MxMIndia

Category: PR

  • Prominent corporates are standing up to create internal platforms towards acknowledging their entire PR machinery, writes Siddhartha Mukherjee

    Siddhartha Mukherjee: Corporates acknowledging PR machinery internally through awards!

    By Siddhartha Mukherjee

     

    Are these spurts? Blips? Well, actually, to use the cliché, something is better than nothing! Against a backdrop of years of complete darkness, select but prominent corporates are standing up to create internal platforms towards acknowledging their entire PR machinery comes as a much-awaited surprise and needed thrust.

     

    Businesses represented by their marketing and communications team, communications  agencies and external/neutral measurement, research and audit teams line up and present to a select jury (from external and internal environment) some of the finest pieces of PR communication work they conceptualised, executed and helped the brand leverage during the last one year.

     

    I am sure this will go viral… and is much-needed too! More and more corporates should latch on to this. It is a different thing  though that when internal customers/top management is wanting to acknowledge its own PR machinery, the industry’s current format of external awards suddenly take a backseat.

     

    For the moment, let me share some quick thoughts that I have gathered from these hand full of corporate initiatives that I have been part of either as an external auditor or jury member.

     

    1. First things first – kudos to the Organisations and more importantly, its corporate communications teams for being able to convince the management to have an internal platform that will acknowledge the entire PR machinery. It is a great re-iteration of my very old but much-needed claim of PR needing PR!

     

    2. This is a great trigger that could spread like wildfire across the industry. If tackled well, the sky is the limit for PR/Corporate Communications machinery! More so, the function secures a seat in the boardroom discussions.

     

    3. The standard of PR work/campaigns being conceptualised, planned out, executed and analysed has come a very long way! Ah, it is such a wonderful and relieving experience to see young budding teams presenting articulate and scientific case studies. This was not seen earlier.

     

    4. Great news for PR agencies to have got a wonderful opportunity to expose themsevles to corridors beyond corporate communications within their client organisations. Great opportunity for them to change their own imagery from media relations to brand builders.

     

    5. If this spreads like wildfire, with more and more corporates starting the process of PR acknowledgement by its internal customers and stakeholders, the current lineup of external/industry awards, and more importantly, its formats will need a whirlwind of change to maintain their relevance.

     

  • The PR industry's shape-up will need Shake-Ups, Gobbles and Mergers! While it has been organic, the growth has been shapeless, writes Siddhartha Mukherjee

    Siddhartha Mukherjee: It is time for Shake-Ups, Gobbles & Mergers!

    By Siddhartha Mukherjee

     

    Time is ripe for the Indian PR Industry to undergo a Saagar Manthan! No doubt, kudos to the industry captains and their senior management for going all out towards organic growth. The last five years have witnessed amazing individual and collective initiatives by PR Firms in areas such as Talent Upgradation, Width & Depth of Service Deliveries, Technology Advancements, Content Creation & Management, Reputation Management, Accessibility, etc. However, what will now help is the last mile inorganic nudge that will give a final shape to our Industry!

     

    The PR industry’s shape-up will need Shake-Ups, Gobbles and Mergers! While it has been organic, the growth has been shapeless.

     

    It is time that our industry starts consolidating both width- and depth-wise. It is time for number of service providers offering specific categories of services get cleaned up or pruned. It is time that ‘Haves’ get separated from the ‘Have-nots’. This is possible only through Mergers & Acquisitions or Buy-outs.

     

    Unless that is done, ARPUs will hesitate to cross years of unimpressive thresholds.

     

    The picture that is emerging is making it amply clear that PR Industry is clearly getting segmented under the broad categories of:

    i) Holistic Corporate Brand Reputation Managers

    ii) Media Relations Agencies with permutations of specialties such as Crisis Management, Communications Training, Digital initiatives, Advertising, Events, Internal Communications, Events etc.

    iii) Basic media relations agencies

    iv) Stringers or Boutique Agencies

     

    In fact, bits of what we speak here have already started happening in the market place. More so, it should not surprise us if the frequency of news talking about such shake ups rise in frequency!

