With over 28 years in the field of PR, events and social media marketing, Melanie Ramjee is an award-winning publicist and the managing director of Tutone Communications, a 100% female Black-owned, boutique PR agency.
Melanie Ramjee, publicist and the managing director of Tutone Communications. Image supplied
Ramjee has represented local and international lifestyle brands, including beverage brands (Miller Genuine Draft, Jack Daniels, and Heineken) and local lifestyle and entertainment brands including BET, Trace Urban, YFM, NBA, NFL, the Department of Sports & Recreation of South Africa, the Joburg Film Festival, and the Hey Neighbour Festival.
Having worked with some of the biggest urban and youth culture brands, local and international artists, and music festivals and launches over her career, with a long list of awards and accolades under her belt, Ramjee truly lives up to her online alias @hypress.
As the globe celebrated World PR Day on 16 July, we had the opportunity to catch up with Ramjee...
Could you tell us a little bit about your PR company?
Spearheaded by me, Tutone Communications is a Johannesburg-based boutique PR agency. With 15 years in business, the team have a combined PR and marketing experience of over 20 years in various PR fields, including sports events, film and music festivals, artists, fashion, entertainment, and lifestyle.
We specialise in all things communications-related, offering strategic PR solutions for corporate, lifestyle, and entertainment brands.
We aim to create and build brands while bringing them closer to their audiences and stakeholders. We focus on building and representing our clients according to their needs.
Our strength lies in curating campaigns, brand activations, and social media drives.
What does being in the PR sector mean to you?
I get to do something I love every single day of my life. I love being able to tell a brand’s story and bring it to life.
What does a day in the life of a PR professional entail?
It involves creating the best PR strategy for each of your clients. Writing and sending out press releases to the various media outlets, while building and maintaining relations with media professionals and seeking coverage for clients within the media space.
What do you love most about being in the PR sector?
I absolutely love storytelling, which entails writing and telling a brand story and building relationships with people daily.
Can you share an example of a PR campaign that inspired or influenced you and why?
All the campaigns I do with the Special Olympics South Africa (SOSA) are very inspirational. The amazing and selfless work they do locally often goes unnoticed in the media.
Great authentic and feel-good stories; this kind of news is always a lot harder to get published or showcased in mainstream media.
As one of our pro bono clients, working with SOSA is about getting to know the athletes and their individual stories. That’s what makes it so real and inspirational!
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What are some PR trends or skills emerging that new professionals should pay attention to?
AI Integration: getting into it and using it to your benefit.
Influencer & Creator Collaborations: keeping up with who's who, who is in, and who is out.
Video & Multimedia Storytelling: this is growing and shouldn’t be excluded.
Crisis / Reputation Management in Real-Time: knowing how to react in real time.What advice would you give to someone starting out in PR today?
It’s not all glitz and glam. Like any other job it's hard work.
Where do you see the PR industry heading in the next five years?
PR is no longer just about media relations and has not been for a while; it’s now integrated with digital marketing, influencer strategy, and content creation.
Publicists will need to zone in on different skills in SEO, digital ads, analytics and also branded storytelling. It’s not just about traditional press, so PR strategies will be tailored for specific platforms like the latest social media platforms.
I see AI becoming an accepted standard for daily PR tasks like writing draft press releases, media monitoring, and even predicting possible crises for campaigns.
The PR professional of the future will be a strategist, a creator, a technologist, and even an ethicist all in one. It will be about flexibility and continuous learning on the go.
