MxMIndia

Category: PR

  • There is a dearth (or complete absence, if I may say) of basic news reports and articles where a CXO has openly confirmed and announced his love or dependency for the CCO and the PR/Earned Media industry, writes Siddhartha Mukherjee

    Siddhartha Mukherjee: Covid-19 disruption offers Opportunities for CXO-CCO Love Affair!

    By Siddhartha Mukherjee

     

    I doubt if there are any official public records for us Brand & Communications professionals which demonstrate a CXO’s dependency on their Chief Communications Officer (CCO) and PR/Earned Media Agency. There is a dearth (or complete absence, if I may say) of basic news reports and articles where a CXO has openly confirmed and announced his love or dependency for the CCO and the PR/Earned Media industry.

     

    To achieve their business objectives, CXOs depend on CCO skills and PR/Earned Media Tools to the fullest. Much more than 50% of a Brand’s PR/Earned Media visibility is based on the CXO quotes. But then why this?  Has anyone even asked the CXOs why they don’t say “I Do” publicly. Well, we all know the reasons, isn’t it?

     

    Instead, let’s talk of something motivating and focus on why to strengthen and how to build public records.

     

    Why Covid-19 disruption is an opportunity to strengthen CXO – CCO relationship:

     :: Demand Creation, Sustenance & Rise in Corporate “Risks” attracting huge Management time. Management pushing for Proactive & Credible Communication

    :: Fall of ATL/Advertising Effectiveness becoming steeper

    :: Customers (B2C) are not the only TG; Govt, Employees, Investors, Community, Traders, Other Influencers need simultaneous promise delivery and perception management

    :: Multiple TG need messaging seeped with Emotional Quotient (EQ). Earned Media offers formats, flexibility of time and cost effectiveness to create and build EQ

    :: For real effectiveness, Messaging, its Frequency & creation of Innovative Target Audience Touchpoints have to be of extraordinary levels. Best efficiency possible only through PR & Earned Media.

    :: To keep the business numbers chugging, CEOs have to depend on a lubricant that can be achieved only through the most cost-effective brand communication matrix of Earned, Owned and Shared Media Communications.

     

    All the above are some of the many reasons why the CCO should be the GO-TO-DESK during the current disruptive times for the CXO.

     

    How can this relationship be announced and made official:

    Block 1- Demonstrate data/Build MiS:

    :: If you think of it, CXOs process the KRAs given to them in terms of Data – which further gives way to the MiS matrix. Hence, any help or value addition towards his KRAs will also therefore be through the language of Data

    :: A CCO needs thorough understanding of every single KRA of the CXO and translate that into data

    :: This needs investment of time, discipline and most importantly, the knowledge of the Art & Science of showcasing CXO efforts in Data language

     

    Block 2 – Documentation Touchpoints:

    :: Media News Reports: Journalist fraternity need to start providing space for editorial writeups which establish the role of PR/Earned Media in CXO’s life. One can start with trade journals.

    :: Education Institutes: Business & Media Schools should start publishing papers which highlight brand success stories using Earned Media tools and how it helped CXO objectives.

    :: PRCAI & CCO Groups can authenticate: Industry body can do a lot in this. Periodic reports can be created and published on how PR Agencies and Clients worked together using PR & Earned Media.

     

    It is a time of prepare, strengthen and announce the CXO-CCO love affair! And mind you, post Covid-19, this love affair should only get stronger and better.

     

    If done well, it will be one of the best “PR needs PR” initiatives that I have been campaigning for since 2008.

     

    Siddhartha Mukherjee is a senior marketing services research professional. He was until last year Business Head at Eikona and has spent a fair time in the PR industry. This column will appear every other Thursday.

     

  • Teamwork will be responsible for devising a creative and engaging strategy

    Teamwork Communications bags PR mandate of Nova IVF Fertility

    By A Correspondent

     

    Teamwork Communications Group has been selected as the PR and communications partner of Nova IVF Fertility (NIF). As incharge of its media initiatives, Teamwork will be responsible for devising a creative and engaging strategy for Nova’s fertility treatment centres.

     

    Teamwork Group won the account after a multi-agency pitch followed by a competitive bidding process. The mandate for Nova IVF Fertility will be managed by the Delhi office of the agency with adequate support from its nationwide team and associates to ensure strong positioning and greater visibility of the brand among targeted audiences.

