MxMIndia

Category: PR

  • LinOpinion will partner with Polaris to develop the best communications route to assist the brand's foray into the Indian market

    Polaris India appoints LinOpinion as PR partner

    By A Correspondent

     

    LinOpinion, the PR division of Lowe LintasIndia, has added yet another powerhouse brand to its portfolio with Polaris India Pvt. Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of Polaris Industries INC.

     

    Polaris Industries is the Minnesota-based off-road vehicles company. It is a recognized leader in the production of innovative, high quality off-road vehicles. These include all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) for recreational and utility use, snowmobiles, military and government vehicles, motorcycles and on-road electric powered vehicles.

     

    LinOpinion will partner with Polaris to develop the best communications route to assist the brand’s foray into the Indian market. Although off-roading as a concept is still in a nascent stage inIndia, Polaris, with their sector expertise and world-class products, are all set to take the Indian market by storm.

     

    “We are very confident that through our association with LinOpinion and their expertise we will be able to create a distinctive identity for the brand. Our aim is to build awareness not only for the brand but the entire category. We are confident of LinOpinion’s strategy and we look forward to a strong and long-term relationship with them,” said Mr. Pankaj Dubey, Managing Director, Polaris India Pvt. Ltd.

     

    “We are extremely proud and eagerly look forward to work with a prestigious brand like Polaris India. This feeds into our objective to represent the world’s best brands. We hope to partner the brand by supporting them with their business and communication objectives,” said Mr. Ameer Ismail, Executive Director, Lowe Lintas.

     

    LinOpinion, the public relations division of Lowe Lintas, was established in 1994. It is the exclusive Indian affiliate of Golin Harris, the leading international PR firm of the Interpublic Group. It provides brand image consultancy to leading MNC and Indian companies.

  • Unless we get PR out of being just press releases into being something a lot more sophisticated and holistic, we will not get the right people feels Sukanti Ghosh, MD, India for APCO

    India is a long-term play for us: Sukanti Ghosh, APCO

    By Johnson Napier

     

    In a day and age where PR agencies are grappling with each other in offering services with a differentiated touch, US-based APCO Worldwide has its own unique formula of approaching the Indian communications space. Far from being referred to as a PR agency, the firm would rather let each of its verticals, be it corporate advisory, government affairs or civil, act as individual competitors versus the other full-time agencies in the space.

     

    Entrusted with the task of bringing a differentiated tactic to the market is Sukanti Ghosh, MD, India for APCO, who has donned several communication hats across the sectors of radio, advertising, and banking & financial services. In conversation with Johnson Napier of MxM India, Ghosh elaborates on the tremendous scope for agencies to make it big in India and how government relations & public affairs would be a large space to reckon with in the years to come. Excerpts:

     

     

    In a largely blurred communications space where agencies try to play the differentiating game very cleverly, how would you categorise APCO Worldwide as an agency in India?

    If you look at the Indian communications industry, it is at the various stages of maturity; it’s along a continuum. So on one hand, we have a lot of the commoditised services in India, and frankly speaking, there is no bottom to that pit – there is always another mom-and-pop agency who will offer a service at a cheaper rate – and there is another end of the spectrum that is highly evolved, extremely mature and as good as any other global market. So it depends on which end of the market you want to play in. APCO, nowhere in the world, really plays in the commoditised end of the communications industry. So like there are many Indias within India, similarly, there are many communication industries within the communication industry. It occupies and lives in various forms of maturity. You have to decide which slice of the market you want to play in.

     

    So what is it about APCO in India that you would say is different?

    What has defined APCO since I have joined is that we are very clear about the market that we want to play in. APCO looks at communications very differently. If you are aware of the Venn diagram that we studied in school (three intertwined circles), we typically turn around and say, if you look at the three circles – one is business strategy of any company, the other is public perception or civil society and the third is government regulations – there is an interplay between the three and whenever there is an interplay between the three that is where we are the strongest.

    So to begin with, if you remove the government element and look at the other two elements of business strategy and civil that is where you get marketing communications. Frankly, that’s not an area where we are the strongest and that is not an area that we would want to play in. Then if you take out the part of civil society, and look at the interplay of government and business only then that’s where you get the issues that keep arising every day.

    Today if you look at India and where we are as a country, civil society and the voice of civil society is here to stay and it will only become stronger going forward. Again, that is not an area where we want to play.

    We are very clear that at the outset, we are US FCPA (Foreign Corrupt Practices Act) compliant, we are UK Bribery Act compliant; we believe in ethical representation and in the sphere of ethical representation, we are the single largest ethically-owned firm in the US, and also the eleventh largest around the world and that’s where we want to grow.

    If you look at the third element, where if you remove out business and look at the interplay between government and the people, that’s where public awareness advertising from the government arises. Again, if you look at the government and business, that’s where you have a number of government initiatives to try and rope in business, that’s where we are again strong. An example is the vibrant Gujarat campaign that won few awards despite being pitted against some brilliant campaigns from around the world. So that’s going to be our focus at this point in time.

    Do we really see ourselves as a marketing communications agency – perhaps not. That’s not an area we want to focus on. We would want to focus on selective areas of communications in the broader sense and do well in that.

     

    How would you analyse the performance of your core businesses in India?

    Globally, we are a market leader in public affairs, we are a market leader in STG (service to government) practices and we hope to replicate that model out here in India. It would be fair to say that we have got off to a very good start in India. We have more than doubled our revenues from the year before, we are working with some of the finest Fortune 500 companies in India, we are fortunate to have worked with the government of Gujarat and are seriously looking at growing business in that space. Also, even as we speak we are working with several companies, advising them on public-private partnerships; helping them work alongside the government because we believe the Indian government is at a stage where it is more than ready to look at and listen to global leaders to hasten the pace of progress in this country. That is something unique because most companies that have come into India have a misconception with regard to the government and the way it works.

     

    While it seems to be a merry-making affair for you in the government and public affairs space in India, it is not the case with other players who appear apprehensive of making it big into this space. Then there are also allegations of red tape and corruption. Your comments?

    Frankly, in the last sixteen months, we have never faced a single problem working with the government. Part of it is misconception and part of it is reality, but the fact is that it is only when a company wants to take a shortcut that the problem arises. The government has very clearly defined processes and companies need to understand and work the processes. The fact is that India is a long term play; so you’ve got to work here to stay and proceed accordingly.

    We also help companies in understanding policies and regulations. The latest example being the FDI norms in retail being discussed lately. So the output does not have to be limited to the media; there are cases where you will work with the media and that is only right, but it does not have to be limited to only the media.

     

    Increasing number of multinationals are evincing interest in India while India continues to look up to the outside world for encouragement. What are the trends that you foresee currently on that front?

    There are a couple of things happening on that front. If you look at the STG space – I am referring to outward investment as well – there are a couple of things being observed. One is the government bodies or the economic development boards, are today trying to woo Indian companies and get Indian companies to invest in their markets. If you look at the policies space, there are so many Bills that are being talked about, there are so many changes in terms of legislative reforms and these are throwing up hundred different opportunities for companies. So that in itself is humongous.

    Globally, if you look at APCO, we focus on a number of areas and those are the areas that we will continue to focus on. We focus a lot on energy and renewable energy, on telecom, on food & consumer products…we are probably the single largest player in the healthcare space. So we would be bringing and developing a number of these practices in India.

     

    How is APCO Worldwide performing outside of India? Also, what are your plans for India outside the two metros that you are already present in?

