PURE Communications sees green in Africa

And with plans to open five new offices in five countries in five years, Serandos and Ndaba, the minds behind pioneering PR agency PURE Communications, have Africa firmly in their sights.

Says Serandos, “2010 is Africa's 15 minutes of fame. It's a wonderful but tremendously short lived window that'll put Africa in the spotlight for six weeks. But in building Africa's wider profile and giving it perception longevity, we aim to put it in the spotlight for longer.”

And making good on their promise, PURE's expansion plans are already underway with a new office opening in Botswana this month through a partnership Leapfrog Marketing & Communications, owned by renowned local businessman Thapelo Pabalinga. Under the banner of PURE Communications Botswana.

With the ink barely dry on the merger of Indaba Productions, a brand development and advertising agency, and PURE in July, the tenacious PR agency has been growing its client list in leaps and bounds to include Kaspersky, Deloitte, Sanyo, Sibize and Sabela, among others.

Says Ndaba, “It was more than a meeting of minds - the merger was a partnership of mutual passion, performance culture and a commitment to growing the profile of our great continent”.

Adds Serandos of his adoptive home, “Africa will only earn the respect of our international peers through solid brand credentials on the back of sound investment success stories. We're working on both creating and telling these stories to the rest of the world.”

On the back existing projects the agency is working on in these markets, PURE plans to expand its footprint to in Ghana, Cote D'Ivoire and Nigeria. For starters, adds Ndaba. “And we're proud to be one of the first PR companies making good on our intentions, not just paying lip service.

“It's like a chicken-egg situation,” continues Serandos. “We can only attract more investment to the continent by projecting it as the fantastic place to do business that it is, through fantastic businesses. It is after all a fact that profit margins for multinationals operating in Africa are the highest in the world.”

Successful entrepreneurs themselves, having founded their own companies and mechanised a number of different start-ups, Serandos and Ndaba understand how to transform passion into potential and apply their expertise to helping their clients fulfil their goals.

Says Serandos, “We're taking to businesses with similar appetites with us. And based on our knowledge and experience in these markets, largely unchartered for many, we're able to leverage this deep understanding to facilitate and guide.”

Serandos is the first to admit that the challenge is significant, but not insurmountable.

“As we well know, established media channels in many of these markets leave a lot to be desired, so we have to get creative in how to get our message across, look at what's there and how we can maximise potential while never losing sight of our clients' objectives.”

And creativity PURE has in buckets.

More than a PR company, PURE sees itself as a proactive, results-driven communications solutions provider. Together, they are a partnership of Serandos' discipline, strategic business insight and international corporate experience with Ndaba's agency background, energy, experience in African broadcasting & media, and effective marketing disciplines.

“A can-do, how-to, WILL-do synergy of delivery,” jokes Serandos.

Beginning with getting under the skin of the client and his business problem, PURE begins with a series of honed diagnostic exercises to get to the root of the issue which, Ndaba advises, is often not what the client understands it to be.

“While the client may come to you with what at face value might look like a PR need, some initial probing may well point to a requirement for brand strategy, say. Uncovering the real problem is the first part of prescribing a solution.”

“Every day is different and every challenge unique. And I thrive on that,” says Ndaba, a well known face on the South African media and entertainment scene, with a dense little black book of personal media contacts.” And their varied and engaging client list is testament to that:

PURE plans to expand its offering in other African markets to include a permanent on-the-ground presence to better service clients there and those that wish to break new ground on this soil.

And with outstanding pitch success to date, PURE is poised to take on the world. Starting with Africa.