5 Minutes with... Dustin Chick
At the beginning of 2020, M&C Saatchi Abel in South Africa launched a strategic PR agency called Razor, expanding its services and offerings within the space. At the helm of the agency, with a decade of experience in strategy, influence and public relations at Ogilvy South Africa, the group appointed Dustin Chick as partner and managing director.
Since its inception, Razor PR has supported brands such as Audi, Anglo American, Tiger Brands, Dimension Data/NTT, BDO, Virgin Active and the Takealot Group - the list goes on. With a focus on strategy and creativity at the forefront of its plan, the agency, with Dustin leading it, has gone on to receive PR recognition from several award shows and given tangible results to its clients.
Speaking about his journey into the creative industry, his shift from engineering to journalism, his early experience in PR and how his formative experiences supported his current ventures, Dustin speaks to LBB’s Nisna Mahtani.
LBB> How did you first find yourself in the creative industries?
Dustin> There are two key moments that I know defined my path to a more creative career.
I knew I was never going to be an engineer. In fact, I think everyone knew. It reminds me of an argument I had with my father when I was 15 years old where I rather assertively announced that I was not doing science as a subject. The short story is, I still took science.
What I did know is that I wanted to be a journalist. This is what I ended up studying at university – majoring in journalism and political science. The defining moment here was being on holiday as a family huddled over a single tv in the dining room of the hotel we were staying at as all the residents watched history unfolding. It was the day that Apartheid activist Chris Hani was assassinated.
I worked as a journalist at major news outlets, Business Day and Radio 702. It is from here that I found myself joining the world of PR and I have never looked back. It was a rather serendipitous moment where the path took me exactly where I needed to be.
LBB> Can you tell us about your initial experiences, what you worked on and how this shaped your career path?
Dustin> My early days in PR were heavily focused on property and property related clients. It was a natural transition from my time as a journalist at Business Day, where I was responsible for the weekly property page. I worked with some amazing people – many of which who are still voices in my head today. Two people specifically stand out - my first MD, Peter Wallington, and my first boss in PR, Sandra Mason.
Peter taught me to think broadly and beyond just the ‘media release’ I was being tasked with, and Sandra taught me probably my most valuable lesson: don’t sit on something - action it immediately or it will become last minute and urgent and then no one wins.
Today my approach is just that – think wide and within context, and always move fast and sure-footed to make it happen.
LBB> Who were some of the clients you initially worked with and who are they now? Can you share a few of your most successful projects?
Dustin> The real magic of working in PR and strategic comms is the diversity of the experiences, projects, organisations, and brands you are privileged to be exposed to.
One of my most significant experiences was being part of the communications team for the FIFA 2010 World Cup in South Africa, where I worked with Brand SA - the agency in the SA Presidency responsible for SA’s reputation as a country.
My primary areas of focus were domestic fan mobilisation (where we worked on campaigns like ‘Football Friday’ and ‘Fly your Flag’) as well as international trade promotion (where I worked in the media managing ‘Team South Africa’ at the World Economic Forum in Davos; and across state visits to the UK, Russia, India, France and Brazil).
Today I work with around 27 various brands across Razor’s client mix – including Audi, Anglo American, Tiger Brands, Dimension Data/NTT, BDO, Virgin Active and the Takealot Group to name a few. One recent project stands out.
We worked with the team at Anglo American to launch a world-first, hydrogen-powered mine-haul truck. We needed to address a key question: How do we change the conversation around the perception that the mining industry cannot meaningfully combat climate change while still unearthing value for the world?
For us, this was a moment to flex creativity that allowed us to move beyond the media aspect of the launch. To showcase how a 500-tonne truck can change the world, our campaign centred around showing how such a heavy vehicle could be light on emissions, light on the environment and fuelled by the lightest element on earth - and we gave this light story some heavyweight backing with the voice of the President of South Africa in the driving seat.
The results at a business level (not just comms) were phenomenal:
1. Endorsement from president Cyril Ramaphosa and minister Gwede Mantashe, minister of mineral resources and energy - across both the launch of the prototype hydrogen vehicle and the 2022 Mining Indaba following the event.
2. Three diplomatic endorsements from the French Embassy in South Africa, the British Council and the United States’ under-secretary for economic growth, energy and environment.
3. Eighteen endorsements from South African and global industry bodies including the Energy Council of South Africa, ICMM, the Hydrogen Council and the Presidential Climate Change Commission in South Africa.
4. Attracted requests for partnerships and/or development opportunities, particularly with the Industrial Development Corporation of South Africa (IDC), Toyota South Africa and BMW South Africa – who were subsequently linked with the Project Team to explore synergies.
The comms results were equally impressive:
LBB> You worked at Ogilvy South Africa for 10 years before moving to the M&C Saatchi Abel Group to help launch Razor PR. Can you tell us about how your career led to this moment and why it was the right fit for you?
