BHM emerges ‘Agency of the Year’ at NIPR’s LaPRIGA

BlackHouse Media (BHM), Africa’s first global integrated communications company, has emerged as public relations ‘Agency of the Year’ at the annual awards presented by the Lagos chapter of Nigerian Institute of Public Relations, the flagship chapter of the country’s public relations body.

The seventh edition of the Lagos State PR Industry Gala and Award (LaPRIGA) which took place on Friday, December 2 at D’Podium Event Centre, Ikeja, Lagos, recognised over 20 honourees and key stakeholders in the influential public relations industry.

In addition to emerging as the agency of the year, BHM also received three other awards: PR Practitioner of the Year, Rising PR Practitioner of the year and Best Supporter of PR.

Being the only Nigerian agency with two consecutive years of international nominations from SABRE Awards EMEA, which ‘recognises Superior Achievement in Branding, Reputation and Engagement’ and repeated wins from NIPR, BHM is widely regarded  as an industry leader with a mission to shape the future of public relations in Africa.

The past year has seen BHM record significant milestones. In March 2021, the company announced its expansion to London and Edinburgh and subsequently followed this up with the establishment of operations in Ghana and Kenya, under the auspices of ID Africa, an allied Pan-African public relations, marketing communications, and strategic advisory company, in April 2022. In July, the consultancy led the world to celebrate World PR Day which has now been held for two consecutive years, attracting over 10,000 professionals from over 20 countries and six continents.

In addition to driving the celebration of the public relations profession across the world, BHM has been spearheading the growth and advancement of the public relations industry in Nigeria with groundbreaking achievements like Global Day of Influence as well as producing Nigeria PR Report (NPR), Africa’s only PR Report for four years.

BHM Founder and CEO, Ayeni Adekunle, BHM Founder and CEO was named PR Practitioner of the year with Lead PR and Communications Adviser at ID Africa, Njideka Akabogu being nominated for the Rising PR Practitioner of the Year award.

Commenting on the award, Ayeni Adekunle, says, “It is an honour to be recognised by our peers, colleagues, leaders, friends, and regulators, even as we are focused on doing our bit to build an industry that delivers world-class results, attracts the best talents around, and helps clients build brands and businesses that do good. Africa holds an important role in rolling out the next wave of global communications ideas and firms, and I will forever be grateful for an opportunity to play our part”.

General Manager and Lead Consultant of the UK operations of BlackHouse Media (BHM), Enitan Kehinde, was named ‘Rising PR Practitioner of the Year’ for achieving significant feats in building people, platforms, reports, resources and initiatives that not only educate, upskill and develop new industry entrants, young consultants and leaders but also shape the future of the global PR and communications industry.

Kehinde’s ‘Rising PR Practitioner of the Year’ win is coming off the heels of her recent win of PRovoke’s Young Changemakers Award, across Asia-Pacific, Middle East and Africa making her the first African to receive the prestigious award. The 29-year-old consultant was also announced as a key innovator in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) region by PRovoke for their eighth annual Innovator 25 list.

Kehinde says she considers receiving the award, coming from an industry regulator, a testament to BHM’s commitment to building people and platforms that contribute immensely to the public relations practice within the country and abroad, “It is a great honour to receive NIPR’s ‘Rising PR Practitioner of the Year’ award. The award affirms the good work that the team at BHMG puts in to deliver the best possible results for our partners. The Nigerian PR industry is booming with potential and I am grateful for the opportunity to play my part in uplifting the standards of the profession not only within the country but also globally.”

The LaPRIGA awards recorded its highest number of entries this year since its inception seven years ago. NIPR Lagos chairperson, Comfort Nwankwo, thanked the industry stakeholders for their enthusiasm to compete for recognition.

Since its establishment in 2006, BlackHouse Media has nurtured the goal of becoming Africa’s first truly global PR firm by leveraging insights into different markets, relationships, industry expertise and technology. In March 2021, the company announced its expansion to London and Edinburgh and subsequently followed this up with the establishment of operations in Ghana and Kenya.