MxMIndia

Category: PR

  • Three PR professionals have instituted the ABC Award – a first-of-its-kind cash prize to recognize a young professional who is an ace business communicator in the Indian public relations community.

    ABC Award for young PR professionals announced

    By A Correspondent

     

    Under the aegis of The Promise Foundation for Public Relations, three professionals who are friends of the Foundation have come forward to institute the ABC Award – a first-of-its-kind cash prize to recognize a young professional who is an Ace Business Communicator in the Indian public relations community.

     

    The three professionals – Chitrangada Somaiya, Bodhisatya Basuthakur and Amith Prabhu -are currently based abroad, working for different PR firms. They started their career together in a leading consultancy, along with 10 others, in a unique programme for management trainees in 2004.

     

    Speaking on the institution of the award they said, “We have decided to take a small step to commemorate 10 years of being in the profession and to celebrate a decade of knowing each other. We wanted to give back to a profession that has given us immensely. We are delighted to announce The ABC Award for an Ace Business Communicator in the category of Young Professional.”

     

    They further added, “The objective of this award is to recognize young professionals who hold promise for the future. Over a period of time, the hope is that this group of diverse individuals who win year-on-year inspire a culture of giving back to the profession and to the community, besides setting benchmarks for the business of Public Relations.”

     

    The criteria to apply to The ABC Award for Young Professional are as follows:

    – Be below the age of 30 as on June 30 2013 and currently be employed by a PR firm

    – Have worked for at least the past two years continuously after graduation or post-graduation and be employed for the last 12 months (as on June 30) in the current organisation

    A three-member jury consisting of in-house Public Relations (corporate communications) professionals will evaluate the one page application independently, to arrive at the annual winner. The founders of the award will have no role to play in deciding the winners. Special mentions of those who are in the Top 5 will also be announced. The winner gets a certificate and a cash prize of Rs 25,000. The bonus will be a fully paid-for registration to attend PRAXIS 2013 (the summit for Indian Public Relations and Corporate Communications professionals which started last year),where the winner will be honoured publicly in the presence of professional leaders and peers.

     

    There is a plan to add more categories in the future based on partnerships that are being worked out, including a similar award for a young in-house professional and for professionals at different levels of experience.

     

    Those interested in applying should send a one-page application in a pdf format. It should contain a statement of purpose typed, no longer than 300 words, which describes professional achievements and aspirations for the future, signed by the applicant. This should be followed by a note of recommendation that is not more than 100 words from the branch head of the office, where the applicant is currently based, including his or her name and signature. The application should include links to the applicants’ Linked In and Twitter accounts and  names and email addresses of two individuals from two different organisations that are not part of the applicant’s current organization (preferably clients or media professionals) that the award promoters may contact for a reference check, to enable the jury to make a better decision.

     

    Entries may be emailed to promisefoundationforpr@gmail.comwith the PDF document attached to the mail, between June 24 and July 31 with the applicant’s full name underscore ABC 2013 (Full Name_ABC2013) as file name and as the subject line. A second attachment may include a proof of birth date in the form of a scanned copy of either a driver’s license or a passport. During the month of August a three-member jury to be announced on August 5 will evaluate the applications and the winner will be declared by September 5. There is no entry fee to apply.

     

    Contact: promisefoundationforpr@gmail.com / http://bit.ly/ABCAward.

     

  • In his weekly column, Chicago-based PR professional Amith Prabhu makes a case for award-winning PR campaigns.

    Amith Prabhu: Why can’t our PR firms win PR Lions at Cannes?

    By Amith Prabhu

     

    This year marked the fourth anniversary of the introduction of the PR Lion at the International Festival of Creativity in Cannes. By virtue of being the biggest gathering of marketing communications professionals from across the world these awards are sought after by the advertising fraternity for a long time and by the PR community for the last five years. The moot question is should PR firms participate in an advertising festival that is bound to be dominated by ad agencies? The rules are open so some do.

