All posts by rachel_eaton

News

Gong Kenya shortlisted as Finalist in prestigious SABRE awards 2020

June 28, 2020 rachel_eaton

June 2020, Nairobi:

Gong Kenya’s campaign with the British Council and Nendo, Cultural Heritage for Inclusive Growth, has been shortlisted for the prestigious EMEA SABRE awards, in the category of ‘Educational and Cultural Institutions’.

Selected from over 600 entries to the awards competition, which recognises superior achievement in branding, reputation and engagement, the awards were announced at a virtual awards presentation arranged by Provoke Media.

For more information on Gong Kenya’s work on this creative, digital-first campaign, please read our case study here.

News

Gong reappointed by Invest in Africa

April 28, 2020 rachel_eaton

April 2020:

Gong Communications has been reappointed by Invest in Africa (IIA), the private sector-led initiative that focuses on growing local businesses in sub-Saharan Africa, backed by development finance. Gong will support the distribution of IIA’s Covid-19 SME Toolkit and provide communications advice on new research for this brief. Meanwhile, Gong Kenya will provide on-the-ground media liaison for IIA’s local team, in addition to work done internationally by Gong Communications in London, across Ghana, Senegal, Mauritania, Mozambique and Zambia. For more information, please read: https://gongcommunications.com/invest-in-africa-taps-gong-for-second-time/

Case Study, Small Grid

Shelter Afrique

November 22, 2016 rachel_eaton

SHELTER AFRIQUE

Business communicators in Kenya: honing a brand identity

Pan African housing finance institution, Shelter Afrique, embarked on a new strategy to create a competitive advantage based on its deep and long-standing experience of the African real estate and housing market. However, the firm’s ambitious intentions were out of step with its existing brand and Gong was tasked with rectifying this and improving the firm’s brand identity.

Working with the Shelter Afrique senior management team, we defined the brand’s purpose through a series of workshops. Our in-house design team created a full suite of collateral, including a new logo, brand guidelines, business cards, brochures, folders and product sales flyers (in dual language versions). Our PR team then developed and wrote the content for a new, dual language website (www.shelterafrique.org) and copy for all of the designed collateral, as well as a digital newsletter.

The Gong Kenya PR team launched the new brand to Shelter Afrique’s employees with a clear internal communications strategy, working with the senior management team during deployment. We also created a 12-month strategy plan with clear recommendations for activity to launch the brand externally. We supported Shelter Afrique in the creation of an internal marketing position specifically to carry out ongoing marketing and PR activity on behalf of the organisation.

Big Grid, Case Study

Continental Reinsurance

November 9, 2016 rachel_eaton

CONTINENTAL REINSURANCE

Pan-Africa communications and Kenya office launch for an established brand

Continental Re (CRe) is a pan-African reinsurance company headquartered in Lagos, Nigeria. CRe asked Gong to support the launch of its Kenya office and raise its corporate profile in Kenya. The company wanted to reach a key audience of insurance companies in Nairobi, to demonstrate its capabilities and position the business as a leading pan-African reinsurance company. In response, Gong Kenya set up a series of high-profile and well-attended events and breakfast meetings, followed by a programme of media relations, integrated communications and branding.

We achieved extensive coverage of the launch of Continental Re across all the major local publications (print and online) and broadcast channels, both TV and radio. In addition to Kenyan media relations, Gong created new branding, rolling it out across the website as well as producing other collateral such as a brochure, annual report and a digital newsletter. We then later set about supporting Continental Re on its annual CEO Summits which provide insurance industry leaders and other strategic stakeholders with a platform through which to network, share ideas and best practices on how to develop the industry in Africa. During these summits, Continental Re’s Pan African ReInsurance Journalism Awards are held. We researched and conceptualised the summits, generated summit themes, and suggested and secured headline speakers. For the Journalism awards, Gong rolled out a proactive media engagement strategy, alongside an engaging design of marketing materials, to attract the attention of English and Francophone business journalists in Africa. Media coverage resulted in a 10 per cent increase in the number of entries received for the awards.

Insight, Uncategorized

MY TWO CENTS TO ALL STUDENTS… ‘DO AN INTERNSHIP!’

October 17, 2016 rachel_eaton

Sara Bonafair

Kick the habit of ignoring advice given by parents and career advisers, just this once, and take it from a peer – internships are worth your time. As a recent grad, I know the feeling of having just barely survived another round of exams and essays. The last thing you may feel like doing is researching, applying for and doing an internship – especially, if you are young and lucky enough to still consider career pressure a distant prospect. Nonetheless, I believe you can never be too young to embark on the trial-and-error process that will lead you to a career in an area you will enjoy in the years ahead.

