Cameroon’s lone petroleum refining company, SONARA, was on Friday, April 28, crowned the best Cameroon Company in the area of Corporate Communication in 2016.
SONARA’s Director of Communication, Public Relations and Translation, Mr Blasius Ngome, and his close collaborators, Ms Grace Bilo’o and Parfait Mesina Ngosso, were in Douala, to receive the award on behalf of their General Manager, Ibrahim Talba Malla.
The distinguished Association of Communicators in Cameroon, ASCOM, were the organizers of the award whose Director, Duvalier Kandoum Soh, said that they had, in 2016, vetted a series of companies across Cameroon and had come to the conclusion that the National Oil Refining Company, SONARA, was the best for the year in the area of communication.
best Communicators for 2016 on hehalf of SONARA
SONARA was just one of the beneficiaries of the ASCOM Excellence Award 2017 Night. ASCOM’s Director, Kandoum, said his outfit, which is unique in Cameroon in recognizing excellence was created in 2010. It was in 2011 that they organized the first edition to recognize, encourage and boost the efforts of those companies, both public and private, individuals and other enterprises that were performing well in their different areas of competence.
That is why he said for the 2017 edition where SONARA emerged as the best in corporate communication, they also rewarded other companies. Tradex was crowned the best company in the distribution of petroleum products. The prize for the best TV Station in 2016 went to the Douala based Canal II International station; Nexttel grabbed the recognition for the best mobile telephony Company while SANET, a soap production company was recognized for the production of the best soap product for 2016.
The Mayor of Limbe II Council a neighbor to SONARA, Duncan Molindo, grabbed the recognition for the best Council in the Southwest Region for 2016.
There is just no company, no matter how small, that does not carry out some form of communication. Else whatever services or products that such a company is offering or selling to the public would probably be known or the company won’t succeed.
As to how ASCOM came to select SONARA as the best for 2016, its Director, Kandoum said that between the months from December 2016, right to April, 2017, they had sent out some professional young Cameroonians who are specialized in marketing and communication research who assisted them in gathering the necessary facts in the field for their analysis and selection. “I want to thank these young Cameroonians for all their contributions,” he said.
Going into specifics, Kandoum had this to say as to what influenced them to crown SONARA as the Communication King of 2016:
“SONARA that has been rewarded this evening, from our observation had, in 2016, made use of diverse modes or channels of communication in order to reach the Cameroon and international public. They made use of TV stations, newspapers, radios and also they were seen to be effectively also communicating by sponsoring a lot of activities across Cameroon. Sponsoring of activities, is also another effective form of corporate communication as you know. They did so in Douala, Yaounde, in the Southwest and other towns in Cameroon. SONARA was selected first because we saw them also sponsoring and promoting cultural and sporting activities in Cameroon. This was not only in the Southwest where the company is based but also in other different towns in Cameroon,” Kandoum said.
ASCOM’s Director went on to say, “So, by this, we want to thank SONARA for all that it realized in the area of communication in 2016. We simply want to thank them for their sense of assiduity and responsibility in implementing their policy of communication in the course of 2016.”
On behalf of the General Manager of SONARA, Mr Ngome said he was so overwhelmed by the distinction that ASCOM has accorded to them. He said all the accolades being received, the encomiums being poured on them by ASCOM was all thanks to their General Manager, Mr Talba Malla.
“This award is really an honour to us in SONARA because for all these years we have been doing a lot in Communication. We have had the SONARA News Magazine for over the years in English and French; we also have a bilingual website in English and French. We have also been reaching the public via the different TV networks, Radios and newspapers. We can say that following the Communication plan of SONARA as laid down by its General Manager, Talba Malla, SONARA is not just marching on the communication highway but SONARA is effectively on the Communication Super Highway.”
Mr Ngome sealed by thanking ASCOM for the distinction. “SONARA is very happy to have received this Communication Award for the best communicator in Cameroon especially as it has been given by an association of communicators who have been able to see us as the best. This is so much so because some persons have been in the habit of say SONARA doesn’t communicate. So this award touches our hearts so deeply.”
The ASCOM director said they were wishing all beneficiaries not to relent because their observatory will still keep watch on them. He promised that by December, they shall be out, again, in the field to evaluate those that shall emerge as winners in 2018.