    Apart from Washington, US, which is our largest office around the world and 2-3 regional offices, our London office has a few odd people, Dubai has 40-odd people, Brussels has 40-odd people, and all the other offices are around 20-odd people in operations.

    In India we see ourselves moving to three offices by next year, we see ourselves adding one more office in the south besides Mumbai and Delhi. We would grow to be about 50 people soon.

    If you see recent industry reports that classify firms from small, medium and large, I think without trying too much in the span of one year, we are very much already in the middle. We are very confident of growing very quickly into the so-called large segment very soon.

     

    How would you rate the fee structure that agencies command in India? There are allegations of it being under-par compared to other countries?

    We are expensive and our clients know that we are expensive. Clients know that they will get firms for half the cost but they come to us for the quality and value that we deliver; they don’t come to us for the fees that we charge. In certain parts of the business we compete with the big four, in certain parts of the business we compete with law firms, with the communications industry, and so on but the fact is that we have never had an issue with fees. It is made out to be an issue primarily because you are on the wrong end of the value chain. So you won’t see our people running around with press releases, issuing statements or chasing people.

     

    Do you largely agree with the claim that the PR industry in India is largely unorganised?

    I thing the PR agencies have brought it on themselves because they have become so tactical at the bottom end of the spectrum that there is always a cheaper option. And when you are at that level, you would never command a premium and it will always be unorganised. But does that mean that there is no organised side of the business, of course there is. The thing is, India is a large country and is big enough for everybody. Even the largest PR agency is India is around about 40 crores or so, according to Holmes report. This despite them being very big in the communications space and having a large clientele. So you can imagine the opportunity that exists in the communications space.

     

    What is the emphasis that you lay on digital?

    Globally, we are very big in the digital space. We have a unit called APCO Online, a pureplay social media unit that has won more than 300 awards across the world. So those are resources that we would be bringing to India. So it’s one of the units that we would be looking at very closely in 2012.

     

    Given your diverse presence across industries, who would you cite as competition?

    I can’t name any one firm. In corporate advisory we compete with management consulting firms, in the public affairs space we compete with some of the large law firms; there are very few communication agencies that are doing serious public affairs work. The thing about APCO that strikes me the most is the number of clients who have been with us in upwards of ten years and also the number of people who have been with us average around 10-15 years. So it’s largely a firm that is relationship-led; it is largely a firm that is culturally very strong and frankly speaking, you either fit into the culture or you don’t.

     

    Is the current economic scenario casting its toll on the industry?

    We grew at a rate of 6.9 per cent in the last quarter which was the slowest in the last 8-9 quarters, but the fact is, how many countries have grown by that per cent around the world? We may be going through a bit of a rough patch, but we will get out of it eventually. Is it a period of concern for us, I guess not. I think there are austerity measures that have been undertaken and there is a note of caution everywhere.

     

    What are the imminent challenges facing the industry?

    There are two big challenges that face the PR industry, the first being the PR industry itself. The second being people. The skill gap that we keep talking about for other sectors is very real for our sector as well. The trend internationally is that people are very focused when it comes to taking selective career paths and so they go ahead and specialize in that from the beginning. That’s not what is happening here. In India, it is still an emerging profession and with all emerging professions there is a period of instability but there will be a shakeup. We need to elevate the status of the industry. Unless we get PR out of being just press releases into being something a lot more sophisticated and holistic, we will not get the right people.

     

    What are the trends you foresee for the industry, and for APCO, in 2012?

    For 2012, I see fierce competition and a certain degree of consolidation taking place. I foresee a lot of foreign companies coming to India and a lot of Indian firms willing to sell out. As for us, we are fiercely independent and we prefer to remain that way.

  • So, while PR is about press relations, it is also about influencing the influencer. It's about creating credibility and about credible ways of influencing people to act

    The power of Public Relations: Ajay Kakar

    By Ajay Kakar

     

    As a marketer, we have many communication tools to capitalise on for the advantage of our brands and our business. To me, these ‘weapons’ (advertising, direct marketing, public relations et al) are very akin to a Swiss army knife; you can use any or all of these weapons, depending on the task at hand.

     

    But in my many years at the agency end, with stints in direct marketing, advertising and public relations, and now as a client, I have found “PR” to be the least understood, appreciated and under-leveraged communication weapon – by both the marketing and (believe it or not) agency fraternities in India. And most surprisingly, the PR fraternity too.

     

    As a long standing convert and staunch believer in this discipline, let me share with you my 20-year-old association with the PR discipline and the reasons why I believe that it is arguably the most powerful communications arrow in a marketer’s quiver. Also the reasons why I believe that the discipline has yet not got its full dues.

     

    So here’s the story of my tryst with public relations, or, if I may so say, the story of public relations in India, over the last two decades.

     

    PR, in fact, changed my life!

     

    PR is actually the exotic siren who first tempted me to leave my career in accounting and audit, to venture into the (for me) unfamiliar and untrodden path of communications.

     

    In 1991, I came across an interview in the Business India, with a person called Steve Lyons (I still remember the name!), who was then the head of a company called ‘Ogilvy PR’ in Singapore.  Believe it or not, until then I had never even thought of the advertising world, or even heard of “Ogilvy”.

     

    The article impressed me so much that I immediately searched out the agency’s address and cold-called the then-MD of Ogilvy and Mather, India, Mr. Mani Aiyer, hoping for a break in his PR unit.

     

    Hearing my motivation for joining PR, he tried to temper my new found passion, but having gauged me as a person who was not going to be swayed easily, he had me meet the head of Ogilvy PR in India. And that meeting shattered all my dreams and illusions.

     

    In 1991, PR, in India was nothing more than “Press Relations” – getting media coverage…lots of it…at any cost.

     

    Dejected, I decided not to pursue this temptress. And when I went back to Mr. Aiyer to thank him for his time, he actually offered me a job in advertising. Needless to say, he made a passionate pitch that swept me off my feet. And on May 2, 2001, I became an employee of Ogilvy & Mather (though not Ogilvy Public Relations).

     

    But fate was not going to let me off the hook, so easily.

     

    In 2003 I was invited to take on an additional mandate at Ogilvy, as the country head of Ogilvy Public Relations, in India. Before the end of 2004, I was the president of the industry body, Public Relations Consultants Association of India. And in 2005 I had switched over to the other side, the client side, where I became an active user of PR.

     

    And today, as 2011 comes to an end and 2012 draws near…

     

    Two decades have passed, but ‘PR’ remains mere press relations – in the minds of the practitioners – be they the PR professionals, or their user base.  Of course there may be a few exceptions. But these are far and apart. “PR = press relations” is all that we care to believe. Unless….

    In moments of need, even atheists are tempted to remember God. …. “Forgive me father, for I have sinned”. And when brands have ‘sinned’ or find themselves in a tight spot, they have reached out for public relations and found this discipline to be a saviour.

     

    As an example, just remember the days when colas were synonymous with pesticide and you will know what I am referring to.

     

    But back to any ordinary day….

    At Ogilvy, I recollect instances when I presented a Rs5 crore estimate to a client for an advertising campaign (do remember that in the mid-90s this was a princely sum) and got an instant sign off. And then when I wore my PR hat and asked for a Rs5,000 pm hike in fee from the same client (do remember that even in the mid-90s, this was a meagre sum), the client would wear a thinking hat, but refuse to lift his pen to sign on the dotted line…and finally it used to boil down to… “But you guys make so much from us on advertising. So why do you need to be paid, for PR!”