That’s not to say that we don’t all change between the ages of 17 and 20 something, but if you start the learning process early, it can grow with you. Starting now takes some of the guesswork out of deciding where to direct your focus when you graduate and minimizes some of the stress of committing to your first job. Internships are an integral part of understanding what you want to do, how you want to do it, who you want to do it with – and, crucially, what you don’t want to do.

I took the advice of my career adviser, when pressure and my resume were still pretty non-existent, and ‘playing professional’ seemed almost exciting. From the age of 17, I explored every interest under the sun, from art to financial services, navigating the ocean of opportunities offered to students searching for experience. I worked for small firms, large firms, start-ups, and corporations, making my mantra ‘you never know until you try’. By my last year, a process of elimination allowed me to be able to say with conviction that I wanted to work in the communications industry.

In my last year, I tried advertising in a small firm and while I enjoyed the personal mentorship that was possible in a close-knit team, found advertising wasn’t for me. I tried PR in a large firm, on a B2C team, I enjoyed the type of work, but found the lack of opportunity to slow down and ask questions to understand the bigger picture and strategy frustrating. This learning process was essential to understand what I was looking for – a small PR-firm.

Soon I discovered Gong, which was not only what I was looking for in terms of being a small award-winning corporate communications agency in London, but also what I was looking for in terms of combining my personal and academic interests in my daily work. The supportive and collaborative environment that Gong cultivates had become an important criterion for me. Sitting next to project heads, I was able to really understand everything necessary to produce Gong’s marketing and communications services to its clients, feeling no hesitation in asking how to do things and why. As I developed my skills in the nuts and bolts of PR, I felt I was, at the same time, contributing to impactful work on client briefs that I was proud to be part of.

I can imagine why employers are just as keen as experience-hungry students to offer internships. They give the management team the invaluable opportunity to witness prospective recruits in action rather than relying on intangible words on a CV and an interview.

In short, internships permit you to first realise the industry you want to be a part of, then to envision your ideal role and the environment in which you want to perform it. Internships can also be a ‘getting to know you’ period, for yourself and your future employer. It’s a quick way to learn how to perfectly position yourself after graduation for a rewarding first job to kick off your career. So my advice is, at the end of term, instead of a week of box-sets in bed to take your head off exams –get out there and get an internship!

Vacancies

PR Account Executive – US / African market specialist, London

July 7, 2016 rachel_eaton

We are on the hunt for an Account Executive who has international work experience and excellent social media skills to bolster our team of corporate communications consultants in London.

Gong is a global boutique communications consultancy delivering world-class integrated PR, marketing and creative services. Our team across the UK, US and Africa, is experienced in tech, corporate and financial, education, energy, retail, infrastructure, sustainability and diversity and we are committed to helping businesses communicate their positive impact on the world. Even royalty seems to agree – we won the Queens Award for Enterprise in 2014 and in 2016 our client work has already been shortlisted for 5 industry awards in 2016.

The successful Account Executive will be working on clients ranging from agribusiness, private equity, asset management through to sustainable development in emerging markets on varied briefs with clients based predominantly in the US, Africa and the UK. You’ll be able to easily build rapport with these diverse clients and demonstrate an active interest in areas such as international development, US or African culture, role and marketing non-profits. Our current portfolio and growth areas present significant career progression opportunities for a candidate who possesses the unique mix of capabilities, experience and personality required for this role.

Whether you are building relationships with clients; developing creative and measurable content across social and digital channels; providing advice to colleagues and clients on market landscapes in the US or community development in Africa; implementing innovative programmes or using linguistic skills to help other account teams, you will be an ambitious, global citizen who can contribute clever ideas, sound judgement, confident counsel and flawless delivery.

Typical duties include being the clients’ daily ‘go to’ contact, traditional and social media relations, content writing and development, event management, research, media monitoring, reporting and offering wider support to the team where needed. You will also have plenty of opportunity to get out to industry events for networking and learning.

Have you got what it takes?

We are looking for someone who can demonstrate:

A degree in a relevant subject
Entry-level understanding and experience of working in a UK communications agency
An in-depth understanding of US or African culture and existing networks, ideally having studied or worked for a significant amount of time in either market
Is experienced in using social media across a range of channels and applications, particularly in the not-for-profit sector
Proficiency in a European language other than English (ideally Spanish)
A basic understanding of at least one African language e.g. Arabic, Swahili, Hausa as this would be high advantageous
A pre-existing interest in international development, diversity and inclusion or sustainability-related issues through paid / voluntary work or study, ideally in Africa or the US
An aptitude for building relationships with a wide range of stakeholders from diverse backgrounds
Excellent English writing skills and able to adapt style according to the audience and medium
Proven experience of conducting various forms of in-depth research, analysis and report writing
An ability to consistently manage account administration e.g. press lists, coverage, reporting
Confidence managing workloads and delivering high quality work to tight deadlines
A willingness to take on responsibility, learn quickly and progress fast

In return, you can expect an initial salary of £22K depending on experience and rapid promotion if you can prove yourself. We have a collaborative and supportive working culture and fantastic benefits such as a profit related bonus, private healthcare, gym contribution, contributed pension, early finishes on Fridays during summer, a grooming treatment once a month, monthly team lunches and regular socials. We are also passionate about being responsible world citizens, supporting employee-nominated causes through regular donations and pro-bono work, including the opportunity to spend a month in Africa with our partner, the Africa Entrepreneur Collective.

