Have you thought of your brand as a story teller? If not, our PR Expert has some advise for you!

In the world of business everyone has a story to tell. A story of grit, hard work, growth, success, expansion to other markets. There are also stories of pivoting, changing the direction of the business, change of partners, raising capital or even downgrading and closing the business. All important stories that point to the resilience and mindset an entrepreneur needs to have.

We at Brandspark PR are the storytellers at SNDBX. A team of 5, we pride ourselves in being able to tell SME stories in Kenya. Stories that help other SMEs know that they are not alone, and that building SMEs is the only way we can grow our economy. We help our clients to be Seen, Heard and Known as we believe; Increased visibility, leads to increased trust and increased sales! We know that everyone has a unique story that deserves to be told. So at SNDBX we are the Public Relations Experts and fall under the marketing engine.

Our PRincipal Partner (see what i did there), Mary Gitari is a seasoned communicator with over 17 years experience honing her skills in PR, handling both local and international brands. The skills learned handling these brands are the skills we are using now to help SMEs in telling their stories. Mary Gitari has done a TED talk on being part of the SNDBX village and how collaborating with other experts at the SNDBX helps SMEs be able to derive value.

We currently have a product aptly dubbed Julikana, a collaboration with other experts in the SNDBX Reach Engine, namely: Archer Digital and Nyagu which helps SME’s think through the content they can have for their social media channels. We help you create, design and post content on your social media pages, to help you get more known in your area of expertise. We also help you with thought leadership both on LinkedIn and mainstream media, positioning you as a subject expert. This helps you become more prominent on the right platform and in the right audiences.

We pride ourselves in being able to change the narrative of brands through Crisis Communication. We have worked with brands that needed to change public perception either due to erroneous reporting by newspapers or KOT (Kenyans on Twitter) or just a bad history the brand has. Having worked with DHL to overturn a headline where their staff was accused of drug trafficking or Artcaffe when they were accused of being racist we were able to change sentiment for the brand to make it more positive.

Last year we worked with Simba Corp to help repair the battered image of Mahindra, the vehicle from the Indian manufacturer, perceived as poor vehicles when being used by the Kenyan police. Last year the latest Mahindra Scorpio 4x4 pickup was named car of the year by the Daily Nation. We can repair the public perception of your brand…(anyone want to introduce us to Cytonn?)

The 5-strong Brandspark PR team includes: Mary our PRincipal partner is also the president of Anchored Toastmaster Club that meets every Friday at Luther Plaza on Nyerere road. (Toastmasters International is a nonprofit educational organization that teaches public speaking and leadership skills through a worldwide network of clubs.) Paul, who is in Strategy, is an avid golfer, always finding new ways to grow the business and lower his handicap...you can only guess which one is being more successful. Wangeci our media Relations Manager, and a writer for the East African Standard, Kristina our Account Manager, also the person who knows everyone in Nairobi and Mawia Gichuhi, our finance manager who also sells honey and peanut butter.

What else do we enjoy doing at Brandspark PR? As a family run PR agency Paul and I (Mary) enjoy travelling the further the better. Longest journey has been Durban to Nairobi by bus, which was a total of 92 hours on the road. Our key learning, next time we will drive as the roads are remarkably quite good with tarmac roads all the way. In Kenya we have been to most corners with the exception of the North Eastern side and Moyale, but soon even that will be covered.

Our parting shot - As a business shout about your successes, tell you brand story, talk about all those things that could be better. You will be humble when you are rich.

This article was written by our PR Expert Mary who leads Brand Spark PR a Public Relations consulting company that helps you build credibility through Increased Brand visibility, Media Relations and Corporate event organization.

If you have any feedback or inquiries write to him via this link >> Email SNDBX