In this series of interviews, we find out what they’ve learnt working alongside the cluster judges and what their young minds bring to the table.

“This year’s young judges’ entries far exceeded expectation. The selected group is proof that there’s an array of diverse and young talent in this industry and that they have a lot to offer,” says co-convenor and founder of the Prisms Young Judges initiative, Palesa Madumo, executive director of strategy at Vuma Reputation Management.

Tina Lepan

Here, our interview with Tina Lepan, PR executive at Verve Marketing and Communication...

What does this recognition and opportunity mean to you?
It’s a huge opportunity to get recognition from the industry. This means a lot to me. I’m so excited to be a part of the next generation of PR professionals.

Briefly tell us about your experience in the industry.
I started my career journey working at Symbiotic Communications (one of Durban’s most well-known PR agencies, under Sharon Wilkinson) servicing the Beiersdorf Account (Nivea, Nivea Men, Labello, Elastoplast and Eucerin). There, I learned the foundations of PR and a lot of focus was spent on building relationships as well as traditional print PR executions. The highlight of my time at Symbiotic was conceptualising and executing Beiersdorf SA’s first sponsored influencer digital campaign, with beauty authority, Mathahle Stofile and her online platform, The Matte Project.

Today I work at THB Verve, another one of Durban’s treasured local agencies. At THB Verve, I’ve been introduced to PR strategy and have learnt how to craft a narrative to serve as a compass for all PR key messaging and objectives. I have been given the opportunity to delve deeper into PR reporting and analysis and I get a lot of joy out of assessing if our KPIs have been met and positive sentiments achieved.

I have a soft spot for non-profit organisations and social mission work. I am a firm believer in co-creating content with partners to create unique campaigns that stand out from the rest, as collaboration often brings out the best in all parties.

The judging process has been a huge learning experience for me. I found some of the entries extremely inspiring. My chief judge, Vincent Magwenya has given me a lot of insights into the categories we judged together, specifically the “African Network of the Year” and the “Pan African Campaign of the Year”. These categories were interesting because it’s nice to see what other agencies are doing around Africa in the PR space (as most of my work focuses on South Africa only) – it helped me to broaden my perspective and to learn how other African PR agencies overcome challenges, build networks that last and ultimately unpack meaningful stories that deliver on campaign objectives.