Dustin> I truly believe that every moment in your life (both personally and in your career) leads you to where you need to be today. And it is exactly this in joining this group. From the very first meeting I had with the senior team at M&C Saatchi Group SA, I knew that these were the type of people I could work with. Beyond a truly collaborative partner model which you feel every single day, it was the humanity and genuine people-first culture that attracted me.
As a group, we speak a lot about two driving beliefs. First that the ‘people with the best people win’ and we spend a lot of time making sure we attract and grow the best people, but more that we bring out the very best in people in an environment that actively supports a whole person. The second is a belief that (brutal) simplicity is how you will do it.
In the end, it really is the culture that trumps everything, and it is this that made the move to Razor the ‘right fit’.
LBB> What did you set out to achieve with Razor PR and how has this evolved over the years?
Dustin> We spent a lot of time in the run-up to the launch of Razor planning our proposition. We were clear that we did not want to be ‘just another PR agency’ and knew that we needed to be absolutely clear about what would set us apart in a highly competitive market.
We chose right from the start to invest exponentially in strategy and creativity (I don’t subscribe to a common misconception that PR is ‘less creative’ and ‘less strategic’). We focused this on our people and culture and a simple benchmark that we would be ‘a better place for our people and a better place for our clients’.
Razor entered its fourth year this year – and we are immensely proud of the agency we have created. [It’s] one that competes strongly with the best in the world. It has been an exciting ride with many major achievements, and [with] some more announcements to come this year.
Razor PR was named the ‘World’s Best New Agency’ by Provoke and in its 2022 annual global rankings, it named Razor one of the five fastest growing agencies globally, and the overall best performing agency across Asia Pacific, the Middle East and Africa. Along with other awards and recognition, Razor is the most awarded agency in Africa and from Africa, having been listed as the fifth most creative PR agency in the world.
In 2022, we launched a world first in measurement … and will continue to drive better PR and better results every day.
LBB> So far, what has been the most rewarding part of the process?
Dustin> Our people. Watching personal growth match the growth of the agency has been hands down the part that has given (and gives) me the most joy.
I often sit back and look at the agency we have created and just think ‘wow’. The most common question I get asked is, 'how did you do it?’. There is no magic sauce - I am doing what I love, where I love doing it, how I love doing it and with the people I love doing it with.
We have created true, trusted advisor relationships with all our clients. It has been part of our ‘doing PR better’ approach and speaks to working with clients and not just as a supplier of resources. We engage robustly and always considered how we are helping clients be brave without putting them in a position where they are racing ahead of the businesses they represent. This better relationship unlocks results and impact and entirely shifts the dynamics you would traditionally have experienced in more ‘old school’ agencies.
LBB> What’s your approach to navigating challenges within the PR and communications landscape? What are some important factors to consider?
Dustin> The truth will always set you free. Nothing more. Nothing less. If you work with brands around their truth, you are already changing the impact these organisations can have. When this is your north star a focus on strategy and effective creative thinking produces work which resonates with your audiences and builds long-term sustainable reputations.
The greatest challenge in all this is an understanding of what PR (or rather, ‘strategic communications’) is and how it can creatively build brands and reputations. We still see a lot of ‘PR this’ type thinking and this needs to evolve at a far higher pace to ‘the right way to effectively and creatively reach and influence my audience’.
Another challenge is finding the right people. I’ve lost count of how many conversations there were last year about how hard it is to find people without cannibalising your peer group. It’s true, talent is a very real issue.
But it’s not the issue.
The bottom line (and I am probably going to irritate a few people by saying this) is that the talent coming into our industry is not appropriately prepared with the right skills. This sits not at the feet of universities, but rather in how agencies and clients are playing a long game with universities around influencing the academic syllabus with what is really needed. We need to close the gap between the availability of people and the availability of the right skills.
LBB> Currently, what are the most useful tools in the arsenal of a PR /communications professional working in the creative industries?
Dustin> Creativity and smarts. It’s about how individuals as people employ these in their work with clients. Linked to this is a strong frame of reference and understanding of current affairs (not just in the spaces where our clients are) and being able to connect the dots and you will have found magic.
Tools in the traditional sense only enhance this skill. They do not, and will never, replace it.
LBB> What’s the biggest misconception in your field of work?
Dustin> Two things. First, that PR is media relations. The second is that PR is ‘less creative’ than its advertising brothers and sisters.
PR leaders need to bring their influence to marketing and work to elevate the strategic value of communications. This is exponentially more important in a post covid world, where connecting on issues that matter directly with our audiences in a way that matters to them is what sets companies, brands and products apart.
Today we live in one of the greatest moments of uncertainty. Clear comms, clear messaging, clear benefits and impact are what define the future relationships consumers have with us. The shiny stuff will have a counter effect if you don’t operate with integrity, honesty and simply doing the right thing. The greatest misconception is that PR is spin – and quite frankly that’s just a fancy way of saying ‘lie’ – and that’s not what we do. Ever.
LBB> What’s the most valuable piece of advice you can offer a PR professional?
Dustin> Read. Consumer as much information on as many topics as you can. Then use this to find your voice.
