PR & Communications Johannesburg
Johannesburg is South Africa’s media capital home to Business Day, The Sunday Times, EWN, SABC, 702, and dozens of specialist publications. Juicy Designs manages PR retainers for JHB brands: media pitching, press releases, crisis communications, executive thought leadership, and reputation management. Basic retainers from R8,500/mo.
Juicy Designs is a PR and communications agency serving brands in Johannesburg, Gauteng, and nationally across South Africa. Johannesburg is the epicentre of South African business, finance, media, and commercial activity making it the most important city for corporate PR in the country. Business Day, Sunday Times Business, Fin24, EWN, 702, SABC Business, Daily Maverick, and dozens of specialist trade publications are all based in JHB or reach primarily JHB-headquartered decision-makers. Juicy Designs manages end-to-end PR retainers for Johannesburg brands: proactive media pitching and relationship management with JHB and national journalists, press release writing and distribution, executive thought leadership article writing and placement, crisis communications preparedness and active crisis response, reputation monitoring across print/digital/broadcast and social media, and stakeholder communications. PR retainers start from R8,500/mo (Basic: media list management, 2 press releases/mo, monthly monitoring report). Growth Programme from R18,000/mo adds proactive pitching, 4 press releases, thought leadership writing, and quarterly strategy sessions. Full Programme from R35,000/mo includes crisis preparedness playbooks, spokesperson training, stakeholder communications, and full reputation management. All retainers are month-to-month. Sectors served in JHB: financial services, mining, FMCG, retail, property, legal, technology, and professional services.
Three disciplines. One JHB PR team.
Media relations, content and thought leadership, and reputation management three pillars of every Juicy Designs JHB PR programme.
JHB is home to South Africa’s most influential business journalists and editors. Juicy Designs manages proactive media relationships pitching timely stories, facilitating journalist access to your executives, and securing coverage in the publications that matter to your stakeholders. We work across print, digital, and broadcast: Business Day, Sunday Times, Fin24, Daily Maverick, EWN, 702, and key vertical trade publications. Basic retainer from R8,500/mo.
Explore Media RelationsPosition your executives as the authorities in your JHB industry sector through authored articles, media commentary, LinkedIn content strategy, podcast sourcing, and speaking engagements. Juicy Designs identifies relevant industry topics, writes expert content on behalf of your leadership team, secures placements in high-authority JHB business and trade publications, and manages the LinkedIn presence of key executives. Growth Programme from R18,000/mo.
Explore Thought LeadershipA single crisis can destroy years of brand equity. Juicy Designs manages ongoing reputation monitoring tracking JHB media, social sentiment, and competitor activity and provides rapid-response crisis communications when incidents occur. Crisis preparedness includes playbooks, holding statements, spokesperson training, and media response protocols. Full Programme from R35,000/mo. Reactive crisis support available outside retainer on day-rate basis.
Explore ReputationEverything we offer in Johannesburg
End-to-end public relations and communications management for Johannesburg brands, from press release to reputation recovery.
Juicy Designs maintains active relationships with journalists and editors at JHB’s most influential publications Business Day, Sunday Times, Fin24, EWN, 702, SABC Business, Daily Maverick, Bizcommunity, and specialist trade publications across financial services, mining, retail, FMCG, and technology. We pitch proactively not reactively identifying timely news hooks, industry trends, and executive commentary opportunities that align with your brand positioning. Monthly coverage reports track every placement, reach, and sentiment. Basic retainer from R8,500/mo see full pricing.
Learn moreA poorly written press release goes straight to the bin. Juicy Designs writes releases that journalists actually want to open strong news angles, accurate quotes, clean structure, and AP style. We distribute to our curated JHB media list (targeting by beat and publication) rather than bulk-blasting PR wire services. Every release is optimised for online pickup with embedded SEO keywords and backlink potential. Basic retainer includes 2 releases/mo; Growth and Full retainers include 4+/mo.
Learn moreJHB’s media density means crises escalate faster here than anywhere else in South Africa. Juicy Designs provides two-track crisis support: preparedness (pre-crisis playbooks, holding statements, spokesperson training, and scenario planning) and active response (24/7 monitoring during crises, coordinated media response, stakeholder updates, and social listening). For JHB-listed companies and high-profile brands, crisis communications is not optional it is essential insurance. Full Programme includes crisis preparedness; reactive support available on day-rate.
Learn morePositioning your CEO or MD as a credible industry voice in Johannesburg’s competitive business media landscape takes consistent, quality content. Juicy Designs ghostwrites expert opinion articles for your executives, places them in high-authority JHB business publications, secures media commentary opportunities with beat journalists, identifies and applies for speaking slots at JHB industry events, and develops LinkedIn content strategy for executive profiles. Thought leadership builds credibility that advertising cannot buy. Growth and Full retainer packages.
Learn moreYou cannot manage what you do not measure. Juicy Designs provides continuous reputation monitoring for JHB brands tracking mentions across print, digital, broadcast, and social media using Meltwater and complementary tools. Monthly reputation reports include share of voice, sentiment analysis (positive/neutral/negative), competitor coverage benchmarking, and media value equivalent (MVE). Real-time alerts flag high-risk mentions for immediate response protecting your brand before minor issues become major crises. Included in Growth and Full retainer packages.
Learn moreJohannesburg’s listed companies, large corporates, and industry associations require structured stakeholder communication beyond media investor updates, employee communications, community engagement, government relations messaging, and B2B communications. Juicy Designs develops and executes stakeholder communications strategies that manage multiple audience segments simultaneously, ensuring consistent messaging and appropriate tone for each audience from JSE investors to frontline employees. Full PR Programme includes stakeholder communications management.
