Marcus Brewster on moving to and making it in MaltaMarcus Brewster aka 'the Maltese falcon', founder of local Marcusbrewster Public Relations, moved to Malta to expand the business into the European Union with the launch of Marcus Brewster International. A year later, and he's back in South Africa to encourage others to do the same. As such, Brewster will be taking part in the countywide ‘Invest in Malta’ conference starting in Cape Town tomorrow. The introductory talks take place in Cape Town on 31 May-1 June, Johannesburg on 4-5 June, Bloemfontein on 7 June and Durban on 8 June. Acting as emcee, Brewster will accompany four Maltese speakers representing various links in the value chain. “Effectively we’re talking up the business and lifestyle case and why South Africans should be considering these sunny islands with the highest growth rate in the EU,” explains Brewster. The event serves to create awareness and provide information on moving to Malta. “Most people (and not just South Africans) don’t even know where Malta is on the map and are unaware of the phenomenal economic trajectory the island has been blazing over the past five years. Apart from the public seminars, which I must stress are free, we will also be scheduling one-on-one meetings.” I asked Brewster what everyone else is asking him: why he chose to establish an office in Malta, and how he’s managed to immerse himself in the Maltese market and mindset…
The biggest challenge – if you can call it that – is getting used to the odd hours – we may be on the same time-zone as South Africa but Southern European time, i.e. the siesta needs as much cultural adjustment as African time!
Secondly, I am enormously proud of my former staffers who now run global communications portfolios for multi-national companies. And finally, whether it’s pride or luck, I now look back in some awe at my 30+ years professional longevity – not many agencies have gone the distance that I have and maintained consistency over the long-haul. Comment on the current state of PR and what the future of PR looks like to you. Many industry buzzwords like ‘content creation’ or ‘influencer marketing’ are just the new names for services that PR has traditionally excelled in. The PR rose still smells as sweet…What do you love most about Malta and miss most about SA? I have too much moment-by-moment appreciation of Malta to miss much about my old South African routines.Tell us something about yourself not generally known. I plan to write a bestselling series of Malta mysteries! Don’t miss Brewster’s ‘A South African's guide to moving to and making it in Malta’ series on Bizcommunity every Friday at 1:30pm. More info on the event series can be found at these city-specific links: About Jessica TennantJess is Senior Editor: Marketing & Media at Bizcommunity.com. She is also a contributing writer. marketingnews@bizcommunity.com
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