Flair Magazine Is it possible to brand a nation? And how exactly do you go around achieving that? Believe it or not but this daunting task is being carried out by PR Queen Lamia Kamel, the woman behind the prominent PR firm CC Plus. Always having believed in the value of local talent, Lamia Kamel bet her money on it when she established her firm in 2006. Ten years later she decided to celebrate this milestone by giving back to the industry through launching the Narrative Summit and supporting the branding of Egypt as a whole. As we approach this year’s edition of the summit, we caught up with Lamia to find out about the challenges she faces and what we can look forward to this year.
Starting out as a small PR boutique, how did CC Plus grow into one of the leading consulting firms in Egypt?
So many factors involved. A great team, each person leaving an impact on our success. It was also the vision we had starting the firm 13 years ago. Over those years, so many circumstances happened that allowed this vision to evolve. We went through the revolution in 2011 and the political dynamics during that time gave us the opportunity to participate in several presidential campaigns. In 2012 and 2014, we were part of the PR efforts regarding the constitution. In 2013, we did some work with the Parliament of 2012, and we continued doing so until 2015 when the country was politically stable. After that, we participated in the Sharm El Sheikh summit and the launch of the administrative capital. I think all those circumstances, along with the vision we carried, allowed us to grow. We also have the ability to absorb talents when it comes to people joining our team.
When did you realize you could have a wider impact with your work?
Back in the day, I worked with multiple agencies and most of them were international companies that would give you very high rates for good work, but I felt that we had so much local talent and caliber that we could provide the same level of work at a much better price. That’s what I was betting on launching CC Plus with just two people working with me. In 2012, we saw that we had a say and a role in the future of the country. The definition of PR became more to me than just press releases, content and events. It’s about taking part in the creation of a strong and powerful message, whether or not the candidate you’re endorsing wins or loses.
How did the training you received in London prepare you for your work in Egypt?
It was very important because back then I was very young and I needed to be exposed to international case studies and the shared knowledge of all the people in the room. I took two courses at the time – a crisis management course and PR training. It definitely prepared me for the next phase of work.
What was your motivation?
I’ve always wanted to write and I was fascinated with media. I always knew that I wanted to have an impact and communicate something and raise awareness of any cause that I believed in. The closest thing I got to writing and journalism was PR because you work a lot with journalists. You help them in creating content and support their mission in delivering a message or a campaign. This is how I got into the field. I then realized that so much could be done that wasn’t being done. There weren’t too many other good local companies in the field when we first started but now you’ll find a number of them.
How does CC Plus tackle something as big and complex as nation branding?
Nation branding has always been something that concerned me and a lot of practitioners in the past few years. That’s because we feel that the country deserves much more influence than it actually has. We have a lot of local talent and so much going on for us. Whenever I speak to internationals, they always associate Egyptians with the pyramids and the pharaohs. I feel it’s good to have that history but it’s not something that we should always rely on, especially when we have so much going on for us on a contemporary level. I felt that by digging into what’s happening, finding interesting topics and looking for stars and leadership, we can get those stories out and inspire others to move on. Even if it happens slowly, we are accumulating efforts until people start looking at Egypt as a hub for interesting talents and stories.
Which previous PR successes are you most proud of? Why?
I could tell you about our first participation in a presidential campaign. Being around a frontrunner candidate like Amr Moussa was definitely something I was very proud of. Supporting the PR concerning our current constitution, the Narrative Summit and doing campaigns for companies like Ericsson, Nestle, Telecom Egypt and TE Data. What I am most proud of is a meeting in 2006, when I was pitching to Orbit, now OSN, with no experience whatsoever but Hala Hegazy took one look at us and said she wanted us on board. We worked for them for 4 years until management changed. She saw our passion, vision and integrity, even when we’ve only been in the industry for a month.
What are the aims you hope to achieve with the Narrative PR Summit?
I’m hoping that one day I will see an institution responsible for the branding of Egypt and utilizing the entire cabinet to push for that brand.
What can people look forward to this year?
We have 21 speakers so far and they are from different backgrounds and with different capabilities. They will be processing and providing their insight into the recommendations we discussed in last year’s summit by putting them into actual practice based on their own experience.
By Sarah Guirguis
