PR company founder scores big with Springbok clients
Mdantsane-born Sibabalwe Sesmani’s move into the sports arena began after she established her first company doing work for corporates
East London-born Sibabalwe Sesmani has been making waves as a spin doctor, managing the brands of several Springboks and award-winning personalities and companies, across the country.
Born and raised in Mdantsane, she went on to pursue a Bcom in economics and econometrics at the University of Johannesburg.
Her keen interest in the industry led her to venture into the realm of public relations, where she found her niche.
Her impressive list of clients includes Springboks Jaden Hendrikse, Makazole Mapimpi, Lukhanyo Am and Babalwa Latsha.
She started her company, Unorthodox PR, 10 years ago, later adding Unorthodox Sports.
Her love for public relations started when she worked parttime for a tobacco company.
“I worked for Phillip Morris International.
“I started working in the marketing department and fell in love with marketing.
“I liked the role the media played to reach customers in creative ways.
“As a tobacco company, it is not allowed to advertise so we had to find creative ways to reach our target audience, and that’s what sparked getting into PR.
“We facilitate media interviews for our clients.
“If someone wants to be on TV, radio, or print, we make sure that is done,” she said.
The 34-year-old said she had always imagined herself as a company executive or owning her own company one day, even from an early age.
“In primary school I sold popcorn to my friends.
“That didn’t work out, so I started selling clothes in high school.
“Even though I did not know exactly how it would work out, I have always been very business-minded.
“I didn’t think I would be at this level, but I have always known that definitely this would be the direction I would take,” she said.
Though her family were not in business, she said her father had wanted to branch out as an entrepreneur.
“My dad was a teacher at a high school and my mom worked as an admin clerk.
“My father did try venturing into a business when we were in high school, but it ended up failing.
“I saw my dad wanting to do more while working as a teacher,” she said.
“The interest I have for sport was just a normal interest which started in high school, but getting to work with Makazole and Lukhanyo was coincidental.
“That happened in 2020. Someone I went to school with was friends with Makazole and then he said Makazole was looking for someone to manage his brand.
“He was getting a lot of brand endorsements, but didn’t know how to go about handling those deals.
“They then reached out to me because we did PR for other companies.
“We explained to Mapimpi that we were willing to try.
“We then decided to establish another company, Unorthodox Sport, specifically for sports endorsements and to help our clients plan for retirement.
“Other athletes then saw our work and decided to join us,” she said.