     

    Interestingly, talking of it, the Indian PR industry has already started the shake-up through a guerilla approach. Agencies have started making unconventional moves! Though in retrospect, they make perfect sense. Acquisition of Content Creations firms, Digital Agencies, Advertising firms, and other such surprise business moves are adding on to the Industry shake up!

     

    Our PR industry needs disruption to get on to the next generation of growth! Inorganic route through Mergers & Acquisitions has a lot of merit.

     

  • When morning newspapers and TV channels started featuring Kaka and his girlfriend, that was the sign that PR was on its way to successfully launch FIFA into the hearts of Indians, writes Siddhartha Mukherjee

    Siddhartha Mukherjee: PR playing cupid for Sports TV Channels and Associations!

    By Siddhartha Mukherjee

     

    Remember FIFA 2006? Indians were swept off their feet! Our TV viewing behaviour underwent a drastic change. A predominantly cricketing nation gave the ongoing India-West Indies cricket series telecast a miss to soak into the encore of FIFA. Despite late night telecasts, TV viewership numbers of FIFA soared while that of cricket choked.

     

    We were reading more about international football stars than those from the world of cricket. When morning newspapers and TV channels started featuring Kaka and his girlfriend, that was the sign that PR had cracked the case and was on its way to successfully launch FIFA into the hearts of Indian men, women and children. What more could a TV Telecast partner have asked for!

     

    Cut to the current year, 2016. Cricket, Football, Kabaddi, Basketball, Badminton, Tennis, and many other sporting forms are all fighting to strike a chord with the Indian TV viewer. Advertisements and promotions are expensive and therefore forces limitations with PR communication frequency, spread, formats and messaging combinations. Here is where Public Relations comes to the rescue!

     

    Why does Public Relations score over other Communication tools:

    :: Allows a leisure spread PR exposure for Pre-During-Post event: Consumption or Footfalls into Sporting events on TV or in stadiums means giving consumers the time to decide and a reason for engagement. While creation of emotion is key, the event brand’s exposure or OTS (Opportunity to see) should be maximum or as much in advance as possible. PR allows the Sports TV Telecaster to spread the PR Plan weeks or months prior to the start of the event. A sound build up will lead into a sound foot fall starting the day of the event. Reflecting back on FIFA 2006, the pre-PR buzz (buzz created before the start of the event was 4 times more than that of the India-West Indies cricket series.

     

    :: Allows to experiment with various Messaging or Edit Formats: To engage with a sporting event, emotion is key. For this, one has to experiment and push out various permutations of messaging formats – through one-on-one interviews, columns, Photo captions, contributory articles, news briefs and write ups that have recency, and so on. PR allows this flexibility very well.

     

    :: Localised PR push will fetch Localized pull: The cost parameter restricts the penetration of Ad or Promo led communications deep into the local heartland. PR makes that easy. The localization of exposure and messaging is key that will create interest levels for local consumers – whether on TV or in stadiums.

     

    If you see the PR success scores in terms of what it has done to the ongoing Kabaddi tournament on TV currently, it is quite gratifying:- Increased media ink for Kabaddi as a sport with an average of 30% jump in PR scores per season

    – Number of media titles covering the sport increased by 50%

    – News on the event were not only restricted to the tournament, but also focused on the softer aspects of the Game and Players that got consumers interested to watch the telecast!

     

    PR has started playing cupid for the various Sports Associations and the TV Broadcaster! The ROI it brings for both the stakeholders has been very satisfying. Time will come when PR is no longer looked at as one of the IMC contributors but a pivotal one.

     

    Time to take a bow for all the PR Agencies and the Corporate Communication professionals who are working tirelessly to sustain the momentum of various sporting events round the year!

     

  • UBA, Mumbai City FC and SportzConsult mandate their communications activity to Concept PR

    Concept PR scores a hat-trick with new wins

    By A Correspondent

     

    Concept PR, has strengthened its sports vertical by signing up United Basketball Alliance (UBA), SportzConsult, and Mumbai City FC.

