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2014 PRISM Awards guest speaker and this year’s judge Jeremy Maggs says ‘PR is at the center of the communications mix today and part of an effective communications mix.’
It was a lazy Sunday afternoon in Gauteng but the venue for the 17th annual PRISM Awards, the Maslow Hotel Convention Center in Sandton, was full of excitement and anticipation as the who’s who of the country’s public relations industry gathered.
Ashraf Garda, host of the media show on Safm, was the MC (judge and judge) and started the proceedings. to the Oscar style (the US version, not the local courtroom drama) by encouraging everyone to take their own “selfie”. to the Oscar style. As a PR industry, most are mandated.
On a very serious note, welcome Kevin Wellman, Chairman: PRISA Public Relations Consultants Chapter and Fleishman Hillard South Africa MD, said this was the biggest award to date with 174 entries. This testifies to the hard work shown by all those who participated in the award and the public relations agencies and their clients.
Changes, but remains mobile
There were some changes to this year’s awards. Campaign of the Year replaces the general PRISM award. Also included in this year for the first time agency awards. The category that did not respond well is the mobile category, but Wellman will not eliminate the category, because this is the future.
As guest speaker and this year’s judge Jeremy Maggs said, “PR is at the center of today’s communication mix and part of an effective communication mix.” He pointed out that three years ago, only seven of the major advertising agencies had a PR offer; Today 19 agencies work. “This shows the importance of PR.”
38 judges evaluated the award. This year’s entries were of a higher quality than last year and felt that entries were following the guidelines. There was also a lot of creativity in the entries and they said they were looking for the wow factor and innovation and asked themselves, “Are we doing locally what our colleagues are doing internationally?”
However, what they said was a lack of research. This was blatantly obvious, and should be beyond dipstick research. Sometimes there weren’t enough details to help the judging process.
New this year
New to the awards this year were the agency awards – Best Small PR Consultant (less than 10 complements), Best Mid-sized PR Consultant (between 10-29) and Best Large PR Consultant (over 30). Commenting on the agency category entries, Johanna McDowell said that the entries in these categories are mostly from mid-sized agencies, not large agencies. “The number of small agencies that have entered is interesting, because they grow into mid-sized agencies by doing new and different work.”
It was the atmosphere for their Campaign of the Year winner for Burger King South Africa. Nicola Neal, MD of Atmospheric, out-of-the-box innovation and delivering commercial results made the campaign a success. “That success can still be seen when people still line up outside Burger King.”
Atmosphere won Best Mid-Size Public Relations Consultant. Neal said the award is an external recognition of the great work of a great team. “It motivates us to do a better job. In terms of the PRISM awards, their stature is growing, which can be seen in the number of entries. There is a good sense of competition between PR agencies and because of that we are. We all raise our work.”
The best small PR consultancy boasts eight finalists, with Cape Town-based PR agency winning Positive Dialogue. Tracy Jones, MD, was speechless but thrilled. “Nothing happens overnight. This is the result of a lot of hard work and continued meaningful business.”
“The culmination of many a good deed.”
Fleishman Hillard South Africa wins major PR consultancy. Wellman was thrilled. “For me, it’s the culmination of a lot of good work; it’s done every day. The award confirms to our clients that they’re working with a world-class agency.”
PR Worx’s Shannon Roscher was awarded Best Up and Coming PR Professional, while the agency’s Chantel Riley and Madelain Roscher were awarded Best PR Professional and Lifetime Achievement, respectively.
“The awards are a testament to the great work we do and it’s amazing to be recognized by our peers. To me, the awards prove that PR is not just a publicity stunt. It’s exciting to see that PR is growing and important. It’s all on the same platform for our voice to grow,” says Roscher.
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