     

    Over the years PR firms have struggled to make headway in this space as advertising agencies have won the PR Lions left, right and centre. Even the largest PR firm in the world won its first Cannes Lions in 2013.  No PR firm has ever won the Grand Prix.  A few firms have managed to grabs some Gold and Silver.

     

    This column looks at some of the reasons as to why this category has been elusive to PR professionals. And the focus is on India. For a better appreciation one should look at the statistics of Indian entries for the category over the years here - http://is.gd/YM8yo5 and a snapshot in the table below,

    Year Total Entries from India Shortlists from PR firm Winners, always ad agencies
    2009 12 0 0
    2010 12 0 1
    2011 14 0 3
    2012 19 1 0
    2013 27 0 3

     

    Of the 27 entries from India in the PR category this year only two were submitted by PR firms. The other 25 went from ad agencies. The organizers of Cannes Lions have made it a point to invite the best from India to be on the jury year on year starting with Prema Sagar in 2009, Nandita Lakshmanan in 2010, Veena Gidwani in 2011, Sunil Gautam in 2012 and Dilip Cherian in 2013. The Practice, the firm that Ms Lakshmanan runs is the only Indian PR firm to have made it to a shortlist ever and that happened last year for a campaign for HP.

     

    What is the reason for this dismal showing? I put together five factors that contribute to this drought.

     

    Exorbitant entry fee – At Rs 35,000 or Euro 450 per entry most Indian firms are not even considering participation in these awards. Maybe the festival organizers should consider a discounted fee for emerging markets.

     

    Lack of award-winning worthy campaigns – Due to low budgets to execute great PR campaigns and a great focus on tactics rather than strategy it is possible that Indian PR firms don’t do campaigns worthy of participating in the Cannes Lions.

     

    Inability to package and produce smart submissions – Packaging and producing storyboards and videos takes a great amount of time and most ad agencies have dedicated teams that focus on this through the year. Imagine what wonders that a dedicated creative group focused on awards packaging can do to a firm!

     

    Absence of an awards culture – How many Indian PR firms have internal awards to reward the best work done for clients? I would think 2 or 3. That change needs to come about internally.

     

    PRCAI and the members of the jury should come together – The premier association of PR consultancies and the five stalwarts who have been to Cannes as jury members should come together and offer a workshop in the major metros to share insights with future generations of the profession.

     

    Until most of the above changes, an Indian PR firm winning a Lion at Cannes will be hard to come by.

     

    I still don’t see a reason why the top 10 PR firms in India can’t set aside Rs 1 lakh to send three entries every year. If PRCAI mandated all its members to do so Indian PR would be on the world map in no time by just beating the advertising counterparts two times over. Before that it would be great for PRCAI to host an annual workshop on Preparing for Cannes. If not the annual debate will just keep recurring.

     

    Amith Prabhu is the founder of The PRomise Foundation which organises PRAXIS – the annual summit for PR & Corp Comm professionals in India. During the day he is a full time employee at a leading Public Relations firm in their Chicago office. He spent the first eight years of his post graduation career in India and is in the US for two years of which he has completed 18 months. Views expressed here are the author’s own and don’t represent those of his past, present, future employer or of MxMIndia. You can connect with him on Twitter @amithpr

     

  • The agency's India offices have adopted a global identity after the buyout of the joint venture Corporate Voice | Weber Shandwick.

    Weber Shandwick rebrands in India, drops ‘Corporate Voice’ from name

    By A Correspondent

     

    PR agency Weber Shandwick has announced that its offices in India are now operating fully under the Weber Shandwick brand and have adopted the firm’s positioning of “global engaging, always”.  The move comes after Weber Shandwick took on full ownership of its India operations, formerly known as Corporate Voice | Weber Shandwick, in Bengaluru, Kolkata, Mumbai and New Delhi earlier this year.

     

    “After a 16-year partnership working with Corporate Voice, we’re very pleased to take this next step in bringing our India operations fully into the global Weber Shandwick family,” said Tim Sutton, Chairman, Asia Pacific. “We are continuing to invest heavily in the business and look forward to welcoming new senior and specialist talent across our Indian operations in coming weeks.”