     

    These instances would leave indelible marks of pain on my professional pride. But looking back at all such instances, I realised that I had to ‘forgive them, for they knew not what they did’. Because they knew not what PR is and what role PR can play in their lives and the lives of their brands.

     

    So it was the number of clips that we were measured by. Else, the column centimetres of editorial coverage. Or the rupee value of the editorial coverage. Or the coverage we got (or did not) for the client’s son’s sports day. Media coverage. Media coverage. Media coverage.

     

    This was and still is a malaise that ails the PR industry inIndia. And some parts of the world.

     

    What is PR? What are the key deliverables one should expect? How should the impact of PR be measured? How would you like to substantiate your proposed fee or fee hike?

    Ask 5 practitioners this question and in all probability you will get atleast 6 (different) responses. So as a client, how do I value or respect a ‘good thing’ when I don’t even know what it is! Or how to measure it!

     

    This has been a burning need for the industry to rally around and define and ‘standardise’ expectations, industry-wide definitions and measures. But two decades later, the questions remain the same. And there is yet no answer. No understanding. No empathy.

     

    So while the PR industry keeps asking “why are we paid peanuts”, the user industry keeps answering “because we (think we) are getting monkeys”. This never ending coffee-toffee debate needs a closure. Soon. And I do appeal to the industry to claim their rightful place under the sun. At the earliest. By first addressing the basics. The questions that we cannot wish away. And then, of course, delivering on them.

     

    Until then, it is to our collective disadvantage that PR is considered a mere commodity. And we are seen as under cutting each other to win mandates. These mandates are soon lost, when the client is not in a position to evaluate or measure our success. Or the lack of it.

     

    The client base of the public relations industry is increasing by the day (there will never ever be a shortage of clients). But the number of satisfied clients? The number of clients making use of, and benefiting from PR in all its glory? Who is counting!  And therefore it hurts the believers, when India wins a PR Lion at Cannes. Because it has been won by an ad agency! Not a PR agency.

     

    So is there mere gloom and doom in the PR industry? Not at all!

     

    There are various case studies where PR has hit the bull’s eye and demonstrated it’s true potential and power. Let’s visit some of these and take inspiration from them.

     

    Today’s exceptions, tomorrow’s rule…

    It would be right to cite a few examples here that could redefine the way PR is perceived.

    We all know of John Travolta as an actor, singer, dancer but do you know that he is also a licensed pilot? So when Qantas, the airline from ‘down under’Australia, wanted to reach out to as a relevant airline for European markets, they actually got John Travolta to fly their planes to these destinations. The kind of coverage that this exercise got in local as well as world media was mind-boggling. So Qantas used this “a facet of John that you did not know”, to express “a facet of Qantas that you did not know”.

     

    Cadbury’s was hit by a crisis – the worm infestation case – that nearly threatened the very existence of the brand in India, as mothers questioned their generations of trust in Cadbury’s chocolates. At Ogilvy PR I had the opportunity to partner this iconic brand and their leadership team on the exercise that is now a case study for Cadbury’s, worlwide.

    Customers. Channel. Influencers. Regulators. Government. Employees…all these key stakeholders had to be reached out to, repeatedly and regularly. And the media was only one of the bridges to reach out to them. It was “public” relations at play. And not mere ‘press’ relations.

    Today Cadburys keeps scaling greater highs. It not only won back the trust of a nation. But also its loyal customer base and their sales graph. And this incident appears to be a distant dream. But in those days, every day appeared to be like a never ending nightmare.

    As an agency and team, we had the opportunity to get into the hearts and minds of the senior management team on an ‘online real time’ basis. Every day. For weeks.

     

    Gillette is another company that has realised and capitalised on the power of PR, year after year. You will remember their W.A.L.S (Women Against Lazy Stubble) campaign. And now the Shavesutra campaign.  Their movement has resulted in 12.2 million Indians casting their vote for a clean shave. It also led to rise in sales and popularity of the product and also bagged numerous awards…their sales going up by 500 per cent, market share up by 400 per cent, an entry in the Guinness book of records…and over $ 2.5 million worth of free media coverage.

     

    The Body Shop is another classic example of a brand that has enjoyed the favours of PR. No advertising. And still, it’s a global brand with very strong bondings with its consumers, as an eco friendly company.

     

    Or, the mother of all “PR” campaigns… Mahatma Gandhi’s freedom struggle. He influenced an entire nation to realise the power of self rule… and got ‘results’ in the form of India’s Independence.

     

    So, while PR is about press relations, it is also about influencing the influencer. It’s about creating credibility and about credible ways of influencing people to act. It is not only about journalists but about customers, employees, shareholders, channel partners and other key stakeholder’s perceptions management. It is a weapon that can do wonders in not only the brand’s good times, but more so in the bad times too. It can give business solutions and tangible results.

     

    So if you ask me, PR is about ‘Public’ and not ‘Press’ relations. It is about ideas that influence and engage my ‘public’ and something that has a multiplier effect. The credible way. And my belief is that if you capture the right essence of PR, you will not need to chase the media. The media will come chasing you.

     

    From a client’s perspective, if my PR agency helps me achieve my KRAs in a simpler, cheaper and faster way, then why will I not chase you? If as clients, we earn a fixed and variable salary, then why shouldn’t my PR agency also be assessed and remunerated that way? And that the variable component should be based on tangible results.  My belief is that this is one industry where the potential of an agency’s variable earnings outstripping the fixed component is very high.

     

    If PR can demonstrate how it can help me increase my profits, customer base and revenues, in short help me achieve  my KRAs, then forget peanuts, I weigh them in “gold”.

     

    Towards this destination, two points to ponder:

    • We need talent that can deliver on this potential. Talent that can claim to be a “strategic counsel”. Talent that only handles the number of clients it can give the requisite attention to.  Today, when it comes to advertising, we can even put faces to the next generation of the industry.
    • There is so much (though still inadequate) talent. But when it comes to the PR industry? I am sure that we have many unsung heroes – be they agencies, professionals or success stories. Can the PR industry do its own PR, so that we all have role models that inspire us and we aspire to emulate?

     

    Ajay Kakar is CMO – Financial Services, Aditya Birla Group

     

  • Luna Biswas says that communication agencies need to make two elementary changes in their outlook towards the digital space… The current approach of engagement with social media is dangerously short-sighted.

    [PR Channel] The digital revolution: Opportunities for PR

    By Luna Biswas

     

    It would be incorrect to say that traditional media is losing its sheen from the perspective of news vis-a-vis the digital media. While the latter is gaining ground, it is imperative to understand how the internet can be effectively used to position communication from PR perspective. In today’s day and age, web provides the platform to create and publicise content without waiting for a newspaper to print the same. Every individual has the power to write/upload about anything, be it good, bad or ugly without being vetted.

     

    The problem that comes to the fore is the legitimacy. While online versions of newspapers and portals have the credibility factor, it is the individual who can – through blogs and social media – impact a brand, for that individual has a captive audience who trusts him more than they trust a news item. and this is where the difference between traditional and online media is for the PR community. a potent tool that has to be integrated and monitored for reaching out to the key target audience.

     

    Where, then, is the solution? For PR agencies it is impossible to overlook the digital world. Every available tool counts to create an effective public relations campaign. The paradigm shift, or at least partial shift, has to be from depending on social networking sites and moving towards creating online mastheads for clients. Social media or social networking sites have to be used as tools and not the end means to reach out to the target audience. The problem with social media is that it doesn’t engage customers with brands after a point in time but actually takes users from brands.

