After a year of running MediaSweep in the US while remaining closely connected to Novus Group in South Africa, one thing has become clear to me. South African businesses are often more globally competitive than we realise.
The difference is not always capability. More often, it is scale, confidence, market language and how value is measured.
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Scale changes everything
The first lesson is the size of the market. Everything is bigger in the US, and not just as a cliché. In South Africa, there are roughly 450 PR companies. In the US, there are around 63,000. We have nine provinces. They have 50 states. In South Africa, a large client may have 10 users logging into a system. In the US, that number could be 250 at the same time.
Sport is another example. In South Africa, we might analyse one major rugby game a week. In the US, one baseball team can play 162 games over the regular season. The thinking does not change, but the volume does.
That kind of scale forces discipline. You cannot simply say yes to everything. Your systems, people, and processes must handle the load before you take on the work.
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Media value is judged differently
The second lesson is that the US market views media value differently. In South Africa, print still carries a lot of weight. Many clients would still rather see themselves in the Sunday Times newspaper than on the website. In the US, online is often the priority. If you are featured on the New York Times website, your potential audience is much broader than that of the printed edition.
The same applies to measurement. In South Africa, there is still relative interest in AVE values by some companies. In the US, AVE is far less important. The question is not only how many clips were found. It is where the story landed, whether the message landed, and whether it reached the right places.
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South African work stands up globally
The third lesson surprised me. South African work stands up globally. I expected the US market to be far ahead. It is advanced in many ways, but South African work is mostly on par.
South Africa is a tough market. Clients are critical. They notice mistakes. Budgets are often tight. People expect a lot. That can be frustrating, but it also makes you sharper.
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Confidence is part of competing
The fourth lesson is confidence. South Africans often underplay themselves. We are careful not to sound arrogant. In the US, confidence is part of doing business. If you do not explain clearly why you are good, someone else will explain why they are.
That does not mean becoming loud for its own sake. It means being clear about your value and learning the market’s language. South Africa and the US both speak English, but not always the same English. A boot is a trunk. Small words can create distance if you are not paying attention.
The biggest lesson I would bring back to South African businesses is that we are not as far behind as we sometimes think. Our products, people, and thinking can compete. But when you enter a bigger market, you must adjust. You must understand the scale, speak the market’s language, and be more direct about your value.
Being from a smaller country at the bottom end of the world does not make us less capable. Sometimes it makes us more resourceful. The trick is to stop apologising and start using it.
Joe Hamman is founder of Novus Group (SA) and MediaSweep (USA).
