Ogilvy PR Johannesburg wins inaugural PR Agency of the Year

“We are proud to fly the flag for our entire industry – especially as this bears testament to the increasing role of public relations and how it matters more as a discipline in influencing the agendas of both companies and brands,” said Ogilvy PR National Managing Director Joanna Oosthuizen.

“Public relations is driving the integrated communications agenda. As we move into 2017, this focus becomes especially relevant in influencing sustainable long-term narratives for brands and organisations seeking to entrench a new level of credibility,” she said.

Oosthuizen explains that the expectations from PR has moved beyond the remit of just communications and marketing leads. With the ever-changing socio-economic, political, educational and environment landscapes, the use of public relations methods play a major role in communicating messages in order to keep brands and consumers abreast of current news and trends.

“CEOs and company leaders are demanding effective ways to meaningfully impact how people think about and engage their organisations and products. This is why PR matters and underpins how our work has evolved well beyond just the press release.”

“Winning PR Agency of the Year is testament to both our people and our clients. Public relations professionals do more than draft press releases and build relationships with key media representatives. We need to be familiar with the attitudes and concerns of consumers, employees, public interest groups, and the community in order to establish and maintain cooperative working relationships. At its core, public relations revolve around the universal truth that people act based upon their perception of facts,” she said.

Key areas underpinning Ogilvy PR Johannesburg’s performance over the last year include:

• The agency has grown to be the largest PR agency in the country both in terms of client roster and number of PR professionals.
  
• The agency has grown revenue by over 10% in the period under review and is on track to double growth with a massive 20% increase on the cards in 2016 - a year where the economy is delivering a flat performance overall.
  
• The agency has made significant investments in creative, content as well as data & analytics as it seeks to remain ahead of the curve and provide clients insight driven and creative work that matters.

“The future of PR is far from grim, in fact, it is bright,” concluded Oosthuizen

About Ogilvy Public Relations

Ogilvy Public Relations, part of Ogilvy & Mather, is one of the largest marketing and specialist communications companies in the world. It was named the Cannes Lions Network of the Year for four consecutive years, 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015. O&M is comprised of more than 500 offices in 126 countries. It is a WPP company (NASDAQ: WPPGY) and part of the Fortune Global 500. For more information, visit our website at www.ogilvypr.com or follow us on Twitter at @ogilvypr.