Curbing Counterfeiting and Piracy with Public Relations Tools: The Case of Nigeria’s Beauty and Cosmetics Industry
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IBIMA Publishing
Abstract
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Counterfeiting and piracy have become global twin problems of immense magnitude. They jeopardize
the image-building efforts of corporate organisations, governments and businesses. Universally, they
pose a serious threat to the public perception, growth and smooth running of the beauty and cosmetics
industry. Therefore, the study examined the application of public relations (PR) in the beauty and
cosmetics industry and how usable it is to curb counterfeiting and piracy in Nigeria. Cultivation theory
serves as the foundation of the study. Respondents were purposively selected and the survey research
design was adopted for data collection. The result revealed that product launches and makeup fairs are
the main public relations activities with which beauty and cosmetics companies deal with the challenges
of counterfeiting and piracy. It also showed that billboards, Instagram and Twitter, are the dominant
media used for creating public awareness and pushing brands out to various publics. The study
concluded that public relations is a useful tool in influencing the thoughts of the public and curbing
piracy in Nigeria’s beauty and cosmetics industry. Accordingly, the study recommends that the
government should establish regulatory bodies to monitor and reprimand perpetrators of piracy in the
beauty and cosmetics industry. Also, beauty and cosmetics companies need to trademark their brands
and sensitize their publics to the side effects of using fake beauty products.
Keywords
H Social Sciences (General), HE Transportation and Communications