     

    Integrated communication agencies need to advise clients, and create for them a strong masthead by sourcing their audience from the social media spaces. Unless a digital campaign encompasses the “own” space for audience to engage with a company/brand, the campaign will not be successful. a platform has to be created where the audience can engage with the brands in terms of proactive interaction.

     

    Dell and apple are two great examples that have created platforms to communicate with customers and vice versa. What they have ensured is that the audience uses “that own” space to interact, vent their ire and communicate requirements. From a digital campaign perspective, it is something that needs to be deeply looked into. The mechanism used by these companies has resulted in keeping the audience on one platform, without them using another platform to complain or run down the brand.

     

    a successful online PR campaign has to be evolved keeping in mind how best the consumer can be attracted and kept within the precincts of the brand for which the communication has been devised.

     

    For this to take place, communication agencies need to make two elementary changes in their outlook towards the digital space. First, they need to recognise the need to build unique spaces because they are the mastheads of the digital world, not simply search tags or social media ‘like’. For each brand and company, the agency has to build different grand strategy of owning the constituents and making their masthead the most powerful gathering point for the brand.

     

    The planning of these spaces has to be unique for each brand, and based upon content power that drives conversations around the brand. Like advertising, which has learnt that the most effective way to build memorable brands is by creating cultural connects, the chore for integrated communication managers will be to create new spaces where the audience is offered the entire gamut of experience that he would experience from a newspaper. The current approach of engagement with social media is dangerously short-sighted because the brand is engaging in a conversation with the audience.

     

    Luna Biswas is Vice President, Member-Leadership Team, Hanmer MSL Communications Pvt. Limited. a part of the MSLGROUP

     

  • CMCG's Samir Kale on how 2011 was a good year for the agency, how education is a sector to look forward to and why it is important for clients to give agencies their due by way of increased premiums.

    Samir Kale: ‘We are specialists, not generalists’

    With Enron for its first client, the journey for the just-formed CMCG India in 1994 was clearly not an easy one. Anyone would know the agony that the AoR would have to face having to back a client with questionable leanings. But that was then. Today, CMCG India has made steady and progressive headway and is being seen as an agency of choice for many clients. The credit for this turnaround goes to Founder and Managing Director Samir Kale, under whose leadership the agency has grown to great heights in the communications world.

     

    In conversation with Johnson Napier, Mr Kale strolls down memory lane and analyzes how 2011 was a good year for the agency, how education would be a sector to look forward to and why it is important for clients to give agencies their due by way of increased premiums. Excerpts:

     

    Q: The year 2011 was a one that had its fair share of highs but it was the lows that had the industry on its toes. How would you define the year for CMCG India?

    In terms of our growth this year, I would say we have performed reasonably well. Typically if you observe, globally, whenever there is a downturn what gets slashed are the big advertising budgets. And then people start looking for value – what can you deliver that can get me as much value from spending as little as possible? And that’s what PR as a practice actually provides. So economic downturns actually help the PR industry; that’s how it should be. We have to be able to sell it to the clients that now is the time to look at PR. The thing to be noted here is that India is still a growing economy – whether 6 or 9 percent, it is growing. And therefore the demand for our services will keep on growing in a growing economy.

    So to put it positively, it has been a good year for us.

     

    Q: Have you outlined a vision for 2012? What are the immediate objectives for the team?

    What is happening today is that PR business as such is getting segmented – PR agencies are offering different services across different segments and different levels of services. In this scenario, we have to identify what is going to be the positioning for us in this matrix. Traditionally as an agency, we are more towards value proposition – we charge more but we give you more value. You have agencies which offer standard services, which I call ‘call centre’ services and we know what they have to offer. I am not saying that it is bad or good; our DNA has been towards value proposition. So we already have a positioning where value is concerned now the focus would be to get the call centre side of the business right.

     

    Q: What was different in the way you went about netting clients in 2011? Any stand-out clients that you were particularly excited about?

    Disney was one such client but I would say that the important thing for us last year was the setting up of Campus PR, a division that caters to the educational sector. I think we are the only players doing that right now. We have a good response to the product from some of the leading players in the education space. We would be increasing our focus around education in 2012 and I feel that offering segmented services would be key going forward.

     

    Q: Apart from education, how have the other specialized offerings performed for CMCG?

    We have done well across our other offerings as well and if you ask me am I satisfied with what we have achieved, I would say yes.

     

    Q: Given the hue and cry around digital, specifically social media, how have you increased your emphasis around the medium?

    Digital today has become a bit of a fashion. Also, today there are a lot of media agencies who focus on providing technological expertise. But we have focused on tapping the digital platform to communicate with the media. A case in point is IPCC, where we were dealing with journalists across the UK, US, Australia, New Zealand sitting here in India and trying to push the message across. That’s what we have being doing because the journalists are also on the internet and we don’t want to go and do things which we are not capable of. Our focus is how can we capture the attention of the media on the digital platform?

     

    I think what happens is it’s not the method, it’s the message we look at. Today it is digital but tomorrow it may be mobile. So what you want to say and communicate is more important and then the medium you want to do that on follows next. It’s content that will drive the way, not technology.

     

    Q: How is CMCG placed in the PR pecking order? What is the market share you seek to achieve in 2012?

    All I will say is that we are a mid-sized agency. We are specialists, we are not generalists for sure.

     

    Q: How would you rate your contemporaries?

    I can’t rate them as I have not been tracking them closely. But if it is said that they are offering differentiated services then it is good for the industry as such as it would help it achieve greater heights.

     

    Q: How do you see foreign players changing the fortunes of the PR industry in India? Is it beneficial having them increase their base on our shores?

    It’s a good thing for the industry. We have always had tie-ups with many international players. The industry has witnessed the buying out of many Indian agencies in the past few years. Having said that, we at CMCG already work with most international clients. They see the value that we bring to the table and they are willing to pay for that value. It is important for international agencies to build a good understanding of the country, regions, politics, etc; be able to offer that level of service that the client expects in the developed world. They need to be able to develop strong local capabilities to be able to work with their local clients in India. Otherwise it is not worth it. So while coming in is a welcome step, developing and understanding the market is a bigger challenge.

     

    Q: Are you still being chased by foreign agencies for a JV?

    If there is a good deal I will certainly consider it. As I said in terms of value proposition we deliver it well, what we need is to build our capabilities at the low-end or basic strata of the business. And doing that across geographies in India is what we will look at. So if my partner has a similar vision then it could be a win-win situation for both.

     

    Q: Consolidation would be the order of the day for the industry going forward. Would it help steer the industry in getting more organized?

    Typically, consolidation happens when you offer mass services to a large number of customers. But the thing about PR is that anyone can go ahead and start his own business, including a single individual himself. I think consolidation will help the top 10-15 players but beyond that it’s unclear what role it would essay as there are many small players too.

     

    Q: What are challenges facing the industry?

    I think we need to attract good talent in this industry. And that will come only if we pay better money, which will only come if clients pay us well. The thing is that the clients must pay the agency for every single activity that they do. Why should they expect everything in one fee? Does that happen in any other profession? I don’t think so. Today PR is still the last mile for the client; that perception has to change.

     

    Q: What would be your key focus areas for 2012?

