In this day and age, it’s an enormous privilege to have had the opportunity to start my own PR agency. It’s an even greater one to see it grow and develop into its 20th year!
It seems almost surreal that 20 years have passed since I started Kendal Hunt Communications – ‘KHC’ – in March 2002 with one anchor client, a second-hand computer and a genuine desire to use my skills and experience as a writer and PR to help companies to communicate better!
Two decades of intensely hard work followed, as we ‘lived’ our company tagline and motto of ‘it’s our business to communicate yours’: early mornings, late nights – all night if required! Local and international media tours and events, and many hundreds of ‘woman-hours’ spent interviewing clients, media networking and liaison, writing, editing, training our KHC team.
Crisis management, mergers and acquisitions PR, websites, social media content and much more besides!
Throughout these incredibly busy, dynamic years, we have firmly established ourselves and our reputation as a sought-after boutique engineer and industrial PR agency, known and trusted by our clients to provide them with high-quality communications strategy, editorial content and media liaison.
The past 20 years have also seen PR move from a slower, print-based industry to one which is fast-paced, digital by nature and very much at the dictates not only of social media, but also a radically new way of working and communicating since the pandemic.
To survive – and thrive – we’ve have had to ‘pivot’ at warp speed in the past 2 years, adapting in a chameleon-like manner to rapidly changing circumstances, so we can remain relevant and able to guide and champion our clients as they face similar challenges.
In the immortal words of 20th century super-group ABBA: thank you – clients, suppliers, media partners and KHC team members – past and present – for the ‘music’!
In KHC’s case, the ‘music’ being the opportunities, all your support, your hard work, and your faith in KHC’s ability to excellently and consistently communicate key messaging and profile our clients effectively.
Onwards and upwards for KHC and all those within our circle of influence, as together (to quote Henry David Thoreau) we ‘go confidently in the direction of our dreams to live the life we have imagined’.
All the best,
We deliver contemporary, impactful and measurable PR across a broad range of industries, from steel fabrication to energy, engineering and Information Technology.
Kendal Hunt Communications is a South African-based PR and media consulting agency specialising in the industrial and engineering industries, amongst others. “Our aim is to provide clients in these industries with strategic media PR services, which have a significant and measurable impact on their businesses. Our PR campaigns cover a broad media spectrum and a variety of delivery platforms, from print, broadcasting and online to social networking media,” says Kendal Hunt, owner and Managing Director, who is also responsible for overall account direction and editorial quality control.
Kendal is ably supported by an experienced team of account managers, PR administrators as well as seasoned specialist industrial and technical writers. The team at Kendal Hunt Communications has over 70 years’ combined experience covering PR, media liaison, marketing, communications, advertising, journalism, writing, editing and media analysis.
”We pride ourselves on our personal and proactive approach in meeting your communication needs, which includes PR account management, editorial generation and media relationship building. If your company wishes to increase market visibility, raise brand awareness, influence key stakeholders and target audiences, and manage its reputation through effective media communication, we can provide you with the required expertise to achieve your strategic communication objectives,” Kendal advises.
Key stakeholders in the compressed gas industry recently held a safety conference in Johannesburg under the slogan, ‘Safety Unites’. It called for improved safety and training, and a revolutionary leak-prevention oxyfuel system was launched. Andre Schmidlin reports.
Global Dekra Day was celebrated at the beginning of July in fine style locally, as Dekra Industrial employees around the country came to work, eagerly anticipating their colleagues’ cultural fashion and an assortment of delicious traditional South African dishes.
The joint Safety Unites: Compressed Gas Safety Conference held today in Johannesburg, represented a collaboration by the Bolt and Engineering Distributors (B.E.D.) Group, First Cut, Gas Safety International (GSI) and Germany’s Messer Cutting Systems: a powerful partnership between industry peers, uniting stakeholders across the compressed gas value chain, for the ultimate safety and benefit of all.
The local steel industry still faces challenges of its own, despite the current turmoil in the Ukraine / Russian war zone, South African steel supplies have not been badly affected. Southern African Institute of Steel Construction (SAISC) is poised to assist.
Dekra Industrial recently celebrated the annual ‘World Day for Safety and Health at Work’on 28 April, showcasing its commitment to employees around the country in entrenching a culture of safety.
A dynamic new partnership with LenExcCo now allows the Dekra Institute of Learning (IOL) to offer occupational health-related hygiene and environmental surveys to clients across all industries, including processing and manufacturing. The importance of these surveys is underscored by the fact that employers are actually required by law to conduct these, in order to protect the well-being of employees
While the famous poet TS Eliot wrote about the ‘still point in a turning world,’ we now know that a pandemic such as Covid-19 wreaks havoc with any form of ‘stillness’ – metaphorical or otherwise! On the contrary, it says ‘to hell with certainty, predictability or normality! Consequently, life has suddenly become an ever-changing battle fought against an unseen – but nonetheless insidious – covert enemy on shifting economic and social sands.
The resulting lockdown measures, while initially laudable and prudent, have dragged on – dragging an already struggling economy down to new and very unpleasant lows along with it.
However, as a long-standing PR person and irrepressible optimist, while acknowledging these harsh realities, I do not advocate dwelling on them. Having faced up to the ‘new normal’, it is up to each and every one of us to ‘dig deep. We need to get over ourselves and our understandable sense of shock at how swiftly Covid has forever altered the status quo – and start proactively using the tools available to rebuild our lives – and our businesses.
If your clients, staff and suppliers are your lifeboats in this stormy new sea, then I strongly postulate that consistent, strategic communications with those 3 key stakeholder groupings are the lifeline connecting you to them, and by definition also to one another.
Much has undoubtedly changed – but some things have thankfully remained the same. Human beings have been story-tellers since the earliest times; and that innate desire to ‘tell stories’ – and thereby create personalities, reputations and even legends – can all be summed up as the need and desire to communicate.
Therefore, no matter how bad the economy currently is, I challenge companies to resist the urge to indulge in ‘knee-jerk’ reactions, cutting all perceived non-essential services.
Stop! Think! Consistent communication of your brand, strategy, key messages and value proposition to key target markets is essential! Don’t be tempted to convince yourself that the Sound of Silence is your clients’ favourite song!
