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, saw the who’s who of the country’s public relations industry gather with excitement and enthusiasm.
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 serious note, in his welcome speech, 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 is a testament to the hard work of all those who participated in the award and the PR 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 said that the category will not be removed, 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. Also, there was a lot of innovation 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 the entries in these categories are mostly from medium-sized agencies, not large agencies. “The number of small agencies that have come in is exciting, because they are doing new and different things and growing into mid-sized agencies.”
It was the atmosphere for their Campaign of the Year winner for Burger King South Africa. Nicola Neal, M.D. of Atmosphere, out-of-the-box innovation and delivering business 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. From the point of view 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 firm Positive Dialogue winning. 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, this is the culmination of a lot of good work, the work that goes into it every day. The award confirms to our clients that they are 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. Everyone is on the same page to help our voice grow,” says Roscher.