    We will have a clearer idea in terms of how we can grow apart from the value-added services, the base services and how we can add on the expertise across verticals. These would be our key focus areas going forward.

     

  • Percept Profile's Rahat Beri on the transformation of PR in India, and the need to adjust to this paradigm shift.

    Rahat Beri: New realities of public relations in India

    By Rahat Beri

     

    The Indian PR industry, though fragmented, is gradually growing and transforming. In India, the industry size is merely Rs 150-200 crore .What the Indian PR industry needs now is to move the communications business into the next stage of evolution, and that can only happen with awareness of the depth and scope of PR.

     

    In the last decade the market has evolved and also the coporate’s need for image building and leveraging strategy. Technology has started to transform the way public relations works today. Social media is redefining the PR tools, giving this huge opportunity to professionals to truly interact not just with press but public at large. In the Indian corporate sector, PR is well understood and accepted. More companies are investing in PR as social media is in sync with any communication in India and globally as well.

     

    With the emergence of blogs, user-generated content and other social media tools, there is a lot of debate about the digital space being the final frontier for brand communication. The face of PR is, of course, in digital. But, let us not forget that we are in a country which is still only beginning to explore the variedness and pluralism of traditional media. In fact India will be a great case study for blossoming PR since clients are amazingly enthusiastic about experimenting with new forms of communication, at the same time blending with traditional and alternative methods of communication.

     

    The new realities

    In addition to the modern organizational culture in India, it is evident that corporates understand the importance of managing both corporate reputation and brand image. Also increasingly stakeholders are more aware, educated and sophisticated about the choices they make. Social media specifically has enhanced the role of a PR agency. In a fast-evolving market-place, 2010 saw the continued expansion of digital and social media with companies and government agencies adopting new channels to communicate and engage with consumers, key influencers and all brand stakeholders.

     

    PR is becoming broader and strategic. PR professionals will need to develop a new hybrid set of marketing and communication skills, which will include the factors of management consulting, business intelligence, advocacy, reputation management, direct marketing and Internet strategy.

     

    PR is moving beyond media relations to digital communications, continuous flow of information, advocacy and image management. Digital will probably be the single biggest change in the business as it is new, innovative and dynamic, and gives quick results. Digital communication will ultimately change everything about business.

     

    PR industry is increasingly embracing new technologies, emerging trends, and the IT industry in a way that fosters honest communication and true relationship-building for both its clients and itself.

     

    PR is becoming more integral to the overall marketing communication of the company. It is getting integrated within the cultural profile of an organization, within the values embedded in the organization; and it is one of the strongest ways to ensure commitment and loyalty for the organization from various brand stakeholders.

     

    The rise of various forms of media has not only made the PR department more important in the overall marketing plans of a company but has also expanded the key responsibility areas for a PR agency.

     

    Given, PR companies gear up to undertake this new route to do business effectively. It is no surprise that public relations firms in India will be thriving provided they meet the following industry challenges.

     

    Challenges for the PR industry

    The high-growth PR industry is unfortunately caught in the classical trap of oversupply of clients and a shortage of good talent. One of the biggest challenges being faced is the lack of talent entering the industry – both in quality and the quantity.

     

    The PR business will need to develop a more consultative, brand custodian and strategic approach to meet the increasingly sophisticated challenges faced by its clients.

     

    PR professionals will need to unite around a measurement standard that emphasizes business results rather than media results.

     

    The state of PR pedagogy in India is yet to attain rigour and is theoretical. The industry needs to move cohesively towards a curriculum and talent that will be able to meet their needs.

     

    The PR industry will need to fend off competition from other disciplines that believe they have the skills to help companies communicate and engage with their stakeholders.

    The industry will need to recruit and retain top talent, persuading people that public relations is a worthwhile and rewarding career, a perception problem of the PR industry.

    If the Indian PR industry can meet these challenges, the potential for growth over the next decade is nothing but spectacular. There is immense opportunity to make PR a more important part of the communications arsenal using digital tools.

     

    Rahat Beri is COO – Percept Profile.

     

  • In connecting the dots with these sweeping phenomena, we as public relations and digital communications practitioners can seek inspiration, think above and be even more creative in what we do.

    [PR Channel] Flashmobs & guerrilla PR in the digital world

    By Pranav Kumar

     

    Flashmobs in India are a rare thing – but when they do happen with the right construct, the impact is well, viral. I’m talking about the now legendary ‘Mumbai flashmob’ where two hundred amateur dancers took crowds at Mumbai’s bustling Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus railway station by surprise in late November 2011 by breaking into a stunning dance performance to a popular title track from the Bollywood blockbuster Rang De Basanti. The ensuing video assumed viral dimensions, trending across the Twitter-verse and attracting over 2 million views on YouTube.

     

    Flashmobs don’t happen every day in India. The closest we get (sort of) are politically-inspired rallies and other forms of activism that keep the nation tethered to its television sets (such as Anna Hazare’s Gandhian-esque style of revolt against graft and poor governance in India). Though the two don’t really compare in either purpose, ideology or scale, both do evoke public response and represent the widespread generational change currently sweeping India. All of this stems from a need to be heard, a need to make a change based on newfound confidence in a growing India. And none of this would happen if the country’s mainstream (read ‘traditional’) and fast-growing social media dynamics weren’t as conducive with mass penetration and growing adoption.

     

    In connecting the dots with these sweeping phenomena, we as public relations and digital communications practitioners can seek inspiration, think above and be even more creative in what we do.

     

    The Rang De Basanti gig in Mumbai is emblematic of the continuing spurt in social media (no surprises here). India’s over 100 million internet users now represent a sizeable audience and, according to consulting firm McKinsey & Co, will triple in size to 350 million by 2015. Smartphone adoption growth is pegged at 15 percent YoY and the mobile device is simply a huge enabler of internet access as opposed to current PC penetration (roughly 8 percent of population). On last count, India had close to 800 million mobile subscribers.

     

    Mumbai’s flashmob makes another point – the growing popularity of online video consumption. According to the Asian Digital Marketing Association, half of India’s internet users now watch videos online. In a country where traditional media continues to rocket its way up unlike most markets (2011 growth was at 18 percent for newspapers), social media is certainly not outpacing it but assuming increasing importance. Integrated campaigns are therefore essential from any marketer’s perspective and as we at Bite look at it, it’s all about helping companies join valuable and relevant conversations – whether in a blog, on Twitter or via a newspaper interview.

     

    Coming back to flashmobs, they too can serve as effective platforms to generate a terrific amount of buzz when done right. However, it’s one thing to organize a flashmob for fun, or indeed for a cause. But doing it for marketing reasons is another thing entirely and is much more risky. Innovative brands and organizations around the world have used flashmobs every now and then to their advantage resorting to such ‘guerilla’ tactics to either generate fanfare or indeed to steal attention from a competitor.

     

    Doubt if we’ll see a flashmob culture in India as yet but at least Mumbai’s Shonan Kothari, the brains behind the Rang De Basanti one, has shown just how effective a carefully orchestrated flashmob can be.

     

    In the end, the message is clear for today’s increasingly busy communicators: in a hyper-connected and integrated world, it’s all about telling your stories in the most compelling and creative manner. It’s about having a point of view that’ll eventually triumph and transcend through today’s cluttered environment to be heard.

     

    Pranav Kumar is Managing Director – India at Bite Communications, a part of the Next Fifteen Communications Group plc.

