After more than two decades in the media industry as a radio voice jockey, television presenter, and public relations officer, multi-award-winning businesswoman Ilke Platt (IK) has cemented herself as a force to be reckoned with. As founder of Poiyah Media Consulting, she serves major brands and mentors graduates through a dedicated mentorship programme.

New Era journalist, Adolf Kaure (AK), engaged her, touching on an array of issues.

AK: Please tell me more about Ilke Platt?

IP: I was born in Windhoek, December 1986. We were raised with principles, values, and the Christian faith in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States of America. We came to South Africa, then to Namibia. Principles always surround treating others the way you would want to be treated.

AK: How did you come to realise that media and public relations were your calling, and what steps did you undertake to transition into that field?

IP: In high school at the Windhoek International School, I think it really instilled in us, from where we came from, the United States, it instilled a lot of confidence, great public speaking, knowing who you are and allowing you to know that whatever you put your mind to, you can achieve it. This is not just at school, but also from a household point of view. And then varsity life: I attended the University of Namibia and worked on UNAM Radio on that side.

AK: Many know ‘Cutey’ before learning your real name, Ilke Platt. The ‘Cutey’ brand was prominent on radio and TV. How much effort does it take to build and maintain such a brand?

IP: God allowed me also to establish a brand back in 2003, which I think allowed my voice to be amplified, not being special or more unique than others, but I think just in reaching a larger crowd in terms of my journey.

AK: As a distinguished PR consultant recognised with multiple awards, where do you draw your strength to keep excelling?

IP: I think we should look at it just as an industry where there are a lot of various individuals who are trying to thrive in that specific industry. To just keep thriving, just in general, it is what your uniqueness is. It is understanding what sets you apart from the rest. And not only that, but it is also about revolutionising yourself with the times that we are evolving in. When it comes to awards, that is the ‘cherry on the cake’. Awards are just a symbolic meaning for the work that you have done, but with or without them, it is about the work that you have done and the impact that you have made within the space that you operate in.

AK: As part of your core principles, you invest in young graduates’ development and engage in CSR initiatives. Could you elaborate on their importance to you?

IP: Giving back through interns and nurturing young students is compulsory for us at Poiyah Media. We do that because we started somewhere and if you base your principles around developing those with you, it is not just an ‘I’, it is just not an individual aspiration or escalation into what you what you want to grow, but in principle whenever you are able to bring somebody with you on the journey as well as mentoring, grooming and nurture, it is vital.

Those interns we see after nine years of operation at Poiyah Media are the same individuals who are now running the media corporate space. That is a proud moment, that it does not end with us. It starts with us, but it continues way after, even after they have graduated and completed their internship. Yes, it is the responsibility of every individual and every company to try to bring one or two people along with you as you find your feet in the industry.

AK: How do you envisage the Namibian PR industry evolving over the next five years, and what measures could be taken to enhance it?

IP: I have this discussion with my team every single day about Artificial Intelligence and all the modern technology. Firstly, will we be relevant? Will we be needed, and how will the work we are doing today differ in the next few years? So yes, I feel the Namibian public relations landscape over the next five years will evolve and revolutionise. However, we should be mindful that the foundation will always remain the same.

The objectives, the why, and the how will change, but having that foundation, it is critical to understand that we can revolutionise with the times, but we still need the experts, and we still need the people to insert and feed information to all these different platforms that we are being presented with. And how can we help to improve it? It has been part of the narrative.

Being part of these discussions on where we see public relations in the next five years, how would we like to put our efforts to shape that tone and narrative so that everybody can benefit from the changing landscape?

These are exciting times for Namibian public relations because, ten or twenty years ago, who would have thought people would be accessing news on their mobile phones? We are reading, and statistics show that print consumption is gradually declining year after year. So, how do we play a role? It is also about allowing other public relations professionals in the industry to adopt it, to aid in their education, and to be versatile, not against what the world is heading towards.

AK: Do you have any additional remarks?

IP: I am very fortunate to have spent over two decades in the media. I am also very fortunate to compare how we have done it without the online trends. Seeing this beautiful transformation in the digital space, it is important that we allow ourselves to learn every day, embrace change, adapt, and support each other in the public relations space.

I think, as public relations experts in Namibia, we have a long way to go to work as a cluster rather than in silos. And how do we also have a unified voice of what that voice means for us as public relations professionals? The public relations field remains the backbone and a fundamental part of every organisation, every business, and every setup. Years from now, if you were to ask whether public relations will still be needed, the answer would be yes, because we speak to each other every single day. Communication is the backbone of any industry’s success.

-akaure@nepc.com.na