Archive
News & Opinions
-
Increased recognition for communications campaigns executed in Africa
May 10, 2016
The economic surge in Africa has increased the need for world-class communications across the continent and has in turn, been mirrored by the increased recognition for communications campaigns executed across Africa. In 2015, The Public Relations Institute of South Africa responsible for hosting the Prism Awards, introduced the Pan-African Campaign of the Year, a new award to recognise excellence in PR in Africa. In addition to this, the first ever African Excellence Awards took place...
-
2016 PRISA PRISM AWARDS: RESULTS
May 10, 2016
Gold: PRISA PRISM Pan African Campaign of the Year – Discovery Networks, TLC Next Great Presenter Search Silver: PRISA PRISM PR on a Shoestring – Philips Azur Iron 94.7 campaign PRISA PRISM Healthcare – African Union, Africa Against Ebola Bronze: PRISA PRISM Technology – Microsoft, Windows Server PRISA PRISM PR on a Shoestring – Discovery Networks, TLC Wedding Season...
-
Don’t become the story
April 22, 2016
Jose Dos Santos, the CEO of Cell C, is in the news for all the wrong reasons, and despite any positive moves the company might be making in terms of leadership, managed to make the cardinal error of becoming the story himself. I don’t presume to know how much media exposure or experience Mr. Dos Santos has, his preparation techniques, or how exactly he wasn’t able to realise that when you’re in the hole, stop...
-
FleishmanHillard Names Sharon Piehl General Manager in Johannesburg
April 14, 2016
JOHANNESBURG, April 12, 2016 – FleishmanHillard announced today that Sharon Piehl has been appointed general manager of FleishmanHillard’s Johannesburg operation, effective May 1, 2016. “Sharon Piehl brings highly creative and strategic thinking to the Johannesburg team, as well as proven leadership abilities,” said John Saunders, president and CEO of FleishmanHillard. “I am confident that she will maintain the office’s commitment to outstanding client service and the agency’s growth trajectory in the African market.” Piehl has...
-
Encryption – Everyone’s talking about it
April 7, 2016
In today’s fast-paced, tech-savvy environment, it’s hard to imagine a time when the world existed without technology. Technology has become a major part of our everyday lives and accordingly, more of our data is digitalised than ever before. As of Tuesday night (05/04/2016), WhatsApp, the online messaging service owned by the tech giant Facebook, revealed its decision to make the application as secure as possible by launching ‘end-to-end encryption’. With over a billion people using WhatsApp...
-
Blink and you’ve missed it: Nintendo launches social network Miitomo
April 4, 2016
Nintendo just released its first app, and it’s a social network. No, that’s not an April Fool’s joke. It is, however, completely unlike any social network you’ve ever seen. It’s not for reading news, creating events or sharing website links. It takes social networks back to its original function – talking with your friends. The app launched in Japan two weeks ago, and saw its worldwide release late last week. You can either import your...
-
Filling in the gaps
March 14, 2016
A big South African telecommunications company decided to use an international athlete to become the face of its campaign much to the distaste of domestic athletes, consumers and media. While I understand the vehemence there is a definite correlation between the message the brand was trying to put out and what the athlete represents. I didn’t really see what the big fuss was about, this athlete ticks all the right boxes. He is well respected...
-
Advantage Sharapova
March 14, 2016
Early last week, sports journalists assembled at a downtown Los Angeles hotel, expecting to hear tennis star Maria Sharapova announcing her retirement from the sport. Instead, the 28-year old Russian revealed that she had tested positive for meldonium almost two months ago, during the 2016 Australian Open. Meldonium is a substance that was only recently added to the list of prohibited substances within professional tennis and is one that Sharapova claims that she has been...
-
The power of user generated content
March 8, 2016
I bet you’ve heard this before: “The world’s largest taxi company owns no taxis (Uber). The largest accommodation provider own no real estate (Airbnb). The most valuable retailer has no inventory (Alibaba). The most popular media owner creates no content (Facebook). And the world’s leading movie house owns no cinemas (Netflix).” But I bet you haven’t considered the fact at all these businesses have essentially made their fame through user generated content. Without the images...
-
The relationship between public relations and design
March 1, 2016
We all know the public relations landscape has changed over time to accommodate new media channels and content types. Communications agencies have changed with the times. For most, it means bringing in-house, the right tools and skills needed to optimise their offerings, to create solid content and meet client objectives...