As the new business year gains momentum, a leading voice in African strategic communications has issued a stark warning: the foundational model governing client-agency relationships is under severe strain, creating tangible risks for the very reputations these partnerships are meant to protect.
In a compelling assessment, Moliehi Molekoa, Managing Director of Magna Carta Reputation Management Consultants and a Board Member of the Public Relations Institute of Southern Africa (PRISA), argues that 2025 served as a profound stress test for the industry. “The past year ended not only with optimism but with hard-earned clarity,” Molekoa states. “It revealed a partnership problem that, if left unaddressed, will systematically erode trust, resilience, and value for both brands and their advisors.”
Molekoa identifies a core disconnect: while global demand for reputation management, crisis preparedness, and strategic counsel is at an all-time high, the commercial and operational frameworks have failed to evolve. “Public relations agencies are businesses, not cost centres or expendable resources,” she emphasises. “Yet, they are routinely expected to operate under conditions that would raise immediate red flags in any corporate boardroom.”
These conditions, she outlines, include perpetually shifting project scopes, short-term contracts burdened with long-term expectations, and payment terms stretching to 120 days. A critical point of contention is the modern pitch process. “Agencies participate in dozens of pitches annually with low success rates, investing vast unpaid senior hours, often to be met with silence or inadequate feedback,” Molekoa explains. “In a profession built on intellectual capital, this process can dangerously undervalue expertise.”
The pressure, she notes, is particularly acute for African agencies navigating volatile currencies, rising talent costs, and procurement models ill-suited to local realities. This creates a unsustainable paradox: “The industry is asked to deliver more, faster, and across more platforms, while simultaneously absorbing greater commercial uncertainty. ‘More for less’ is not a strategy; it is a misalignment that jeopardises outcomes.”
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Molekoa proposes a necessary and strategic reset, urging C-suite leaders to apply their internal standards of governance and fairness to their external partnerships. “The pivotal question is simple: if your agency mirrored your internal standards, would you still be comfortable with how the relationship is structured? If the answer is no, then change is strategic, not just ethical.”
Her blueprint for a renewed partnership includes contracts that balance flexibility with sustainability, fair payment terms, transparent pitch processes, and scopes that align ambition with budget. She also highlights the valuable role of independent pitch consultants in ensuring fairness and governance.
“Reputation management is not a commodity; it is risk management and value creation,” Molekoa concludes. “The agencies that succeed and the brands that truly thrive will be those that recognise early that strong brands are built on strong partnerships—where both sides are recognised, respected, and resourced as businesses in their own right.”
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