     

    Speaking about their achievement, Ashish Jalan, CEO and Director of Concept PR said: “We are extremely happy to have acquired this string of new businesses which demonstrates client confidence in our sports vertical headed by veteran media professional and our executive director, Pooja Chaudhri. The team has been doing wonders with iconic events such as the Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon and IDBI Federal’s sporting activities among others. We have developed the capability to handle public relations for any sporting activity across 100 cities in the country.”

     

  • As the CEO he will lead operations, talent management and new business

    Integral PR appoints Sujay Mehdudia as CEO

    By A Correspondent

     

    Sujay Mehdudia

    Integral PR Services Pvt Ltd appointed Sujay Mehdudia, a career journalist, to the post of Chief Executive Officer (CEO). Based out of New Delhi, the head-office, Sujay has spent over 25 years as a journalist covering a variety of Central and State government ministries other than politics and the corporate sector. He joined Integral PR last year as an advisor helping build content and networks for the agency.

     

    As the CEO he will lead operations, talent management and new business. He will also play a significant role in developing the agency’s public affairs practice. He will report to the chairman, Sharif D Rangnekar, who till last May was the CEO of the firm.

     

    “Sujay brings to the table a great sense of knowledge and experience. Content is key to our business just as much as relationships and networks. Sujay covers this for us very effectively”, says Mr Rangnekar adding, “He will help us deliver winning counsel to both existing and potential clients. He is an optimist at heart and that’s what drives him most.”

     

    During his career he has reported on politics, government, aviation, telecom, power, infrastructure, business and economy, among other sectors. As an investigative political journalist he has spent 17 years with The Hindu (one of India’s leading English dailies) and two years with Amar Ujala (country’s one of the largest read Hindi publication) as its Business Editor. In addition to this, he has put in 7 years with the news wire, United News of India (UNI). He was honoured with the “Best Journalist of The Year’’ award in 2002. He has represented the government and the newspapers he has worked with at different forums across the globe. As a result, he has visited over 35 countries during the course.

     

  • With an experience of 23 years, Ziegler Colaco has donned Servicing, Planning and Creative hats

    Concept PR beefs up management team

    By A Correspondent

     

    In a rapid growth mode, public consultancy Concept PR has appointed senior professionals in key positions – Ziegler Colaco as its Chief Strategy Officer (CSO) and Tina Pawar as Head of BFSI vertical.

     

    “As we are undergoing a new growth phase, we keep strengthening our teams as well as our service offerings. We are confident that both Ziegler and Tina will contribute in our endeavour to scale new heights. Also, the team is feeling enthused as this will give them a super opportunity to learn from the vast experience of these veterans,” said Ashish Jalan, CEO and Director of Concept PR.

     

    With an experience of 23 years, Ziegler Colaco has donned Servicing, Planning and Creative hats.

     

    An MBA in Marketing from Symbiosis Institute of Business Management, Ziegler began his career in Tata Press as a Management Trainee. He began his advertising career at Lintas, and moved on to Mode and iContract.

     

    His belief in technology being a Computer Science graduate saw him join Indbazaar.com during the dotcom boom. The subsequent bust did not diminish his belief in technology saw him as an Instructional Design professional at Lionbridge, Learningmate and Aptara. Before joining Concept PR, he was Vice-President – Advertising Services at Publicis Beehive Communications.

     

    Tina has and over a decade’s experience driving brand and corporate communication programmes for leading multi-national organizations. She was previously with the Everstone Group as their head of Corporate Communications, and prior to that with IIFL and Reliance Capital. With her business acumen and knowledge of brands, Tina combines her experience in corporate communications and sound media relations to produce the desired output.

     

  • Effective PR can go a long way in helping the government manage perceptions in the Valley, writes Siddhartha Mukherjee

    Can PR help the scene in Kashmir?

