Category: PR

By Siddhartha Mukherjee

 

There was a time when for some, getting into PR career came as a last option. However, now, with there being literally no end to career ideas, when people still land up in PR profession, one would expect that the move was well thought through!

 

But sadly, when you ask business or communication school students or professionals who are, say, two-three years old into this profession,a basic question – why did you get into PR? – some amazingly bizarre, naïve and yet-so-confident responses come by. Here is a quick collation of some scattered responses I have come across:

1. I like meeting people: This is one of the common responses I have come across. The fact that they have joined this profession because of their “aspiration” to meet people, comes across as a wake-up call. The best part is that such candidates are being recruited/absorbed by recruiters (read: agencies and corpcomm departments). If such is the candidate’s career aspiration, god save him/her, god save the employer and may the universe save the client. If I were to try and reconnect, is this the reason why both the employer and employee only talk about how many journalists do they know?

2. It is Glamorous: Well, starting your career sifting through newspapers and magazines, making clippings dossier, chasing journalists to get them to write on their clients, convincing them not write negatively on their clients or to turn up for a press conference, burning the midnight oil to create and manage an event, etc. is far, far from Glamorous! Not only that, this scenario does not change much well into the latter years!

3. I Get to meet and be with Bigwigs: An advantage no doubt, but such momentary pleasures come in short flashes. Whether they be corporate, sports or movie celebrities, it comes at a price of physically andmentally strenuous work and comes after a particular level of seniority.

4. I like working in ‘Media’: Media is often associated with glamour. Being on TV or Newspaper is equal to media which in turn is equal to news and a lot of other aspects. They have no clue of the segments or corridors within media and the type of skill sets each demand!

5. I get to travel (at the Client’s cost): Yes, this too came as a category of response, though in small proportions. While I can understand the desire to explore geographies persisted across generations, more so in today’s, but this being the driver to opt for PR leaves me spell bound.

 

Very rarely have I heard of responses which border around related words like passion to build brands, reputation, perception, thought leadership, drive business, research, data, insights, and so on. While this segment of well-informed, focused candidates varies market to market, industry by industry, but one can say for sure that such proportions are in minority! Till the time such candidates contribute a majority of our workforce, our industry’s boast of being able to add value will continue to be a sham! Education Institutes, Recruiters, Clients and more importantly, the Industry bodies/lobbies, where are we heading to?

 

For now, I would love to hear more funny or strange responses you have come across to the question – why did you join PR?

 

By Siddhartha Mukherjee

 

After the CEO, HR is the biggest and most important desk that should bear the torch of the Company’s Vision and Mission. Not just momentarily, but through the year! However, it is rare that we come across examples where HR is no longer just a support function but graduated to being a growth partner! No wonder, to justify their existence, they make their presence felt largely through reactive adhesion and not through the much required proactive cohesion.

 

Public Relations (or Target Audience Relations) takes a new meaning when it comes to PR for andwith employees. If a business concept has a buy-in from its employees, business growth and success will surely come. HR’s basic KRAs of Talent Attraction and Sustenance come easier then.

 

If you look at various stories of business failures (small or big), one of the main reasons (if not the only) has been that of employees getting alienated by the Company’s vision and Top Management. Which is why, irrespective of whether it is a newly launched entity or an organisation that is many years old, the Human Resource of that organisation should becontinuously prepared and aware of the business dynamics. Continuous, month-on-month communications programmes ensure increase commitment levelsand retention.

 

Below are some thoughts on how HR should become the first and a regular PR success:

1. CEO should get HR and Communications Work Together: Yes, rare, I know! But where it happens, this initiative pays off amazing dividends. The mandate should be very clearly drawn around the stated vision and mission. HR should focus on the employee experience and communications should weave the story through interesting personalised communications! This should not happen adhoc or a few times but every week, month, across offices and departments.

2. Understanding Internal & External Ground Dynamics: HR and Communications can start by gathering an understanding of the external and internal dynamics. More importantly, use that to set targets for the quality and quantity of employees the organisation needs to sustain. This should eventually give them way forward on attraction and permissible attrition targets.

