The other stat I managed to ring out from tight-lipped panelists was an average hourly rate of R500. But, as Ruth Golembo of Lange PR, one of the industries most respected practitioners, explained they didn't bill by the hour but rather by what the job required.

By contrast, Galia Kerbel, standing in for Marcus Brewster who was abroad, said Marcus Brewster Publicity billed using a PR Index which quantified publicity output in units which were billed (on average) at R500. 

I had to pointedly ask both Ruth and Galia to commit to a price per job. Ruth said, by way of example, that a press release (research, writing, editing, negotiating and disseminating would take eight hours and cost R4000. Galia on the other hand, using the PR Index quoted a writing fee of four units (I stand corrected if I have not remembered these figures correctly) plus a newspaper placement fee of four units totaling R4000. Surprisingly, both billing models seem to work out to the same amount for the same output.

Henry Shields, director of Marimba and former attorney, offered some useful client insights:  He didn't like the way attorney's billed by time unit, nor did he like complex billing models like those that had a menu of offerings. He stressed the importance of being clear about billing upfront and not having to negotiate for it at the end of a job.

Viv Gordon, talking about transformation in our industry, noted that a look around the room (mainly filled with white women), was visible evidence of how little transformation had taken place in our industry. 

Frank Heydenrych, who planned to speak about Return on Investment, was unavoidably detained in Johannesburg and offered to send his presentation electronically for dissemination to attendees.

In conversation with some smaller consultancies, at the bar after the meeting, I heard that the average hourly rate was R400 per hour.