Prof Nina de Klerk

Emeritus Professor
Name: Nina de Klerk
Department of Strategic Communication Staff  Staff Members

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About Prof Nina de Klerk

Nina de Klerk is emeritus professor of Strategic Communication at the University of Johannesburg, where she still supervises master’s and PhD students. Currently, she is based in Cape Town where she manages the national master’s programme for Vega School. Nina has an extensive academic and industry background in the field of communications spanning marketing, corporate and strategic communication, advertising, strategic branding and reputational development. She obtained her Ph.D in Communications in 1982 at the former Rand Afrikaans University (now the University of Johannesburg), was Head of the Department of Communications at this university from 1982 until 1992, Associate-Professor from 1984-1989 and Professor from 1989 until the end of 1994. During this period she was the editor of Communicare, accredited journal of communication sciences for approximately 10 years, conducted post-doctoral research on the effects of the electronic communication revolution at Columbia University, was a guest lecturer at UCLA (Sacramento) and a Distinguished Visiting Radcliffe Professor at Baylor University in Waco, Texas. She was also a participant in the United States South Africa Leadership Exchange Programme (USSALEP); an expert witness on the effects of media restrictions in South Africa at The Council on Foreign Relations in New York; and a member of the IDASA-sponsored delegation of women to meet with ANC women in Harare, Zimbabwe. From 1995-2005 she held the position of Executive Director of The Association for Communication and Advertising (ACA). In this capacity she was involved with the launch of the Apex Awards for Advertising Effectiveness, the ACA Transformation Charter, the development of the Sector Scorecard for the Broader Marketing and Communications Industry, and the Best Practice Guidelines for the Procurement of Marketing and Advertising with Government and the National Treasury. She also represented the South African advertising industry at several international meetings and conferences in Bahrain, Bermuda, Norway, Switzerland and Iceland. From 2005-2008 she worked as a principal consultant for ChangeWright Consulting (with Sasol Synfuels as major client), and as an independent researcher. Companies for whom she completed and managed major independent research projects include Air Products South Africa, Anglo Platinum, The Pebble Bed Modular Reactor and Edcon. Research conducted on poor communities as corporate stakeholders for some of these industry players, has been published with their permission. From 2008-2015 she was appointed once again as professor of Strategic Communication in the School of Communication at the University of Johannesburg. In addition to her academic duties, she has also acted as strategic advisor to the UJ vice-chancellor on global excellence and stature from 2014-2015. In this capacity she was the facilitator of a Global Reputation Conversation think tank in collaboration with Reg Lascaris, Brand Pretorius and Sizakele Marutlulle. This experience led to further research and a resultant research publication with Dr Marilet Sienaert from UCT entitled ‘From research excellence to brand relevance: A model for higher education reputation building’, published in 2016 in the South African Journal of Science. A further research paper on the topic of purposeful branding at higher education institutions was also presented at the 23rd International Conference on Corporate and Marketing Communications at the University of Exeter Business School in April 2018. During her academic tenure, 28 masters’ dissertations and 7 doctoral theses have been completed under her supervision, in addition to hundreds of Honours research essays. Two of her doctoral candidates succeeded her as HOD of Communication at UJ. She has also acted as external examiner for countless masters and doctoral studies. A list of her publications and papers follows. Nina has served on the Board of Trustees of loveLife, South Africa’s largest HIV prevention programme for ten years, is a regular reviewer for accredited journals such as Communicatio and Communitas, has acted as an international reviewer for the UK-based Journal of Marketing Communications; is a regular participant in peer rating reviews for the National Research Foundation; and has served as an independent peer reviewer of scholarly journals for the Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf). She has been a Boss of the Year Finalist and is a recipient of the Rapport/City Press Prestige Awards for women achievers. Her late husband was political analyst and author Dr. Willem de Klerk. Their son Wim has graduated in Environmental and Development Studies from the University of Stellenbosch.

List of Academic and Industry-Related Publications *peer-reviewed ** peer-reviewed and DHET accredited

Overton, N. & Marais, H.C. (1979). The mass media and attitude change: an alternative view. Communicatio** 5(2): 32-34.

Overton, N. (1984). Cognitive orientation and consumer behaviour.Communicatio** 10(1).

Overton, N. (1984). Afrikaans media: Is there advertising neglect? Grey Matter No. 5. Overton, N. (1985).

Book review:

A van der Meiden & G Fauconnier. Profiel en Professie: Inleiding in die theorievorming van public relations. Communicatio** 11(1): 68-69.