3. Understanding the Word called Reputation:While there will be many self-claimed in house and external gurus of this subject, HR-Communications combo is best placed to understand reputation. The simple reason being that reputation is built or damaged by (direct or indirect) human intervention. If reputation is about promises or experiences, communicating those promises and delivering on those promises, the HR and communications team can become a perfectly constructive combination.

4. Working together on Talent Attraction, Sustenance and Exit: Attracting the right talent, working on the candidate’s entry process, sustaining him/her and being with the candidate through the last mile of exit from the company can be laden with multiple opportunities to build the organisation and maintain the brand reputation.

5. ROI Measurement Tool: Not just communications but HR department too comes under the scanner of proving its worth and ROI. There are amazing ROI measurement possibilities that will put HR and communications high on the altar within the organisation.

 

It is time that HR, IT and other such functions move beyond support and become growth partners. The words Human Resource is so weighty and full of responsibilities and possibilities. If Communications and HR really want, the prospective CEOs will not come from Finance, Marketing or Sales functions. It will be from the HR-Communications combination.

 

By Siddhartha Mukherjee

 

The core objective of having a communication research and measurement mechanism is to build and manage a brand – Corporate or Product. Our industry has established ways of measuring Communications – PR, Advertising or any other tool for that matter. Irrespective of print, TV or online mediums, count of clips, column or square centimetres (space), GRPs or any other quantitative and qualitative indicesare readily available for marketing and communications custodians to build brands.

Unfortunately though, very rarely have I seen that measurement, analytics and reports are being used to build brands. In majority of cases, it is being used to please bosses! If you look at PR in particular, data sets being used by client contact points to showcase PR efforts and how it is benefitting the organisation is not only laughable but also discouraging, to say the least. It is largely being used as a mathematicallymanaged (self) gratification scorecard.

These dynamics come into limelight when you look at two types of professionals in the industry. First, one who believes that PR is a brand building tool and nothing else. Second, who believes that PR is an ego massaging tool and nothing else. The problem starts and ends with the latter. Using PR to build brand is strategic and is hardwork. Using PR to “please” and massage egos is easy and doesnot require planning or much effort.

Like first, the second category are also present both in PR agencies as well as in the client side. In both, there are “bosses” who are getting pleased consciously or unconsciously.

 

Some quick thoughts:

1. Who are these Bosses?:

Well, they are primarily users or rather the potential direct and indirect scientific beneficiaries of every PR Communications. CEO, Marketing & Sales Heads, HR Head, Finance Head, CorpComm Heads, PR Agency Heads, Account Heads and so on.  This is the simple part of the question-answer series.

 

2 Are these Bosses being “Pleased” or have they have chosen this convenience themselves?

Well, in most of the cases, as far as the CXOs within the Corporate Organisations are concerned, they are being “Pleased”. Who are they being “pleased” by? Well, definitely without generalizing though, it is some select people within Corporate Communications and/or PR Agency functions. They work towards first understanding the personality traits of these HEADS/CXOs and figure out whether this individual will get “pleased” with self-gratifying, ego massaging “pleasing” data or does it have to be hard core brands data that involves details of exposure, target audience, messaging, market & ROI data and so on.

As for the rest, they have consciously chosen to be “pleased” because for them PR is a Tool that is used for ego massages! Also, it is easy.

 

3. How does the “Pleasing” mechanism work?

Well, to start with, the “Pleasers” study their target audience (bosses or person they report to) well. Doesnot take much to understand if ones boss or reporting person on the client side is marketing/measurement numbers savvy or not. Normally, very few are genuinely so.

Once that is identified, measurement can be used to emotionally manage or satisfy the boss. Count of articles, thickness of Clippings folder, Advertising Value Equivalent, Photograph of the boss in news coverage vs competition, interviews of the boss vs competition, getting coverage in Publications or TV Channels that boss or boss’s family reads or watches, so on and so forth.

