Nissan's National Sales Companies from key African markets sent their top communicators to Pretoria, to attend the first ever Nissan Africa Communication masterclass, under the theme Driving Africa 2022.
The inaugural event was hosted over three days and was officially opened by Nissan regional Vice President for communications Katherine Zachary, who joined virtually from Paris, France, where she is based.
Corporate communication, she said, was no longer a 'nice-to-have' but a 'must have' with Nissan's corporate communicators fulfilling a vital role for their executives across the continent – and indeed the globe.
"Communication is key to what we do, however the work of corporate communicators is more than just telling stories well. We analyse other news; we see potential problems and we identify opportunities for our executives, " said Zachary.
For the first two days, the 25 delegates from seven of Nissan's key African markets: Angola, Ghana, Kenya, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Mozambique and Zimbabwe, attended a mix of practical and theoretical approaches to corporate communication, crisis communication and media management.
The in-person masterclass at the Capital Hotel was also addressed by Nissan Africa's executive director of government affairs Wonga Mesatywa as well as the company's general manager of marketing Graeme Birch on their particular areas of expertise.
The third day was spent out of the classroom, first visiting a cutting-edge brand- new dealership and then off to Hartbeespoort Dam to experience the all-new built of more Nissan Navara in its true element, putting all the Nissan Intelligent Mobility to the test at the Nissan Adventure Club, ADA in Hartbeesport.
"This was about bringing together our colleagues from all over Africa, getting to know them, understanding their individual markets, and achieving synergies. It is important to take advantage of the diversity our continent offers, using this unique opportunity to harness our story telling abilities," said Motsepe.
Mohareb agreed: "We wanted it to be an unforgettable experience for all our colleagues who had travelled across and down through Africa to be with us and it was. This was a very successful pilot project on many fronts."