CORPORATE AFFAIRS

SITUATION:

In a bid to raise awareness about its internal actions to fight counterfeit and position it as a socially and economically responsible leader that is dedicated to supporting governments and partners, Hewlett Packard (HP) put together the Anti-Counterfeit (ACF) Program, a global initiative. A vital part of this programme is the HP Anti-Counterfeit Conferences held in different countries around the world.

The conferences are aimed at driving education among government officials, key opinion influencers and media personnel on the risks and impact of Intellectual Property (IP) infringements and the negative effects of counterfeit trade, while creating awareness for HP-led initiatives against counterfeiting and customers’ protection.

TASK:

Since 2013, C&F Porter Novelli has been involved in providing services for the HP ACF conferences in Ghana, South Africa and Nigeria, including media relations, stakeholder management, event management and public affairs.

APPROACH:

C&F Porter Novelli provided media relations services for HP Anti-Counterfeit conferences in Ghana and South Africa in 2013 and 2014 respectively.

Supported with background information on HP Anti-Counterfeiting activities, selected journalists from Nigeria and Ghana were briefed and invited to these events to gain firsthand experience at the events, following which feature articles were published based on their participation at the events.

C&F Porter Novelli managed the HP ACF Nigeria conference 2014. This included: end-to-end event management, corporate and public affairs, stakeholder management, guest relations and media management.
The two-day event was designed to have a welcome cocktail on the first day, then a plenary session with breakout sessions on the second day. The plenary session featured talks and panel discussions by the President, Intellectual Property Lawyers Association of Nigeria (IPSON),Senior HP personnel, the Nigeria Customs Service, Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON), Anti-Counterfeiting Collaborations, Nigeria (ACC) and senior representatives from private organisations including Microsoft, Unilever, British American Tobacco and Glaxo Smithkline.

Four separate interview sessions were organised with members of the media and the panellists/speakers to provide opportunities for endorsement for HP’s efforts in the fight against counterfeiting along with one on one interview sessions and media briefing sessions.

RESULT:

Effective collaboration with related top government organisations was achieved. 110% Attendance and Participation of core target audience – procurement executives of government bodies, Media and HP channel partners.

The conferences had positive and enthusiastic reviews from leading media targets in Nigeria and Ghana.