 

4. Ideally, how should Measurement scores be used?

Well, first, one should be very clear as to why measurement systems are in place. CXOs, CorpComm and PR Agency should be on the same page on this bit. Till that time, measurement should not start at all. Second, the bosses, on the client (Corporate) side, are mere Spokespersons we are talking about. They cannot be bigger than the interest of the Corporate and Product Brand. PR is not for massaging their egos and a pleasing mechanism. It is purely to build brands by fine tuning Communications strategies and tactics.

On the agency side, the bosses need to understand that it is because of their “Pleasing” approach that our Industry doesnot have any recognition or respect outside this industry.

ROI (Returns on Investment) or ROO (Returns on Objectives) should be the bedrock of all that measurement matrix the Client and Agency is using.

 

5 .How can one change this?

Not sure where to start. All I know is that there are many starting points. PR Industry body can bring in a change. PR Agency or Agencies who are doing this kind of work should do PR on it. Clients can start using a clear code of PR Usage within the Organisation. Corporate Communication Professionals Bodies can roll out policies.

Let me assure you that there are clients (corporates) who are staying clear from PR’s “pleasing” mechanism. They are using PR and its measurement clearly from Brand ROI and ROO perspective. This has forced the PR agencies to shape up, think, deliver and talk the language of brand building. They are getting paid (better) because of this and not “pleasing” mechanism.

 

By Siddhartha Mukherjee

 

“What ifs” are normally unconventional…sometimes even unorthodox. I thought of one such “What if” scenario – What if our marketers, ready to supply their goods and services, did not use conventional advertising at all to generate demand. All they had with them was “Earned/News/Editorial”.

 

Historically (and pre), religions, beliefs, gods, idols, cultures and many other such realities have successfully managed to center themselves into our lives. If you come to think of it, communications – creative and sustained – has played a very important role in achieving this success. Go back thousands of years, there was nothing called “advertising”. There was nothing called paid, earned or owned media. All that the Think Tanks then used to communicate their concepts was plain and direct communications. As mediums, they used pamphlets, mass addresses, word of mouths, road shows and other such mechanisms. Despite no backing of “technology” or “media spends”, all these aspects not only achieved wonderful launch but also amazing acceptance (sustenance) by the respective intended target audiences.

 

This brings me back to my unorthodox “What If” question?Cut to the 21^st century, imagine if corporate and product marketers were to use only earned media tools and nothing else.

 

Some quick thoughts:

1. Media Owners would be under Control: The explosion in the list of media owners (especially Print and TV) to grab a pie of the conventional advertising (Display or TVCs) moolah would not be there. Media titles would have been much lesser. It would be created by those who would have genuinely believed in quality and relevant content. The business model of media owners would have largely been subscription based.

2. In-Content Brand Placements would be better used: Editorial/Programming teams would have made for better thinkers and users of in-programme brand placements.

3. Rationale would prevail in Marketing Budgets and P/Ls: The budgets that go behind conventional advertising remain to border around being bizarre. Spending a fraction of that on well thought overall IMC (Integrated Marketing Communications) or unconventional communications would create far more effective ROOs or ROIs.

4. PR Industry would be THE ONE: There would be no celebrities from the advertising world. There would be those celebrities who would be known for building a brand, it’srecall and reputation through unconventional forms of brand communications. PR agency and corporate communications would have different, much higher and wider KRAs and KPIs. Clubs or industry bodies would have looked and thought differently.

5. Talent Pool would have been of Higher Quality: A communications professional would have to be IMC (Integrated Brand Communications) specialist and not just a creative professional, media planner, copywriter, media relations specialist, event management, etc. B-schools would have to rethink their course curriculum.

6. Awards would have been holistic: The plethora of awards platforms would not be there. Select, realistic and holistic awards would have got created.

7. Brand Health Studies would look different: Advertising industry’s biggest support that it (kind of) works is because of various brand health studies (like TOM, Disposition, etc.) that marketers/advertisers commission to find out the efficacy of the ad campaign. This was proactively and scientifically created to suit the needs of the advertising industry. In the absence of conventional advertising, brand health studies would have been conducted in a different way.

8. Editors would be been the sole gatekeepers of SPACE: Space buying and selling would not have existed. Editors would have been the sole decision makers or gatekeepers on which brand entity to write on, discuss or showcase and in what editorial form.