If you are interested in this opportunity, please send your CV to info@gongkenya.gongcommunications.com.

Insight

Beyond diversity: The business case for developing an internal culture of inclusion

July 6, 2016 rachel_eaton

BEYOND DIVERSITY: THE BUSINESS CASE FOR DEVELOPING AN INTERNAL CULTURE OF INCLUSION

Philip Dundas

Diversity and inclusion (D&I) are on the agenda for most organisations in terms of recruiting a broad talent base. But it is increasingly recognised that the diverse and inclusive perspective you get from that workforce can enrich the internal DNA of a company. This helps to shape its strategic goals beyond the thinking of senior leadership across the whole organisation. In the global marketplace the most innovative companies recognise that to impact on their strategic goals, diversity isn’t just about the range of people within an organisation but the diversity of thinking that reflects.

Equally important as an organisation is how inclusion connects to diversity: your ability to reflect the world around you in your workforce is just the start. The 2014 Deloitte report Global Human Capital Trends, clearly defines ‘diversity of thinking as a business imperative’. Diverse teams draw out better ideas, smarter conversations and ultimately better business decisions.

Lots of organisations have identified inclusion as a bedrock of innovation and to that extent drive and foster the diversity and inclusion agenda across their sectors, seeing how it can shape and transform their organisations and their people. It’s not always in the most obvious places that D&I shapes the way businesses function. Well-managed and effectively implemented D&I policies emerge through a much wider range of issues; from how to adapt the built environment for workability and getting the most from a cross-generational workforce to understanding the implications of working globally and the importance of inclusive leadership.

The benefits of D&I go way beyond compliance into every aspect of a business. From senior leadership right down to graduate entry employees, an inclusive organisation relies on the diversity of thinking from an ever inclusive workforce to be ahead of the game.

Vacancies

Digital and Graphic Design Intern, Gong Creative, London

June 29, 2016 rachel_eaton

Job Description

Reporting to the lead designer, you will be responsible for the design of a range of in-house and client marketing materials, email campaigns and websites, to be developed under the guidance, and in line with the style of, the lead designer.

The role will be extremely varied and will include designing for the following: logos and brand development; websites; newsletters; marketing presentations; brochures and other sales collateral; print and digital adverts; events material; and internal communications.

You will benefit from exposure to a wide range of projects and ongoing training to keep up-to-date with latest industry development. In return, you will act as our brand guardian and ensure that our brand and those of our clients are communicated through numerous touch points for print and web.

Desired Skills & Experience

Personal Qualities

Passion for design, branding and digital communications
Proficient in articulating ideas and strategies to a varied audience
Attention to detail and maintaining a high level of quality
Ability to generate effective visual concepts quickly
Ability to forge strong concepts coupled with beautiful styling
Ability to manage your own work load
Ability to present your work with confidence and self-assurance
Eager to learn, with a positive attitude
Dependable, approachable team player with a sense of humour

Knowledge and Experience

Strong understanding of design elements and principles
Good understanding of user experience and interaction for both print & digital
Developing and maintaining brand identity
Experience in using and designing for Content Management Systems
Knowledgeable in the printing process
Good IT literacy
Basic grasp of email marketing and web development and distribution
An understanding of and exposure to corporate branding preferred

For more details, please drop an email to rachel@gongkenya.gongcommunications.com

Insight

Sarah Nicholas back from secondment with the African Entrepreneur Collective in Rwanda

March 10, 2016 rachel_eaton

SARAH NICHOLAS BACK FROM SECONDMENT WITH THE AFRICAN ENTREPRENEUR COLLECTIVE IN RWANDA

Sarah Nicholas

As I struggle to warm my fingers after a freezing commute through London this morning, it’s hard to believe that this time last month I was spitting distance from the equator. I was in the land of a thousand hills – Rwanda – sharing my experiences as a communications consultant with some truly inspirational entrepreneurs and individuals while on secondment with the African Entrepreneur Collective (AEC) in Kigali.