Overton, N. (1985). Reactions on theme of the 10th public relations world congress. In Second Congress Book on the theme of the 10th public relations world congress: Between people and power. A geography on public relations trends.* Amsterdam: IPRA. p. 28-29.

Angelopulo, G. C. & Overton, N. (1986). The communication objectives of sport sponsorships.Communicare** 5(2): 18-26.

Kruger, R. T., De Klerk, W.J. & Overton, N. (1986). Die krisis van die dagbladpers: ‘n Ontleding van bepaalde faktore wat die hedendaagse dagblad beïnvloed. Communicare** 5(1): 42-45.

Overton, N. (1987). Effective communication in the South African Public Service. In Focus on Government and Administration in the Republic of South Africa*, 4: 71-84 (Conference Issue).

Overton, N. (1987). Bridging the Communication Gap. Momentum 3(4): 36-40. Venter, H. L. &

Overton, N. (1987). Die waardes, verwagtings en bevredigings van Suid-Afrikaanse televisie-nuuskykers. Communicare** 6(2): 43-53.

Schäfer, P. H. & Overton, N. (1988). Consumer information seeking for social products. Communicare** 7(1): 36-49.

Overton, N. (1988). Information trends in South Africa with specific reference to the development of an information policy for the electronic media. Communicare** 7(2): 38-48.

Overton, N. (1989). The New Afrikaner. Marketing Mix*, September: 74-76

Overton, N. (1993). Total Communication: New Buzzword or Home Truth? Ecquid Novi**, 14(2): 179-192.

Overton, N. (1993).The case of the “Scotch Whisky”: Myth or reality? Communicatio**, 19(2): 65-71.

Overton, N. (1994). Corporate social responsibility. In Lubbe, B. & Puth, G. (Eds.) Public Relations in South Africa: A management reader*, 173-190. Durban: Butterworths.

Overton, N. (1994). Corporate image. In Lubbe, B. & Puth, G. (Eds.) Public Relations in South Africa: A management reader*, 191-208. Durban: Butterworths.

Overton-de Klerk, N. (1995). An Overview of the State of Advertising in South Africa. Marketing Director International*. London: Cornhill Publications.

Overton-de Klerk, N. (1998). Advertising: Much more than a catchy phrase. In De Beer, A. S. (Ed.) Mass Media towards the millennium. The South African handbook of mass communication*, 321-342. Pretoria: Van Schaik.

Overton-de Klerk, N. (1999). Die Laaste Woord: Praktyk en Universiteit. Communicare**. 18 (2).

Dicey, L. & De Klerk, N. (Eds.) (2001). Advertising Performance Excellence. AAA Apex Awards Winners 1995 – 2000 Vol 1. Bordeaux: Association of Advertising Agencies.

Dicey, L. & De Klerk, N. (Eds.) (2001). Advertising Performance Excellence. AAA Apex Awards Winners 1995 -2000 Vol 2. Bordeaux: Association of Advertising Agencies.

De Klerk, N. & Clayton, L. (Eds.) (2003). Advertising Performance Excellence. ACA Apex Awards Winners 2002 Vol 3. Bordeaux: Association of Communication and Advertising.

De Klerk, N. & Clayton, L. (Eds.) (2005). Advertising Performance Excellence. ACA Apex Awards Winners 2004 Vol 4. Bordeaux: Association of Communication and Advertising.

De Klerk, N. (2007). Market Research: Where is the industry going? Southern African Journal of Marketing Research*, 4th Quarter: 9.

De Klerk, N. (2008). Effective strategic communication…does it exist? Marketingweb.co.za.* June 2008.

De Klerk, N. (2009). Corporate communication practices and trends: The state of the art (with specific reference to the retailing industry). Private Edcon publication.

Overton-de Klerk, N. (2010). Democratic discourse or nationalistic drivel. Are South Africans truly empowered? www.bizcommunity.co.za.* 17 November 2010.

Overton-de Klerk, N. (2010) Facebook en Twitter sal die land bevry. Rapport Weekliks, IX, 14 November 2010. Overton-de Klerk, N. (2010). Dis die soort eerlikheid wat reënboog kort. Rapport Weekliks, IV, 28 November 2010.

Overton-de Klerk, N. (2010) Wêreldburgers praat terug. Mediagebruikers besluit oor onthullings se impak. Beeld 9 Desember 2010, p.23. / Burger 15 Des 2010. Editorial page article covering in-depth interview with N. Overton-de Klerk on impact of Wikileaks.