     

  • Dennis Taraporewala of Criesse Communications declares that boutique shops can redefine the way PR functions as a discipline in India, and that larger players will have to cooperate with smaller ones

    [PR Channel] We want to grow organically, not exponentially: Dennis Taraporewala

    In this competitive era where clients don’t mind slamming the brakes on services that do not bring much to the table, it is often the vulnerable who fall victim to the siege. And for an industry like PR which is anyway sidelined by clients and media alike, the scale is always in favour of large agencies. But then there are a handful of small – or rather ’boutique’ agencies, as Dennis Taraporewala, Director, Criesse Communications, would like to call it – which are changing the market dynamics and giving the biggies a run for their money.

     

    With a flurry of big and key clients vouching for the services of this communications shop, the going has been very good for Criesse thus far in India. In conversation with MXM India’s Johnson Napier, Mr Taraporewala declares that boutique shops can redefine the way PR functions as a discipline in India, and talks about how the larger players will be compelled to work in a cooperative fashion with the smaller players, and not in isolation, in future. Excerpts:

     

     

    Q: It’s been five years since Criesse made a formal foray into India. How have you grown as a communications agency in India since then?

    Criesse Communications was started in 2002 by Gitika Taraporewala (Managing Partner) as an agency in Singapore with Kodak as our first client. For quite a while it was a small firm based out of Singaporewhere we did a small amount of PR in the region for a few clients. But the real take-off for the agency was in 2006 when we came back toIndiaand decided to set up the company for the Indian market. We originally started out by picking up a few corporate-cum-entertainment clients like Mid-Day, Radio One, Indian Express Group etc. From there we also picked up a range of entertainment clients like Kangna Ranaut, Sonu Sood, Jimmy Shergill, Gul Panag, Chitrangada Singh etc. Eventually we realized that we were catering to two distinct kinds of clients – one was corporate and the other was entertainment. We realized we had a unique standing in the marketplace that made us different from the other players who were more focused around a single domain. So that was the differentiation that we were able to bring to the table.

     

    Q: Tell us about your client roster and the range of services that you offer them?

    We recently have signed up with new multinational clients like Sofitel Hotels, US-based FranklinCovey, etc. We have also been working for a long time with BBC Worldwide and have in fact been asked to come and pitch for BBC Global News as well. Then there is Elder Healthcare and O2 Sparkling water that have aligned with us. Also, there are clients with whom we work on a project basis like The Indian Express for their FE Best Bank Awards, etc. So quite naturally, the strength of our agency is the ability to bring together the corporate part of the business and the entertainment part of the business together.

     

    Q: What is unique about the way you function as a small agency? Why should a client stick with Criesse as the AoR?

    We intend to stay small – a boutique agency – as we offer our clients highly personalized services. Our retainer clients have managed to stick with us for the kind of solutions we offer them. What you get to observe nowadays is that agencies sign up a lot of clients and within six months the client is on the lookout for change. So we decided that we will work for only a few clients; we will be selective about whom we sign up with. So we have about seven people in our team but we offer our services whole-heartedly to the clients. We make it a point to see that there is one senior partner always involved even with the operations with the client. That is why our clients are extremely pleased with us.

     

    Q: As a boutique agency, is there a standard industry code you adhere to while pitching for a new client or do you follow a different practice?

    Initially, if we are called for a pitch it follows a certain process, especially for the large corporates. So we go and pitch just like any other big agency but we tell them that we are a small agency and we intend to stay small. But if we sign up with them we assure them that the team will have at least one highly experienced individual at the top along with the junior members. The main thing is that you can win big accounts, but if you don’t have good talent working on that account, eventually the relationship breaks down. So we may have 30, 50 or 100 clients with us, but if they are not satisfied with my work then it’s not worth winning such a large number of clients.

     

    Q: How friendly is the PR environment for boutique agencies like yours as compared to large agencies?

    I think there is a big opportunity that has been created for boutique agencies right now, because what is happening is that though the large companies have a vast network and are fantastic with their thinking, in terms of execution they have not been able to handhold the client. If an account director, for example, has 20 clients under his belt how can he get involved with each one of them at a personal level? It will be left to the juniors to build up the relationship with them and that’s not a good thing. What is unique about Criesse is that we have a brand strategy practice, and not just PR. We are always linking into the client’s corporate brand strategy. We always insist that the client share his corporate brand strategy with us; without that we do not proceed ahead. So this is how we are positioned as an agency.

     

    Q: How would you rate your growth story in numbers?

    We have witnessed very transformational growth in the last year as we have signed 2-3 large accounts. As for the numbers, all I can say is that we have doubled (revenues) from what we were a year ago.

     

    Q: It is alleged by large agencies that clients are not open to paying a premium because of the underpricing exercise that medium and small agencies resort to. What are your views on such allegations?

    What is termed as premium service and what is it that you can classify as premium for premium prices is very relative. So if a small agency undercuts a big agency just on price it won’t be a long-term relationship. Because eventually, no matter what a client pays, if you do not deliver they will leave you mid-way. So the best approach is to ensure that the quality is delivered. We only directly compete with the big agencies when there is a coordinated pitch. So if small agencies are undercutting large agencies, it won’t last if they are doing it based on cost. It will last if they are doing it based on the quality and the value proposition that they bring. And value is added only through a combination of quality and cost. Now if somebody comes and gives you great quality at a better price, wouldn’t you take it? So that is something big agencies have to think about.

     

    Q: Given that consolidation is the order of the day, have you ever been approached for a takeover?

    We were approached once by an Indian entity for a takeover but we didn’t really pursue it. Also, there was an agency from Singapore which had evinced interest as they wanted to enterIndia, but we declined. Our intention is clear: we want to grow only organically; we don’t want exponential growth. The reason being that we want to deliver on the quality front. Of course we do want to be profitable too. The key challenge is to get talent and groom them and get them to think long-term.

     

    Q: Are you looking at expanding your expertise from the regular corporate and entertainment services that you offer?

    There is a trend nowadays for agencies to offer multiple practices – finance, healthcare, pharma, etc but I just feel it becomes meaningless after a point. Because after all, why has a client hired you? Not because he wants domain specialization in his area, but because he wants his brand to be well communicated to the outside world. I think specialization in the PR firm has been taken too far but what happens is that it is being used as a tool of reassurance. The trend right now is that everyone is saying we are not generalists; neither I am saying be a generalist. I am saying be someone who can understand multiple industries, then only can you become senior in your approach and be valued for what you offer.

     

    Q: Would you agree with the claims made by certain large players that smaller players are responsible for the unorganized state of the industry?

    Let’s look at it the other way. Take some of the large agencies: are clients sticking to them? Some are, not all of them. There is currently a need in the market for high quality boutique players. And there are such players and they are attracting business. So it will always be a give-and-take affair. It wouldn’t be that the big will dominate and others will disappear; the market is large enough to support all of them. In fact, larger players should go ahead and leverage from these smaller players. What you may see is that larger agencies which are not able to offer personalized services to many clients will cooperate – not buyout – with the small and boutique players. It should be a collaborative model that will be a win-win for all.

    What has worked for us is that we have always advised clients to be simple, authentic and clear in their communication. If any of these are missing then people pick it up, and it may be damaging in the long run.

     

    Q: What are your views on digital, especially the use of social media in PR?

    We integrate online very well. Social media is not rocket science; anybody can get the hang of it. People only overhype it. Because facial expression or tone of voice is not there in the social world, the written word needs to be very authentic. So our strategy around digital is not very different from normal communication. Maybe what has changed is that communication is now more interactive. And if you are authentic in your message then people will be willing to listen to you.

