This is according to Jack Leslie. The Global CEO and Chairman of Weber Shandwick was in Johannesburg at the beginning of the month for the merging of the PR company with McCann PR.
It's not only South Africa and Africa that he views with anticipation; he believes we are living in an era of exciting changes globally - of the likes that one only gets to experience once in 30 to 50 years.
The big picture change or shift is the rise of non-state actors. Previously the world was bipolar with the United States (US) on one side and the USSR on the other. "Today we have a multi-polar world with the G7, the BRICS and many different actors competing and states rising and falling. The Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) is the most dramatic. The less dramatic are various NGOs and foundations, such as the Gates Foundation."
Twenty years ago 70% of aid to Africa was from governments. Today that percentage is less than 15, but there is more money than ever flowing into the continent, but it is through NGOs, foundations and the private sector. The role of the state has declined and the role of the non-state actor is rising.
Just as the world balance has shifted so has the world of public relations (PR). Five years ago we were still in the broadcast era, says Leslie. "We were in the business of simply putting out a press release and the story would be run and have an effect. We have moved from this one to many model to an engagement model or many to many model."
He adds: "Our business clients are looking for the strongest way to engage their stakeholders. He acknowledges that many are asking them, what do we do... so there is an increasing demand for PR's services."
More sophisticated marketers are also looking to their PR agencies to manage their social media. "To clients it is very logical to reach out to their PR agency to do this and for us it is a natural extension of what we do, that is content creation. As a result we are hiring people from different backgrounds, such as computer programmers, creative directors and art directors. PR agencies are a very different place to five years ago and are structured more like a studio."
Presently clients are forced to buy the different elements and then integrate them themselves. He believes that in the future there will be much fewer barriers and much greater integration between the various disciplines as all the transitional advertising disciplines come together. To the client they will be seamless.
A strong trend in PR, as well as advertising, is the re-emergence of creative at the core of everything. "The need for the big idea is back and I believe this is because it is so difficult to cut through the clutter. The creative being the centre followed by the delivery, strategy and purchase path."
The changes in the world are creating opportunities for brands. "The lack of trust in institutions mean we as brand marketers need to restore trust. Brands not only need to behave differently, but they need to identify a social need and then address that need. It's not Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), but Creating Shared Value (CSV)."
While doing social good addresses the trust issue, the new watch word, he says, is engagement and the best way to engage is to talk about issues your consumers are talking about.
