Miles Donohoe - Account Director

Epic Communications has recorded tremendous growth since launching in Cape Town at the beginning of 2009. The opening of the Johannesburg office in the second half of 2010 marked a watershed moment, with the company establishing a national footprint.

Mirroring the wider success of Epic, the Joburg office has grown hugely since opening. In the last issue of Epic Times we mentioned the move to the prestigious Fredman Towers in Fredman Drive, in the heart of Sandton. Since this move, the office has won a number of new clients and has consequently grown its staff complement too.

-        Miles Donohoe has moved from Epic’s Cape Town office as Director of Epic Communications Johannesburg.

-        Dominique Netto has joined as Epic’s new Digital Strategist, driving new media campaigns across the Epic portfolio.

-        Kaylynn Smith has joined as an Account Executive working across a number of clients

-        Nondumiso Mpila has also joined as an Account Assistant.

With its achievements in a short space of time, our Johannesburg office has proven a natural evolution of the agency, establishing Epic Communications among the leaders of the PR and communications space in South Africa. On staff numbers alone, Epic now has more than 20 staff across both offices, placing it among the top 10 PR agencies in the country – and this growth is expected to continue with a number of new staff set to join in January 2012.

With the growth in the Joburg office also looking set to continue its strong start, we are confident we can provide clients with the national footprint required to match their own business interests.

Gavin Etheridge – Associate Director

As we reflect back on the PR campaigns that we conceptualised and launched in 2011, the agency now starts with the task of ‘prophesising’ what the key communication challenges and opportunities will be for our clients in 2012.

Since inception, Epic has had a pretty good track record of capitalising on ‘incoming’ trends by marrying our clients’ messages with the most effective communication channels – which has resulted in myriad successful campaigns. So it’s with this weight of expectation that we try to evolve our PR formula for another year. Gazing into the Epic Crystal Ball ™, we predict the following five trends in 2012.

1. Listening to social conversation: For far too long many South African companies have shied away from engaging with their target audiences on social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter, for various reasons. However, 2012 will herald an increased trend in the ‘first step’ in social media – ‘listening’ to various stakeholders’ conversations via monitoring tools (as Epic has already employed to great effect in 2011). Through listening, corporates will at the very least learn more about their target audiences i.e. brand mentions, competitor views, complaints and sentiment. Only then will they be empowered to make an informed decision as to whether or not to ‘dip their toes’ into the social media realm. Better late than never!

2. Sustainability: With COP17 having come and gone, businesses will now need to demonstrate what they are actually doing to affect climate change. Clear sustainability or ‘green’ messages will need to be communicated to both internal (i.e. staff aka brand ambassadors) and external stakeholders. It will be up to the PR agencies to devise the best possible ongoing communication channels to reach these markets and beyond, in order to clearly position clients as true business leaders in the sustainability space.

3. Mobile explosion! Very soon, more than half of social networking sites’ usage will be via mobile devices. There are currently one billion Africans and approximately 600 million active mobile SIM cards. Mobile technology has allowed social networks such as Twitter to become mainstream i.e. in the political arena, the DA held ‘Town Hall’ meeting during 2011 via smartphones, the mobile video of the royal wedding posted record-breaking views; and we also witnessed the downfall of a regime in Egypt – that was mobilised by smartphones.  Mobile phones offer an extra depth of personalisation and more and more companies will consider the use of creative mobile-driven campaigns to communicate their brand messages in 2012.

4. Value-for-money focused marketing campaigns: With fluctuating economic conditions, consumers will again be watching their marketing spend in 2012. Levels of creativity among marketing agencies will be sorely tested next year and the need to deliver results that make a real difference to clients’ bottom lines will be critical. As a result, we believe an increasing number of companies will further shift budget from expensive above the line advertising campaigns to more cost effective below the line, PR and digital solutions.

5. Getting political: With the rubber stamp imminent for South Africa’s Protection of State Information Bill, political issues in 2012 will be hotter topics than ever with the media. We have already seen many prominent business leaders come out in the media against the proposed Bill and though there were still the perennial ‘fence-sitters’, the need for media commentary and input from thought leaders in South Africa’s various sectors will be extremely strong in 2012.

Elian Wiener – Managing Director

With 2011 drawing to a close, I would like to take this opportunity to share with you some highlights of what has been a truly watershed year for Epic Communications as well as outline our plans for the agency in 2012.

