THOP had two of its representatives take part in a PRCA Africa NextGen webinar
Two of The Holding Opinion and Public’s (THOP) subsidiaries leaders, Davina Nnawuihe, Operations Manager at MPA Digital and Lerato Mpholo, Manging Director (MD) at Opinion and Public BCW where participating in a PRCA Africa NextGen Webinar. To watch the webinar, click on this link.
The webinar on ‘What to expect in your first year in PR’ was facilitated by Ms Mpholo, while Ms Nnawuihe was part of the panellists. The pair were joined by panellists from other well-known agencies on the continent. The programme which started with introducing the panel was followed by a deep dive conversation which then led to a Q&A session between the panellists and the audience, was insightful for new professionals looking to enter the industry or have already joined, and are looking for guidance.
Ms Mpholo started off the session by saying this: “Those of us on the webinar have been newbies in the industry before. Some of us joined the industry fresh from varsity, some as interns and some of us made a career change. We know first-hand, how the shift from the auditorium to the workspace can be an amazing and yet a daunting experience. This comes when you realise what you’ve learned in University may not match the reality on the job.”
Ms Nnawuihe went on to speak about making a career change from Journalism into Public Relations and how she adapted to building a niche, which is finding what you are good at and making it known. What resonated the most with the panel is ‘prioritising quality over quantity in the industry’. She said that when she worked in the monitoring department of a previous employer, she would sift through large content, be it online news or social media. Even if they achieved large quantities of coverage, at the end of the day, what’s important is that readers and viewers understood the message that they wanted to convey, this shows that the quality of what they are doing is top notch.
The webinar went on to cover an array of topics including salary negotiation, picking the right mentors, and developing a personal brand before it concluded.
