We go around the world to explore the wide world of communications and international correspondents provide their take on local issues. Each month we’ll bring you one highlighted story, with more from global communications on Communicate’s iPad edition.

MD of Hill+Knowlton Strategies in South Africa, Roz Thomas discusses media, digital communications and diverse markets.

The communications industry in South Africa is an interesting place at the moment. Media space is at a premium, with news of South Africa’s first democratically elected president Nelson Mandela’s poor health jostling for headlines next to lengthy analyses of labour unrest and its impact on the economy.

The current media coverage of the wildcat strikes in the mining sector has to a large extent taken the focus away from the impactful work that many communications professionals have done in the mining sector in particular. In this context, however, stories generated by communications professionals don’t necessarily sell the most papers, presenting a challenge to the creativity of communications professionals in the quest for editorial coverage.

Traditional print and broadcast media in South Africa is still highly effective, given the relatively low internet penetration (10%) for the general population. This makes communications both easier and more difficult, with newspaper circulation declining on the back of dwindling advertising revenue, newsrooms have consolidated and journalists are now writing news, compiling opinion pieces, analysing trends and tweeting from events. Thus, quality content stands a better than average chance of being published. These traditional media are sophisticated and fiercely independent, based largely on the UK model, where ‘brown envelope’ journalism does not work. This explains why the local communications industry is fairly sophisticated when compared to other markets on the continent.

Digital media is growing and a plethora of digital communications agencies have been established to serve the South African market. While this industry will continue to grow, particularly with the increasing penetration of smartphones and the concurrent rise in internet usage, companies will take back ownership of their messaging through digital media as they realise the importance of maintaining a professional communications team.

The emergence of the BRICS nations and the economic growth of the rest of the African continent have increased the pressure on business to respond by ensuring consistency of products and services with an ever-broadening client base beyond the borders of South Africa. Communications professionals in South Africa are now expected to communicate with other African markets. This applies to agencies and communications departments in multinationals alike. South Africans are largely perceived as neo-colonialists and care must be taken to not come across as such. Africa consists of 54 diverse countries and is not at all homogeneous. Communications agencies with an African network will have an advantage over those with no knowledge or experience of the rapidly growing markets in East and West Africa.

But, for those who live and work in South Africa, the scenario described above is considered a relatively “normal” state of affairs and “all in a day’s work” and if you work in the communications business here, that’s no different. Many, including our minister in the presidency responsible for the National Planning Commission, Trevor Manuel, ascribe this to the fact that South Africans display many of the characteristics of a frontier society – opportunities await those who are in the right place at the right time and are suitably connected.

This can-do attitude has resulted in several companies with South African roots now occupying centre stage as respected global players. Mobile operator MTN, energy company Sasol, Richemont - owner of luxury brands including Cartier - and diamond company De Beers are but a few. But heavy industry fares well too – the financial market development was ranked third overall in the Global Competitiveness Index produced by the World Economic Forum in September 2012.

While there are pressures on the communications industry in the current environment, the digital age has multiplied the number of opportunities to reach stakeholders exponentially. And the rapidly developing market in South Africa and Africa gives communications specialists plenty of scope to enhance conversations on the continent.