Ijeoma Ndekwu is the founder, Redrick Public Relations Limited. In this interview, she talks about her business and other related matters
What is your educational background?
I attended Brightland Private School, Apapa for my nursery education and I moved to Pampers Private School, Surulere for my elementary education. Thereafter, I attended Atlantic Hall; we started out in Maryland but I graduated from its main campus in Epe.Then off I was to A-Levels, in Oxbridge College, Ikeja and then to the American University of Paris (AUP), France after a gap year at home. At AUP, I was opportune to study abroad for a semester at the University of Cape Town, South Africa, which was very memorable. My late father was very passionate about education; he was very involved in mapping out my path from nursery school up until university.
What is your work history?
I have been an active member of the Nigerian workforce since I was 18.First as the founder of my own blog, then as the Style Editor of Nigeria’s leading entertainment website – BellaNaija.com. I also did various internships all through my undergraduate degree programme.
What stirred your interest in PR?
My role as a style editor served as the perfect training ground for a career in PR. In that role, I was forced to test my ability to execute and expand on a vision, and I honed some critical skills, including supervisory and leadership skills – as it was my responsibility to recruit, manage and lead the style writers. In addition, I learned valuable brand building skills through liaising with PR firms, designers and creatives in the African fashion industry in order to establish strategic partnerships.Under my leadership, BellaNaija.com won an award for Outstanding Contribution to Fashion at the prestigious African Fashion Awards.Due to my experience at BellaNaija.com, I began to explore a career in public relations, researching the PR industry in Nigeria and defining my areas of interests within it. I had envisaged that I would work in a PR firm after graduating, and then later set up my own firm in the near future.
How did you fund your business at the initial?
Fortunately, I did not require funding to start Redrick PR, I was able to allow it grow organically. I worked from home for two years, until the company could afford and needed its own office. Organic growth is important and also focusing on the actual needs of the firm.
Did you have to undergo any internship before setting up your PR practise?
I did several internships during my undergraduate degree, the two notable ones where with Nigeria’s foremost events company, Eventful Limited. There I was able to work on my event management and coordination skills, and as a PR professional, you organise PR events, and those skills are essential. Also, with Arise Magazine in their London office, where I worked closely with the team and the editor, Helen Jennings on the Arise showcase in New York and the publication. This offered great experience in the traditional media space, and also insight into fine-tuning PR pitches in a way that’s an appealing story for media to write about.
When and why did you set up a PR practice?
I’m a passionate storyteller, and essentially that is what PR is all about – the ability to shape the relationships brands create and maintain by delving deep and telling stories that impact through disruptive campaigns and magnetic copy that dominate news lines and infiltrate minds.
I had envisaged that I would work in a PR firm after graduating, and then later setup my own firm in the near future. I communicated this plan to Uche Pedro (founder, BellaNaija.com), who has been a big sister and mentor to me over the years, and she called me up a few months later and said she had a client for me and encouraged me, silencing all my hesitations and fears, to provide that client with specialist PR services, as I had the capability and capacity to do so whilst I was still job hunting. I started off Redrick PR with that one client, and without a proper company structure – no name, no logo, no staff, etc. However, I received a number of referrals from that client which led me to formally register a company in June 2012. Once that was done, everything else had to fall into place. In retrospect, when I think of the Redrick PR journey, I believe it was a situation where opportunity met preparation.
When did you get your breakthrough as a business?
My encounter with my first client was essentially a breakthrough which compelled me to actually start a business and also because it led to a stream of referrals that brought about clients, such as: Agbani Darego, MultiChoice Nigeria for the ‘Fashion Protégé’ project, Ministry of Communications and Technology, and Jumia Nigeria to mention a few. As a new business all you need is one client, if you’re able to deliver your services effectively and efficiently they will, essentially be your PR.
In running a PR practice and as a young person in corporate practice, what are some of the most innovative lessons you have learnt?
To work hard, to stay focused, to stay the course and be prepared to run a marathon. There are no quick wins; there are no overnight success stories.
What are some of the highpoints of your career?
I was appointed the Client Director for Nigeria for Celebrity Services Africa – a global communications, events and talent agency with offices in Cape Town, South Africa, Beverly Hills, USA, Dubai and now Lagos, Nigeria.
How was your business able to attract this kind of partnership?
We were working on a media tour for our South African client, Bonang Matheba. On the schedule was an event for Ciroc Vodka, as she is one of its global ambassadors. We worked with a member of the CSA Global team, as CSA handled the influencer campaign for Ciroc in South Africa as well as Nigeria. She was able to witness first-hand the dedication, professionalism and personalised attention we offer to our clients and engineered meetings with its global directors.
What advice would you give to aspiring business owners?
Grow organically. Start with what you can adequately manage to ensure optimum delivery – in client or consumer experience; and be consistent.
How have you been able to run a business despite the economic downturn?
During these climates, company’s generally reduce their PR spend or put a halt to it completely. These are definitely challenging times, but what we’ve experienced is companies still forging ahead with PR, although with more conservative budgets, because as a business or a brand, PR offers a strong value proposition during a recession – It delivers more cost-effective results, especially when compared with advertising and marketing. We have observed, clients want more value for their buck, so as a business we’ve definitely had to explore various ways to offer more value. To support start-ups, we’ve specifically created affordable PR packages, which will be become a permanent offering. In 2016, we were also fortunate to have experienced growth in our international clientele, who still see opportunities in Nigeria and want to grow their brands here.
What are your other interests and what are your projections for Redrick PR?
I’m passionate about encouraging young business owners, like myself, who started running Redrick PR at 23. I have a few projects that explore this passion in the pipeline, hopefully you’ll hear about it soon. Ultimately, for Redrick to be the ‘go-to’ PR firm in Nigeria for personalised, detail-oriented public and media relation’s services. This has been a key success factor for us and I think it will be of higher importance in the future, as public relations begins to have more of a definitive role for Nigerian brands and corporations.
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