#WPRD2023: Weber Shandwick's Lebina Ditha is one to watch

Lebina Ditha, senior associate at Weber Shandwick. Source: Supplied.

“I've always wanted to work with brands, in the capacity of building them through communication efforts. Naturally, the next step was to take up a career in what would lead me toward this path. PR felt more appealing as an opportunity to specialise in communication across the board,” he says.

A career highlight

In 2021 he was named the Prism Awards best up-and-coming PR professional, a highlight in his young career.

“I am a results-driven individual and so being able to surpass client expectations amidst an evolving media landscape locally and globally has got to be one of my highlights. More so, serving as a counsel on critical client issues and seeing this create value for client is an ever-evolving personal highlight. Notably, for my career is being named Prism Awards Best up-and-coming PR professional in 2021.

“It felt great to be recognised for the work and the results-driven out for clients. This for me means that success is a work in progress and that one ought to note every step of this journey and be grateful for every win. Every win is a step laid towards actualising my purpose. And this award was a testament to the strides made in making this happen,” he says.

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Ditha completed a qualification in PR management and corporate communications at Vaal University of Technology, before joining the Weber Shandwick team where he started out as a junior media relations associate.

“On a day-to-day basis, I do an assortment of tasks centred around three key things: content creation, media relations, planning, and strategy development and execution. Though these remain key, there are always new things tossed into the fray as part of the nature of what we do as communicators, so no one day is ever the same,” says Ditha.

Dwindling talent retention

One of the issues he has noted in the PR industry include dwindling talent retention.

He adds: “Talent retention has to be the biggest challenge as more people frequently move around to find jobs within our industry that are financially viable amidst turbulent economic times. This too can be attributed to the pressure associated with our industry and the urge by employees to increase their economic value to companies.

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“The second biggest challenge would be client investment in PR activities, resulting from the de-consolidation of businesses across the board due to an unpredictable economic outlook. This however can be seen as an opportunity for the industry to evolve by meeting these challenges with equally valuable offerings.”

Strap up for a fun ride

His advice for people starting out in PR is to embrace technology, innovation and change.

“Strap up for a fun ride. Technology has always been a catalyst to human innovation and now more than ever, is an instrument of great change across the board. Therefore, to succeed, one needs to acquaint comfortably with constant change and be willing to learn at every turn. Embrace change in its many forms and be malleable. Also, trust your instincts,” Ditha says.

In the future, he wants to help create a knowledge base for youth who lack access to resources and information to better their lives.