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Chain Reactions Africa Wins ‘Edge Outstanding PR Agency of the Year’ at Marketing Edge Awards 2024
Chain Reactions Africa (CRA), one of Africa’s leading Public Relations and Integrated Communications Consultancies, has further consolidated its market leadership position as one of Africa’s best public relations consulting firms by emerging as the ‘Outstanding PR Agency of the Year’ at this year’s edition of the prestigious Marketing Edge Awards.
The award, according to the organisers, is in recognition and celebration of the company’s “rising brand equity and sterling performance over and above its peers in the last one year.”
Israel Opayemi, the company’s Managing Director/Chief Strategist, was also adjudged as the overall best in the individual category, carting away the ‘Edge Grand Prix In PR’ award, the highest category of the Marketing Edge Awards that any personality could get.
This was in recognition and celebration of his professional and entrepreneurial odyssey, and the Olympian heights to which he has led the company across Africa over the years, the award organisers said.
This is the second time in two years that the company has won both awards. It would be recalled that Chain Reactions Africa had during the 2023 edition of the award, then known as the Marketing Edge Brands and Advertising Excellence Awards, won the ‘Outstanding PR Agency of the Year’, while its Chief Executive scooped the ‘Outstanding Leadership Award in Public Relations’ award.
This year’s the award ceremony held on Saturday, September 28, 2024, in Lagos coincides with the 21st anniversary of Marketing Edge, Nigeria’s leading brand-focused marketing and advertising publication, and which has been at the vanguard of brand journalism in the last 21 years.
Speaking on the awards, the Managing Director/ Chief Strategist of Chain Reactions Africa, Mr. Israel Jaiye Opayemi noted the significance of the recognitions to the firm as a brand, the nation, and the integrated marketing communication ecosystem whilst appreciating the awards organisers.
“This Edge Awards, from the stable of Marketing Edged is most appreciated. We thank the organisers for this recognition. The awards are another evidence of Chain Reactions Africa’s leadership, competence, hard work, commitment, and discipline imbued to distill client’s briefs and deliver superior value to them,” he said.
He extolled the exceptional professional skills of the staff of Chain Reactions Africa, thanking them for their dedication, hard work and sacrifice over the years. “I am most grateful to the Chain Reactions Africa tribe of creative rebels, as I call them. There wouldn’t be a Chain Reactions Africa without my team of dedicated and talented individuals who drive the business with exceptional passion.
“I am very proud of the brave hard work we do, our irrevocable commitment to always lead with strategy, our investment in neuroscience, our investment in data and research, and our absolute commitment to always end everything we do with creativity so as to deliver quality service to our various clients.”
“On behalf of Chain Reactions Africa, I dedicate this recognition as Nigeria’s Outstanding PR firm to all our present clients. I thank you for the liberty you have given us to breathe our unique approach to strategy into your brands. Thank you for allowing us the space to be irreverent to normal. We will continue to make strategy first the holy grail of what that we do for you,” Opayemi added.
“These awards conferred on us will be a catalyst to spur us to go the extra mile to reaffirm the essence of our core mandate, which is ‘gold service standard’ that is rooted in Chain Reactions Africa’s brand DNA”, Opayemi said.
In his comments, the Publisher/ CEO of Marketing Edge Magazine, John Ajayi, congratulated all the winners on their awards, and urged them to sustain the momentum of their endeavours, character, and all the things that stands them out in the marketing communications industry. “Congratulations to all the winners, as well as all the nominees, for the various awards and nominations, and more wins in the future. Your contributions have indeed brought out the best in the industry. You are all winners”, Ajayi said.
The latest awards are just a few out the many recognitions in the cabinet for Chain Reactions Africa. The company had in May this year been recognised with the ‘PR Agency of the Year’ award at ‘The Industry Awards’ for the year ending 2023.
In addition to this, the company had also put up a seven-star performance during the annual African Public Relations Association (APRA) Conference on May 16, in Basam, Abidjan, Cote D’Ivoire where it was presented with seven African SABRE trophies by Provoke Media, the highest by any public relations firm in Africa in the 2024 competition.
The Sabre Awards covered campaigns for the Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (LAMATA), and its Lagos Blue Rail, 9mobile’s The Hack – Expand Your Hustle’, ‘Taming the Bull’ for the Presidency, and ‘Next Era of Happiness’ for leading biscuit company, Pladis Foods Nigeria Limited.
The Marketing Edge, Edge Awards ceremony is a major industry event that recognizes, rewards, and celebrates deserving brands, institutions, agencies and personalities with enviable milestones. This years’ Edge Awards ceremony themed, ‘Tech Acceleration: Integrating AI Without Sacrificing Human Creativity’ was held as a hybrid event, with the physical location at the Sheraton Hotel in Ikeja, Lagos. It featured both the awards and Marketing Edge National Marketing Stakeholders Summit.
The World Bank Group has announced the 31-month debarments of United Aviation Services Limited (UNASEL), a transportation services company based in Nigeria, and Air Vice Marshal Alkali Mamu, its owner and president, “in connection with fraudulent practices under the Enhancing Niger Northeastern Connectivity Project,” according to a press release issued by the multilateral development bank.
The statement said that the project aims to enhance connectivity and road safety along the Zinder-Agadez Road section and improve access to basic socioeconomic infrastructure for selected communities in that road section.
However, according to the statement: “UNASEL and Mr. Mamu presented false experience documents in a prequalification application to qualify for a contract under the project. This was a fraudulent practice under the World Bank’s sanctions framework.”
“The debarments make UNASEL and Mr. Mamu ineligible to participate in projects and operations financed by Bank Group institutions. The debarments are part of two settlement agreements under which UNASEL and Mr. Mamu admit culpability for the underlying sanctionable practices,” it added.