     

    While the agency has a new name and brand icon, the firm’s leadership stays unchanged. Atul Ahluwalia and Dilip Yadav, already leaders at Corporate Voice | Weber Shandwick, will retain their responsibilities under the new titles of Managing Director and Deputy Managing Director, respectively. Mr Ahluwalia reports in to Mr Sutton.

     

    “This is a very exciting time for our team in India,” said Mr Ahluwalia. “As India’s most awarded agency for the past seven years, and with campaigns that top the list of most creative PR work in the world, I am confident that our move to become part of the Weber Shandwick network will only strengthen our operations in India and allow us to contribute to the success of multi-market campaigns around the world.”

     

    The four offices in India are the most recent additions to Weber Shandwick’s Asia Pacific network of 18 owned offices in 12 markets, which stretches from Greater China, Japan and Korea to India, Southeast Asia and Australia.

     

  • Clea Public Relations India has been appointed as the Agency on Record (AOR) for Fashion One International's India Bridal Fashion Week to be held in Delhi and Mumbai.

    Clea appointed PR partner for India Bridal Fashion Week

    By A Correspondent

     

    Winning a multi-agency pitch, Clea Public Relations India has been appointed as the Agency on Record (AOR) for Fashion One International’s India Bridal Fashion Week to be held in Delhi and Mumbai. Since 2010 the India Bridal Fashion Week (IBFW), organized by Fashion One International, has dazzled the glitterati of Mumbai with collections from top Indian couturiers. Growing in scale, the 2013 edition of IBFW will now include an additional destination, Delhi and will also now showcase a special Bridal Exposition.

     

    Vijay Singh, Chairman of Fashion One International, said, “We are pleased to associate with Clea as the PR Firm for India Bridal Fashion Week 2013. Clea has an in-depth understanding of the fashion industry and with its strategic approach, we aim to take our communication to the right consumers and position Indian Fashion in the global market.”

     

    Vinod G Nair, Chairman, Clea Group, said, “We have tremendous Luxury, Lifestyle and Brand Communication expertise and are recognized as a specialist in this arena. India Bridal Fashion Week offers us with a challenging opportunity to build the event as one of the most coveted luxury & design platforms in India through Public Relations and will also augment our international markets outreach capabilities.”

     

  • Healthcare communications professional Aman Gupta has launched a new multi-discipline communications organization with a global footprint – Spag (Strategic Partners Group).

    Comm consultancy Spag starts global ops

    By A Correspondent

     

    Healthcare communications professional Aman Gupta has launched a new multi-discipline communications organization with a global footprint. Spag (Strategic Partners Group), a firm focused on delivering impact and value to its clients through a research-led and creative approach, has offices in India (New Delhi, Mumbai) and Singapore with network offices in London, Washington and Toronto.

     

    Commenting on the launch, Mr Gupta, Managing Partner, Spag, said, “Research and creativity are increasingly becoming cornerstone for any successful communications campaign and with SPAG we will be focused on delivering impact and value based on these two drivers.”

     

    He further added, “In my long journey and based on interactions with senior management, across industry, a big void was recognized, wherein holistic approach to communications using analytical tools merged with covenants creativity would be provided to the clients so as to ensure that we deliver impact and value for which clients engage us.”

     

    Spag along with public relations and advocacy will provide services that will include aspects like influencer management, stakeholders mapping, brand marketing, cause marketing, digital marketing, and CSR consulting.

     

  • The ABC Award which will launch this year to award two young professionals – consultancy-based and in-house, writes Amith Prabhu

    Amith Prabhu: It’s time to give ace communicators their due

    By Amith Prabhu

     

    I got a lot of interesting feedback on my blog of last week regarding the Cannes PR Lions including a thought that I had been toying with. A thought that is as simple as – should PR firms even bother about being part of one category in what is largely an advertising festival. The point is you can love it or hate it but one cannot ignore it. What we need to do is participate in our own national and regional awards and we have a handful of them. PR firms need to set aside budgets for submitting entries and sending employees to these events. For those who are unaware, the exchange4media group and The Holmes Report run two separate awards for work done on campaigns for brands and organizations.

