Society Gists

…As its MD clinches the ‘Edge Grand Prix In PR’ award

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.”

The company’s Managing Director/Chief Strategist, Israel Opayemi, 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 of the many recognitions in the cabinet for Chain Reactions Africa. The company in May this year has 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.