Beryl Eichenberger
Who is BERYL EICHENBERGER and Hippo Communications
Having lived in Cape Town for over 30 years Beryl has carved a niche for herself and her company HIPPO Communications in the competitive Public Relations industry.
Beryl’s experience goes back to her first days in Johannesburg after having emigrated from the UK in 1969. Working for Greatermans she was involved in all aspects of PR and events and rose to becoming the Special Events Manager. On relocating to Cape Town she spent 12 years with Woolworths both on the buying side and finally on the PR side and was the PRO for the Cape Division for 3 years. She left Woolworths to join The Argus group in 1991 and here she honed her skills working within the media industry. Amongst her responsibilities was media for the Argus/Pick ‘n Pay Cycle Tour which grew from 15000 entrants to 35 000 during her tenure.
In 1996 she was appointed to the position of Promotions Manager of the Independent Newspapers Cape group covering the Cape Argus, Cape Times and Community Newspapers. In 1997 she was awarded the Rotary Press Award for her contribution to the furtherance of Rotary projects as a non-Rotary member. Beryl presented a paper at the International Newspaper Marketing Association World Congress in Amsterdam on “Building Brands and Bridges” on behalf of Independent Newspapers South Africa.
In 1999 she was asked to project manage the Cape Times “One City, Many Cultures” initiative, a ground breaking project for a newspaper and one dedicated to promoting tolerance and understanding in the diverse Cape Town communities. This led to the ongoing Cape Town Festival, which aims to build understanding through the arts.
In 2000 Beryl decided it was time to move on and she formed HIPPO Communications. Over the last 10 years she has continued her association with Independent Newspapers by handling the Personal Finance Raging Bull Awards. Now in its 15th year it is considered the most important awards event in the Collective Investment Industry. HIPPO was also contracted to organise Independent’s Annual International Advisory Board meeting which brought high profile advisors to the group form all over the world. This event went on for more than 10 years.
The company has continued to work with corporate clients whilst building a solid base of both local and international clients for both publicity and events. HIPPO is committed to offering the best service and delivery and no request is too small. The consultancy out-sources to like-minded smaller organizations whose reputation matches their own and looks for Black
empowerment companies to work with.
