Good PR can help save the world

Johannesburg-based communication strategist, Mixael de Kock, CEO of The Maverick Group, was speaking on the subject of low-cost communication campaigns. The annual summit is hosted by the International Public Relations Association, and attracts some of the most senior public relations practitioners from all over the world.

"For some unknown and perverse reason, the horrors of yesteryear are repeating themselves right under our noses," says De Kock. "The world seems oblivious to the human and environmental tragedy unfolding everywhere and, it is because of the spin doctors in the profession - rather than communication professionals - that we have obfuscating and confusing messages being spread to the world."

Public relations practitioners, particularly in South Africa, are developing relatively inexpensive, effective and innovative campaigns to address a multitude of issues ranging from social development, the fostering of culture and environmental education.

By comparison to the developed world, consultancies in Africa are forced to work on "atomically" small budgets, De Kock said.

De Kock concluded that the world could take a number of lessons from the industry as it is practiced in South Africa. "For the alleviation of hunger, poverty and homelessness you need to be innovative and creative and you have to have a passion for what you are doing. The sad news is that for such enterprise there never seems to be any budget."