     

    Said Shobhit Agarwal, CEO, Nova IVF Fertility: “At Nova IVF Fertility, our constant endeavour is to provide the most advanced Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) available to Indian couples seeking fertility solutions. India has seen a significant rise in the number of patients opting for infertility treatments. However, lack of awareness and taboo associated with the subject still prevents many couples from seeking help. In our efforts to address these issues and further expand the reach of our solutions, we are delighted to bring aboard Teamwork Communications. We are sure their expertise will help us establish a focused communication approach, reach out to more people and create better awareness.”

     

    Commenting on winning the PR mandate for Nova IVF, Nikky Gupta, Co-Founder and Director, Teamwork Communication Group, added: “We are honoured to be selected as the strategic communications partner for Nova IVF Fertility , a renowned organisation which has built its distinct identity in the field of infertility treatment in India. As a team, we deeply understand the needs and communication strategies required for different organizations. Our endeavour will be to devise sustainable communication campaigns that help raise awareness about infertility treatments among end consumers on the one hand and establish the organisation as a major thought leader in the fertility space on the other hand.”

     

     

  • Corporate clients, PR firms and PR analytics service providers have been unable to distinguish between PR Monitoring and Measurement, writes Siddhartha Mukherjee

    Siddhartha Mukherjee: Are we Measuring or Monitoring PR?

    By Siddhartha Mukherjee

     

    During my last two decades in this industry, I have come across several seminars, papers, debates and endless discussions on how to measure PR? However, when I study the conclusion, I notice that they have no correlation with Communication Measurement. All that the discussion did was circle around PR Monitoring.

     

    Interestingly, India is not the sole market trapped in this illusion. It has been a global phenomenon…a pandemic of sorts, if I may say so. Corporate clients, PR firms and PR analytics service providers have been unable to distinguish between PR Monitoring and Measurement.

     

    Having spent a decent share of time across PR Firms, Corporate Communications and PR Analytics Service, my estimate is that barely 5% of industry (corporate clients) are doing some bit of measurement and successfully so. Add another 5% who have recently started exploring this corridor.

     

    Around 90-95% of our industry has been consuming PR monitoring and confusing that with measurement. No one has drawn the line and shown the differentiation.

     

    PR Monitoring is all about What Happened or What is Happening. Whereas measurement is all about Outcome. Outcome, in turn, is about the benefit the Communication Initiative – CorpComm or MarComm – brought to the Brand Health and Business Health.

     

    I must admit that PR monitoring has its own importance. It helps to keep a watch at a daily, weekly and monthly level. The good thing about PR monitoring today is that the industry, more so the service providers, have been able to deepen the offerings across quantitative and qualitative parameters. All these are helping PR firms and end eorporate clients in a major way.

     

    However, the age-old, archaic and uninformed discussion on Measurement needs to stop rightaway. People should be able to own up, identify and demarcate the boundary walls between the monitoring and measurement.

     

    To give industry professionals a sneak peak of what monitoring is, here is glossary of terms that PR firm and corporate firms use which actually connote monitoring (and not measurement): Count of clips/mentions, share of voice, sentiment/tonality, analysis by geographic zones, publication and journalist details, key message analysis, spokesperson details, etc. And yes, AVE or EAV (advertising value) has been at the helm when it came to faultily defining measurement success.

     

    For more than a decade, I have been claiming that AVE should be weeded out from its roots as it is the biggest cancer for our Industry.

     

    On the other hand, the glossary of some terms that indicate that mthe discussion is within the territory of measurement are: Input-Output-Outcome, Exposure-Engagement-Conversion, Target Setting, Targeted Vs Achieved, Brand Scores, Primary & Secondary data, so on and so forth.

     

    PR Monitoring is essential but it is not measurement. It is a subset of measurement. Having said this, implementing Measurement is not easy. It has many logistical challenges.

     

    I shall discuss that in a separate space.

     

    For now, someone, the industry bodies and/or PR firms should take the onus of creating a differentiation between PR monitoring and easurement. Once done, it will fast-track the industry growth in terms of monies, talent pool, infrastructure and acknowledgement outside our industry.

