No. 4: Is the BBC trolling us?

Last week, the BBC Africa whipped up a fury on social media with this article:

Denizens of Twitter revolted. The poverty explanation was lazy, at best, insidious at worst. One person commented that it, like other BBC stories on Covid-19 in Africa, read like disappointment.

People criticized the blunt headline as part of a long legacy of the mainstream media’s checkered Africa coverage that is obsessed with war, famine, and pestilence.

To make matters worse, it got picked up by the New York Post, an indisputably racist rag.

The egregiously tone deaf move made me wonder: is the BBC trolling us?

Any seasoned editor would know that such a speculative headline - they acknowledged their blunder by toning it down and apologizing - would spark outrage.

So, perhaps it was the point?

Media houses and social media are like conjoined twins. Both depend on each other. The media provides original reporting and analysis; social platforms give the eyeballs, since our feeds are the equivalent of morning newspapers.

With the blunt poverty framing, it almost seemed like the BBC wanted to court controversy and drive clicks on social media. Like any good troll.

Of course, structural reasons, like the lack of diverse news rooms, could also explain the Beeb's blunder. A black editor probably wouldn't have published this crap.

Insight

Last week, WeeTracker (WT) called attention to a bizarre Instagram post from Nigeria's digital auto marketplace Cars45.

The IG post looked like a wanted poster. Yikes

In clear admission that they made a gaffe, Cars45 took down the post after the WT article was published.

It wasn't a good look for Cars45. Not only was the post petty, but it tipped off local journalists to a deeper issue: the company was undergoing a messy leadership transition. The founder, Sujay Tyle, and co-founder in Nigeria, its largest market, Etop Ikpe, departed over the summer without a peep from the company.

I don't want to speculate about Cars45. It's a fascinating business that creates a bona fide marketplace for tokunbo (used cars) which are practically impossible to value in the informal market.

But, founders can glean a lesson from Cars45’s slip-up.

If you work with a publicist or a comms professional, you hire them just as much for their advisory services as their media outreach.

In my experience, I've seen many founders mostly associate publicists with "amplifying" or "getting buzz" for an announcement in the media. In other words, media relations.

But, publicists also wear an advisory hat. They help startups announce tricky internal events (like a complicated leadership transition) to the public and avoid the very problems that can result from a hasty Tweet or Instagram post.

Good communications advisory is a preventive measure — you won’t have to scramble to put out fires later.

In the News

• The Not Boring Syndicate Goes to Ghana - Fascinating deep dive into Ozé, a Ghana-based accounting SaaS for SMEs. Digitizing paper ledger books as an entry point for lending is a brilliant move. It reminds me of Helium Health — they started out with electronic medical records and have now branched into practice management, billing, and financing. I also thought it cool that Not Boring creator and Ozé founder are brother and sister.

Resources

• African Startup Growth vs Brand Marketing - Thoughtful Twitter thread on the nuances of startup marketing from Emmanuel Quartey, Paystack Head of Growth. It also includes super useful resources.

Wishing you all a productive and creative week!

Say hi on Twitter — I'd love to hear from you.

Until next time,

Victoria

Victoria Crandall | African Startups | Comms & PR Strategist | Proud Dog-Mom of Gus | Lagos 🇳🇬