PRISA Conference 2016 Durban - Day Two

Today the conference continued with some more interesting speakers.

Linda Magapatona of Brand SA shared the following:

‘’Every 12 Tourists is a job created’’

‘’There’s enough negativity out there without having to contribute to it’’

‘’Stay focused on what it is that you need to achieve’’

‘’Nobody represents you, you represent this country’’

Francois van Dyk of Ornico / Amec   gave us some insight into an Integrated Evaluation Framework.

He offered the following:

‘’How much is a tweet worth?’’

He showed us how one tweet from Oprah about Weight Watchers was worth $150 million.

He also told us to look out for amec Measurement Month from 1 – 30 September 2016.

He suggested delegates check out the hashtag #AMECMM during the month during which valuable information, education and much more will be shared during the month.

Thabisile Phumo of Sibanye Gold delved into Business Acumen.   These were some of her highlights:

‘’Workers are the eyes and ears of the business’’

‘’PR is strategic’’

‘’What are people talking about in the boardroom?  Strategy, Performance, ROI, Compliance and Governance, Risk Management, Innovation and People’’

‘’You have to understand the country that you operate in’’

‘’How do you do strategy?  Through research’’

‘’Your job as a PR agency is to help a company deliver on its goals’’

‘’Sometimes gossip is better than social media’’

‘’Own the communication channel’’

‘’Understand the company you represent for example if your client is a mining company do you know what mining is?’’

Daniel Munslow gave us Insight into the South African Communication Landscape:

‘’One of the biggest pressures are downward pressures on budget’’

‘’People leave jobs because of line managers not engaging with staff’’

‘’Some companies are still scared of social media’’

Francois Vorster talked about how to make PR thrive in a digital landscape.  He had this to say:

‘’Top searched for word in South Africa is free’’

‘’PR is getting or creating exposure’’

‘’When last did you send something that needed a stamp?’’

The conference concluded today. 

For more info on PRISA visit:  www.prisa.co.za

#PRISArise2016

The conference was part of Loeries Creative Week.

For more info on the other events this week visit:  www.loeries.com

#Loeries2016

Article by Fred Felton

Twitter @fredfelton 

PRISA Conference 2016 Durban - Day One

Today I attended the PRISA (Public Relations Institute of Southern Africa) Conference.  It is being held in Durban as part of the Loeries Creative Week.

These were some of the highlights from Day One:

There is now new terminology in PR.

Roela Hattingh of the University of Johannesburg gave us the following insight:

‘’Gatewatching – the idea of watching without taking over’’

‘’Gatekeeping has been changed to gatewatching’’

‘’Learning is an active constructive process, learning also depends on rich contexts’’

‘’What are the products that you have memories with?’’

She went on to show us how students were using Instagram for an alcohol brand campaign because that is where their target audience is.

Prof. Sonja Verwey looked at the rise of PR or the fall of the agency model.  She reminded us of the following:

‘’Agencies don’t trust their clients anymore’’

‘’Clients complain of overpricing’’

‘’We are now in the age of digital disruption’’

‘’PR Agencies need to understand their clients business needs’’

‘’Clients don’t have agencies that tell them what the data means’’

Clarissa Muir of the University of Johannesburg reminded agencies to embrace digital as a business tool.  She also emphasised that to maintain a thriving business you need to change the business model when necessary.

Rene Benecke of the University of Johannesburg gave us insight from the history of PR education in South Africa, a critical analysis:

‘’There needs to be an Afrocentric model of PR’’

‘’Communication happens on all levels’’

‘’Listening is important’’

Tasneem Carrim gave us insight from GCIS Research and she shared the following:

‘’In order to influence the public we need to talk to the influencers’’

‘’South Africans take politics very seriously’’

She showed us various sections of South Africans:

S1 – Rooted Realists – They stay where they are

S2 – City Seekers – Majority are young

S3 – Safely Suburban – Middle Class People and People who live in Gated Estates

S4 – Metro Mobiles – City Bound

S5 – Cosmopolitan Capital – LSM 9 – 10 and Older People and Affluent people

                                                                                                                                                                                   

We also heard from Adolf Spangenberg on The Next Generation and how brands will communicate.

He had the following to say:

‘’Video will lead’’

‘’Every single one of us every single day engage with video’’

‘’Make sure that what people click through to is of value’’

He also stated that video needs to be at the beginning of your strategy not as an add on.

The conference continues tomorrow.

For more info visit: www.prisa.co.za

#PRISArise2016

Article by Fred Felton

Twitter @fredfelton