Learn moreHow we work
How a Juicy Designs JHB PR retainer runs from onboarding to coverage.
Current media presence audit, competitor share-of-voice analysis, target publication mapping, spokesperson briefing, and 3-month PR strategy built before any pitching begins. Media contact list curated for your sector and target audience.
Week 1-2Press releases written, approved, and distributed. Proactive media pitches crafted and sent to targeted JHB journalists. Thought leadership articles drafted for executive review. Media monitoring activated across all platforms.
Monthly cycleMedia requests facilitated, journalist access managed, coverage tracked in real time. Brand mentions and sentiment monitored 24/7. Issues escalated for rapid response before they become crises. Coverage clippings captured.
OngoingMonthly coverage report: placements, reach, MVE, sentiment breakdown, share of voice vs competitors. Quarterly PR strategy review. Next-month plan agreed. Pitching angles and media targets optimised based on previous month’s results.
MonthlyMonthly performance review. Winners get scaled, underperformers get cut, and strategy gets sharper with every cycle. Your investment compounds over time.
What makes us different
Strategy-led, relationship-driven, ROI-measured. Not just press release distribution earned media that builds genuine brand authority.
Most agencies blast your press release to a generic media list. Juicy Designs pitches to specific journalists who cover your beat because we have cultivated those relationships. Business Day tech editor. Sunday Times FMCG correspondent. Fin24 financial services desk. EWN business reporter. Targeted, personalised pitching gets coverage that generic distribution does not.
PR should be measurable. Juicy Designs reports monthly on placements, total audience reach, media value equivalent (MVE), sentiment breakdown, and share of voice. You know exactly what your retainer is delivering every month and the data drives the next month’s strategy. No vague outputs. No coverage lists without reach data.
No freelancers, no outsourced writing. Every JHB PR retainer is managed by our permanent team. Direct access to Cobus and Wynand for strategy decisions not an account manager who rotates every 6 months. The people who pitch your brand are the same people who built the relationships with the journalists who cover it.
Frequently asked questions
Straight answers about PR and communications in Johannesburg.
Basic PR Retainer from R8,500/mo (media list management, 2 press releases/mo, media monitoring). Growth PR Programme from R18,000/mo (proactive media pitching, 4 press releases, thought leadership writing, monthly coverage reports). Full PR Programme from R35,000/mo (crisis preparedness, stakeholder communications, full reputation management). All retainers month-to-month, 30-day notice. See our pricing page or request a custom quote.
We pitch Business Day, Sunday Times, Sowetan, EWN, 702, SABC News, Fin24, Daily Maverick, Bizcommunity, and vertical trade publications across financial services, retail, mining, FMCG, and technology. We target by beat and journalist, not by bulk distribution meaning your story goes to the journalist most likely to cover it.
Yes. Crisis preparedness planning (playbooks, holding statements, spokesperson training) is included in our Full PR Programme. Reactive crisis response management is available during active crises 24/7 monitoring, coordinated media response, and stakeholder communications. Reactive crisis support outside retainer is available on day-rate.
We ghostwrite expert articles for your executives, place them in high-authority JHB business publications, secure media commentary opportunities, source speaking engagements at JHB industry events, and manage executive LinkedIn content strategies. Included in Growth and Full retainer packages.
Monthly coverage reports track every placement (outlet, date, journalist), audience reach estimates, media value equivalent (MVE), sentiment (positive/neutral/negative), key message landing rate, and share of voice vs competitors. We use Meltwater for full JHB and national media monitoring.
Reactive pitching (timely news hooks) can produce coverage within 24-72 hours. Feature articles take 4-8 weeks from pitch acceptance. Thought leadership placements take 2-6 weeks. Consistent proactive coverage builds over 3-6 months of relationship-driven pitching which is why we recommend a minimum 6-month retainer for meaningful results.
Client results
JHB brands that earned the media coverage their competitors paid to advertise.
“We’d tried two previous PR agencies and got press release distribution nothing else. Juicy built actual journalist relationships. In 6 months we had 14 editorial placements in Business Day and Fin24, 3 executive thought leadership articles, and our CEO was invited to speak at two JHB industry events. That is PR that actually moves the needle on credibility.”
“A product issue broke on social media on a Friday evening and was trending by Saturday morning. Juicy activated crisis protocols within 2 hours holding statement, media response, social listening, and stakeholder updates all coordinated by Sunday. By Monday, the story was over. No negative press in the following week. Their crisis preparedness work before the incident made all the difference.”
“As a tech startup in JHB, we had a product worth writing about but no media relationships. Juicy’s Growth PR package built us a media presence from zero 28 editorial placements across tech and business publications, R2.4M in media value equivalent in the first year. Our Series A investors cited our media profile as a key trust signal. Money very well spent.”
Trusted by
From financial services and tech startups to retail groups and professional services, Juicy Designs manages JHB PR retainers that build real media authority.
+ 52 more clients across FMCG, professional services, healthcare, and manufacturing.
Credentials
Every platform. Every certification. One JHB-focused PR team.
Google Partner
Premium agency certification
POPIA Compliant
Data protection certified
Meta Business Partner
Ads & Instagram expertise
TikTok Certified
TikTok ads specialist
HubSpot Platinum
Marketing automation
WCAG AA Compliant
Accessibility certified
Verified on Clutch
Clutch.co client reviews
Juicy Designs was founded in Pretoria in 2015 by Cobus van der Westhuizen (Co-founder & CEO) and Wynand van der Westhuizen (Co-founder & Creative Director). All certifications are held by active team members.