Flow Communications

One of Flow Communications’ specialist offerings is media training. The training has been described as “exhilarating” and “empowering” by our clients, including top South African companies such as Deloitte, Liberty, Growthpoint Properties, Ster-Kinekor and Petra Diamonds.

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Thina Maziya, director of Verigreen. (Image: Flow Communications)

Our clients come from all sectors and include corporates, government and NGOs. They also come from all over South Africa.

Take, for example, Thina Maziya, director of Pinetown’s Verigreen – a plastic manufacturing company that has developed a waste-to-product initiative, involving skills training for formerly unemployed women and preventing plastic waste from going to landfill.

Maziya is also the founder of Supa Mama, a flagship consumer brand that supports 100 women who source waste in order to make a living. The Supa Mama refuse bag uses recycled plastic to produce recyclable bin bags and can be purchased at any Spar, Shoprite/Checkers, OK Foods, Game and other Masscash stores around KwaZulu-Natal.

What started as a “small, family business” has now received a lot of attention from around the country.

“They’re micro-entrepreneurs. We give them the necessary training and skills, and tell them where to go source the waste. If they have a problem we go to, let’s say, a Spar and tell them that ‘this is Mam’Nxumalo and she would like to collect waste. Can you help her?’ ”

The “Mamas”, as Maziya fondly calls them, can make anything from R2 000 to R3 000 monthly.

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Flow's media training crew at work. (Image: Flow Communications)

The media training, she says, will help her come out of her shell: “I’ve done radio interviews, and I know from the way I reacted to those that I was really nervous and I thought my world was coming to an end. Someone referred me to Flow Communications and I figured this was the right channel to get over it,” she says.

“I’m a reserved person, and my husband and I started as a small family business. Now, because we started to empower these women, people have taken an interest. It’s become too busy and I wasn’t prepared for that,” says Maziya.

Maziya was then left in the capable hands of media veterans Jeremy Maggs, Kate Turkington and Tara Turkington, supported by the wider Flow team.

Maggs is a journalist, radio host and television presenter, Kate Turkington is a highly respected travel journalist and Flow Communications CEO Tara Turkington is a print and online specialist.

“She’s gorgeous. The camera loves her and she’s got a great story,” Kate says.

Says Flow’s Daphney Mngomeni: “Thina will benefit immensely from the training she’s gotten at Flow. A confident interviewee will always be listened to attentively.”

Melanie Feris, Flow’s writing studio manager, adds: “The training focuses on all aspects of the media, from the media landscape in South Africa, how journalists operate, to very practical tips like why a ‘no comment‘ does more harm than good.

“It’s great seeing how our clients start off being very nervous, and at the end of the training they rave about the new skills they’ve learned.”

After two TV interviews with Maggs, and feedback sessions from the media training crew, Maziya says she feels better about being in front of the camera: “After seeing myself on camera and receiving feedback from the crew, my second interview was way better. I was more confident and engaging. I will be doing more TV interviews going forward,” she says.

For more information on our media training offerings, click here.

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