I believe that top of the list of achievements for the agency is the high level of client retention in 2011.

While we have had strong new business acquisition this year – winning 11 new retainer clients – we continue to place massive emphasis on retaining and growing our existing clients.

Over 90% of retainer clients have already re-signed for 2012, many on expanded mandates, which given the nature of PR, is really something to get excited about.

This combination of client acquisition and retention has enabled Epic Communications to become one of the top 10 PR agencies in South Africa based on revenue and staff numbers.

We have managed to achieve this through hard work, high-calibre staff who are passionate about their clients and an innovative approach to communications, whereby we continue to generate results for customers that add real value to their bottom lines.

To do this requires continuous innovation from a PR perspective as well as identifying and delivering new services and campaigns for clients using multiple channels such as digital media, advertising, branding and internal communications.

We truly believe we now have the skills and capabilities to call ourselves a full service strategic communications agency. We look forward to pitching some exciting new campaigns to you in 2012.

Other highlights in 2011 include the significant expansion of the Epic Communications Johannesburg team, the rise of Epic Digital and the extremely successful launch of the Epic Journalist Training Seminars.

Thank you to all our clients for providing us with the opportunity to work with you and your brands. Have a fantastic and safe festive season.

The results of the survey have been invaluable in identifying areas where the agency is performing well and those in which we could improve.

On the positive side, we are extremely proud of the scores achieved in several areas, including understanding of your business and industry, quality of media releases and content, level of professionalism, relationship with key account manager and delivering PR results in line with overall marketing objectives. We are also pleased with the overall performance scores, which at more than 80%, is one of the key reasons why our client retention ratio is close to 100%.

While the agency did not score less than 70% on any question, there were a few areas we feel can be improved on. The first of these is PR strategy development. In order to address this, we have already instituted a policy of ensuring a comprehensive, signed off PR strategy document for each client is in place and that this be reviewed on either a three or six monthly basis.

The other area we are working hard at improving in is knowledge and ability regarding other marketing / communications disciplines i.e. social media, internal communications, sponsorships, media planning, branding etc.

Over the last 18 months, Epic Communications has made a strategic decision to move from being primarily a media relations agency to a full service strategic communications company, which is able to conceptualise and implement a comprehensive communications strategy using the most appropriate communications channels to reach each client’s target audiences.

This strategy has been behind the launch of Epic Digital in 2011, which is already delivering social media and online reputation management services to several of our clients. We anticipate that this division will grow rapidly in 2012, as more and more clients understand the value that can be derived from this medium.

We have also been awarded the media placement responsibilities for several of our clients for 2012 as a result of our sound understanding of the media and our ability to effectively negotiate value adds for our customers.

Finally, we are increasingly looking to be the lead agency for our clients from an overall marketing perspective, giving them strategic direction and helping to manage and guide any other agency they may be working with i.e. advertising or brand agency.

Overall, we are extremely pleased with the results, particularly the consistency of responses from clients. These indicate that we have a winning formula and can justifiably claim to be one of the top strategic communications and PR agencies in South Africa. Nevertheless, we will continue to strive for perfection when it comes to communications services that deliver great value to our clients.

The Epic Digital team welcomed digital strategist Dominique Netto in September.

Coupled with strong a design capacity and background, Dominique has extensive experience in conceptualising, designing and implementing successful digital media campaigns spanning across online reputation management, social media, blogging, micro-sites, mobi sites, apps, web banners and websites.

The team has already conducted a social media audit for several Epic clients and is underway with three innovative campaigns. Implementation of another four ground-breaking campaigns is due to commence early in 2012 – watch this space.

Ultimately, the digital team is able to conceptualise , design and implement digital strategies aligned with our clients’ objectives as well as leveraging their traditional campaigns and sponsorships in the digital space.

2012 is set to be a very busy year for the team and we look forward to reporting on some significant and exciting campaigns in the New Year.

Greg Botoulas – In-house writer

Greg Botoulas has been appointed as the new In-house writer in the Cape Town office. Greg has a wealth of experience in writing and crisis management with seven years experience as a Crisis Risk Specialist where he provided clients with analytical crisis management. Brands he worked on include Aids Alliance, HSBC, Liberty and ACE Insurance. Greg has a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Communications from UNISA, a Diploma in Journalism from City Varsity and Certificates in Corporate Risk Management received from Arc Training in the UK.