Overton-de Klerk, N. & Oelofse, E. (2010).Poor communities as corporate stakeholders: A bottom up research approach. Communicatio South African Journal for Communication Theory and Research** 36(3): 388-408.

Overton-de Klerk, N. (2011) “Dán word ons ook jellievisse. Sonder opvoeding word die probleem voortgesit.” Beeld 1 Julie 2011, p. 17.

Overton-de Klerk, N. & S. Verwey (2013) Towards an emerging paradigm of strategic communication: Core driving forces. Communicatio: South African Journal for Communication Theory and Research** 39(3): 362 -382.

Shapiro B.J.N. & N. Overton-de Klerk (2013) A measuring instrument for the active consumer stakeholder concept among South African brand leaders. Communitas: Journal for Community Communication and Information Impact.** Vol 18: 36-56.

Overton-de Klerk, N. & M Sienaert (2016) From research excellence to brand relevance: A model for higher education reputation building. South African Journal of Science** 112(5/6): 47-54.(ISI accredited) Nhedzi, A., N.

Overton-de Klerk & T. Bester (2016) Brand linkages: Winners, losers and how to measure these. Communitas: Journal for Community Communication and Information Impact.** Vol 21: 59-72.

National and International Papers and Presentations Marais, H.C. and Overton, N. (1977). The mass media and attitude change: an alternative view. International Conference for Communication Sciences, West-Berlin, October, 1977.

Overton, N. (1982). Cognitive orientation, consumer behaviour and advertising- effects. Paper delivered at a conference of the Southern African Communication Association. September 1982. East London.

Overton, N. (1984). Eksterne Betrekkinge: Wat waag ons? Paper delivered at a seminar of the Department of Business Economics, August 9, 1984. Unisa.

Overton, N. (1986). Electronic media and information trends in Southern Africa. Paper delivered at a seminar of the South West African Broadcasting Corporation. February 10, 1986. Windhoek, Namibia.

Overton, N. (1986). Information trends in Southern Africa with specific reference to South Africa and Namibia. Colloquium: University of California: Sacramento. April 9, 1986.

Overton, N. (1986). Communication and the bus industry. Paper delivered at a seminar of the South Africa Bus Operators Society. September 25, 1986. Johannesburg.

Overton, N. (1986). Vereistes vir suksesvolle handelsmerke. Paper delivered at a conference of the Dairy Board. October 14, 1986. Johannesburg.

Overton, N. (1987). Effective communication in the South African public service. Paper delivered at a conference Focus on Government and Administration in the Republic of South Africa. April 21, 1987. University of Durban-Westville.

Overton, N. (1987). Die privaatsektor en die beeld van Suid-Afrika. Paper delivered at a conference of the Southern African Communication Association. September 4, 1987. Johannesburg.

Overton, N. (1987). Perception and communication in perspective. Paper delivered at a conference of the Public Relations Institute of South Africa. September 29, 1987. Johannesburg.

Overton, N. (1988). Communication restrictions in South Africa: Effects and Implications. Testimony delivered at the Council on Foreign Relations. May 19, 1988. New York.

Overton, N. (1988). The academic’s role in communicating research to the public. Paper delivered at a Seminar of the Medical School of the University of the Witwatersrand. September 30, 1988. Johannesburg.

Overton, N. (1989). Die beeld van die onderwysprofessie. Paper delivered at Gespreksgroep Skool/Universiteit. May 15, 1989. RAU.

Overton, N. (1989). The New Afrikaner: A profile of changing political attitudes of Afrikaners. Paper delivered at a conference of the South African Marketing Research Association. June 27, 1989. Johannesburg.

Overton, N. (1989). The New Afrikaner: A profile of changing political attitudes of Afrikaners. Paper delivered at a conference of Research International. August 16, 1989. Durban.

Overton, N. (1989). Liberale kommunikasie. Mite of moontlikheid in Suid-Afrika? Inaugural Address. November 22, 1989. Rand Afrikaans University.

Overton, N. (1990). Liberale Kommunikasie: Mite of moontlikheid in ‘n veranderende Suid-Afrika. Paper delivered at a SACOMM Conference. September 6, 1990. HSRC, Pretoria.

Overton, N. (1990). Die stimulering van verbruikersnavraag na NCD produkte. Paper delivered at an NCD Seminar. August 24, 1990. Indaba Conference Centre, Johannesburg.