     

    Siddhartha Mukherjee is a senior marketing services research professional. He was until last year Business Head at Eikona and has spent a fair time in the PR industry. This column will appear mostly every other Thursday. His views here are personal.

     

     

  • Especially on the agency side, Size and Muscle power do not guarantee Might any longer, writes Siddhartha Mukherjee

    Siddhartha Mukherjee: Focus on ERP will bring down Client-Agency divorces

    By Siddhartha Mukherjee

     

    Disruptions or crisis typically expose the cracks of a marriage. This principle aptly fits into the dynamics of Client-Agency matrimony as well. However, normalcy is restored quickly and situation doesn’t converge on divorce ONLY if ERP – Efforts, Resources & Processes – the three Brand Communication pistons –– are managed and optimized well. Especially on the agency side, Size and Muscle power do not guarantee Might any longer.

    If one looks at the business scores of Corporate Clients and Agencies, it will be observed that the ratio of Business Not As Usual (BNAU) months is only increasing by the year. Which is why, for Corporates all the more, the need to have a long-term and strong foundation of matrimony with their agency is becoming quintessential.

    However, if not divorce rates, at least instances of dissatisfaction between two sides keep surfacing every now and then.

    Upon investigation, one will find that the fault line will emerge somewhere in the three ERP pistons mentioned above: Efforts, Resources & Process. ERPs undergo neglect because either they are not Acknowledged or simply not Optimized:

    1. Efforts:This typically starts with defining WHY the agency was hired? How the communication efforts of the agency will be monitored and measured? Who maps them? How will the scores be evaluated? Is there a possibility of a third-party observer in this entire process? And so on. In fact, “WHY” plays a crucial role! However, it still remains unfixed between most of Client & Agency matrimonies even in 2020. The answer to WHY is either deliberately kept vague due to insecurity or unscientific because of incompetence. CEO, CMO, CCO and other CXOs who stand to benefit from Brand Communications should play a role in bringing in science into the “Efforts” piston.

     

    2. Resources: When compared to yester years, our communications Industry today is bestowed with a bounty of resources. Budgets, Data, People, Specialised External Agencies…and many more. The question is how do we acknowledge their presence and optimize each one of them. On budgets, I have seen enough examples where budgets have been utilized both intelligently and callously. I have also seen situations where data within Client and Agency organizations is either not being utilized at all or not being optimized. I have seen situations where people or talent is not trained or optimized to manage a specific situation or client need. Resource piston need effective management.

     

    3. Processes: Processes areso very crucial. Processes within Agency, Processes within Client Communication Team and Processes between Client and Agency, all are equally crucial. Processes to Listen, set targets and benchmarks, create a plan, executing a plan, monitoring the execution, evaluation of the outcome, evaluation of the Communications Team and Agency, appraisals, parameters of fee hike, parameters of PR Agency selection, and many such are all supported by mesh of processes.

     

    If you look at this, the onus of ERP management is both on Client as well as the Agency. Some aspects need to be done one on one but some need to be worked upon in tandem.

    With market conditions increasingly coming under the influence of uncontrollable BNAU parameters, it is only wise that we insure towards reducing the Client-Agency divorce rates. Brand building and sustenance will increasingly need marriage and not live-ins between Client and Agency. Strong and Healthy ERP is the only way out.

     

     

  • The quantity and quality of what individual stakeholders express is an information goldmine, writes Siddhartha Mukherjee

    Siddhartha Mukherjee: Why Listening is a Must in the New Business Environment

    By Siddhartha Mukherjee

     

    Every disruption, like the one we are currently in, leads to a ‘New’! The existing definitions of Life As Usual or Not As Usual and therefore, Business As Usual & Not As Usual (BAU/BNAU) transform into something new in shape, size and meaning. For example, one of the dynamics that is undergoing change is “how much”. How much do I need, how much time and money do I spend, etc.

     

    During this phase, stakeholder sentiments – human sentiments after all – go through peaks and troughs. The Quantity and Quality of what individual stakeholders express is not only NEW but very importantly, an Information Goldmine!

     

    Hence, for businesses or corporate and product brands, it’s a great time to intensify their Listening capabilities. It is not just about listening to consumer (revenue generators) mood alone but across stakeholders, both internal and external! Only when you listen more, listen better, your brand will empathise more, empathise better to the New future! After all, brand engagement and conversion pivot on Empathy!