     

    By Siddhartha Mukherjee

    So, it was one of the days during my Ladakh bike ride tour a few days back. I was sitting in a tea stall on the outskirts of Leh with my co-riders. We met a group of local Kashmiri youths (average age would be 25 years) in that same stall. For some reason, it seemed, they wanted to get into a conversation with us. We didn’t mind it given the long back breaking journey we had just prior. However, the conversation that followed with our supposed friends from the paradise on earth broke our hearts.

     

    Amongst many, one of the  statements made by them was – “In some time to come, ‘Indians’ will need a passport to come our place…”

     

    It got me thinking. First, let us not blame them. With the current state of affairs at the ground level there, their minds are vulnerable to unhealthy influences and negative public relations campaigns from vested corners. The question is why are the media relations initiatives of central and/or local not being able to do the job of educating and informing the local people about not just Kashmir being an integral part of India but more importantly, why it should remain to be so.

     

    The reasons could be a combination of the following:

    1. Is our media push full of news or views? Larger proportions of views filled with facts, right information and perspective is the need of the hour.

    2.  Is the frequency of the News & Views mix high enough? Is someone within the authorities taking care of this in the PR media plan?

    3. Is the state’s local literacy level hindering the consumption of news that is getting published.

    4. Are newspapers readily and regularly getting circulated?

    5. While print news consumption with respect to literacy rates is understandable, what about TV? Penetration of TV sets in the state is relatively lower as compared to others. Is this why communication push through national and local TV News Channels not turning out to be effective across the width and depth of Kashmir’s landscape?

     

    From the public relations point of view, I do not think the existing media relations is effective enough. Moreover, even after review and redeployment, perception management through media coverage alone should not be the only solution. Here, it has to be complemented with one on one or face to face interactions. Our representatives have to initiate face to face, regular dialogues and modulate views through facts, figures and right perspectives. Going by the perceptions of those Kashmiri youths and their perceptions about India, not including themselves as ‘Indians’, it seems very clear that vested dark corners are doing quite effective PR through more of regular, direct one-on-one or face-to-face dialogues.

     

    On another thought, probably, our Indian PR body or association can help our Indian authorities review their existing PR or communications approach and modify it. It will go a long way in helping the Central and the State Government manage perceptions at the grassroot level.

     

    Public Relations, if used well, can help the valley remain a Paradise on Earth!

  • Darashah brings over 23 years of international communications experience to Adfactors PR

    Adfactors PR appoints Roger Darashah as COO

    By A Correspondent

     

    Roger Darashah, an international senior communications professional with stints in Europe, India and Brazil, has joined Adfactors PR as its Chief Operating Officer (COO).

     

    Darashah brings over 23 years of international communications experience to Adfactors PR. Most recently, he worked with Edelman as Executive Vice President – Technology & Global Business Director in Brazil.

     

    As Chief Operating Officer, Darashah’s role will be to ensure consistent and industry-leading levels of service across all client relationships. He will be also responsible for delivery of insight-based campaigns that drive results and support clients’ business objectives. In addition, he will support Adfactors PR’s globalisation initiatives – scale operations internationally as well as bring an international, best-practice approach to all aspects of client service in India.

     

    Said Madan Bahal, co-founder and Managing Director of Adfactors PR:  “We are proud to have someone of Roger’s calibre and perspective joining us. His global experience will strengthen our service offering and as we embark on launching new Practices to fill the void in the Indian market place.”

     

    On his new role, Darashah commented, “I am excited to be here at Adfactors PR. The consultancy has all the right ingredients to attain a leadership position in the Asian public relations industry and beyond. The Indian market’s growth and potential provides an excellent platform from which to scale a global, integrated offering to support clients looking for a truly global approach. And, with its current market leading position and ambitions, it is an opportunity which Adfactors PR is wonderfully positioned to realise.”

     

    Darashah started his career with Weber Shandwick in London in 1993. His other stints include Managing Director of Hotwire Paris, where he established the boutique agency as among the top three tech agencies in France. In 2008, he moved to Spain to join Edelman as Deputy Managing Director (Europe). He also served as Director for Rediffusion/Edelman managing the Tata Group mandate in India during 2012-15.

