Flow Communications has a strong track record in working on government-related projects, having done work for the Government Communication and Information System, the Presidency, the State Information Technology Agency, the Industrial Development Corporation and the South African National Roads Agency, among others.
So, we were delighted to add another important state client to our portfolio towards the end of 2021, when the South African Legislative Sector contracted us to develop and implement a digital awareness campaign and facilitate media exposure around the launch of its new South African Parliamentary Institute.
The sector comprises Parliament and South Africa’s nine provincial legislatures and, as the country’s law-making arm, needs the capacity and skills to ensure that MPs and MPLs can effectively carry out their work of representing the interests of the country’s citizens and promoting democratic processes.
Under the auspices of the Speakers’ Forum of South Africa, the new institute was set up to design and deliver accredited professional development programmes for MPs, MPLs and staff; conduct research; provide advice and assistance to committees and office-bearers in legislative matters; and establish an alumni association for the sector.
Flow approached the project in three phases: work to be executed before the launch event, at the time of the event and following the event. Our first task was to write an informative internal emailer to alert members and staff of the legislatures to the launch of the institute, and to explain its composition, roles and goals.
Social media content to amplify the message
We also needed to draw up social media content to amplify the message to the broader public, set up new social media platforms for the legislative sector where content could be posted, and do the graphic design of the artwork accompanying the posts. All content needed to be checked and edited by Flow’s team of subeditors.
The launch of the institute (at a high-profile evening event in Parliament, which was also streamed online) took place on 9 December 2021. Flow Cape Town team members Libby Peacock and Nadia Moore attended the function to gather content for a post-launch media release and live social media coverage, respectively, with Cape Town manager Sarah-Jane Viljoen joining as project manager.
The institute’s logo and brand were unveiled at the launch, and its board members presented – so Flow was also charged with creating and posting social media and creating artwork around these aspects in the days and weeks to follow. It was important to convey that the institute is a first of its kind for the legislative sector and the culmination of many years of groundwork.
The board of the new #SAParliamentaryInstitute will serve for three years, linked to the remaining term of the current Parliament and Provincial Legislatures, after which members will serve for five-year terms, linked to those of the Legislatures. pic.twitter.com/w8CUqv1kZT
— SA Legislative Sector (@SALegislatures) February 28, 2022
Flow was also asked to produce a couple of articles touching on issues relevant to the institute for publication on the South African Legislative Sector’s website and/or other digital channels.
Towards the end of the campaign, a change in scope meant we needed to produce five long-form editorial pieces to be published in a special edition of SONLOMO, the quarterly publication of the Legislative Sector of South Africa. To do this, we drew on information provided by the client, background research and our own in-depth reporting from the launch event.
Flow content producer Nolwazi Dhlamini says, “My role was to create social media content for the institute. This included creating Twitter and Facebook accounts for them, and creating content before and after the launch.
“As the social media pages were new and I was also new at Flow at the time, it was quite daunting at first because I was responsible for kick-starting the client’s online presence. However, it turned out to be an eye-opening experience for me and I got to learn about government protocol and procedures.”
Flow project manager Nontobeko Zuma adds, “It’s been an honour for me to work on this campaign as project manager. The project delivered value, we built up a good working relationship with the clients – in particular, Renee Scott and Msimelelo Nyikana – and I learned a lot about the South African Parliamentary Institute, as well as the PR side of things internally at Flow.”
Flow was pleased to be entrusted with this important work on a project that aims to capacitate and upskill South Africa’s legislators, for the good of all the people of the country – and our democracy.