     

    That being said the individual in the profession also longs for recognition and reward. To give this long felt need a fillip we now have The ABC Award which will launch this year to honour two young professionals – consultancy based and in-house. Another award you may think. But the award is unique in so many ways.  First, it is the only award of its kind for the profession in India where the winner takes home cash and access to mentorship from the best in the business. Secondly, the judging is based on a self-application that requires endorsement of the branch head or departmental head and a reference check of shortlisted candidates from individuals the nominee has worked with, who maybe a client or media professional. Thirdly, a peer dipstick is undertaken to select the winner that puts the focus on integrity and value system the person stands for. Lastly, the cash prize for young professionals is sponsored by practitioners who are passionate about Public Relations. An award for the young corporate communicator is being sponsored by ICG – the Indian Communicators Group.

     

    In the business of reputation management, having a great personal reputation is paramount. This award hopes to celebrate people with high reputation in what they best do – consult on credibility and influence. In the near future these awards will be extended to three more age categories across both sides of in-house and consultancy based.  Mid-level professionals, senior professionals and to veterans who will be inducted into a Hall of Fame. Besides this, a scholarship for postgraduate students of Public Relations was introduced last year.

     

    Now the question is remains if whether individuals will apply or just sit back, relax and enjoy and choose to be bystanders!

     

    Amith Prabhu is the founder of The PRomise Foundation which organises PRAXIS – the annual summit for PR & Corp Comm professionals in India. During the day he is a full time employee at a leading Public Relations firm in their Chicago office. He spent the first eight years of his post graduation career in India and is in the US for two years of which he has completed 18 months. Views expressed here are the author’s own and don’t represent those of his past, present, future employer or of MxMIndia. You can connect with him on Twitter @amithpr

     

  • CFA Institute, a global association for investment professionals, has appointed Ketchum Sampark as its PR and social media agency

    CFA Institute awards PR-SM mandate to Ketchum Sampark

    By A Correspondent

     

    CFA Institute, a global association for investment professionals, has appointed Ketchum Sampark as its public relations and social media agency in India following a closely contested pitch. The PR mandate for CFA Institute will be managed by Ketchum Sampark’s Mumbai Office.

     

    Ketchum Sampark will manage both traditional PR and Social Media communication programmes in India for the CFA institute.

     

    Confirming the appointment, Terry Lee, Director of Marketing and Communications, Asia Pacific, of CFA Institute said, “Ketchum Sampark’s expertise in the financial services sector and its creative ideas for a holistic communication approach for CFA Institute in India were the key differentiators in awarding the mandate..”

     

    Ajay Sharma

    Ajay Sharma, Managing Partner, Ketchum Sampark, said on the mandate: “We will provide strategic counsel and work on outreach plans for CFA Institute with various stakeholders.”

     

  • Public Relations is definitely a lot more than what it is perceived to be and ironically suffers from a perception problem that it created for itself over the years, writes Amith Prabhu

    Amith Prabhu: One size does not fit all!

    By Amith Prabhu

     

    This blog is for everyone but especially for Himanshu Agarwal who was the first to make a comment on my first blog with some vital questions.  I’m not an expert but I can do my best with a decade of experience to offer some thoughts on some important issues that have constantly come up in the business of PR consulting.

     

    On his first question of how Public Relations is measured there is no one straight answer. Public Relations is no longer about media relations where one issued a press release, organised a press conference or pitched a story and then waited for the output in order to measure the outcome. It’s important to understand the difference between output and outcome and critical to decide with internal stakeholders (the client for the PR firm or if it’s the corporate communications manager, then the CMO if it’s brand reputation management related or the CEO if it’s corporate reputation management related) how each programme is measured when completed. There is no one size that fits all. There are new metrics evolving for digital outreach programmes and these differ depending on the social network used.