     

    Listening, in simple words, means understanding the current and estimating the future Mood of your ecosystem! A stakeholder-wise analysis of their sentiments – happiness, concerns, memories, aspirations, and so on. Such studies can be Brand Specific and/or Agnostic!

     

    In fact, if executed and sustained well, insights from Scientific Stakeholder Listening can lend to a healthy balance sheet!

     

    With timespent being majorly high online currently, it makes Listening Analytics focused and logistically easier to execute. Currently, all stakeholders (humans after all), are proacting and reacting, expressing in other words – primarily online (digital and social)!.

     

    Hence, for both brand owners and communication consultancies, this is a great time to put its Online ‘Listening’ Analytics desk to full use! Every CxO would love to learn and act on the New future! Listening for a brand is a science! Nothing tactical or superficial about it!

     

    BENEFITS OF LISTENING: 

    1. Reconciles Future Business Plans: The insights from listening analytics will lead to a reconciliation dashboard for CXOs and Board of Directors in terms of the required business direction and KRAs for each business function.

    2. Prepares the Brand/Organisation to Empathise– If the two of the key constituents of brand empathy are messaging and action, the Listening Analysis prepares the organisation CXOs for it.

    3. Mitigate Brand Reputation Loss: The exercise helps understand current crisis chain and future time bombs ticking away towards disaster. Listening to human expressions and analysing them lead to better mitigation preparedness.

    4. Create New Product/Services: Very often, Listening Analysis leads to new Product/Service ideas. Online data offers huge information across what went wrong, what Target Audiences want, what they want to be, and so on.

    5. Re-Orient Stakeholder Profile: Listening to Insights lead to business organisations being able to decide the weightage and the profile of each stakeholder that would be needed to tackle the ‘NEW’!

    6. Assess effectiveness of Brand Building thus far: A key outcome of Listening during disruption phases is that it acts as a reality check of how robust the brand building and business delivery mechanism have been so far.

    7. Fortifies Client-Agency relationship: Listening cannot be a one-way street! The understanding of the current and future ecosystem creates opportunities for even the clients to understand their service providers’ adjustment areas and creates opportunities for working together even longer.

     

    In a sales-obsessed business environment, giving low or no priority to scientific, healthy and regular ‘Listening’ is still understandable. However, in situations like we are currently in, a pandemic or disruption, businesses and brands should re-optimise their time towards Listening and gear up to strengthen its future balance sheet during the ‘New’.

     

  • Brand Research and Data Analytics will need Re-calibration, writes Siddhartha Mukherjee

    Siddhartha Mukherjee: Another New Normal: ‘SEO’ showing potential to  become the New ATL!

    By Siddhartha Mukherjee

     

    Of the jargons – Shared, Earned, Owned and Paid (modes of brand communication) – Covid-19 is catalysing the symptoms of a struggling paid industry – ATL! An industry that is scampering to manage revenues and sustain its effectiveness. However, like for every (grim) Yin, the (bright) Yang here is that a new “SEO” is on the rise! No, it is not what the world of Google Analytics has taught us! The New SEO stands for Shared, Earned and Owned Media.

     

    If not by way of big-ticket budgets, but certainly by way of brand owners’ trust, dependency and priority, SEO is tending towards becoming the New ATL, the New Normal! And yes, so far, ‘SEO’ has been rightfully owned and driven by the CCOs (Chief Communication Officers) and PR Communication Consultancies!

     

    This New CCO-Consultancy-SEO Collective is doing all it takes to maintain brand and business relevance fdor their reporting line C-suite. Sustaining Brand Reputation and the health of the Balance Sheet has been the prime focus. The SEO machinery has been nimble, adaptive, customisable, holistic and certainly effective!

     

    Now, for this yet another New Normal, there has to be a quick recalibration of our mindset an the framework for Brand Research & Data Analytics. Shared, Earned and Owned modes of Brand Communication will need a different template of Brand Research & Data Analytics.  It is a good time for Brand Owners and SEO service providers to come up with a Blueprint!

     

    Disruptions, like the ones we are currently in, demand high EQ (Emotional Quotient) in the Communications Planning and Delivery matrix. For real effectiveness, Messaging, its Frequency and creation of Innovative Target Audience Touchpoints have to be of extraordinary levels.

