Clem Sunter is the most highly rated spokesperson amongst South Africa's business community, with Nelson Mandela a close second, according to a recent survey of Public Relations Industry Perceptions commissioned by Text 100 SA Ltd and conducted by the Marketing Intelligence Research Group (MIRG). Respondents in the survey indicated that SA Breweries and Vodacom had the most professional PR while trade journals, the daily press and financial publications where seen as being the most influential media.

The MIRG survey into Public Relations Industry Perceptions was commissioned by Text 100 to establish PR trends and attitudes towards public relations amongst senior marketing executives, in key industries, throughout South Africa. The survey also looked at how PR is managed within individual organisations, the estimated annual spend on PR and how PR companies are selected. The study was national and covered South Africa including Gauteng, Pretoria, Durban, Cape Town and Bloemfontein.

Over half the respondents manage PR using in-house teams, with out-sourced PR set at 23.8%. "The positive side of using internal PR resources is that the teams have on-site access to internal spokespeople and will generally have detailed product and corporate knowledge" said Sandeep Kalsi, Regional Director of Africa, India and Middle East (AIME) for Text 100. "We believe that the negative is that they may be too close to the business and fail to provide the objectivity required to drive decisive consultancy."

80% of the respondents indicated that PR is managed at a senior level either by a board director or manager. "This suggests that a company's corporate profile and reputation is seen as crucial. However the fact that only 10.5% of respondents have a dedicated PR/Public Affairs Manager suggests that PR is an under invested discipline or that its potential is still not understood," says Kalsi.

The survey revealed that corporate image and awareness is viewed as PR's primary function, and media relations is the primary PR tactic. The experience of PR consultancies was not favourable. "Overall, the respondents do not seem to give any definitive response that is favourable to the PR industry, and less than 5% have had a "very good/very professional" experience," added Kalsi. "Experience gained in developed and emerging markets as one of the top 100 PR companies in the world, leads us to believe this trend will decline as the South African market increasingly opens to global best practice."

Text 100 Group plc is a global PR consultancy serving the technology industry. The company's clients include Microsoft, BT, Compaq, Orange, Samsung, The Document Company Xerox and Gateway. Text 100 was founded in 1981, employs over 300 people and has offices situated throughout Europe, Africa, South Asia, Australia and USA. Additional information about Text 100 and its services can be found at www.text100.com

For further information:
Mandy de Waal, Text 100
Tel: (021) 423-2409
Cell: 082 557 9190
E-Mail: mandyd@text100.co.za

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