PR Strategies Used by Kenyan Firms in Building the Ceo’s Image

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate PR strategies used by Kenyan organizations in building the image of their CEO. The aim was to make relevant recommendations that can enhance the role played by Public Relations practitioners in ensuring that their CEOs have a positive corporate image. The research evaluated both the top and the bottom ranking organizations from the last five years as established by the awarding body COYA. In addition, a few selected CEOs and Public Image consultants were interviewed on the role PR strategies plays in shaping the image of the CEO in their organizations. This research adopted both quantitative and qualitative approach using descriptive research design. In addition, the study employed two methods of data collection that is interviews and questionnaires. The key findings from this study revealed that the PR departments in corporate organizations use both internal and external PR strategies to build the image of the CEO. Secondly, the results from this study further affirmed that PR strategies differ between successful and unsuccessful CEOs as ranked by COYA. From the results of the study, all the p values were lower than the p value of 0.05, which shows that there exists a significant difference in mean responses between the two groups. Thirdly, the results also indicated that the CEOs image after the awards impacts on the financial success of the organization as well as helping the organization to gain competitive advantage. Moreover, the findings also imply that CEOs nomination and positive image positively contributes to the performance of an organization. Lastly, the study recommended the use of corporate image of the CEO in building brand loyalty amongst its stakeholders, since this contributes a lot to how a leader is perceived by both the internal and external publics.