     

    Q: Any other new client of Criesse that deserves a mention?

    There is a new client that we have signed up with – Spool. It’s a Singapore-based  company that is coming in the global market with Indian content online. The idea is that today if you go on to the internet there is no one place where you can get the latest Indian movie. On this portal, viewers would get to view movies and even news and other such programmes from any corner of the world. Initially it would be a free model, then a subscription model or pay-per-view. They have signed on with some major movie and TV players for the deal. It would be launching end of this month.

     

    Q: On a parting note, what can we expect from Criesse in 2012?

    We are going to be involved with a couple of large pitches; on a growth basis we are looking at a 30 per cent increase depending on which pitches materialize for us. The challenge for us in 2012 would be to carry on with churning out good talent and take them higher so that they deliver greater value to brands on the whole. As for our foray into newer regions, we may look at expanding our offices in Delhi and Singapore, but that is over an 18-month period and not immediately.

     

  • In an attempt to provideDelhiwith an opportunity to review their favourite restaurants, Justeat.in, in association with IFB, launched Restaurant Rumble

    Case Study: Justeat.in’s campaign to attract foodies

    By A Correspondent

     

    Campaign: Restaurant Rumble

     

    Client: JustEat.in

     

    Agency: Mutual PR

     

    Aims and Objectives: To provide the foodies in Delhi NCR a platform to pick the best restaurant

     

    The Background:

    JustEat.in is world’s largest online food ordering portal, which makes it easy for foodies to order food and book tables online. Also the fact that umpteen restaurants are coming up, which provides the customers with a wide variety, is a good development. However, the customers are now in a bother to pick the ones that are actually good. JustEat.in thereby provides a platform to the foodies to voice their opinion about the restaurants they like, and help fellow foodies separate the best from the rest.

     

    Strategic Insights:

    Justeat.in is an aggregator of the rather fragmented restaurant industry inIndia. Along with providing the users with a convenient, reliable network for ordering food and booking tables, Justeat.in strives to provide customers reviews and ratings, given by fellow customers, about various restaurants. In an attempt to provideDelhiwith an opportunity to rate and review their favourite restaurants, Justeat.in, in association with IFB, has launched Restaurant Rumble.

     

    Challenges and impediments:

     

    Initially the struggle was to incentivize the customers to vote.

     

    Solution:

    The customers were offered exclusive discounts at their favourite restaurants as incentives to vote.

     

    Result:

    There was an overwhelming response for the campaign with 1 lakh+ votes received so far.

     

    Learnings:

    We are extremely happy with the responses received till now. And we are looking at  making this campaign an annual one henceforth.

  • The single biggest challenge, which overshadows everything else and is already upon us, is the crisis of talent, observes Vivek Sengupta of Moving Finger Communications.

    [PR Channel] Being small is our strength: Vivek Sengupta

    By Johnson Napier

     

    With a career spanning the domains of journalism, PR, public policy and advocacy there is very little that Vivek Sengupta, Founder & Chief Executive of Moving Finger Communications, hasn’t tackled in the field of communication. Though a small shop, Moving Finger has its hands full in offering mundane services to its clients apart from other specialised offerings that include messaging and media training workshops as well as modules in crisis preparedness and crisis communications. It also offers a cloud-based service for global PR and sometimes works with other PR agencies which do not have these offerings.

     

    In conversation with MxM India, Mr Sengupta analyses the plight of the PR industry in India, how small agencies stack up to the larger forces and why regulation against lobbying isn’t a desirable option for the industry in India. Excerpts:

     

    Q: How would you analyse Moving Finger as being a distinct communications agency in India?

    We are a communications consulting firm that provides solutions in the realms of PR, public affairs, public policy and advocacy. We also offer standalone products like messaging and media training workshops as well as modules in crisis preparedness and crisis communications. We also offer a cloud-based service for global PR. In these areas, we sometimes work with other PR agencies which do not have these offerings.

     

    We are small, and that is our strongest suit. For our size, we offer unmatched experience and expertise. It’s a lot like how independent bookstores hold their own in a market awash with large chain bookstores.

     

    Q: As founder and head of Moving Finger, what were the initial challenges you faced in putting the firm together?

    The challenges were the challenges of a start-up. They come with the turf and you take them in your stride.

     

    Q: How would you differentiate between running a specialist agency of your own versus working for a large PR house in India?

    Where I am concerned, in a large agency, running the business profitably and growing it were my primary concern. Servicing played second fiddle. Now, servicing is my primary concern. Running the business is secondary; though, in and of itself, it is of paramount importance.

     

    Q: How would you analyze the performance of the PR and Communications industry in India? Has it recorded a commendable growth story in 2011?

    In a challenging market scenario, the industry performed creditably. When the business environment is tight, CEOs and marketing heads watch spends very carefully. PR tends to do better than advertising because the spends are way smaller and, I dare say, you get bigger bang for the buck.

     

    Q: How do you view the increasing entry of international PR firms in India?

    This is not a very recent development. It has been happening for some time and had to happen. These firms have their own markets, we have our own. The pie is large enough for everybody.

     

    Q: In a changing communications scenario, how has the journalist-PR nexus evolved over time?

    I am not sure what connotation you attach to the word ‘nexus’. I hope it is positive! I think the journalist and the PR person have come to have a better understanding of each other’s role. The PR person understands that the journalist is looking for information, while the journalist understands that the PR person is looking to provide information. Both have the common objective of purveying information. When there is a match between the two needs, there is win-win – a consummation devoutly to be wished for.

     

    Q: How do you see digital impacting the way a PR agency functions?

    The goal of purveying information does not change. Digital is just another platform or means to that end.

     

    Q: What are the immediate challenges facing PR agencies in India?

    The single biggest challenge, which overshadows everything else and is already upon us, is the crisis of talent. You can get the business, but do you have good, competent people to service the business? However, this talent issue is something that many verticals grapple with. In the communications industry, the media itself is assailed by this challenge. Every editor whom I talk to laments the lack of talent.

     

    Q: Why is the PR and communications industry devoid of a strong and agile regulator? How will the industry grow without proper policing mechanisms in place?

    Why would our industry need a regulator? Who has asked for one? There has been some talk of “regulating” lobbying, as it has come to be understood in India (which is wider than the US or EU definition of engaging with law-makers). But, in my view, even that is not called for. We have before us the experience of the media with the Press Council of India. A watchdog for lobbying must surely not traverse the same path. It would be better to limit regulation to existing laws.

     

    Do you think consolidation will be the order of the day soon?

    Some amount of consolidation will happen and that will be perfectly in order.

     

    Vivek Sengupta is Founder and Chief Executive of Moving Finger Communications. He has had a varied career in journalism, public relations, public policy and advocacy. He can be contacted at vivek.sengupta@movingfinger.in

     

  • MSLGroup's white paper on the Indian PR industry underlines potentially growth-limiting challenges the trade faces

    Why the PR industry needs some PR

     

     

    By A Correspondent

     

    The PR industry in India today is facing potential growth-limiting challenges such as a dearth of home-grown talent, the fallout from recent PR scandals and a move away from traditional PR towards strategic communications.

