It also won a Cannes Lion for Creativity in 2019, which is a rare achievement for a PR firm.

According to the agency's founders, their true measure of success is that both their first staff member and their first major client are still with them.

Co-founder Kevin Welman credits this measure of longevity to the firm's core approach to content generation and media results never having faltered.

"We've stayed ahead of the curve and adapted to a new media environment that frontlines digital content and paid media opportunities alongside more traditional PR," says Welman.

"We've evolved quickly, forming a fully-fledged digital agency and focusing on building audiences that matter on platforms like LinkedIn and other social networks. Our expertise lies in serving the right content to the right people at the right time," Welman adds.

ByDesign has worked with clients including:
  • Anglo-American and TransUnion South Africa
  • Gibs
  • King Price Insurance, and
  • Fireblade Aviation.

The agency says that its audience has also grown from national to Pan-African.

Not only does it manage reputations across the continent, but it has also been instrumental in rolling out financial literacy programmes across Africa for the International Finance Corporation and the World Bank Group.

When industry stalwarts Welman and Vanessa Baard founded ByDesign, they wanted to be different. They say they want to be independent. They wanted their senior consultants, and themselves, to be involved and visible, so they built their business model accordingly. They then weathered the Covid challenges and have continued to adapt.

"In the simplest possible terms, we launched ByDesign Communications to help companies tell their stories in the media," says Baard. "Along the way, the landscape has evolved and we've evolved with it."

"We've built a team that weaves traditional PR together with social media, paid media, lead generation, SEO and web development. At the same time, we built our strategy capabilities to incorporate all aspects of communications in the marketing mix, aligning to business needs and looking at all audiences and all channels," adds Baard.

"In addition to the client work, we wanted to make a difference in the industry and over and above the internships we offer, we have sponsored seven students in seven years with bursaries," Baard says.

"Is there a 'seven-year itch' in the offing? Absolutely not," concludes Baard. "There's always space to improve. And we'll always pivot to stay on top of trends and developments. But we've stayed true to our founding ethos. We love what we do, and we plan to keep doing it."

For more information, visit www.bdcomms.co.za. You can also follow ByDesign Communications on X.