Small public relations consultancy PR Expert took top honours at this year’s PRISM Awards, clinching the PRISM Campaign of the Year Award for its “Creating Groundswell for South Africa’s First Dance Movie” entry with its client, Coal Stove Pictures. The 19th PRISM Awards, which took place on Sunday 17 April at the Indaba Hotel in Fourways, celebrated, recognised and rewarded excellence in the public relations industry.
“Groundswell delivered the public relations X-Factor with a very limited budget,” added PRISMs judge Sylvester Chauke, Chief Architect: DNA Brand Architects. “They deserved to win Campaign of the Year as it was classic public relations with no Above The Line support, nor an established brand/campaign over time”.
“The entry showed good strategic thought and understanding of the target audience,” said Chief Judge Marilyn Watson, Founder of Cinnamon Communication. “It managed complex issues very well and demonstrated exceptional X-factor – off a very low budget.”
“Judges were looking for a number of criteria – most importantly, the unmistakable “WOW factor”! Groundswell clearly had this, in addition to all the other elements that make up a great public relations campaign: sound research, measurable objectives, detailed planning and tangible results demonstrating the achievements of the objectives set”.
Creating Groundswell for South Africa’s first Dance Movie
Reflecting the state of the film industry locally, where funds are spent on creating the movie and almost zero on marketing, the film Hear Me Move (HMM) relied solely on public relations as a tool to drive word-of-mouth and excitement for South Africa’s first dance movie to hit SA screens in 2015. Despite massive challenges, the public relations team never gave up and the success of the campaign resulted in HMM achieving local and international acclaim – a position that will continue to resonate well into the future.
Pan African Campaign of the Year
The Pan African Campaign of the Year was awarded to FleishmanHillard SA and Discovery Networks for their “TLC’s Next Great Presenter” campaign. In June 2015, FleishmanHillard (FH) announced Discovery Network’s first-ever African presenter search. The TLC Next Great Presenter (NGP) competition aimed to uncover a hidden talent and TLC Entertainment (TLC) host, broaden awareness of the channel and position TLC as a brand which is committed to its African audience.
“This entry was a good demonstration of research and application,” said PRISM judge Jerry Mpufane, Group Managing Director of M&C Saatchi Abel, Gauteng. “The consultancy leveraged existing client knowledge/brand assets/existing media platforms very well”.
Student Campaigns
“It’s important for us to encourage students to enter the projects they have worked on during the year and for them, as entrants to our profession, to receive positive feedback and encouragement to aim for excellence,” said Kevin Welman, Managing Director of FleishmanHillard SA, sponsors of the Student Campaign category.
Lifetime Achievement Award
This newly introduced award recognises individuals with over 25 years experience who have had an impact on the profession, shown leadership and innovation and who have a long-term vision for its future. Nine nominees were adjudicated on these criteria and seasoned professional, Peter Mann, founder and Chief Executive Officer of Meropa Communications, took top honours.
Awards
49 Awards were presented to worthy winners in 34 campaign categories – 18 Gold Awards, 15 Silver Awards and 16 Bronze Awards. Close on 200 entries were received for this year’s Awards – from 53 public relations consultancies, corporates, NGOs, government organisations and academic institutions.
On adjudicating the PRISMS, Watson said: “This is the twelfth year I have been part of the adjudicating team. Every year I look forward to seeing, and am often amazed by, the campaigns our fellow communication and public relations practitioners have been working on during the year. The adjudication process does not get any easier, but the opportunity to learn and interact with some of the best in the profession makes it a very worthwhile process”.
Marilyn added that the entries received this year reflected key trends, such as the exponential growth of social media, the pressure on consultancies to accurately measure results and the collaborative approach of key stakeholders.
All the winners, and photographs of the event can be viewed on the websites: www.prisa.co.za and www.prism-awards.co.za
Article:Vanessa Majozi