     

    Here is where recalibrated Data & Analytics will play a central role.

    :: The definition and structure of Primary & Secondary data will need recalibration

    :: Creating the machinery, sourcing the responses and interpreting them will need a broader understanding of Brand Communications, Marcomm, CorpComm, Corporate Reputation, Target Audience, Stakeholders, Custodians, Thought Leadership, Balance Sheet management, etc.

    :: Simply looking at Shared, Earned and Owned data in silo will not work. They have to be cross tabulated. This will lead to gold mine of learnings, insights and fast action points.

    :: Data Analytics should be able connect the dots across multiple stakeholders, over and above just the customers – the revenue generators.

     

    The C-Suite-CCO-PR Firm collective have a wonderful playing field ahead of them. The new calibration of Brand Research, Data and Analytics will form the ammunition to protect brand scores and balance sheet, increase acknowledgement of the SEO Industry, bring in more investments and budgets into the industry.

     

     

  • The fees are Rs. 1.6 Lakh + GST* (*Rs. 1.5 Lakh + GST if you sign up before July 30)

    SCoRe launches fully online programme in PR

    By A Correspondent

     

    The School of Communications and Reputation (SCoRe), a institute created by seasoned PR professionals to train the fresh talent entering the industry, has announced admissions for its full-time online programme today. The 10-month long programme – Post Graduation in Public Relations Lite – is designed for graduates looking to build a strong foundation for a career in Public Relations and Corporate Communications and can be completed remotely through video conferencing.

     

    According to a communique, the programme offers more than 350 sessions including over 30 masterclasses conducted by industry veterans. It aims to address the growing talent crunch in the communication profession at  the entry level. The institute offers a unique learning experience with a dynamic curriculum of courses.The exposure provides the foundation to kickstart a career in public relations – including extensive research & writing, access to over 100 campaigns, and digital and mainstream Public Relations tactics. Students also get other learning opportunities through access to online events for free and offline events at discounted prices in future. The fees are Rs. 1.6 Lakh + GST* (*Rs. 1.5 Lakh + GST if you sign up before July 30).

     

    Said Hemant Gaule, Dean of the institute:  “The communication industry needs well prepared and committed professionals with wide range of competencies to deal with the complex issues and churn out powerful strategies and compelling campaigns. SCoRe’s PRGPR Lite programme is designed to address this need by honing the young minds to be the future leaders and enable them to contribute meaningfully to the profession.” For information: TalkToUs@scoreindia.org

     

     

  • Continued use of AVEs signals bad PR for PR, writes Siddhartha Mukherjee

    Siddhartha Mukherjee: The Cancer of Advertising Value Equivalent

    By Siddhartha Mukherjee

     

    Advertising Value Equivalent evaluation of PR Coverage (AVE, in short) continues to thrive even after three decades of innumerable conferences and global advisories shared with our PR Industry. I call it a cancer. However, the majority of this industry probably may not empathise with me. That is because the on-ground reality is that AVE has been revered as the bedrock of PR and Corporate Communications.

     

    I am not sure what this three decades of lost opportunity tells us about our industry. However, one conclusion is very evident. The much-needed ‘PR for PR’ campaign has been a failure…or did it even start, in the first place?

     

    Below are some evaluation parameters:

    1. Where did the term AVE come from:The term AVE was conceptualised in the west sometime around mid-twentieth century. Yes, alike many western evils, AVE too came from the western world. And, as always, India copied it, accepted it as a norm without cross-questioning it. However, the real on-ground push in India came from the global FMCG players since they had the advertising and marketing influence.

     

    2. What have we done to remove this Cancer:Except a handful of visionaries who have challenged this, both the upper and downstream of this industry have been the cause & effect of this metric to flourish. CorpComm departments & Agency partners continue to get evaluated based on the unrealistic AVE metric.

     

    3. What does this signal:The PR for PR campaign has been ineffective. Had it been effective, both the PR users and service providers would have woken up to the new dawn to realization long ago. This education campaign needs thorough understanding of what PR actually stands for and how to do PR of that understanding. In both, there have been innumerable flaws.