The statement further said: “Per the Bank Group Sanctioning Guidelines, the settlement agreements provide for a reduced period of debarment in light of UNASEL and Mr. Mamu’s cooperation.
As a condition for release from sanction under the terms of the settlement agreements, UNASEL and Mr. Mamu commit to developing and implementing integrity compliance measures that reflect the relevant principles set out in the Bank Group Integrity Compliance Guidelines, and Mr. Mamu further agrees to complete corporate ethics training.
UNASEL and Mr. Mamu also commit to continue to fully cooperate with the Bank Group’s Integrity Vice Presidency.
“The debarments of UNA SEL and Mr. Mamu qualify for cross-debarment by other multilateral development banks under the Agreement for Mutual Enforcement of Debarment Decisions that was signed on April 9, 2010.”
Governor Peter Mbah of Enugu State, has approved the allocation of a parcel of land in Enugu, the state capital, for the establishment of a state-of-the-art Digital Fabrication Centre by the Industrial Training Fund.
Mbah announced this while receiving a delegation from the Industrial Training Fund on a courtesy visit to the Government House, Enugu.
The ITF disclosed this on Friday in a statement signed by its Director of Press and Public Relations, Thomas Ngor.
According to the statement, Mbah described the proposed project as timely and aligned with his administration’s vision of transforming Enugu into a leading destination for investment, innovation and technology-driven industrial development.
He noted that the future of economic prosperity lies in deliberate investments in human capital and emerging technologies, adding that the state has continued to create an enabling environment for innovation, enterprise and sustainable growth.
The governor explained that his administration has made technical education compulsory in the state’s basic education system, with emphasis on digital literacy, robotics and mechatronics to prepare learners for the future of work.
According to him, many traditional trades are now driven by digital technologies, making it imperative to equip young people with relevant technical competencies that will enable them to compete globally and contribute meaningfully to economic development.
Governor Mbah further disclosed that his administration has built smart schools across the state, equipped with robotics centres, mechatronics laboratories and other modern learning facilities, to prepare youths for the evolving global economy.
He noted that artificial intelligence is expected to contribute about $20tn to the global economy in the coming years.
He therefore stressed that the state must be intentional about upskilling its citizens, adding that the establishment of the ITF Digital Fabrication Centre will significantly strengthen the state’s drive to build a knowledge-based economy, foster innovation, promote local manufacturing and create employment opportunities for its growing youthful population.
Earlier, Afiz Ogun, the Director-General of the ITF, who led the delegation, said that upon his appointment by President Bola Tinubu, he was mandated to upskill Nigerian artisans to international standards.
He explained that the Fund subsequently repositioned its technical and vocational skills development efforts through strategic initiatives, including the Skill-Up Artisans Programme, which is designed to train, certify and license Nigerian artisans to international standards.
Ogun disclosed that the Fund had already established a Digital Fabrication Centre in Ikeja, Lagos, with the capacity to produce more than 400 different products. He therefore requested the allocation of land in Enugu State to establish a similar centre with the same production capacity.
According to him, the initiative is aimed at promoting industrialisation, reducing dependence on imports and preparing Nigerians for opportunities in the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
He also reaffirmed the Fund’s readiness to enter into public-private partnerships that will transform Nigeria’s artisanal ecosystem.
Ogun further noted that digital technologies, including artificial intelligence, robotics and computer-aided manufacturing, are rapidly transforming the global economy, making it imperative for Nigeria to deliberately invest in upskilling its workforce to remain globally competitive.
The ITF delegation was later conducted on a guided tour of facilities at one of the smart schools established by the Enugu State Government.
Glovo, a multi-category tech company, has announced its integration into the generative AI ecosystem with the launch of its “Shopping Assistant” for ChatGPT and Claude. Users can now discover retail products, compare prices, and seamlessly order any item using natural conversational language with the AI systems.
The Glovo experience inside such platforms introduces a conversational commerce model that shifts from a search-based web to an intent-based web. Rather than navigating traditional app menus and filters, users can express needs, such as asking for a “last-minute gift for a coffee lover under ₦50,000”, and the assistant handles semantic search, location validation, and product curation.
A Seamless, Concierge-Like Experience
Once both platforms have been connected through either ChatGPT or Claude apps, the user will be able to have a multi-turn dialogue where the assistant remembers context and constraints, such as budget caps. Users receive a visual carousel of up to five highly customised product options available at local stores. Each product displays its image, name, store details and ratings, and price. While the search and discovery experience takes place directly on the Generative AI platforms, selecting a product via the “view on Glovo” button takes the user to the Glovo mobile or web app, where the payment and final purchase are exclusively completed.
Strategic Focus on Retail and Growth
Glovo is prioritising the retail and grocery sectors for this initial launch, capturing the established habit of using AI for product research. Generative AI has driven a significant jump in retail traffic globally, so this first-mover advantage aims to meet customers where they are meeting Gen AI daily, and ensure it captures high-intent organic traffic as search behaviours evolve.
“We’re always looking for ways to meet our customers where they already are. Being available on Claude and ChatGPT means people can discover what Glovo has to offer as part of a natural conversation, with no friction. Glovo has always been about being the everyday app that provides choice and convenience, and this is another step in that direction”, said Shiro Theuri, Chief Technology Officer at Glovo.
How to look for products in the Glovo app through ChatGPT or Claude
- The user must sync ChatGPT or Claude with the Glovo app with the plug-in.
- Once synced, the user must type in @glovo followed by their request.
- The AI platform displays a carousel with 5 available options for the user.
- If the user wants to purchase any of the products or continue searching within the Glovo app, they must click “View on Glovo”, which will redirect the user to the Glovo app or website.
- After the order is confirmed, the store will prepare the item(s) and the courier will head up to the pick-up location. The user will receive the order in minutes.
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