QUALITATIVE ANALYSIS OF THE STATUS OF CELEBRITY PUBLIC RELATIONS IN NIGERIA

Abstract

The concept of public relations has gained acceptance all over the world. Goodwill for an organization today is secured not so much as a result of the organizations mere existence but as a result of sustained strategic planning, execution and evaluation of the perception of the their publics in relation to the organization. Nigeria today appears to be witnessing a wide spread of celebrities popularly referred to as influencers, especially on the social media space. These perceived celebrities have the ability to influence the behaviour of the masses and their attitudes towards consuming or patronizing products, services and brands which has made them a strategic tool for marketing and promoting businesses brands and others. The research was aimed at establishing the efficacy of the deployment of influencers for endorsements of products and brands, to investigate the perceptions of public relations practitioners on the use of celebrity endorsements on brand image, and to ascertain opinion of public relations professionals on celebrity brand endorsement. The research work took its theoretical leaning from the Social Cognitive Learning Theory and the Symbolic Interactionism Theory. The study used in-depth interview for data collection from 30 participants drawn from Plateau State based organisations. Some of the findings of the research revealed that public relation officers are often overlooked when using public influencers for brand endorsements and the content of messages used are often not in line with professional standard. The research recommends training and re-training of public relations officers, increased budgeting for public relations departments and increased research in public opinion research.