by SAVIOUS KWINIKA
JOHANNESBURG, (CAJ News) – NISSAN has hailed the company’s inaugural corporate communications masterclass session in Africa as a resounding success.
Attended by 25 high level communicators from Nissan dealerships in seven African countries the three masterclasses blended cutting edge practical learning with hands on experience of the award winning all new built of more Nissan Navara.
They were from Angola, Ghana, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Kenya, Mozambique and Zimbabwe.
“We have the best people and the best products,” said Nissan Africa Managing Director, Mike Whitfield.
“But we also have to be the best in telling our story too – both within the company and across the continent,” Whitfield said.
Katherine Zachary, Nissan’s regional vice president for communications, agreed.
Opening the masterclass from Paris, France, where she is based, she told the delegates that corporate communication was not a ‘nice-to-have’ but a ‘must have’.
“We do more than just tell stories, we analyse other news, we see potential problems and we identify opportunities,” Zachary said.
The masterclass, conceptualised by Nissan Africa’s head of communications Ramy Mohareb and Nthabiseng Motsepe was facilitated by former newspaper editor Kevin Ritchie and former motoring journalist and automotive industry specialist Leo Kok.
“The brief was to cover everything from understanding how newsrooms work and effective communication with the media all the way to crisis management, hosting press releases and preparing executives to be interviewed by journalists, whether in person, in studio or, as is becoming more commonplace, virtually via Zoom,” said Motsepe.
Africa, said Whitfield, comprised 54 very different markets, which was precisely why the company had set up its unique regional business unit at the end of 2020 with its dual headquarters in Cairo and Pretoria.
– CAJ News