     

    There is now an emergence of three to four compartments in media output that impact business outcomes. These compartments are referred to as Earned, Owned and Paid which make them self-explanatory. Traditionally, Public Relations-led activities that were in the realm of Earned media but the lines are blurring and all the three categories of organisations are doing what they always did in addition to dabbling seriously in the other compartments. So you have ad agencies hiring PR managers to offer clients earned media opportunities and PR firms hiring media buyers to let clients co-create properties with outlets.

     

    Public Relations is definitely a lot more than what it is perceived to be and ironically suffers from a perception problem that it created for itself over the years. However, this is changing with the emergence of the true-blue professionals. Those who started out in Public Relations after earning a qualification that had Public Relations theory as a subject. The leading PR firms of the world are evolving newer points of view and changing the course of direction by becoming Public Engagement companies in some instances, Public Communications companies in some cases among other things. There is no right or wrong answer as long as clients are convinced about what is being promised and what is being delivered and the leading firms of the world strive to create ethical outreach programmes. Because there is no one size that fits all.

     

    Amith Prabhu is the founder of The PRomise Foundation which organises PRAXIS – the annual summit for PR & Corp Comm professionals in India. During the day he is a full time employee at a leading Public Relations firm in their Chicago office. He spent the first eight years of his post graduation career in India and is in the US for two years of which he has completed 18 months. Views expressed here are the author’s own and don’t represent those of his past, present, future employer or of MxMIndia. You can connect with him on Twitter @amithpr

     

  • Compare the status of office punctuality, client interaction, quality talent, physical space and professional events and you'll know why PR in the United States is better than what we have in India, writes Amith Prabhu

    Amith Prabhu: 5 reasons why PR in US is better than India

    By Amith Prabhu

     

    Thanks for the encouraging feedback that has come from various readers. Prof Meenakshi Upadhyay in a tweet requested if I could share some comparison between functioning of the PR business between the world’s two diverse yet well-integrated PR consulting markets.  I have the privilege of having worked in India in the past and a clear plan of working in India in the future. I’m doing a two-year stint in Chicago of which three quarters is complete. While the basics remain the same, the approach to several aspects is different. Here, I will touch upon are Office punctuality, Client interaction, Quality talent, Physical space and Professional events.

     

    I would start off with a comparison of day in the life and this seems to be the norm across businesses in the United States. Thanks to a great marriage between discipline and superb public transportation, staff are in the office between 8.30am and 8.45am to start off at 9am. Come 5.15pm, the offices are deserted and by 5.30 pm there is no one in the office. This cycle percolates down to the clients as well. In India there is a vicious cycle of starting late and ending late. Last-minute client requests that lengthen the day and an attitude where one feels one can come in late because one left office late the previous day and this becomes a chain.

     

    Productivity is higher thanks to a high reliance on technology. Employees at every level are given smartphones so as to be accessible in real time. But, more importantly, this helps one stay connected with clients and other stakeholders without the need to meet face-to-face. So the number of physical client meetings is far lesser thus saving time and energy to focus on quality time strategizing and brainstorming to help the client succeed.

     

    The quality of Public Relations is far superior as course content is in keeping with the times and access to internships with large organizations is greater which in turn gives PR firms the ability to hire from the best universities and organizations. This translates when the PR firm executive makes the switch to becoming a client, who is then well-versed with his or her role and able to manage large budgets to add value to business objectives of the organization.

     

    The work environment also makes a big difference. Thanks to larger turnovers, companies can afford bigger office spaces where individuals get space they deserve unlike in India where thanks to our mindset the space is rationed to staff. I have had the fortune of visiting almost all the offices of the 10-12 leading PR firms across Bengaluru, Mumbai and Delhi as the placement coordinator of my batch way back in 2004 and therefore can state with confidence that the office space story is similar across organizations.

     

    Events for professionals are plenty. There are several associations that a PR professional can become a member of and benefit from. The IABC, the PRSA, the Publicity Club are some of the prominent ones and they all organize high quality events for learning and networking through the year. Unless this trend comes to India, a professional will have limited exposure and be like a frog in the well.

