Business Awards 2020

72 MEA MARKETS / 2020MEA Business Awards , Best Public Affairs & Reputation Management Company - SouthAfrica Corporate Image Established in 1987, Corporate Image is an independent communications consultancy. Following its well-deserved success in theMEA Business Awards 2020, we got in touchwith Tamra Capstick-Dale to find out more. Based in Cape Town, Corporate Image has a core competence in reputation management to serve the interests of some of South Africa’s largest companies. To start, Tamra provides a brief overview of the firm and offers more insight into is clientele. “Over the years we have been extensively involved in the financial services, food and beverage, alcohol, retail, telecommunications, leisure, and tourism industries, specialising in reputation building and crisis communications. Working with a broad-based blue-chip client list, our services include corporate and consumer communications, crisis and issues management, leadership communications and media training, public affairs, internal communications, and employee engagement.” Operating in the South African communications sector can be a challenging experience, however as Tamra goes on to explain, its client-focused approach and overall industry experience has allowed the firm to distance itself from the crowd. “By investing the time to understand our clients, their competitors, and their industries, we have been able to develop, protect and enhance our clients’ enterprise and brand value. Naturally, we are respected for working throughout an enterprise, exposing internal experts in their fields to the media and helping them tell their stories in a compelling and engaging way. While helping build corporate enterprises through tailored communications strategies, we help our clients take advantage of the opportunities presented by developments in the industry or by the media and what they are covering. Going beyond the brief, we are recognised for our ability to work faster, better, and creatively. This is further supported by the fact that 70% of our business have been with us for five years or longer and two of our top clients have been with us for 30 years.” Because the entire team have extensive communications or journalism experience, keeping up with some of the latest trends and developments has been made much easier in this regard as Tamra points out. “We have former senior journalists and editors on the team who all have a highly developed news and political sense, which has enabled us to anticipate shifts in the political and regulatory environment well in advance. Naturally, this gives us a competitive advantage, especially in advising clients operating in highly regulated sectors.” Despite the outbreak of COVID-19, Corporate Image has still managed to thrive during these difficult and uncertain times. “Global trade tensions have hit countries dependent on commodity exports very hard. In a subdued economic environment, clients become especially conscious of managing costs and in some Nov20640 cases choose to scale back on communications and marketing first” Tamra elaborates. “Moreover, this trend was severely exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic, with South Africa instituting one of the world’s most stringent and economically damaging lockdowns. However, remote working and business disruption make effective communications more critical than ever to maintain coherence, engagement, and trust. Ultimately, companies in highly regulated industries have had to step up external engagement to secure their licence to trade and accelerate their recovery which has created opportunities for a communications agency such as ours, with deep experience in public affairs and crisis management.” Bringing the interview to a close, Tamra signs off by discussing some of the most prevalent trends over the last 12 months, before outlining the firm’s plans for 2021 and beyond. “Firstly, we have noticed a consolidation of the industry as some of the smaller, less established agencies have closed following the loss of key clients. Although this was unfortunate, firms who managed to weather the storm are now in a position to recover quickly when the economy picks up. Secondly, as in so many other sectors, much of our work has shifted to what happens online. This makes the ability to think creatively and find newsworthy angles more important than ever. There is now a much stronger focus on compelling, original content. “Ultimately, we are maintaining our position in the industry and are fortunate enough to be extending the number of clients with whom we work, so we are in a good place.” Company: Corporate Image Contact: Tamra Capstick-Dale Website: www.corporateimage.co.za