     

    4. What are some of the flaws:

    a) Lacks Internal Clarity: If one were to undertake a survey of respondents across PR Agencies, CorpComm and CXOs, we will see not so surprising disparity in the definition of Public Relations. I have personally witnessed lack of understanding and disparity amongst employees (across hierarchies) in some of the biggest PR Agencies. It is appalling! Both Industry Captains & Industry bodies have not done the required internal communication to educate what PR should stands for.

     

    b) Barking up the wrong tree: The demand for AVE comes from the CXOs desks – CMOs primarily. If the industry was actually serious, the target audience of PR for PR Campaign should have been the CXOs! No education or orientation programme has been created for this desk to change its demand to a more scientific outcome-based metric.

     

    5. What does this need:

    It needs Intent, Authority, Delegation and Target Setting. So far, we have been lacking on all the four parameters. However, going forward, all these four will be needed to eradicate AVE. Intent needs to come from Industry bodies, delegation to dedicated desk with required knowledge & authority and finally, focused towards the source of AVE – the CXOs.

     

    AVE is killing the ethos of Public Relations and Corporate Communications Industry. It is a silent killer. It is this vice that is not letting our industry stand up to the onslaught of Paid Media and Marketing thought process. It is time to start the eradication process. Target audience sets – CXOs on one side and education institutes on the other!

     

     

  • A global initiative to raise funds for International Rescue Committee

    Communicate India collaborates with ‘Jeans for Refugees’

    By A Correspondent

     

    Emerging PR agency Communicate India has collaborated with ‘Jeans for Refugee’, a charity drive that raises funds for the International Rescue Committee as exclusive media/PR partner for the Indian market.

     

    As a part of the mandate, Communicate India is helping Johny Dar, the American artist and fashion designer behind ‘Jeans for Refugees’, to mark his presence in India through tactical media communication. The mandate entails strategic planning and leveraging communication across key media as well as getting on board leading Bollywood notables for brand collaborations.

     

    When a celebrity donates a pair of jeans, they are hand-painted by Dar and transformed into a work of art. The pieces are then exhibited and auctioned to raise funds for the International Rescue Committee – an organisation that aids refugees and people whose lives are shattered by conflict and disaster.

     

    Speaking about the initiative, Akshaara Lalwani, Founder and CEO, Communicate India, said: “Good values and good business go hand in hand. Through this campaign, our purpose is to go beyond the technicalities and delve into building a personal connect with the audience so as to fashion a positive change. We are proud to collaborate with JFR for an initiative that has already touched innumerable hearts and minds worldwide and are looking to create a similar galvanising effect in India.”

     

    Added Dar: “It’s been an absolute pleasure working with Communicate India, and through them with prominent publications of India. We have been sincerely inspired by their dedication to communicating the depth and breadth of the initiative with an original and personal approach, and by sharing our message and work with the Indian audience at large. It is partnerships like this, that upholds our vision of equality, inclusivity and teamwork, which make ‘Jean for Refugees’ into a global movement, bringing us all closer to a brighter future.”

     

     

  • The PR Club will offer continuous learning to the community

    11 comms professionals set up PR Club

    By A Correspondent

     

    Eleven Public Relations professionals have come together, supported by The Promise Foundation, to create a membership-led knowledge sharing collaboration for betterment of the professional community. The PR Club – as the initiative is referred to, will offer continuous learning to the community.

     

    The 11 co-founders include (in alphabetical order): Aniruddha Bhagwat, Liza Saha, Nicky Singh, Pooja Trehan, Rahul Rakesh, Ritesh Shete, Rozelle Laha, Sandeep Rao (Co-Founder of One Source), Tarunjeet Rattan (Creator of PR-POI), Tinu Cherian (Lead at ICG) and Vikram Kharvi (Founder of IPRF).

     

    Membership is open to any working professional who has a basic understanding of Public Relations. There will be an annual fee of Rs 10,000 + GST (introductory fee). The first 50 who join in July 2020 will get a one-time 50% discount on the fee. The founding members will not be affected by a fee hike in the subsequent year.

     

     

  • Brand Management needs a balance between technology and humanities, writes Siddhartha Mukherjee

    Over-obsession of tech-based brand-building solutions doesn’t work

     

    By Siddhartha Mukherjee

     

    In the last five years or so, our brand management vocabulary has gone up a few notches. Two specific keywords – Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) – have scored the highest share of voice. Global and local organisations have emerged as profitable service providers. Brand-owners are giving jaw-dropping attention and gorging on these domain areas. Crores are getting invested into this. Brand Building, Sustenance and Sales are depending on it.

