#21
ALFRED NGANGA
FOUNDING PARTNER, OXYGENE MCL
Alfred Ng’ang’a has practiced Public Relations now for almost two decades. As a strategic communication consultant renown for crafting quality brand stories, Alfred kicked off his career in corporate communications in the mid-2000s at the then Gina Din Corporate Communications as a Public Relations Officer. Since then, Alfred has gone on to serve in various management functions at Ogilvy PR Kenya, Media Edge PR, Simba Corporation, BluePrint PR, Ogilvy East Africa and is currently serving as a Founding Partner of Kenya’s fastest growing PR consulting house, Oxygène MCL.
Alfred is a passionate story teller and organisational communication champion who takes pride in client success. Trained at Moi University and the Kenya Institute of Mass Communication (KIMC) he has enjoyed a successful career working on almost all leading corporate accounts in the East and Central Africa Region.
On matters storytelling, Alfred reckons that use of storytelling is variously cited as an effective avenue for connecting and winning the trust of audiences. It is delivered in various forms including audio-visual media, print outputs, digital channels including websites and social media platforms and, of course, good old dramatised skits.
Alongside public entities such as the Kenya Defense Forces, organisations such as Safaricom, NCBA, Kakuzi PLC among others with their newsroom content channel and the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) who have recently introduced a Podcast and TV channel (alongside Nation Media Group) are just some early adopters of this contemporary form of communication.
At the global stage, the World Health Organisation (WHO) under its Communicating for Health Strategic Framework for Effective Communications identifies storytelling as a critical pillar that enhances the comprehension and retention of crucial messages. Clearly storytelling is an effective messaging tool.
By applying real health-related stories that bring a human face to health needs, telling how WHO protects the health of its target audiences while inspiring people with success stories. That way, audiences easily identify with the organisation. Further, showcasing decision-makers who have first-hand testimony of the health gains they have reaped as a result of WHO’s advice, this global health organisation’s corporate communications goals are easily understandable.
Learning from the WHO framework, storytelling needs to encompass the use of familiar and understandable languages (including sheng where necessary) and audio-visual tools that present information with illustrations, images, infographics and videos.
For local organisations right across the entire spectrum of sectors they serve, the time to adopt modern communication approaches such as storytelling and infographics is now.
From a professional membership perspective, Alfred is a senior member in good standing with the Public Relations Society of Kenya (PRSK) and is a current Board member of the Association of Public Relations and Communication Management Firms (APReCoM), and a Member of the Marketing Society of Kenya (MSK).
He has previously served on the Public Relations Society of Kenya (PRSK) Committee and as a member of the Government of Kenya Taskforce for the Improvement of Government Information and Public Communications Functions to Align them with Emerging Public Sector Dynamics and Expectations.
In 2024, Alfred served as a Member of the Football Kenya Federation (FKF) Electoral Board and oversaw the staging of a free, fair, credible and verifiable electoral process.
Alfred is an Ogilvy Professional Awards winner (2006) and at Gina Din Corporate Communications and Ogilvy, he was part of a team that consistently won PRSK Awards from the year 2004 to 2015. He is also a Public Relations Society of Kenya (PRSK) Moran Award recipient and was also listed in the PRSK Top PR Practitioners in Kenya 2024 listing.
In 2021, an Oxygène MCL team led by Alfred was named one of the 2021 Global SABRE Awards Winners for its Kazi Mtaani Public Relations (PR) campaign entry. Thanks to the firm’s Kazi Mtaani entry earlier rolled out on behalf of the State Department of Housing and Urban Development; the global award was a feather on Oxygène MCL’s cap. The firm also won a SABRE EMEA award in the Government Agencies category in London in 2021. The SABRE Awards attract more than 5,500 entries from more than 60 countries.
Alfred has contributed to the growth of PR in Kenya and beyond through outstanding professional practice as a PRSK member and adhering to the PRSK Code of Ethics. He has contributed to the growth of the profession while serving as a committee member at PRSK and Board Member of the Association of Public Relations and Communications Management Firms (APReCOM).
Alfred has helped foster PR training growth as through guest lecture opportunities at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Moi University and CIPR Kenya Training. He has continued to play a mentor and coach role for many practicing PR executives who have served under his leadership.
He has contributed to the industry and society through various selfless engagements and has championed reforms and provided much needed support for various corporate communication initiatives.
While crediting his colleagues contribution to his personal success, he has shown creativity and innovation in PR strategic planning. The proof of the pudding is in Oxygène MCL’s continued growth and retention of key clients that demand world class solutions.