     

    There are other aspects like packaging content, presentations and the self that I will write about in a future column. These are some of the key differences and they truly stand out. But most important the humility and simplicity with which some leaders carry out their duties including travelling by public transport, not having an office despite being the head of the location and instead sitting with other employees in regular cubes are truly inspirational.

     

    Amith Prabhu is the founder of The PRomise Foundation which organises PRAXIS – the annual summit for PR & Corp Comm professionals in India. During the day he is a full time employee at a leading Public Relations firm in their Chicago office. He spent the first eight years of his post graduation career in India and is in the US for two years of which he has completed 18 months. Views expressed here are the author’s own and don’t represent those of his past, present, future employer or of MxMIndia. You can connect with him on Twitter @amithpr

     

  • Northpoint Centre of Learning has in association with Veena Gidwani Associates announced a programme for business managers titled 'Unleashing the Power of PR to Build Brand Equity'

    Veena Gidwani, others to conduct PR EDP at Northpoint

    By A Correspondent

     

    Veena Gidwani

    Northpoint Centre of Learning has has announced a programme for business managers titled   ‘Unleashing the Power of PR to Build Brand Equity’ in association with Veena Gidwani Associates. This has been created by veteran PR professional and former CEO of Madison PR Veena Gidwani to help business managers optimize the outcomes of PR for their brands through a holistic approach that integrates channels and messages that help drive brand and corporate reputation.

     

    The program has been designed for business executives with responsibility for corporate image building and integrated marketing communications.  It is specifically targeted at senior and middle management professionals in marketing ,sales, external relations/ corporate communications, Account Directors and Managers in PR Consultancies & Advertising Agencies, Promoters/senior executives of small- and medium-sized businesses.

     

    Through a combination of case studies, best practice examples and teamwork, Veena Gidwani and industry experts  like  Ajay Kakar (Aditya Birla Financial Services), Shweta Shukla (P&G), K Ramakrishnan (Cafe Coffee Day), Anuradha Sengupta (formerly with CNBC-TV18) and several others will  share their insights for  winning with consumers  and building brands through PR.

     

    Announcing the programme, Prem Mehta Chairman, Northpoint said,”Though brand marketers have begun to taste the gains from planned PR, its real value as a marketing tool has yet to be appreciated fully.  It is emerging as an essential communication medium, and when handled professionally, PR adds credibility to the message because it is not seen as manufacturer speak.”

     

    Sam Balsara

    Speaking about the importance of this effort, Sam Balsara CMD, Madison World said, “Brands who are spending crores of rupees in advertising are under utilizing the power of PR. This is a big mistake. PR can greatly strengthen an expensive mediaplan and thus help improve ROI of the overall campaign. I am glad Veena is running the Executive Development Programme at Northpoint on Power of PR. It should greatly help practising industry professionals to extract more from their marketing budgets.”

     

    Sharing the rationale  for  the programme, Veena Gidwani  said,”My experience of over 17 years in managing  PR agencies, interacting with client/corporate teams,  made me realise that a large number of Marketing/Sales  Managers and Account Managers, underutilize PR as they do not  fully understand  the power and dynamics of PR. This program has been created to meet this need. I am delighted that we have eminent industry experts on our faculty panel.”

     

    For details: www.northpointindia.com or contact Nitasha Gupta on +91 22-24212241, +91 9594992588.

     

  • LinOpinion Public Relations has announced several new business wins across the education, real estate and retail sectors amongst others

    LinOpinion PR announces 16 new business wins

    By A Correspondent

     

    Leading PR consultancy LinOpinion Public Relations has announced several new business wins across key sectors including education, real estate and retail. Some of the prestigious brands that have chosen LinOpinion include the Shapoorji Pallonji Group, Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies (NMIMS University), ScribeTECH, Herbalife, ATS Infrastructure, Rapid Metrorail Gurgaon, NEC India, Merino Industries, Isenberg, Poddar Developers, Wadhwa Group, Rio Tinto Diamonds and ITC Grand Chola. Apart from these, the consultancy has also added three more channels – Discovery Kids, Discovery Science and Discovery Turbo from Discovery Networks Asia-Pacific (South Asia) bouquet and will now represent its seven channels in the country.

