PRISM Awards deadline coming up fast

This year's theme, “Public Relations: the energy behind the brand,” highlights the part that public relations activities play in forming opinion about the brand and influencing a company's bottom-line. It celebrates the role public relations plays in brand success. It is about building leading brands.

“PR is emerging as the frontrunner in influencing a brand's success,” says Martin Snoek, a member of the awards committee. “Branding is about forming perceptions and public opinion, and to sustain them over time, primarily utilising a mix of all public relations tools.”

According to Snoek, company executives do not realise that public relations is much more than creating media releases and facilitating media relations. “They often believe that the more they invest in advertising messages, the more likely they will change perceptions,” he says. “Of course, a balance between public relations and advertising measures in the marketing communications programme should be complementary. However, there are more cost-effective components in the public relations environment than in advertising alone, and the collective of all those components create the energy for business or corporate success.”

Sponsors of the PRISM Awards 2010 include:

• Atmosphere Communications
  
• AV Systems
  
• CIMA Global
  
• Gallagher Convention Centre
  
• Glacéau Vitaminwater
  
• Leopard's Leap Wines
  
• Rain Productions
  
• StarFX

The Awards evening takes placed on 31 March at Gallagher Convention Centre, Midrand. For more details visit www.prisa.co.za.