PR consultant, Oti Egwu drives narrative of strategic writing in Africa

Having spent most of his 20s obsessing over creative writing techniques such as Ernest Hemmingway’s iceberg theory and Cormac McCarthy’s polysyndeton, Oti Egwu never imagined that his writing journey would someday veer him towards crafting words for brands. He had a strong penchant for lucid prose, a forte for using words in poetic form, and his mind set on writing novels. But today he prides himself as a strategic writer, having become an International Public Relations (PR) Consultant – a role that enables him to use words more strategically and has given him the opportunity to work with global brands such as Tommy Hilfiger, the Gates Foundation, M&C Saatchi, Jellyfish and VistaJet.

‘‘The internet became the ultimate game changer and led me to develop skills in new types of writing that create impact and generate rewarding results. Writing content for SEO or UX and curating verbal identity for brand development have more to do with strategy than creativity. It is like carefully deploying words to produce facts, an approach different from writing fiction,’’ he said.

Oti’s reputation as a writer garnered public attention in 2020 when he published his first book – The Six Albatrosses Around Nigeria’s Neck. Written in essay form, the book received plaudits and positive reviews for its well-versed language style and thought-provoking context about Nigeria’s debilitating political and social conditions. His foundation as a BSc and MSc graduate of Political Science from the University of Calabar and the University of Lagos informed him to write the book.

The writer raised eyebrows when he published his second book, Future of Work – Why Young Professionals Must Become Skilled Writers the following year. It was a treatise inspiring young professional to become skilled writers – a shift from his first work. When he was quizzed why he presented a different discourse in his second book, Oti said, “The future of work was one of the most vaunted themes immediately after the pandemic. From a communications perspective, skilled writing became a necessity and increasingly inescapable at work. Over 90 per cent of professional interactions since COVID are performed via emails and in 2021 we had over 4 billion email users, and more than 5 billion people writing on social media. The book was designed to help young professionals build their careers by leveraging skilled writing.’’

Oti’s third book, Strategic Writing – How Successful Brands Use Words to Build and Sell, was published in 2024. The book focused on utilising words to drive business growth and touched on various aspects of strategic writing such as SEO, UX writing, brand language, storytelling for business growth, content marketing using design thinking, etc. The work in every sense of the word proves that Oti is deeply invested in taking contemporary writing to the next level.

‘‘Performance-driven PR and Marketing require strong writing, Oti posits as he explains the connection between strategic writing and PR. When developing PR strategies for brands the first thing I imagine is the quality and strategy of writing to conjure up. Because this determines the kind of compelling stories I tell to elevate brands and their positioning. How I frame successful ideas for media engagements and strategic interviews, craft press releases and curate thought leadership pieces – all depends on my approach to writing.’’

Oti is passionate about seeing more young African professionals in the PR and Marketing space compete and break into the international scene and work for global brands. In supporting this goal, he serves as the Chief Advisor of Bloomwit– Africa’s Best Writing Academy, where he anchors masterclasses and trains young African professionals in the fundamentals and mechanics of strategic writing.

A distinctive writer and consultant with an admirable profile, Oti was contracted in 2022 to work as a Brand and Content Manager for the Atiku Abubakar Presidential campaign, where he curated cutting-edge content strategies and leveraged the internet to elevate the Atiku’s political brand. He has also worked on writing and PR projects for global brands such as the Gates Foundation, Tommy Hilfiger, VistaJet, M&C Saatchi, and Jellyfish. He currently works for Djembe Consultants.

When asked what his favourite quote on writing was, Oti replied: ‘‘You can make anything by writing – C. S. Lewis.’’