Public relations industry reeling under Covid-19 restrictions

It is a hard time to be in public relations when companies in South Africa are scaling down and the media industry as a whole is a shadow of how it was pre-Covid-19, say insiders.

Those surviving the past four months of lockdown restrictions emerge in a smaller industry making big changes to heal from the initial shock of the pandemic.

“Everyone is suffering,” says Libe Mohale, owner and managing director of PR & Brand Network.

“Agencies have been shutting down, sadly, and some people have decided to collaborate because aside from managing talent, digital services and traditional PR, the events space is completely wiped out and that is where 60% to 70% of our revenue comes from.”

Hundreds of big-budget events and campaigns were eventually cancelled or postponed following the announcement of a national state of disaster in March because of Covid-19.

“We also had to have the difficult conversation with colleagues, being my employees. But I was lucky to have people who were willing to take salary cuts rather than close business,” added Mohale.

“The scariest part is smaller agencies are beginning to shut down or be swallowed up by bigger agencies.”

Public Relations Institute of Southern African CEO Victor Sibeko said the industry had been hit hard financially.

But at the same time, it had been challenged to step up and join the fight against Covid-19 by being part of government and private sector efforts to counteract misinformation.

Many opportunities and new revenue streams have opened up during this time.

“When this lockdown started, it came with the immediate effect of hunger in our communities, which then created another angle in corporate social investment, where staff of companies would distribute food parcels,” said Sibeko.

“Individuals and companies came forth mainly on a humanitarian basis to offer a hand.”

But for freelancers in the industry, things are dire, according to publicist Bonnie Meslane.

“The pandemic has affected my work a lot as a publicist in the entertainment industry. A lot of events have been cancelled or postponed and that means we lose work,” she said.

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