Dominique Netto – Digital Strategist

Dominique Netto has been appointed as the new Digital Strategist to form part of the growing New Media team at Epic Communications working across clients in Johannesburg and Cape Town. Dominique has gained international experience while working at an advertising company located in Qatar for two years as a Digital Strategist and Graphic Designer. Brands she has worked on include Jaguar – Qatar, University of Calgary, Vodafone, the Guatrain, Nedbank and Peugeot. She has a Bachelor of Arts in Communications Management specialising in Creative Brand Communications from Vega The Brand Communications School.

Kaylynn Smith – Account Executive

Kaylynn Smith has been appointed as an Account Executive in the Johannesburg office. Kaylynn has four years experience in the media and Public Relations having worked on brands such as Cash Crusaders, Heart FM, CapeTalk, Bokomo, Media 24 and Shape Magazine. Her qualifications include a National Diploma in Public Relations and a Bachelor of Technology in Public Relations, both obtained from the Cape Peninsula University of Technology.

Janine Nobel – Account Executive

Janine Noble has joined the Cape Town office as an Account Executive. Janine has two years experience in Public Relations, marketing and communications and has specialised experience in luxury hotels, guesthouses, spas and lifestyle products with her previous brand experience including Shelley Point Country Club and Spa, Madikwe Game Reserve and Excelsior Wine Estate among others. She has a Diploma in Public Relations from Varsity College.

Nondi Mpila – Account Assistant

Nondi Mpila has been appointed as an Account Assistant in the Johannesburg Office. She has an excellent understanding of the broadcast media environment having worked for just under a year as a Radio Production Assistant. Brands she has worked on include FNB, Centres for Disease Control and Standard Bank. She has a Diploma in Advertising Management obtained from the College Campus and is currently studying towards her Public Relations certificate at Vega The Brand Communications School.

This year’s competition saw over 350 participants from a diverse range of industries, including manufacturing, engineering, FMCG and communication services.

The two awards are recognition of the significant achievements that Epic Communications has made, since its launch in 2009.

“Our philosophy of ensuring we understand our clients’ businesses and the industries in which they operate enables us to identify opportunities to correctly position them amongst their target audiences,” says Elian.  “We are then able to use our ability to deliver a 360 degree communications strategy, ranging from media and investor relations, social media, internal communications and reputation management, to help them achieve their business objectives.

“I would like to thank our staff, clients and suppliers who have enabled Epic Communications to become the company it is today. I am particularly proud of our innovation award, which is a reflection of how we are shaking up the industry and delivering great results for clients.”

In its less than three years of existence, Epic Communications has registered prolific growth and is now the seventh largest public relations agency in South Africa, servicing more than 25 retainer clients, including several JSE-listed and globally-affiliated companies. Epic Communications has also continued to evolve its innovative client service offerings, launching its specialised social media division in late 2010 / early 2011. It has also launched the Epic Communications Journalist Training Seminars, aimed at improving the technical skills of young journalists in South Africa.

The growth of SMEs is key to South Africa’s continued economic growth, sustainability and global competitiveness. Awards such as this recognise those that are playing a key role in fostering entrepreneurship and skills development and hopefully more and more potential business leaders will take up this challenge.

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

Over the past year we have noted an increased appetite from our clients for strategic new media campaigns to complement existing traditional communication initiatives. To date, our specialist in-house new media team has conceptualised and activated unique campaigns for clients operating in the tourism, asset finance and insurance sectors, with others to be launched imminently.

Our current service offerings include;

Online Reputation Management – monitoring online conversations about our client’s brands, the sentiment of the conversations, the demographics of those talking and measuring the effectiveness of campaigns and competitor analysis.

New Media Campaigns – conceptualising and implementing social media presence and activity, primarily on Facebook and Twitter, as well as other  channels such as YouTube and LinkedIn.

The state of communication and target audience engagement is fast evolving in South Africa, with many emerging and establishing brands ‘dipping their toes’ into the realm of new media in order to reach growing, tech-savvy audiences. Epic Communications is playing a leading role in assisting its clients in analysing and researching target audience participation on these new platforms, recommending the correct channels on which to engage and conceptualising and activating strategic campaigns. All of this is done to complement existing communications efforts to ensure our client’s key messages are consistent across all channels.