     

    This is the thrust of the most recent executive report on the public relations industry in India from MSLGroup India’s Hanmer MSL and 20:20 MSL, both part of MSLGroup, Publicis Groupe’s flagship public relations, speciality communications and engagement group. The report, Understanding the Public Relations Industry in India: Challenges, Opportunities and 2012 Outlook, takes an in-depth view of the PR industry in India, drawing on quantitative and qualitative research to bring together a hard-hitting and frank appraisal.

     

    The report touches on these issues, as well as the widely reported misconceptions about size of the Indian PR industry, and the ramifications of this over-inflated figure on the market. A recent Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India study pegged the size of the industry at a “wildly inflated” $6 billion whilst MSLGroup’s research points to $140 million being a more true representation.

     

    Jaideep Shergill, CEO for Hanmer MSL and Member of MSLGroup India Management Board commented, “The challenges before the Indian PR industry are not that different from what other service industries have had to face in the past – a serious talent shortage, disconnections between fees and value, and measuring performance accurately. Furthermore, we must look ahead and ask ourselves how the industry should react to a worsening global economic situation. These are questions this report tackles and by bringing these tough issues to the fore, we hope that it puts the industry into perspective and kicks off a discussion on the roadmap that PR in India so desperately requires.”

     

    “The industry is at an important crossroads, and we have taken the first step in not only asking difficult questions of ourselves and the industry, but also providing potential solutions to foster a stronger and sustainable India PR market,” added Sunil Agarwal, founder of 20:20 MSL and Member of MSLGroup India Management Board.

     

    In addition to highlighting a variety of trouble spots, Understanding the Public Relations Industry in India: Challenges, Opportunities and 2012 Outlook report also identifies opportunities for PR agencies such as offering integrated strategic and speciality communications, bridging the compensation gap, ensuring performance measurement and understanding client expectations.

     

    Throughout the report, critical questions are posed to agencies and their staff, clients and their organizations, media and the industry at large which are aimed to spark debate, ideas and potential solutions that can strengthen the industry’s future. Some of these include:

     

    • A misunderstanding of the size of India’s PR industry, hiding the on the ground realities and core issues.
    • A serious Indian talent crunch, stunted by a more lucrative in-house corporate communications sector, increasing the demand-supply.
    • A lack of understanding of how PR can play a strategic role, resulting in low PR retainers – in the Rs 20-lakh ($40,000) range compared to the average advertising retainer of Rs 2 crore ($400,000).
    • A vital need for PR firms to offer integrated communications as the line between PR, advertising and digital begins to blur.
    • Speciality communications such as niche PR, engagement through social media and employer branding to be recognized as growth focus areas for PR agencies.
    • Despite the global economic turmoil, India continues to grown at 7%, presenting a unique opportunity for PR firms in terms of global and Indian MNCs.

     

    MSLGroup India has developed this report to further its and the industry’s goals for sustainable and professional development. PR professionals, clients, organisations and the industry recognise that PR in India is at a critical juncture and Public Relations Industry in India: Challenges, Opportunities and 2012 Outlook offers a transparent and robust précis to move the industry forward.

     

    (To learn more about the Public Relations Industry in India: Challenges, Opportunities and 2012 Outlook, or to read the report by MSLGroup India in full, visit asia.mslgroup.com.)

     

  • The intellectual growth of PR professionals has been inverse to that of India's economic growth rate, particularly so in the past few years

    [PR Channel] Young PR professionals need a reality check

    By Sayantan Sinha

     

    When the editor (no I am not talking about Mr. Mehta’s pet) called me to write this piece, I wondered “who’s going to read?”

     

    We, the breed of superior intellect and pray do not believe that, like to imagine (which is true) that we are the most well-read lot with deep understanding and knowledge on everything from needle to submarine. So my PR brethren, let us get out of our cocoon and do a little reality check.

     

    The stalwarts of the PR industry are people with huge repertoire of knowledge. Hence they are where they are today. The likes of Prema Sagar, Dilip Cherian, Madan Bahal, Supriyo Gupta, N S Rajan, Sunil Gautam, Roger Periera et al are known for their indelible track record.

     

    The intellectual growth of PR professionals has been inverse to that of India’s economic growth rate, particularly so in the past few years. While figure, physique and sensational sense of dressing have incorporated the oomph factor, lack of intelligence pervades the industry. Unfortunately, the finest of the gyms or the salons cannot add that aspect to personality. Add to that sheer indolence and Herculean attitude.

     

    Most of the younger lot, particularly in Delhi, have a lot of both. So much so, they successfully make new editors (refer to Person X as editor of one biz paper when s/he is in fact RE of another pink daily) , create awesome profiles (no link between the journalist, his area of expertise and publication) and above all confidently attribute journalists to publications which they left eons back.

     

    Why is this happening? I totally agree with my peers about the inflated egos of the younger generation. But we cannot absolve ourselves from the fact that we have not instilled the sense of responsibility in the new lot. Every agency has well-defined (and that has to be another critique) systems and processes. However, despite insisting on regular media rounds, you would hardly find youngsters rushing from one building to another on India’s Fleet Street.

     

    Of course, if there is a press conference, you will find a few hovering around. Penetration of internet and mobile have done all of us good, but our younger friends need to realise that relationships cannot be built only over emails and telephone /mobile or for that matter BBM.

     

    It is true that even five years back, it was far easier to meet a journalist. We could amble on the ET floor or chat with multiple journalists in Hindustan Times, but today that is not possible. But it is imperative to meet journalists so that there is connect between the face and the email id.

     

    It is a different issue that it is far easier to grab an appointment with the President than send a youngster out for media round. One is accosted with barrage of questions like “Why do I need to meet him / her? I get my work done”; “They must be busy”; “They do not come out to meet” and the best “What do I talk to them about?”!!!

     

    In the good old days, when people used to go for “shikaar” (hunting), they used to study the prey and its surrounding. Transform that to our profession. Even if there is no story to pitch for, go ahead and meet a journalist of the beat you cater to. Read his articles, talk to him about his stories, create a rapport and nurture it. A personal touch can go a long way. Don’t forget the brilliant line of Airtle’s campaign “BAAT KARNE SE HI BAAT BANTI HAI,” though the approach of today’s PR professional is as horrific as Airtel’s connectivity.

     

    And by the way, media rounds in Delhi can be great fun, if one is a foodie. From the crisp samosas of INS building canteen to dosas and vadas near Jantar Mantar, from bread pakora outside PTI building to finest fresh juices at Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg, the choice is huge. And make friends in Times Building, at-least to visit their swanky canteen.

     

    The other grey area is the fabled media list. More often than not, the most “updated” media list is the dated one. In Google age, youngsters seem to have forgotten the art of copy & paste! Otherwise how would one explain about a CoB who passed away some years ago still holding that position?

     

    More often than not, senior journalists complain about young PR professionals calling them and asking what do they write on! This brings me back to the first paragraph of this article. The stalwarts of the industry and anyone in the industry worth his salt, reads. Unless one reads, it is rather difficult to survive in the industry. Every byline has a name and in today’s day and age, most of the newspapers have compartmentalised content according to the beat. It is not rocket science. Even a child reading a newspaper regularly will be able to say what a particular journalist writes on.

     

    The angst in media against PR professionals is not unwarranted. We have provided them with enough ammunition to allot PR professionals as courier guys, adding no value. Unless one proves his mettle in this value chain, the individual must leave the profession. PR is serious business and we hope to have able people in the industry to take it forward. This is not written to demean anyone but to look within ourselves to find the answer.

     

    Sayantan Sinha is Founder & Managing Partner, Out-There PR & Communications