Listening to the stories of entrepreneurs and colleagues there, it is clear that innovation is thriving in East Africa. But more than that, AEC’s mantra that ‘all solutions to Africa’s challenges already exist on the continent’ now feels more credible and tangible than ever.

Just one example is Marcel, who, having been orphaned by the genocide that decimated Rwanda in 1994, wanted to harness the main driver and instrument of destruction – media and youth – and turn them into a force for good. Now three years after launching, and with support from AEC, Marcel’s news website Umuseke is the second most read digital media outlet in Rwanda and employs 20 people – not bad for a 25 year old.

Another case in point is Rwanda’s answer to Uber, SafeMotos. The app combines booking software with black box technology to ensure customers are only hopping on the back of the safest motorbike taxi drivers in town, offering valuable peace of mind in a city where 80% of traffic accidents involve motos. Peter and Nash developed a go-to-market strategy with think – AEC’s tech incubator, funded by telecoms giant Tigo Rwanda – and the app now adorns billboards across the country.

But it wasn’t only the vision and determination of AEC’s entrepreneurs that blew me away, the passion and commitment of their own team was infectious.

A social enterprise with job creation as its ultimate goal, AEC is a collection of business incubators and accelerators who support local entrepreneurs enabling them to grow, employ others and make a long-term contribution to the economy. In two years, they have already helped 150 entrepreneurs to create 700 jobs and have big plans to expand to seven African countries within 10 years.

Having a soft spot for the entrepreneurial spirit and our own growing communications practice in East Africa, a partnership between Gong and AEC seemed a natural fit and I was luckily enough to be the first of the team to spend a month offering pro-bono comms consultancy and skills building to the organization and its entrepreneurs.

It was certainly a busy month! I created communications plans and marketing strategies, ran messaging workshops, edited websites, drafted press releases, held media training for a bootcamp full of social entrepreneurs and supported AEC’s launch into Tanzania – on which, more later.

But it wasn’t all work. In just 4 weeks I explored Kigali, met a four-month old gorilla in the Virunga mountains, kayaked on Lake Kivu, tested out my first shaky words of Kinyaruanda, got caught in some spectacular rainstorms, was laughed at relentlessly by market stall holders, flew to the foot of Mt Kilimanjaro in a really small plane, and leapt into a lake fully clothed (there was a reason for it!).

For now, while I immerse myself back into the fray of all important client work back at base, I want to say a huge thank you to everyone in the AEC family that made it such a great experience. I will be back!

Insight

Concern Universal on how to make phone calls using a mud oven

February 29, 2016 rachel_eaton

CONCERN UNIVERSAL ON HOW TO MAKE PHONE CALLS USING A MUD OVEN

Narda Shirley

I often find myself banging on to clients about the virtues of bite-sized video as a story telling medium. But I was reminded again of its power when I watched a video about a Concern Universal project called ‘how to charge your phone with a mud oven’. At just 1 minute and 30 seconds long, with only captions to explain what’s going on, the film has had over 20 million views and inspired 62,000 comments.

The ‘Flower Pot stove’ is bucket-sized and made of mud. It is made locally to a tested template, and runs on just a few sticks of wood, roughly a third less than a fire would use. It also produces much less harmful smoke which is an important innovation as the simple act of cooking kills 4.3 million people each year.

Approximately 2.5 billion people living in the developing world burn biomass as a primary energy source; this number is expected to grow to 5 billion by 2050.

Thanks to the clever little thermo electric generator that attaches to the stove, and produces electricity from its heat, people living in rural locations without access to the grid, can generate enough power to charge a phone or power a torch. Mobile phones, now very cheap, can help relieve poverty in so many ways. Remote farmers can get better access to fair market pricing and selling time for people to make phone calls can be a means of generating additional income in a community. Torches mean children can study after dark making more of education opportunities.

Concern Universal, (CU) the charity behind the initiative has a sweet spot for innovation where it improves the lives of women in particular. Its resourceful new Global Head of Communications & External Affairs, John O’Brien has masterminded an event on Tuesday 22 March at the fashion and design emporium, Clerkenwell London. The event, called ‘fashionUP’ will raise awareness and money for the work of the charity which has been going for 40 years and whose work extends beyond Africa into Latin America and Asia.

I’m shamelessly shaking down my friends (and theirs) to stump up the donation price to come along to ensure that Concern Universal gets a great turnout and raises the money it needs to continue with its work. While we are chomping on canapes, downing a few drinks, and taking in the stylish surroundings of the Clerkenwell emporium, it’s affecting to think that all over the undeveloped world, rural families are watching the last glimmers from their cooking fires go out, sinking them into complete darkness. Well done CU for shedding some light on all the issues and with such a clever solution. See you on the 22 March! And check out that film here.

Photo credit: Toby Richards