The campaign entry “Creating Groundswell for South Africa’s First Dance Movie” with Coal Stove Pictures, was a coup de grâce, with the agency leaving armed with three trophies and the top award - PRISM PR Campaign of the Year 2016. PR Expert was also nominated in three other categories at the gala event.
“They deserved to win Campaign of the Year as it was classic public relations with no Above The Line support, nor an established brand/campaign over time,” says PRISMs judge Sylvester Chauke, chief architect: DNA Brand Architects.
“The entry showed good strategic thought and understanding of the target audience,” adds chief judge Marilyn Watson, founder of Cinnamon Communication.
Janine Lloyd, founder of PR Expert says; “This is one of the most exciting moments in my 27 year career. The award proves that you don’t have to have a big budget to do things incredibly well and to shine. All you have to do is know your craft really well and pull out all the stops to make it work. Challenges must never stop you, there is always a way to win.”
PR Expert developed a partnership with UJ following Janine Lloyd’s work in the PRCC’s internship portfolio. This showed true collaboration and mentorship with their campaign “PR Superheroes - Let Interns Shine!” Twenty six university students from UJ participated in an experiential learning environment that saw them grow as individuals and sharpen their skills in anticipation of entering the workplace. The PR campaign for Hear Me Move (HMM) was ideal testing ground in order to drive further employment of graduates. This created an amazing experiential learning component for students who represented the key audience – the youth.
Lloyd says; “Working with the UJ PR students was amazing because I believe the future generation of PR will be driven by professionals like these. Mentoring them was very rewarding and it is heartwarming to see them now shining in their careers. If as an industry we can see the value of Millennials and know how to get the best out of them, they will become the most valuable resource.”
The film Hear Me Move (HMM) relied solely on PR as a tool to drive word of mouth and excitement for South Africa’s first dance movie to hit South African screens screens in 2015. Despite massive challenges, the PR team never gave up and the success of the campaign resulted in HMM achieving local and international acclaim - a position that will continue to resonate well into the future.
Lloyd adds; “This award is a big achievement for PR Expert but also for the filmmakers of Hear Me Move, Coal Stove Pictures and the University of Johannesburg students who were vital team members on the project. The campaign was exciting and at the same time hugely challenging.”
“With little budget for any kind of marketing we had to do true PR to get as much excitement and awareness for the film as possible. With loads of creativity, strategic thinking and the dedication of students and Coal Stove Pictures, cast members we were able to create a massive following for the movie,” Llyod concludes.
PR Expert is honoured to receive this award and looks forward to creating future leaders in the PR industry, inspiring our youth to creative heights.