PR Spotlight On: Wunmi Bakare, Celebrity Publicist

I work as an Entertainment Publicist but by training I got my BSc in Public Relations with a Business minor from the University of Texas at Austin. I've been in PR for over 5 years now working primarily on consumer and corporate brands like Nestle, McDonald's, Tyson Foods and Dell both in Austin and Chicago. When I made the move back to Nigeria, I knew I wanted two things :

- To be the most sought-out publicist in the entertainment industry
-To define public relations so people in my generation (Gen Y) and the younger ones (The Millenials), recognize the importance of PR.

As an entertainment publicist my job description encompasses a lot; I, primarily, facilitate media coverage for my clients across all 4 forms of media - broadcast, print, radio and online.

I am trained to handle press briefings, organize press conferences, create a crisis management plan, develop re-branding tactics, perform social media engagement, co-ordinate investor relations, facilitate aggressive media pitching, engage in press monitoring and so much more. I work 24/7 literally and have to be accessible to my clients in case a rumor flares that could potentially destroy their brand.

A day in the life of Wunmi entails press monitoring, discussing the agenda items for the day with my team, making follow-up calls to entertainment journalists, scheduling cover photo shoots, campaigning for media coverage for a client, discussing endorsement opportunities and so on.

I'll tell you this, since the first day I fell in love with PR, no two days have ever been the same. In PR, you have to be quick on your feet, a great writer and a good time manager. I live and breathe public relations and enjoy my job so much I brainstorm PR campaigns in the shower. The foundation of my field is fostering good relationships with people in the industry from investors, members of the press, corporate bodies and designers to other publicists who you would consider to be my competitors.

Since I've been back in Lagos (Nigeria), I've handled the following people/events/brands - Tiwa Savage, Lynxxx, Marcy Dolapo Oni, DJ Caise, Beverly Naya, DRB Las Gidi, Toke Makinwa, Lagos Jazz series, Sokolad and Thelma West Diamonds. As you can see my portfolio is vast but it challenges me and I love it! My agency is called WBPR but I'm also affiliated with a South African agency called African Star Communications owned by Farah Fortune.


Wunmi Bakare Biography

With vast experience in consumer relations, investor relations, fashion & entertainment PR, public affairs, crisis management, social media engagement and experiential marketing, Ms. Bakare speaks public relations. As the CEO of WBPR, she works hard to garner publicity for a host of premium brands and people in the Nigerian market.

Her work with international PR firms like GolinHarris and Cohn & Wolfe has helped build global brands like McDonald's, Dell, Tyson Foods, NetSpend and Underwriters Laboratories. Ms. Bakare has also worked at the UT Office of Public Affairs and the Texas State Capitol. She is a proud member of the Public Relations Society of America and WinBiz. She tweets at @Wunmie09

This is the first post of a serie dedicated to all the different branches of the PR industry. There's a bunch of specialties in PR and I want to know more about them and what's the reality behind the title.