KEHINDE HAASTRUP

[KEHINDE HAASTRUP @KHaastrup]

Happy workers day... please stay safe as we prepare to ease shutdown in Lagos. #stopthespread #stopthevirus #mayday #workersday

[KEHINDE HAASTRUP @KHaastrup]

@DavidHundeyin Try increasing your cardio, like substituting a vehicle route for walking. I take a cab to work in the mornings and walk home in the evenings (Lekki 1- VI) a distance of about 10km at least 3-4 times a week.

It doesn’t have to be a run either. Brisk walking works. All the best

[KEHINDE HAASTRUP @KHaastrup]

@DavidHundeyin Every comms person needs to hear this from time to time. Thanks @DavidHundeyin

[David Hundeyin @DavidHundeyin]

Let me recount a story from 2014 when I worked as a client executive at BHM Group.

We were handling most of the Nigerian Breweries brand portfolio, and Amstel Malta was one of our accounts. They were sponsoring the AMVCAs, so we were involved in pre and post event media planning.

During the ceremony, Genevieve Nnaji was announced as a lifetime achievement award winner, and her prize came with a year's supply of Amstel Malta, which was announced. Bear in mind that Amstel Malta actively marketed itself as a health-conscious brand and a low-sugar alternative to other Malta drinks.

Genevieve - who also happened to be an Amstel Malta brand ambassador - had a regrettable foot-in-mouth moment onstage when accepting the award. When presented with the year's supply of Amstel Malta, she (jokingly) went "I hope this won't make me fat!"

The AM brand manager nearly lost her mind, and all the phones at BHM started ringing off the hook. This was a serious crisis moment for the brand, and we were the crisis communication experts, so we were expected to fix it! Fix it NOWWWW!

Us eager 20-something year-olds at BHM immediately swung into action, impressively coming up with a comprehensive communications plan for the crisis, including a Big Idea, in just 2 hours. Our plan was to take what Genevieve said and repurpose it into "Amstel Malta makes me PHAT - Pretty Hot And Tasty."

The plan had radio, TV, online and print channels, an influencer marketing extension (with buy-in from influencers whom we had proactively reached out to, even before presenting the plan to the boss), and even a celebrity endorsement plug-in (we proposed using Genevieve herself to market the phrase so as to make it all seem believable, or at least contrived) - all to the effect of making Genevieve's AMVCA faux pas seem like it was a planned statement to kick off an Amstel Malta comms campaign.

In fact, we believed so much in our comms plan that even without the boss's approval, we staged a photoshoot with each of us holding a can of Amstel Malta in the office - each photo captioned "Amstel Malta makes me PHAT."

After all this *Comms and PR* activity, we confidently walked into @ayenithegreat's office to present our crisis communication masterpiece that would dig Amstel Malta out of the hole dug by its brand ambassador and impress him. I remember holding the MacBook Pro and confidently presenting the slide deck to him alongside @MrBigtimi.

His verdict...

"Are you people serious?" And walked us out of his office. 🤣

Over the ensuing hours and days was when we saw the difference between an actual comms professional and a greenhorn wannabe. Instead of *doing something* to impress the hyperventilating client, Ayeni simply advised the client to wait and observe whether this "crisis" was in fact, a crisis. Instead of an overreaction where no response was actually necessary, he insisted that we wait and monitor whether anyone would pick up on the significance of what Genevieve said or give it coverage.

Nobody picked up on it. A few obscure tweets, no online gossip article, no news mention - nothing. It turned out that "Amstel Malta makes me PHAT" would not in fact, have put out a fire, but would have CREATED one. Where nobody even noticed our brand ambassador's unfortunate slip of tongue, it was our overeager, youthful aṣéjù that would have actually drawn attention to it.

What Ayeni did is the SI unit of 21st century professional crisis communication - reading the room first before doing, or deciding whether to do anything. Left to the angry client, Genevieve's endorsement contract would have been terminated immediately, which would have transformed what turned out to be a non-issue into a whole saga. Ayeni rather advised everyone to stay calm and monitor the situation carefully.

That's how come you've never heard this story until now - a PR professional did his job.

[KEHINDE HAASTRUP @KHaastrup]

@osagie_adams @instablog9ja It’s an owl, a beautiful one too…

I wish I found it

[KEHINDE HAASTRUP @KHaastrup]

This is 2023 and I do not think we have to make this primal! Please do the needful and restore my website or else I will start a #boycott campaign! This is a paid service for crying out loud! You’re not doing me a favor! Thank you…. FOR NOTHING!

[KEHINDE HAASTRUP @KHaastrup]

@whogohost please improve on your customer relations. Your (online) number is almost not reachable, your @support email is very very impersonal and ticket system is very slow and inefficient! Please share a reliable contact! I want to scream at somebody! #CustomerExperience

[KEHINDE HAASTRUP @KHaastrup]

A customer service personnel just hung up on me because I refused to be escalated once again! I asked to be put on with someone with authority who can explain to me in English (not customer service) where all the hard work of the last 2 months has disappeared to & I got slammed

[KEHINDE HAASTRUP @KHaastrup]

@gtbank @gtbank_help is giving the middle finger to its customers; at least 4 ATMs (sometimes 8) at locations & none will work (other banks have less & at least 1 works), now it seems they have a crop rude & clueless call center agents! #bringbackthedays GT customer service biko

[KEHINDE HAASTRUP @KHaastrup]

@Gidi_Traffic @theprimelady This is outright theft! That’s clearly another person’s store! The recorder should be prosecuted along with the thieves!

[KEHINDE HAASTRUP @KHaastrup]

@aatuche @spiritual_mata Report her tweet and have it taken down. I just did.

[KEHINDE HAASTRUP @KHaastrup]

The Parliament UK: A UK Visa ban on Nigeria’s government officials and police heads. - Sign the Petition! https://t.co/O2C84JgCeU via @Change @Gidi_Traffic

[KEHINDE HAASTRUP @KHaastrup]

@fccpcnigeria please look into @Jumia_Group and complaints from customers

[KEHINDE HAASTRUP @KHaastrup]

@Gidi_Traffic please does anyone know the regulatory body for online stores like @Jumia_Group? How does a customer based company not have a number for complaints? @Jumia_Group your feedback method is highly self serving to say the least! 😡 @lasgcopa

[KEHINDE HAASTRUP @KHaastrup]

@Gidi_Traffic please does anyone know the regulatory body for online stores like @Jumia_Group? How does a customer based company not have a number for complaints? @Jumia_Group your feedback method is highly self serving to say the least! 😡 @lasgcopa

[KEHINDE HAASTRUP @KHaastrup]

@Gidi_Traffic please does anyone know the regulatory body for online stores like @Jumia_Group? How does a customer based company not have a number for complaints? @Jumia_Group your feedback method is highly self serving to say the least! 😡 @lasgcopa

[KEHINDE HAASTRUP @KHaastrup]

@Gidi_Traffic @ataiwo88 Good job.
And the lead singer has a cute smile too. I don’t understand the Hausa but the song was very rhythmic.

[KEHINDE HAASTRUP @KHaastrup]

@SEzekwesili @Gidi_Traffic Yes, I ordered on amazon 2 weeks back, they canceled my order and refunded my money that “my region is not currently covered for delivery”