     

    However, here is my word of caution. Obsession or, should I say, over-obsession of technology-based brand-building means and thought processes are eroding our sensitivity to the non-linear shifts that occur in all human behaviour. It erodes our natural ability to extract meaning from qualitative information. The world of brands is about emotions – not of the brand-owners but of the stakeholders. Tech-based thought processes will never give us accurate understanding of the emotional shifts based on delta change in social, psychological, geo-political stimuli. It will be counter-productive.

     

    Neil deGrasse, the versatile physicist, feels: “In science, when human behaviour enters the equation, things go non-linear. That is why physics is easy and sociology is hard.” With tech-based solutions, we are not building brands. We are just experimenting with alternative routes to create a steroid to boost sales revenues.

     

    Let us understand the basics. A logo is owned by a company. When promise is added to the logo, it becomes a brand. Which again is owned by the company. However, a brand’s reputation is formed based on the stakeholder’s experience and how s/he processes brand promises through this mesh of emotions. Now, reputation is not owned the company. It is owned by the stakeholders outside the company. Brand creation and sustenance, therefore, is about understanding the emotions of these millions of stakeholders across demographics, psychographics, etc. It is about understanding their fears, emotions, expectations, aspirations, sadness, etc based on different brand message stimuli.

     

    Here is where, I feel, that too much dependence or obsession with STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics)-led products and solutions like AI and ML will not do justice to brand building and sustenance. Here is where, we must have a balance between New Age (AI, ML & DM) algorithm-based solutions and old age brand building and data creation techniques. The fact of the matter is that this is something that has been sorely lacking in almost all organizations. Many don’t realise that it is the old way of thinking, led by human intervention and not by machines & robots, that provide brand owners and brand builders something very essential, known as “Critical Thinking”.

     

    So, it is about a balance of New Age Brand Building Solutions Vs Old School Critical Thinking.

     

    Critical Thinking comes with the background of Humanities – disciplines that explore human or stakeholder culture – such as literature, history, philosophy, art, psychology, anthropology, sociology, political science, economics, geography, geo-politics and so on.

     

    Critical Thinking or Humanities understanding provides mental dexterity to brand management professionals. It opens their mind and enhances their ability to read stakeholder emotions more accurately and holistically. It leads to understanding the “emotional connect” of the target audience stakeholder. It provides human intelligence as against machine intelligence.

     

    Our brand building and marketing machinery’s potential to build strong brand and stronger brand reputation has been hijacked by the promises of the tech-based AI and ML world. Never before has our brand management matrix been so divergently linked with criss-crossing mesh of pretty much all subjects around us. However, both as brand owners and builders, we must remind ourselves that the important role of human intervention is the most important factor towards making sense of changing stakeholder emotions.

     

    Siddhartha Mukherjee is a senior marketing services research professional. He was until last year Business Head at Eikona and is currently Founder of Brand Balance (brandbalance.in). This column will appear every other Thursday.

     

  • Ketchum Sampark held the mandate until recently.

    ASCI awards PR & digital mandate to Pitchfork Partners

    By A Correspondent

     

    The Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) has mandated Pitchfork Partners Strategic Consulting with its public relations and digital counsel following a multi-agency pitch. Ketchum Sampark held the mandate until recently.

     

    Rohit Gupta

    Said Rohit Gupta, Chairman, ASCI: “When it came to choosing our communication partner, we wanted people who could synergise with ASCI’s vision and direction, refresh its communication and ensure that our connection with consumers strengthens more than ever before. We are delighted to have Pitchfork Partners as our communication experts. Pitchfork’s young team and expertise will help us achieve our mission.”

    Jaideep Shergill

    Added Jaideep Shergill, Co-founder, Pitchfork Partners: “We are elated to partner with ASCI. With the growth in miscommunication through advertisements which in turn harms the consumer, especially in these times, ASCI has a very important role to play. The new consumer protection regulations mean great empowerment for consumers. This is an opportunity for ASCI to make an even stronger impact and underscore its leadership role in consumer protection and responsible advertising. Pitchfork Partners will assist ASCI through its strategic counsel in this effort.”