     

     

  • Did PR win and score a "Jiyo" exclamation after last week’s mega-launch of 4G services by a telecom giant, asks Siddhartha Mukherjee

    Siddhartha Mukherjee: Not sure if PR achieved a “Jiyo!”

    By Siddhartha Mukherjee

     

    The latest mega-launch of 4G services by one of the telecom giants (under the umbrella of Digital India initiative by our Honourable Prime Minister) has left me with mixed feelings. From a brand perspective, it was an achievement of amazing Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC). Pretty much with right touchpoints, interesting message delivery, frequency, etc., all seemed quite well-managed. From a communication and business objective perspective, I am sure the TOM and Disposition scores hit the roof and impressive sales figures have started flowing in! However, what made me rethink was the role PR played within this IMC execution and more importantly, how it was made to play this role. Did PR really score a victory? Was it worth exclaiming a Jiyo for PR? Did PR maintain its personality of an independent, holistic & reliable brand building tool?

     

    a. Corp Brand Vs Product Brand: Overall, with every product communication or marcomm, it is always healthy to emphasise on the presence or importance of Corporate Brand. I didn’t see a very healthy presence (media plan) of corporate brand presence. Often under-estimated, the credibility we create for corporate brand goes much longer in facilitating business targets of the product brand. Corporate Brand Reputation Management which is not just about sprinkling some Integrated Marketing Communications (largely by ad bombardment), is a heavy and high yielding subject! I am saying this because I would love to see more of Indian brands further climb the ladder of reputation scores in India and globally.

     

    b, Interplay of AD & PR: Am not sure if PR (specifically talking about the Media Relations part of it) played an independent role or was it in some way getting influenced through or intertwined with the advertising route. Given the volume of editorial space that concentrated only on this brand launch by certain publication houses (entire page in certain cases) and news channels after an emphatic push through (full-page or front jacket) ads does not require very sophisticated “I can see-through” abilities by the consumer! I do not think this point can be brushed under the carpet as a “Consumer ko kya pata” or “How does it matter to the consumer” argument anymore. Increasingly, consumers are becoming sharper with a radar that is constantly skimming through Truth Vs Reality!

     

    c. Social media contradiction: Don’t know why but various touchpoints on social media were contradicting the communication push made by this brand on conventional medium – Print and TV. Positive conversations were fainter than those that raised doubts or critiqued this mega launch. This raised two questions: 1. Wasn’t social media management not included in the PR Planning exercise, and  2. Given that advertising influence has no role to play in social media, critiquing and negative stories seemed to have taken a front seat whereas visibility of positive or factual stories and conversations seemed to have been given a backseat.

     

    Did PR win? Not sure. Did it score a “Jiyo” exclamation? Not sure. I would love to get more educated on this, especially in the second and third point above. I hope we don’t have to start unlearning the principles of Brand Communication, especially the section that taught us that there are differences among Paid, Earned And Owned Media…

     

  • The consultancy has signed new clients like Bangalore-based Happay, abusiness expense management solution company, and Book My Time among others

    Concept PR bags multiple new biz wins

    By A Correspondent

     

    Concept PR has deployed a hub-and-spoke model for exponential growth across South India.  “We believe that the Indian economy is on an upswing and the growth going forward would be exponential. South India offers excellent opportunities for communication in different verticals such as IT, ITES, Bio-technology, startups, pharma and real estate and infrastructure. Our renewed focus appears to have paid us dividends considering the fact that we have been winning a string of businesses in this region,” said Ashish Jalan, Director and CEO of Concept group.

     

    The consultancy has signed new clients like Bengaluru-based Happay, a business expense management solution company, and Book My Time, a car service and sales aggregator, Hyderabad-base, Granules India Ltd, a pharmaceutical compound manufacturer, and Sathguru Management Consultants amongst others. Concept PR has also won mandate from VBHC – Value Homes Private Limited which has projects across Bangalore, Mumbai, Chennai and Delhi-NCR.

