A lady who used to send press releases when I was in the news room called recently to ask about a release they had sent and whether we were going to run it. I told her I am no longer in the news room so she asked where I worked now and I told her the name of our company. She dismissively said, “Whatever that is”. I was appalled!

After a few breaths I realized I couldn’t blame her because truthfully, I didn’t think much of where I work now, back then when I didn’t work here. Until now, it was just another agency. Anyway, she didn’t give me a chance to tell her who we are because she hung up when she realized I was no longer of use to her. If she had given me a chance, I would have rumbled on and on about the fact that we are 20 years old, that we have held reputable accounts over two decades, that we are trailblazers, creators and influencers!

But thank God she didn’t, because PR isn’t about the agency, it’s about the client. We shine when the client shines. We are behind the scenes writing our scripts, executing plans, putting out fires, creating the content, fighting the latest crisis and all in favour of the client.
Essentially, we are communications brokers. There is no vanity in our line of work and there shouldn’t be anyway. All the glory, if any, goes to the client.

The Public Relations Association of Uganda (PRAU) holds awards every year to recognize organizations that have excelled in different areas.
This year, there were no submissions for best PR agency. I would like to think it’s because the ‘no vanity’ trend has caught on in the industry.
You also never hear agencies mentioned at the awards for say, best event or best media campaign or best crisis management.
It’s the companies that held the said campaigns or events that are mentioned and awarded.
At the end of the day, our job is done. And all is well with the corporate world; at least most days anyway!