Letter from the MD
Welcome to the first edition of Epic Times. While we already interact regularly with our stakeholders through Facebook and Twitter, we felt the time was right to establish a more formal platform to communicate important developments in the business, as well as express our views on various local and global trends and insights from a PR perspective.
As has been the trend at Epic Communications since the business started, the pace of development in the first four months of 2011 has been fast and furious.
Since the new year breezed in, we have fully established our Johannesburg presence by relocating to our newly renovated “office in the sky” on the top floor of the Fredman Towers office block in Sandton, added a number of high calibre staff members to both our Cape Town and Johannesburg teams and won six new blue chip clients across a range of sectors. During this time we also cemented INVESTSA – the monthly investment focused glossy magazine that we co-produce along with COSA Communications – as the leading publication of its kind in South Africa. And just to cap off the quarter, we launched the first of our “Epic Communications Journalist Training Seminars”, with a fantastic event for more than 60 journalists that I believe sets a new benchmark for the industry.
Throughout this growth period, our increasingly skilled team of communications consultants has ensured that clients continue to receive the kind of service and results they have come to expect from Epic Communications. One of our biggest achievements to date is the fact that 100% of our clients re-signed with Epic Communications in 2011, a feat which we are determined to emulate over the coming years.
On a more macro level, the quarter has been filled with dramatic events, including horrific natural disasters in Asia and New Zealand, political upheaval in several parts of Africa, on-going economic concerns around energy shortages and rising food prices – and an abysmal showing by our national cricket team at the ICC World Cup. While some of these events are extremely unfortunate, they have also provided strong topics for debate and opportunities for our clients to position themselves on.
Some of you may know the saying; “May you live in interesting times”. This old Chinese (or some believe western) saying is meant to be a curse, disguised as a blessing. However, as most of you know, our ability to identify and leverage topical issues for the benefit of our clients means that this is one curse that we are willing to endure.
Enjoy the read!
Elian Wiener