A Q&A with Atmosphere PR’s Nicola Nel

By David Jenkin

Atmosphere was the only agency to win PRISM awards for two campaigns this year, which must have been a proud moment - was that expected?

Yes and no. When you work on a campaign with such clear bottomline results as the one for Taj Hotel and the one for the City of Cape Town, you know you have a winner on your hands. However, some of the judges came to us afterwards and said we’re not ‘bolshy’ enough and asked why we did not enter both of these in the Campaign of the Year as we won it in both 2015 and 2014. I guess we thought our work wasn’t strong enough.

Tell us more about the ‘Someone in Cape Town’ campaign – why do you think it was so effective?

It was a fully integrated campaign between King James, Society and Atmosphere. It not only delivered PR results, but it ensured a positive change in the community which was extremely gratifying.

A bit more about the campaign …

Six weeks after the brief, we launched a digitally-focussed and influencer-driven campaign, documenting the inspiring personal journey of an anonymous young man, dubbed Someone in Cape Town, who successfully recovered from drug addiction through the City of Cape Town’s rehabilitation programme. The deeply personal story ignited an impactful citywide conversation that generated 9.7 million impressions, over 600 000 online engagements and achieved R500 000 worth of editorial support. But more importantly, it led to a 269% increase in calls to the City’s free addiction helpline over six weeks.

City management believed this to be one of the most impactful anti-drugs campaigns ever run by the City. Let me rather quote the mayor, Patricia de Lille: "The ‘Someone in Cape Town’ campaign was a great success because it humanised the recovery process of drug rehabilitation. It detailed a real-life account of the journey on a road which often seems impossible, but is within reach."

So Atmosphere and King James Group, a powerful combination it seems – could you explain a bit about the dynamics, how the two companies fit together?

It is a good partnership and a mutual respect for the different disciplines and the roles these play in the marketing mix. At Atmosphere, we believe in industry partnerships – with King James and other agencies. We like sharing the sand pit.

With the blossoming of the digital space in South Africa – how has it changed the way you operate, and in what ways (if at all) is it business as usual?

A few years ago, it was all about understanding the editorial media landscape on how to get great media coverage for our clients, now it’s about staying on top of all the new channels and assisting our clients to get their message across to the right audience. The digital landscape has created opportunities for us to help our clients create fresh content that can work on multiple channels (Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc.) and that resonates in the earned media space. We now have more channels and more opportunities.

What do you think are the most important elements that have contributed toward Atmosphere winning so many awards over the years and remaining industry leaders for so long?

I think we often start with the end in mind. If the client needs more sales leads, how can we develop a campaign that will make the phone ring? And, of course, we work with amazing people and partners.

For more information, visit atmosphere.co.za. Alternatively, connect with them on Facebook or on Twitter.