Digital Public Relations and Marketing Communication Trends in Africa Routledge New Directions in PR & Communication Research Series

The uptake of digital media platforms necessitates the need to understand how digital cultures of consumers and brands are unfolding. Despite the increase in usage and adoption of the internet in Africa, there is limited information about digital marketing trends on the continent. This book is among the first to present an edited collection of chapters on digital and influencer marketing authored by many who are either from or have close ties to Africa.

The book showcases digital marketing trends in Africa that are burgeoning at the same speed as the uptake of technology in the continent. With this in mind, the contributors seek to interrogate digital marketing trends in two stages; the status of digital marketing on the African continent, including cases from Nigeria, Egypt, Uganda and Kenya, and an analysis of the rise of influencer marketing, including cases from Namibia, Nigeria and Uganda. The book will explore factors driving the increase in digital media platforms in Africa as well as an analysis of the implications of the growth in digital marketing, using various theoretical and methodological underpinnings to probe trends.

Digital Public Relations and Marketing Communication Trends in Africa provides significant implications for marketing scholars and researchers and will be relevant to those looking to understand the opportunities and challenges ahead.

Chapter 1 Africa: An Introduction to a Growing Digital Market

Anne W. Njathi

Brandi Watkins

Chapter 2 The State of Public Relations Research in Africa

Brandi Watkins

Chapter 3 Corporate Reputation Management Opportunities and Challenges in the Social Media Age: Experiences of Public Relations Practitioners in Zimbabwe

Tendai Chari

Chapter 4 Effects of Social Media Usage in Zimbabwe's Telecommunications Industry and Its Impact on Corporate Reputation Management

Tabani Moyo

Cecile Proches Gerwel

Emmanuel Mutumbara

Upsana Gitanjali Singh

Chapter 5 Twitter (X) Activism and Crisis Management: A Case Study of KFC Kenya Franchise

Anne W. Njathi

Eric Wamanji

Chapter 6 Digital Beef or Digital Bluff? An SMCC-based Analysis of General Muhoozi’s Provocative Tweets and Contentious Kenya-Uganda Twitter (X) Discourse

Teresia Nzau

Luke Capizzo

Chapter 7 Digital Marketing and Public Relations in Egypt

Amany Bassyouny

Chapter 8 Social Media Marketing of Public Universities in Ghana: The Use of Facebook

Akwasi Bosompem Boateng

Chapter 9 Africa Rising: Assessing How African Online Influencers are Influencing Consumer Buying Decisions - A Study of the Nigerian Telecommunications Industry Using Lagos State as a Case Study

Adeola Kayode

Christiana Alex-Ojei

Chapter 10 Digital Ecosystem in Africa: Unfolding Regulatory Practices, Gaps, and Trends

Anne W. Njathi

Grace Mutung’u

Yinka Anjibola

Chapter 11 Trends in Public Relations and Marketing Research in Africa

Brandi Watkins

Anne W. Njathi

Anne W. Njathi (Ph.D. North Carolina State University) is a data-driven digital marketer and chartered Marketer (ACIM) with 9 years of experience in building sustainable brands in Africa. As an assistant professor at Pepperdine University, her research focuses on digital technologies, the creator economy, Internet governance, and FinTech, from an emerging market perspective.

Brandi Watkins (Ph.D., APR, The University of Alabama) is an associate professor in the School of Communication at Virginia Tech. Her research examines the role of digital and social media in facilitating organization-public relationships, brand communication, and social change.