over 7.3 billion population of the world, the top 10 economies already have a GDP of over $58.7 trillion, while the US alone contributed $21 trillion.
In America, where the dawn of the electric vehicle is breaking and may be one of the world’s biggest solutions to global warming, Samuel Ipinyomi, a public relations Consultant in ID Africa, predicts that ‘‘by the time Biden’s first term is over in 2025, electric vehicles (EVs) could be an everyday thing around the world.”
Meanwhile, the lines between advocacy and activism continue to get blurred, according to Ayeni. “We should expect to see more of the line between advocacy and activism getting blurred; as more and more people get involved in calling for justice; recognising model humans and brands, holding governments accountable; condemning brand misdemeanours, or drawing attention to important issues and policies.”
In respect of street culture and the unprecedented influence that the back-streets in areas like Lagos, London, and New York can exert, Sharon Grey, an Adviser at ID Africa says, “The next decade will show us the power of street mapping. And those individuals and initiatives who can rise up and act as a bridge between the ‘street’ and the opportunities that they seek, may well be on their way to tapping into a new source of influence – passionate, raw and real just like its advocates.”
Other contributors to the project include Oyindamola Benjamin-Black, a chartered accountant and head of finance at BHM; Omolade Opanuga, a lawyer who’s leading corporate and Legal Services for BHMG; Precious Nwachukwu, BHM’s Lead Consultant responsible for MTN business; Consultants Fayokemi Fadeyi and Tomide Adeyeye; as well as Blossom Deji-Folutile, and Tunde Aboaba, both Associate Consultants.
Njideka Akabogu, a former editor who’s now Lead Adviser at ID Africa; Prince Ehima, a Lead Designer and Timilehin Adebiyi, a communications Adviser, also contributed.
BHM Group seeks to foster an in-depth understanding of the world’s business, tech, commercial, and communications landscape, with a unique perspective that Africa provides. The series is to be updated bi-annually, in order to serve as a guide to where our world could be five years from now.
You can read the entire editorial by clicking HERE
