Everyone has heard the phrase “data is the new currency” or “new gold” or “new oil”. It sounds good, but unless it represents a fundamental shift in how business is conducted it’s just a cliché. And so, all businesses, not just PR and communications agencies, have – or should have – a robust data strategy.
DUO Marketing + Communications made a conscious decision, a strategic shift, in the years preceding the pandemic to evolve with the times (wherever that would take us but we knew it would be data-driven), and importantly, with our clients. We knew data would genuinely become our currency.
While opinions vary, one fact remains unshakeable: PR is more than writing articles and lobbying the media for coverage. In 2025 it is about driving impact that not only moves the business needle, but is measurable and translatable to the C-suite. Enter the data.
The modern communications approach is a genuine 360-degree solution. As such, DUO provides Telviva with a full-service solution designed to enhance the company’s market presence, drive brand awareness, generate leads, and support sales efforts through strategic PR, content marketing, and digital campaigns. This is simply not possible without a genuine C-suite to C-suite strategic partnership and alliance – the antithesis of a transactional relationship. This is the story of Telviva’s success in the new age of PR.
Strategy
During the period under review, Telviva identified Contact Centre as a Service (CCaaS) as their primary focus, with Telviva One, their Unified Communications as a Service (UCaaS) platform, as the secondary focus. In addition to this, the company needed to rebrand AnD Communications (with its own loyal customer base), which it had acquired, into Telviva.
The strategy for Telviva was clear from day one. It would be an integrated marketing ecosystem; DUO would fulfil the role of a full integrated marketing partner. In order to make this strategy work, the foundation needed to be laid first.
The foundation was:
- Resistance (from both Telviva and DUO) of any semblance of a transactional relationship. This relationship would be about shared prosperity, accountability and transparency.
- Deep executive engagement and trust. These are not just words, and so the relationship needed proactive nurturing. This would be built on quarterly reviews aligning business needs with marketing strategies.
- Specialist team that would cover: PR, design, digital marketing, website management, social media, SEO, webinars, advertising and media buying. Why? We always talk about owned, shared, paid and earned media. This was an opportunity to be the spinning force of that flywheel.
Once the foundation was in place, the goal was to:
- Consolidate multiple brands and platforms into a unified Telviva brand and offering;
- Create a clean slate for messaging and visual identity;
- Develop campaign strategies for both local and international markets. The customer profile in South Africa is vastly different from the customer profile in the UK, for example, where the target is channel partners to resell and integrate the Telviva One offering.
Innovation
The innovation in DUO’s full-service partnering solution lay in the genuine ROI-focused approach. The agency stepped up and held itself accountable to metrics beyond traditional PR measurements. This required specialist skills that are simply unavailable in typical PR agencies. DUO’s Telviva team is able to rapidly produce design elements, video, content and flexible, multi-platform strategies, while remaining 100% true to data-informed adaptability.
This, in turn, is only possible when there is a genuine C-suite to C-suite trust relationship to facilitate the budget, and leeway, for iterative testing to find Telviva’s own sweet spot. No client is going to make a budget available on a whim or a wish. DUO, through creative design, impeccable tier one content, robust testing and iteration, and best-practice research, needs to continually deliver impact to sustain the goodwill. And this it has.
Over the course of the Telviva relationship, the delivery has been categorised by continuous testing (what works, what works best, what works best where and when), and optimisation. This requires conviction in decisions which is only possible with the right, senior team. The team transparently conducts A-B testing on the website and various campaign elements. In addition to this, the specialist team uses rich data analytics to continually refine marketing strategies, prove value propositions and measure real business impact.
Content, design and creativity
DUO executed a comprehensive marketing and PR strategy for Telviva, which included:
- PR content creation and distribution:
Drafting and distributing articles and press releases, such as “Practical tips for customer service during the holiday rush,” “Human-centric leadership goes a long way towards building competitiveness in a skills-scarce economy,” and “Business Communication trends.”
- Case study development:
Creating case studies showcasing Telviva’s successful implementations, including Zestlife’s contact centre turnaround, Telviva helping a logistics company cut call costs by 40%, and CT International’s transformed business communication.
- Media relations:
Actively pitching Telviva stories to media outlets, securing coverage in publications such as TechCentral, ITWeb, Financial Mail and Business Maverick.
- Blog management:
Managing Telviva’s blog with posts such as “Empowering employees to bring their personal best to the work day,” Telviva’s Call2Teams launch, and content related to customer experience during the holiday rush to drive SEO and better quality search for the brand
- Social media management:
Managing Telviva’s social media presence, creating and scheduling posts, and running advertising campaigns to enable top of mind presence but also lead generation.
- Social media marketing:
Executing paid LinkedIn campaigns to promote Telviva’s content, products, and services, including Telviva One explainer videos, case study promotions, and blog post promotions.
- Website management:
Contributing to website content and updates, with a major priority being a website revamp.
- Awards and events:
Supporting Telviva’s participation in industry awards and events, including the CCMG Awards and Contact Center World awards.
- Webinars:
Assisting with the planning of webinars, including one on revolutionising customer engagement with AI.
- Design:
Facilitating the design elements across the website, social media, blogs and infographics. Our team also put together carousel adverts for marketing case studies on LinkedIn.
Leadership
DUO’s success, and on-the-ground experience, with Telviva has enriched and helped further evolve the agency. Best practice has permeated throughout the business, enabling teams to grow the current client roster and help other businesses along their journeys from traditional PR to 2025-relevant communication strategies. In other words, shift from chasing AVE to building the runway for eventual lead generation.
Beyond this, DUO has launched a new business division called DUO Studio, which is a full-service content hub servicing international clients. The specialist skills and experience gained through the successful Telviva account has reinforced DUO Studio’s capabilities in producing global-level content services to agencies and clients in Europe and beyond.
Impact/ROI
- Website Performance:
Using a variety of tactics to drive users from multiple channels, coupled with a solid engagement rate throughout the year.
- Social Media Marketing:
On LinkedIn, achieved significant growth in impressions, reach, and engagement, contributing to new followers and brand visibility through the increased use of rich media, including photos and videos. There was a 24% growth in LinkedIn followers from among high-value audiences.
- Media Coverage:
Secured more than 100 published articles in key industry publications, enhancing Telviva’s reputation and reach. This marks the third consecutive year with an increase in coverage.
- Content engagement:
Creation of 12 thought leadership articles, 3 case studies, 9 media features and 12 blogs to maintain media visibility and provide content to drive SEO and social media.
- Advertorials:
On TechCentral, IT Web, Daily Maverick, and Financial Mail in order to broaden reach among relevant audiences and drive referral website traffic through Calls to Action.
- Advertising:
Successful Business 24 social display campaign to extend the reach of priority LinkedIn content
- Videos:
Close to 20 short and long-form videos created to support market awareness of the company and its thought leaders
- Podcasts:
Editorial podcast interview on TechCentral on The Story of Telviva.
- Webinars: 2 webinars hosted with between 150-200 attendees. The webinars were promoted through social media, email newsletters, and advertising on third-party news platforms.
- Awards:
Telviva won the “Best Contact Centre platform” award at CEM Africa.
Clara Wicht, Head of Product and Marketing at Telviva was asked the following question and this was her response.
This PR strategy is data-driven, as can be seen in the performance above, but also underpinned by relationships. And so, how does the client feel?
“Working with DUO Marketing has been a fundamental shift for Telviva’s marketing efforts. We highly recommend them to any business looking for an excellent outsourced marketing team,”
