As traditional above-the-line advertising has become more expensive, there has been a swing towards public relations over the past five years.
Once the preserve of tight-fitting blondes who throw good cocktail parties and of jaded newspapermen with signing power, PR is now seen as a core communications discipline.
In SA, most major advertising agencies now have a PR arm which is usually part of the overall pitch process and is linked to overall client management once the business has been won.
PR, says one practitioner, is the "daily glue that holds the message together while campaigns come and go". But others still argue that their craft has a long way to go and that often their strategy is not incorporated into an advertising plan.
Some say the tug and tension between the two offerings is an obvious consequence of external agencies or internal departments fighting for marketing spend and that ultimately the best ideas will win.
Some PR professionals in SA now claim that the sector has reached maturity and has shed its image of balloons, babes and BMWs.
"In many instances," says one leading consultant, "people in the industry now sit in exco meetings and are in at the ground level when it comes to the design and implementation of strategy. Previously we were there to organise events and fight fires. Thankfully that era is passing."
It was probably the recent spate of corporate governance scandals in the US that drove home the message that PR was important. Suddenly reputation management was on top of the corporate agenda and a calm and level-headed approach was needed - not only in managing the message after the fact, but also in making sure potential problems were identified early and that solutions were in place.
Of course the spin-doctor label will always stick, and slick and glib messaging will be questioned. Another agency boss says: "That is a cross we have to bear, but it just reinforces the notion that honesty in communication remains our holy grail."
It is difficult to determine the industry's top players, as the secret of good PR tends to be a one-on-one relationship with the client and with media professionals.
The late PR doyen Aubrey Sussens used to refer to a magic circle of journalists that a PR person needed to cultivate. Develop that, he said, and a press release need never be written. To that end, a former partner of Sussens, Dick Foxton, who has the ears of many corporate and political leaders, is probably the leading exponent of the craft.
Unknown to most of the players involved, he will fix a meeting and retire to the wings. That's the best type of PR.
Another who is making a name for himself is the ubiquitous Marcus Brewster, with an annual income of close to R30m. His speciality remains celebrity publicity. In other words, for a fee, he will make sure you're at the right parties and that Gwen Gill will notice you, even if she doesn't write about you.
Other forces in the industry are Simeka TWS, which counts the Gauteng provincial government as a client, and Meropa, led by former journalist Peter Mann. His big clients include Old Mutual and SABMiller.
Names to watch out for in coming years are Black Rock Communications and Corporate Communications Consultants (CCC), starting to entrench themselves as strategic leaders. CCC counts the giant Discovery Group as its main client.
Though the industry is certainly on an upward trajectory, it's worth checking a few things when an agency is hired: make sure you have senior and experienced people working on the business; insist that strategy includes measurables and that defined objectives are set; and make sure that you know the difference between classic PR and investor relations. Most PR agencies tend to struggle with the latter.
SA leaders in this specialist discipline are College Hill Associates with Old Mutual, Kumba and AVI on its corporate CV, and Brunswick SA, part of an international group and counting Sanlam and Sappi as clients.