     

    Ameer Ismail

    Commenting on the new business wins, Ameer Ismail, Executive Director, Lowe Lintas & Partners, said: “We have started the year on a high, partnering with some of the best brands and are very bullish about keeping up the momentum. At LinOpinion, we follow a solution-focused approach and often advise clients to adopt a strategy, apart from traditional PR. It is our ability to bring creative solutions beyond the obvious and executing our ideas with maximum impact that has set us apart in the industry. I am confident that the quality of our work will bring greater business success.”

     

     

    Kavita Lakhani

    Kavita Lakhani, President, LinOpinion and Executive Vice President, Lowe Lintas & Partners added: “We believe in creating simple, yet impactful campaigns that are rooted in key consumer insights.  Also, another factor that’s fuelled LinOpinion’s new business roll is our strong base of happy, satisfied clients who continuously refer us to others.”

     

  • What are the most important attributes that a PR professional must have to succeed? Amith Prabhu lists these

    Amith Prabhu: The 6 Cs that are the currency of being successful PR professionals

    By Amith Prabhu

     

    Public Relations is a unique profession to be in, for a number of reasons. But two that stand out are the fact that it offers access very early in the career to two categories of influential people. While one category is the senior leadership within the client’s organization, the other is top editors of media outlets one engages with on behalf of a client. The other reason this profession stands out for is the amount of high intensity and high profile events that one has to deal with ranging from launches to disasters and from CSR projects to government relations.

     

    It is that time of the year when students are in their first semesters and brand new employees are in their first few weeks in their first job. Keeping this in mind I thought of touching upon a topic I have an affinity towards – attributes of a PR professional.

     

    A question I have often got asked at campuses during a guest lecture or on Twitter from random young aspirants is what does a PR professional need to have as important attributes to succeed. Over the years I have assimilated these random responses into what I call the 6 Cs. Some of them evolved during conversations I had with my former boss Ravi Kiran. A Twitter chat last month with Shafi Saxena reignited these thoughts and here are the 6 Cs that are applicable to multiple professions and would help many 20- and 30-somethings make wise career decisions. Some of these are bundled in pairs but feel free to mix and match to soar to greater heights

    Critical & clear thinking: The first thing I would look for in someone with or without experience is to how well he or she can think about a given situation, both critically and clearly. This also brings out the passion that one has for a subject or area of interest.

     

    Curiosity & Creativity: The spirit of questioning is a virtue in a world that heavily depends on search engines to find answers. Asking smart questions also stems from having a creative mind that is always fertile with interesting ideas.

     

    Communicative & connectedness: Excellent written and verbal communications is imperative in a profession that thrives on being people-centric. In addition, the ability to reach out smartly and build on relationships is a plus

    Confidence that leads to collaboration & cross culturalism: Confidence is an amalgamation of multiple factors and its external appearance is in the way we dress and carry yourself.  But confidence comes from a zest to never stop learning. This can happen by conversations, travel and reading that occurs after our formal education stops.

     

    Commitment and compassion for a cause: This is multi-pronged.  Primarily, a CV that shows prior commitment that includes formal volunteering or prior experience that shows consistency goes a long way in building professional credibility. In addition, we often work on CSR programmes for clients. An understanding of this sector can only come from having been part of one in our student days. Working for a non-profit also hones leadership skills. So pick up a cause, go out and volunteer and the difference you make will certainly make a difference to your career success.

     

    This is not an exhaustive list. Feel free to add to this list and take cues from the words highlighted in italics. I look forward to your comments on the column and tweets to me. Please share this with young professionals if you are not one anymore.

     

    Amith Prabhu is the founder of The PRomise Foundation which organises PRAXIS – the annual summit for PR & Corp Comm professionals in India. During the day he is a full time employee at a leading Public Relations firm in their Chicago office. He spent the first eight years of his post graduation career in India and is in the US for two years of which he has completed 18 months. Views expressed here are the author’s own and don’t represent those of his past, present, future employer or of MxMIndia. You can connect with him on Twitter @amithpr