OPINION
Brands today operate in a crowded room where everyone is talking at once. From TikTok videos to nonstop press releases, brands are jostling for space, and audiences are tuning out. Mass market public relations campaigns that aim to reach everyone often end up resonating with no one.
A better approach lies in community-led public relations; the art of shaping campaigns to speak directly to niche communities bound by shared values, interests, or lifestyles. Unlike mass campaigns, community-led PR builds long-term loyalty, not just fleeting awareness.
Data supports this shift. Research from the Nielsen ROI Report shows that campaigns with precise targeting produced as much as $2.60 ROI per $1 spent, while poorly targeted campaigns earned only $0.25 per $1. The report also found that about half of media plans are under-invested, and brands aren’t putting enough into the right channels to maximize returns. Fixing those gaps could improve ROI by as much as 50 percent.
For PR practitioners, the implication is clear: depth beats breadth. The key is to meet people where they already belong, whether that is through gyms, WhatsApp groups, or food festivals; it is all about embedding brands in communities where they are not intruders, but insiders.
Deloitte, in its 2024 report on personalization strategy for retail, reports that 84 percent of consumers say,” being treated like a person, not a number”, is critical to winning their business. Some brands are already showing the way.
Tom Tom, the menthol candy brand from Cadbury Nigeria Plc., for instance, runs a Breathe Academy program in Nigeria where it has an online community for music creatives, giving aspiring musicians, producers, managers, and creatives the skills and connections they need to break into the music industry for free. The program comprises expert-led courses in music production, marketing, management, legal, content creation, and positioning. The creatives also get rewards, internship opportunities in top-flight music labels; It’s not just marketing; it’s community building, and it has kept Tom Tom relevant with Nigerian creatives.
Maggi also exemplified this community-led approach to public relations at the recently concluded Bole Festival in Port Harcourt. It embedded itself into one of Nigeria’s thriving food cultures by engaging directly with food enthusiasts through influencers, media features, and creator-driven storytelling. The brand positioned itself not only as a seasoning brand, but as a cultural participant in the festival’s shared celebration of taste and tradition.
Another brand worthy of note is NANKID Optipro 4, which targets mothers of children aged 0–4 years. One of the brand’s strategies is to engage mothers and lifestyle influencers who naturally appeal to parenting circles. These mothers share authentic stories and product experiences, recipes, feeding tips, and childcare routines, while showcasing NANKID Optipro 4 as part of their daily lives. The result has been meaningful engagement with mothers in authentic spaces, driving awareness, trial, and ultimately conversion, proving that trust built within a community has more impact than awareness generated through mass impressions.
The approach is not limited to big brands; small businesses can also adopt this strategy. An example is Cake O’Clock, a bakery in a university community in southwest Nigeria that has mastered community-led PR with limited resources. Through witty daily WhatsApp and campus-group broadcasts, it tailors micro-stories for students: Why should a medical student buy cake today? Why does a finance student deserve one? These hyper-local narratives make cakes a part of student life, making a case for the product consumption in their daily activities.
These examples underscore why community-led PR is the future. Tom-Tom shows how to connect with what matters to communities; Maggi demonstrates how to embed into cultural movements; NANKID Optipro 4 highlights how authenticity and storytelling can drive engagement within communities, while Cake O’Clock proves that even micro-businesses can win loyalty by tailoring stories to specific audiences.
For African brands seeking to cut through the noise, the lesson is simple: don’t just chase everyone’s attention. Earn the devotion of a few, and let their passion carry your story further than mass campaigns ever could.
Chidinma Nwankwo is the Head of Business and Chief Operating Officer at Quadrant MSL.