JOHANNESBURG, South Africa, 03 May 2018 – The 2018 Public Relations Institute of South Africa’s (PRISA) PRISM Awards, which were held on 22 April 2018 at The Empire Conference and Events centre, saw Samsung South Africa and its public relations agency, PR Worx walk away with the top honours in the Technology category.

In its 21^st year, the PRISM Awards received over 230 entries, across 26 different categories from public relations and communications agencies who believed they had effectively incorporated professionalism, creativity and strategy into their work. Of the 26 categories, full service marketing communications agency. PR Worx won six awards including the best PR campaign in the technology sector, for the Samsung Galaxy Note8: Do Bigger Things. The company competed against 22 competitors in the category, all vying for the best in Technology award.

Justin Hume, Chief Marketing Officer, Samsung South Africa says, “Samsung is delighted to partner with PR Worx, a talented, global award-winning team who consistently drives world-class campaigns for innovative brands such as ours. We are honoured that the Samsung Galaxy Note8 campaign won the best in category award and we are extremely proud of the team for this remarkable achievement.”

The judges feedback on the quality of the strategy and execution included comments such as, “A well thought out integrated campaign that included effective and a variety of channels to address the audience and deliver results,” and “The campaign was obviously successful, when considering the end results! Allowing the media to form a direct part of the “action” was smart and delivered positive results.”

With the PRISM Awards being Africa’s most sought-after awards in the public relations industry, this is a huge accolade for Samsung and PR Worx.

After Sunday’s incredible achievement, PR Worx’s PRISM tally now stands at 42 awards won over the past six years, allowing PR Worx to retain its spot as one of the most awarded public relations agencies in Africa.

The exquisite South African climate means everyone can really get out and about during the summer months – from sporting activities like cycling, swimming or hiking, to enjoying long lazy days at the pool or an energetic night dancing. Of course, every activity needs to be documented for sharing and reminiscing. Can your smart phone keep up with you though?

Seaside holidays are almost a national pastime in South Africa and while the smell of suntan cream mingling with seaweed and the sounds of waves crashing over the cry of the ice-cream man can bring about a nostalgic attack, there’s also the problem of beach sand that gets into everything from sandwiches to beach bags. Sticky fingers and sand-encrusted towels aren’t a great environment for most electronic devices.

Even if you’re not at the beach, summer night parties are a given, which can also bring about precarious situations for phones. Imagine dressing to kill for a poolside cocktail party only to spill your drink on your smartphone or fall in the pool while posing for that perfect selfie? For most phone users, that would constitute an absolute disaster. According to research, 61% of smartphone users are worried about how well their phone is protected from water, sand, dust and other elements. But the Samsung Galaxy Note8, S8 and S8+ are rated IP68 water and dust resistant, so any spills or water-based accidents won’t be an issue. Just be aware, though, that it’s likely there will be more photographs appearing on social media platforms with blow-by-blow action shots of your fall in full colour and infinite clarity than your poised selfie.

Life happens quickly and moments are just that – moments. That’s why you need to be ready at every turn with your camera. The Note8, S8 and S8+ have a fabulous double tap feature so you can instantly get to camera – ensuring you don’t miss a single precious (or funny) moment. Also, switching between side and front camera is seamless, so you’ll always be ready for that summer shot.

The end of year summer season is also all about your nearest and dearest. Documenting your family holiday or festive season gatherings is vital, especially if you’re getting together with relatives you hardly see during the rest of the year. Make sure all your memories are made precious by taking professional-quality photographs. Samsung’s most advanced smartphone camera is embedded in the Galaxy Note8, S8 and S8+ so you can get amazing shots no matter what the light conditions are and because of the smart auto-focus, even the smallest family member’s wriggling won’t be out of focus. With the infinity display, you’ll be able to make sure you capture even the largest family group, with not a single person missing out on the action.

Whether you’re taking a staycation or venturing into foreign spaces, you’ll need a little assistance to make the most of the summer days – if you need directions, a quick recipe to expand the dinner offering when surprise guests arrive, a restaurant review, translation of a sign or to identify a landmark, you can always call on Bixby to assist. With longer battery life on the S8 and S8+, you won’t have to be concerned about finding a charging point in foreign climes or while you’re chilling on the beach.

Make the most of South Africa’s incredible summer weather and venture out and about to discover more, live your life to the fullest and capture every single moment securely in brilliant colour.

While electronics giants are creating more advanced technologies that aim to simplify our lives, many are overlooking simple ergonomics. Technology is there to complement life, not complicate it. The evolution of the mobile phone makes this ever so clear.

In 1973, all a mobile phone had to do was act like a house phone and connect two users over a distance. In the 2000s we expected phones to remember names, take pictures and play music. It’s 2017 and our appetites have grown exponentially. We demand so much more from our devices, we want bigger screens, improved screen quality, larger storage, faster processors, extended battery time and a longer shelf life. Smartphones heeded this call, but still we ask for more.

The demands include a desktop in my pocket, being able to access spreadsheets and PowerPoint presentations on demand, exceptional picture quality, a personal assistant to be available around the clock, and a platform that can support my creative side. This list of demands requires an integrated solution.

Rising to the challenge, Samsung gave us the Galaxy Note 8. A phablet by definition, due to its size; it is a technological work of art based on its performance capabilities. It boasts a dual camera that is considered the best in the industry. It can capture clear pictures, even in low light, placing it at the cutting edge of capturing stills and videos.

The Galaxy Note 8 has a 6.3-inch Quad HD+ Super AMOLED screen, the biggest on any phablet in the market, complementing those high definition pictures and videos superbly. With an aspect ratio of 18.5:9 and an infinity display, the screen allows us to do great things and the tiniest details are brought to life with the most vivid clarity. The phone’s S Pen stylus brings the immense screen to life-this pen being a distinctive feature of the Note series since its inception in 2011. The S Pen allows us to live message, create our own emojis, edit pictures and documents with a hand-written element, and create our own GIFs. For the artistically inclined, the intelligent S Pen is pressure sensitive, allowing the artist to sketch various hues as if using different pencil types on a sketch pad. But one of the most practical features of the S Pen, is being able to speedily jot down notes without unlocking the phone’s screen.

The Galaxy Note 8 embodies everything modern, it speaks to opulence and productivity. Its 10nm mobile processor and 6 GB RAM makes gaming, watching movies or switching between monitoring the stock market, emails, GPS and other operational apps, a breeze. It is the perfect gadget for those who want more out of their mobile devices, and those who want to do more.

Helping people cope in a digital, fast-paced environment, Samsung makes life easier with Bixby. The artificial intelligence platform is so advanced, that it adapts, learns and grows with us. At the click of a button, we can summon our own personal assistant to help organise meetings, remind us of lunch with our mother or download that live show we had queued, either on our mobile or television.

The rise of the Internet of Things means everyday products such as watches and houses are becoming smart and syncing across devices. Samsung Dex allows us to connect our phone to the television, making file sharing as simple as clicking a button.

The inspiration behind this innovation is to do bigger things for longer, having a positive impact on the world and about a vision for the future. Discover new possibilities and inspire the world to create the future using creativity, innovation and technology.