STRATEGIC COMMUNICATION
Context In Communications Always Wins
By Janet Sudi
That a prophet is never accepted at home isn ’ t far from the truth when we look at Prof . Ngugi wa Thiong ’ o . In September he gave his acceptance speech in a local - Gikuyu dialect after receiving the 31st Catalonia International Prize . This then attracted hurtling disdainful memes and posts as opposed to the applause one would expect from fellow countrymen .
Born just before the guns of the Second World War were silenced , Ngugi wa Thiongo is a literary giant and a household name in the world of literature . He is acclaimed to have been the first East African in 1964 to have penned down a major novel - Weep Not , Child . He further started writing in his mother tongue , Gikuyu , with his genre ranging from literary and social criticism to children ' s literature .
His works have earned global recognition with the most recent being September 2020 . He was honored as the 31st recipient of the Catalonia International Prize for his daring and distinguished literary work and defense of African languages .
An act that would have been expected to attract applause from his motherland in Kenya , attracted acrimony online . The Professor was trending , however , it was not with a flurry of positive posts . The son of the Kenyan soil was celebrated by a Nation that likely did not understand a single word from his speech but unwelcomed by his very own .
Some critiques felt let down that the Professor didn ’ t promote Kenya ’ s national language - Kiswahili . Others argued that he should have spoken in English to have his message resonate with multiple audience groups . Albeit his target did not understand what he said , his speech was translated and the message was decoded accordingly . Additionally , his context justified his choice of language .
If we may remind ourselves the situational theory of communications , as advanced by Grunig and Hunt ; organizations
Many companies fail to get it right when it comes to stakeholder mapping and audience insight , having wrong assumptions that their target is anybody and everybody . Despite the fact that your product or service affects a majority of the population , having blanket communications strategies simply because everyone needs to hear about you explains why most companies are clanging cymbals . need to assess publics ’ communication needs by dividing publics into those who actively seek information and those who passively receive information . Prof . Ngugi , understood his primary audience and their context . He got all elements of communications right . He understood his target , he proved to them that he has not only produced literary works in Gikuyu for a show but he embodies his heritage with pride . For the speech to be translated , this must have been planned and Catalonians in the auditorium must have been eager to hear the sound of this foreign language .
This was not a matter of Kiswahili to please Kenyans or English to resonate with a wider target . Catalonians were attracted by his specific Gikuyu literary work , perhaps English too but Gikuyu was the reason for the occasion .
Target audience matters in different aspects of communication and Ngugi got it right . Many companies fail to get it right when it comes to stakeholder mapping and audience insight , having wrong assumptions that their target is anybody and everybody . Despite the fact that your product or service affects a majority of the population , having blanket communications strategies simply because everyone needs to hear about you explains why most companies are clanging cymbals .
Janet is a Communications Consultant and Lead Brand Strategist at LCC Africa , a boutique PR firm that offers 360 degrees Communications Services . You can commune with her via mail on Janet @ lccafrica . com .
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