     

    “The past nine months has been a huge learning curve, we have pitched aggressively, won accounts, added to the team. But most importantly, we have hit upon the ideal model to increase our presence in the South, increase our product offering, efficiently use group resources across all offices, all this without increasing unnecessary costs. This is critical as we will be able to add value for our clients and at the same time not be heavy on their pockets,” added Sunil Nair, COO – South, Concept PR.

  • The industry expected to double in size by FY'20, will be worth overRs. 2,100 crore

    PRCAI releases study on state of Indian PR industry

    By A Correspondent

     

    The Public Relations Consultants Association of India (PRCAI) released a comprehensive report on the PR industry titled ‘State of Indian Public Relations Industry: 2016’. According to the findings of the report, the industry more than doubled in size between FY’08 and FY’16 from Rs 490 crore to Rs 1120 crore. The report further states that the growth will substantially increase in the coming years and the industry will be worth Rs 2100 crore by FY’20, almost double its present size. Increased maturity in public relations has allowed the industry to become more integral to brand communications.

     

    The survey also reports that the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) sector is the biggest clientele for PR firms in the country. The sector accounted for over 20 per cent of the revenue generated by PR firms, closely followed by financial services and the FMCG sector which accounted for 12 per cent and 9 per cent of the revenue respectively. The PR industry, which grew by 19 per cent this year as compared to 13 per cent last year, is on a strong growth trajectory and is expected to play a more strategic role in delivering brand messages. More brands are waking up to the potential that PR has to offer and are moving towards it to deliver a unified message to all stakeholders.

     

    Commenting on the findings of the report, Nitin Mantri, President PRCAI and CEO, Avian Media said, “Storytelling will be key for brands going forward. Delivering content-driven integrated campaigns which can engage and captivate varied audiences will be crucial to the survival of brands in the near future. The sources of revenue in the industry have diversified beyond public relations and public affairs. New services such as digital and social media communications, along with crisis and CSR management, have enabled strong growth of the industry which is expected to double in size by 2020 and be worth over Rs 2100 crore. Constant innovation and smart adaptation to the changing landscape are indispensable for PR firms today. PR practitioners are also waking up to the huge potential, majority of which is still untapped, that lies in the fast growing rural markets. Despite limited retail access, consumer demand is booming in these markets, being fueled by mobile transactions.”

     

    Commenting on the findings of the report, Deepak H, Head (Emerging Sectors Business Unit) at Feedback Consulting said,“Owing to the growth in the PR industry, there has been a significant increase in the number of boutique firms, while consolidation is happening at the top of the pyramid. PR companies are positive about the future outlook of the industry and estimate a 15 – 16% year on year growth in the next 4 years. Start-ups, Sports & Entertainment are seen as emerging business segment, while the industry is largely driven by the Services & Manufacturing Segment.

     

    The biggest and common challenge in the industry is acquiring the right set of talent and retaining them. The talent gap is seen across the skill areas required in the PR industry. Research & Innovative lead individuals with marketing and business development ability are highly desired skills as indicated by companies during the survey.”

     

    While the core services – public relations and public affairs – continue to be biggest source of revenue for PR consultancies, together generating over 70 per cent of the total revenue, the rapid growth seen at the digital and social media front is indicative of the changing dynamics of the PR industry. Brands are also fortifying themselves against possible negative consumer sentiment in the future by investing more towards crisis and risk management and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) management.

     

    Clients today are slowly shifting towards a project based relationship with the firm over the retainer based model. While today 74 per cent of the total revenue comes from retainer businesses and 26 per cent from project businesses, this dynamic is expected to change in the near future. The increasingly competitive agency landscape and mushrooming of freelancers has increased the options for the brands.

  • Detailed report of the report on the PR business by the Public Relations Consultants Association of India

    PR industry to double in 3 years: Full report

     

    Last week, the Public Relations Consultants Association of India presented a report on the industry based on a study it conducted. The industry expected to double in size by FY’20, will be worth over Rs 2,100 crore. The study conducted by Feedback Business Consulting interviewed some 42 PR companies. We present the study here. Read on…