Overton, N. (1990). Die bemarking van Sasolburg. Presentation to the Afrikaanse Sakekamer. September 27, 1990. Sasolburg.

Overton, N. (1990). ‘n Bemarkingsmodel in die nuwe Suid-Afrika. Paper delivered at a Management Seminar: Bruinette, Kruger and Stofberg. September 29, 1990. Pretoria.

Overton, N. (1990). Die integrasie van werwingsreklame by korporatiewe reklame. Paper delivered at a Sasol Human Resources Seminar. November 1, 1990. Sasol, Johannesburg.

Overton, N. (1991). The importance of communications in organisations. Paper delivered at a Management Seminar: Dept. of Postal and Telecommunications Services. January 24, 1991. Johannesburg.

Overton, N. & Verwey, S. (1991). Effektiewe kommunikasie in organisasies. Paper delivered at a Management Seminar: Sasol Kunsmis. May 30, 1991.

Overton, N. (1991). Effektiewe verbale kommunikasie. Paper delivered at a RAU Lecturers Seminar. June, 1991. RAU.

Overton-de Klerk, N. (1992). Perspectives on what is transpiring in South Africa. Heinz Koeppler Memorial Lecture: Baylor University. February 2, 1992. Waco, Texas.

Overton-de Klerk, N. (1994). Identifying communication needs and selecting the appropriate tools with which to respond..Paper delivered at the Second Annual Communication in Business Conference. October 19, 1994. Sandton.

Overton-de Klerk (1995). Trends in the marketplace and how the young advertising graduate can adapt to them. Graduation address: AAA School of Advertising. January 29, 1995. Cape Town.

Overton-de Klerk, N. (1995). Intercultural communication and creativity. Graduation address: AAA School of Advertising. February 6,1995. Johannesburg.

Overton-de Klerk, N. (1995). Integrated Communications. Paper delivered at the International Advertising Association Youth Congress. September 12, 1995. Johannesburg.

Overton-de Klerk, N. (1996). Creativity and accountability in advertising. Paper delivered at the Advista Arabia Conference. May 20, 1996. Bahrain.

Overton-de Klerk, N. (1997). Advertising and religious communication. Presentation delivered at a Religious Media Forum. June 1997. Johannesburg.

Overton-de Klerk, N. (1998). Women and advertising. Presentation made to the Unisa Dept. of Communication. July, 1998. Pretoria.

Overton-de Klerk, N. (2004). Self -regulation: Walking the fine line. Paper delivered at the Annual General Meeting of the Broadcasting Complaints Commission of South Africa. May 24, 2004. Mount Grace.

Overton-de Klerk, N. (2005). How to position and equip young women for influence and participation in nation building. Presentation delivered to the Youth Network Southern Africa. September 3, 2005. Mabopani, Tshwane.

Overton-de Klerk, N. (2006). The Practising Consultant. Guest lecture: Monash University. September 5, 2006. Roodepoort.

Overton-de Klerk, N. (2007). Networking and its importance to Agri SA. Paper delivered at the Agri SA Annual Conference . October 4, 2007. Boksburg.

Overton-de Klerk, N. (2010). Poor communities as corporate stakeholders: Implications for Strategic Communication. Paper delivered at a UJ Seminar on Corporate Social Investment in Collaboration with the Office of Community Engagement. April 29, 2010. University of Johannesburg.

Overton-de Klerk, N. (2010). Democratic discourse or nationalistic drivel. Are South Africans truly empowered? Inaugural Address. November 10, 2010. University of Johannesburg.

Overton–de Klerk, N. (2011). South Africa: In crisis of leadership? University of Johannesburg Faculty of Humanities Prize-Giving Ceremony. 20 June 2011. Johannesburg Country Club.

Overton-de Klerk N. & Verwey, S. (2012) Towards an emerging paradigm of Strategic Communication. Competitive paper presented at the17th International Conference on Corporate and Marketing Communications, ESC Rennes School of Business, Brittany, France, 19 April 2012.

Overton-de Klerk N. (2013) Trends and shifts in strategic communication: Implications for leadership and stakeholder management in a business-to –business context. Air Products South Africa Management Conference. Clubview, Centurion. 10 April 2013.

Overton-de Klerk N. & Enslin, C. (2018) Beyond decolonisation: Building the case for brand purpose and relevance at higher education institutions in South Africa. Paper presented at the 23rd International Conference on Corporate and Marketing Communications, University Of Exeter Business School, Exeter, United Kingdom, 12 April 2018.