 

Am sure there can be a longer list. However, to envisage a situation where marketers use everything but conventional advertising is an interesting thought.It opens immense opportunities and forces us to rethink on the brand building mechanisms we have adopted so far.

 

With the way conventional advertising is progressing, it won’t be long when unconventional communications forms, including earned media will see the real dawn!

 

By Siddhartha Mukherjee

 

Like advertising agencies built theadvertising industry, PR agencies have built our earned media industry. Our PR or earned media industry has come a long way…Salute! The hardships and challenges that they have overcome is incomparable. Infact, it is despite these challenges that they have also helped the advertising industry grow to a size and stature we know of today (link of my first article)!

PR agencies have consciously transformed themselves. It has been a very tenacious and organic transformation. For clients, their value and credibility has only increased.

Let us look at what a client ideally expects from a PR agency today! As compared to 10 or 20 years back, while some have transformed, some basic ones still remain.

1.   PR is no longer a Jugaad of Journalists: Gone are the days when a client will hire an agency only to stop the publishing of negative news or get space for a story irrespective of its merit. Jugaad was the gamechanger then. Being able to dine and wine was one of the key skillsets. Today, jugaad skills have become minority. Today, Corporate Brand Reputation Management is about understanding stakeholders, their thinking and ensuring that their belief in client brand remains unaltered irrespective of Business As Usual or Business Not As Usual.

2.   Know the Brand Building Process: Ask a candidate why he or she chose PR as a career, still, atleast 50% of them will justify it by replying “I like meeting people”. Client is expecting that the use of PR or Earned Media as another or integrated alternative to holistic brand building. Client is expecting that one would therefore have an understanding of target audience, messaging, unique proposition, the end of communication objective, etc.

3.   Come for Meetings on Time: This is one of my personal favourites. One of the basic hygiene issues that clients still complain about is that their agency servicing team is not punctual or serious about timelines. Respecting meeting time is a key area. While I have seen that some clients encourage or are cool about this, however, by and large, this still remains to the sore point for most clients.

4.   Dress Sensibly: Hmm! I have personally seen and have even heard clients talk about bizarre dressing sense of their agency personnel. Does not matter whether it is a regular client meeting or an event, the least client expects is that the agency personnel will dress “decently” and “as per the occasion”. Outlandish, minimal, exposing, indecent, tacky, well, descriptives like these are what clients have used to describe some of their servicing team members. Mind you, this is for both the sexes.

5.   Talk my language, not yours!: Client has hired the agency so that it can understand the client’s business, plan out and execute a communication plan for the business and show its effectiveness as per the client’s business model. Why should the client/end-elient listen to jargons, expressions and explanations that belong to the PR industry! Talk to the client in business language.

6.   Show ROI & ROO through Research and Measurement!: I have long maintained that AVEs/EAVs is a cancer for the Industry.  Clients want to know whether their agency’s work has brought returns for the client’s business in terms of objectives and on Investments. Towards this, the client is expecting the agency to adopt the science of research, planning and measurement. It is only through this that the client will understand the value their PR agency is bringing on the table.

7.   Don’t React, Pro-act: Client is expecting that the PR cgency will ensure that the client’s brand is seen and heard with equal thrust and credibility every month, month-on-month. Hence, working only during product launch phases is a sub-standard delivery. Client is depending on PR Agency’s acumen to create media exposure even during lull months and also beyond launches.

8.   Understand the subject called Reputation: Nowadays, the word reputation is quite abused. Everyone likes to talk or show themselves as experts of this subject. Not just that, for some reputation starts and ends with journalist and news management. For a client, this is a small drop. Reputation is an ocean. Client is expecting the agency to dive into the client organisation’s matrix and study HR, Finance, Vendor, Marketing, Customer, and all other corridors and suggest ways of strengthening or avoiding Reputation damage.

 

Well, the list can be long. In today’s age, understanding of digital, advertising, content creation, and many other one-stop services are also suitable mentions in the above, but the idea is start with the basics, especially the ones that have been bone of contention for years!