PRovoke, organisers of one of the world’s largest and most sought after Public Relations awards, SABRE Awards, which recognises Superior Achievement in Branding and Reputation in North America, EMEA and the Asia-Pacific region has nominated BHM in this year’s Africa Consultancies of the Year category.
PRovoke’s “Agency of the Year” honours are considered the ultimate benchmark of PR firm performance, and are celebrated at its SABRE Awards shows. Decisions are made by PRovoke editors, based on an exhaustive research process, reviewing the performance of more than 400 firms worldwide.
Speaking on the nomination, Ayeni Adekunle, CEO of BHM Group said, “This is a big deal, whether we win or not, so I’m going to appropriate this nod as an actual win. And I thank everyone who has worked with us past and present for making it happen. It’s a long journey, and still many marathons ahead, but I thank everyone for every step, and for every win”.
Highlighting BHM’s history, PRovoke Media revisits how Ayeni Adekunle, who was a journalist, ‘launched Nigeria’s Black House Media in 2006, with the goal of building Africa’s first truly global ‘PR firm by leveraging insights into different markets, relationships, industry expertise and technology. Since then, BHM has grown into a £1.9 million operation offering clients a range of services — reputation management and corporate comms, media relations and training, research, and social media among others.’’
According to the PRovoke website, while much of the world was hunkering down, BHM used 2020 to grow its business through bold moves like launching Plaqad, the world’s first end-to-end talent and campaign analytics platform; publishing the fifth edition of the Nigeria PR Report; and is also investing in BHM Qomms – the firm’s new UK project that will offer services in training, hiring, measurement and collaboration. 2020 also saw BHM celebrate the inaugural edition of the Global Day of Influence – a day to discuss, interrogate and celebrate the concept, principles, and impact of influence in today’s world. This year, BHM grew geographically, too, with a UK launch in March.
Known for innovative Public Relations and creative communication campaigns, BHM has been named Agency of the Year and The Best Agency to Work in 2017 by NIPR Lagos Chapter, The Best Agency Using New Media in 2018 from NIPR Lagos Chapter, the award for Innovation in PR Practice from NIPR Lagos Chapter in 2019 and Public Relations Agency of the Year at the Brandcom Awards 2018 & 2020.
Paul Holmes, who chaired the SABRE jury said, “we saw tremendous work from across the African continent in 2020, despite difficult conditions in a year when public relations professionals—and the businesses it serves—were impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. It was particularly exciting to see the work from across the continent, and from Eastern and Western African nations in particular.”
The Sabre Awards which will hold on June 9, 2021 features notable nominees such as BCW Africa, Clockwork, South Africa, Edelman (DJE Holdings) and Image Merchants.