What comes to mind when i say KasiLife ? Let me guess guns, gangs and violence am i right or am i right! The instant thought of ekasi brings fear and horror to those who don't live there because of the constant negative media coverage of the kasi/township. What you don't get to hear an see is the rich culture of kasi life and the spirit of Ubuntu that lives within the people and drives their communities. Kasi Life is more than the horror stories parents choose to tell their suburban bred kids nits a burst of south african originality uya cava! Now that we've introduced Kasi taal let us discuss the difficulties and opportunities in venturing on this topic as a public relations practitioner.
LETS FIRST CHAT ABOUT THE DIFFICULTIES..
STEREOTYPE
Trying to venture in a kasi life campaign definitely be difficult because of the way people perceive and view they township from the outside. When you're trying to post about a positive and vibrant image of the township/kasi you are competing with hundreds of other post about the crime happening in the township that it would be hard to convince your social media audience that the township is a great place as they already have a mental image and negative connotation of kasi life.LACK OF COMMUNICATION WITH KASI BRED PEOPLE
When promoting this campaign you will need back up from people who actually life the kasi lifestyle and can testify of the good that happens in the kasi. Unfortunately, you may struggle with this because a vast number of the kasi community have no access to the internet for online communication and thus cannot access social media so as to speak on their kasi life experience.
NOW LETS CHAT ABOUT THE OPPORTUNITIES..
BRING THOSE TOURISTS FORTH!
As an aspiring public relations practitioner i know very well that promoting a good and attractive image of something will raise interest on it. Its simple really, through such a campaign there will be a boost for the tourism in the country, ultimately benefiting the economy. Posting the vibrant culture of kasi life on social media will compel people to want to visit the kasi/township to experience that lifestyle.GOOD NEWS FOR LOCAL BUSINESSES
Compelling more people to visit the kasi/township through attractive social media post about kasi life will mean better business for our local businesses. This campaign can go as far as creating job opportunities because people will start businesses in the township so that tourist and people who are visiting can support them and ultimately creating finance and income for them and their families.This campaign will need some serious people skills and marketing skills from you as a public relations champion. You will need to know how to speak to the people in the townships so they can help create that positive image this campaign needs, you must also get people from the township to do some campaigning and posting themselves to keep audiences up to date on whats happening in the townships so they can want to visit and see for themselves, tourism is important why? because tourism growth equals economic growth for our beautiful country.
