By Siddhartha Mukherjee
It will be interesting if our Public Relations industry were to revisit the basic principles of Economics – Demand & Supply. For years now, the suppliers, the PR Firms/Agencies, have always supplied what they thought will be the quantity and quality of demand by the clients. For the same period, clients, on the other hand, have always believed that their demands were not completely understood and therefore never met. On a different note, rarely has there been an effort towards comprehensive reconciliation by the two sides.
Let us hope that the twain shall meet some day. For the moment, let us focus on the possible demands – some tactical, some strategic – that may come from the clients in 2016. More importantly, are there ways in which suppliers (PR Agencies) can meet those demands.
TACTICAL:
1. Be punctual; Come for Office Meetings on Time: While I do know of some agencies where they follow very strict punctuality protocols, by and large, however, the general perception prevails that punctuality is a rarity in our Industry. Respecting timelines, honouring start and end time allotted for meetings, etc. form one of the first basic or elementary requirements by clients.
2. Be presentable: Fashion is good. Experimenting with Fashion is interesting. However, that need not border towards shabbiness or indecent attire. Let us not forget that a large part of the Industry Clientele, who occupy important Chairs within Client organizations, have risen the corporate ladder through sheer hard work, dirtying their hands, humility and discipline – work attire being one of them.
3. Be well-prepared – anytime, everytime: The conundrum of PR Agency vs Consultancy may come to halt by this basic tactical move. Orienting and Training the Client Servicing to think and converse as Client partners and not agents or fixers. The ability to ask the right questions and get the right brief often works miracles.
4. Think beyond Press Releases; 1-on-1s and Conferences: It is not necessary that a Client’s right from its Agency or the latter’s duty towards the Client is restricted within the realms of Media Relations. Think of ways in which Clients Brand will get better exposure, scientific engagement and effective conversion by its Target Audience. You may think of solutions from the overall domain of Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC).
5. Database Management should go beyond Media List and Ad rates: Why can’t my Agency maintain database that extends beyond Publication/Journalist details to Household level data, Media Penetration, Brand Saliency, Consumption Behaviour, etc.
STRATEGIC:
1. Don’t talk EAVs; Tell me something new: My ROIs from Advertising are coming down. My dependency on Earned Media/PR, ideally, should go up. However, the current unit of measurement, EAVs, is not helping me beyond self gratification and making my some of my internal desks happy. I am not getting a sense of how it is impacting my brand or the business at large. Can there be other yardsticks and unit of measurement to achieve this purpose?
2. Correlate PR with the nodes of Communication Cycle: Establish the correlation of PR effort with Brand Exposure, Engagement and Conversion.
3. Infuse Account & Media Planning into PR: Planning is not just about sprinkling Client’s monthly plans with some 1 on 1s, Press Conferences and Media Releases. Sadly, even today, some of the largest PR Agencies continue to speak this language of – “…ok, lets get a cover story in a magazine done!â€I have never been able to fathom how does this help the client and why do clients encourage such below average approach? Planning is an elaborate process that includes modules of listening, benchmarking, target setting, audit etc.
4. Can we Fortify or Strengthen the Client-PR Firm relationship: If PR and PR Firms are expected to partner Client growth, there has to be a way towards strengthening and creating long term marriages. While it is a rarity nowadays, however, the PR Agencies will have to position themselves as Long Term partners.
5. PR and IMC’s interplay: As a Client, internally within my Organization, I will never look at PR in isolation. It is one of the triggers or stimuli or touchpoints for my brand and its target audience sets. How can PR work in tandem with other IMC dynamics.
6. Can Research be infused into or support PR: Well, Research in Public Relations is an ocean. It can be applied at every step – Listening, Planning, Benchmarking, Target setting, Outcome…well sky is the limit.
7. How can Measurement & Audit help me justify my PR efforts: Well, a simple yet effective starting point has to be – why do you do PR? One may not believe till they see it! Amazing measurement and audit grids fall in place that can not only reposition Corp Comm on to a pedestal within Client Organization but also bind the Client and its PR Agency into a healthy long term marriage!
8. Is PR Monitoring/Tracking same as PR Research and Audit: There has always been a difference and right fully so. PR Monitoring and Tracking is tactical. News (Aaj ki taaza khabar) is a commodity. Whether it affects your plans, your long term targets, your brand objectives, your media relations dynamics, competition moves, nothing of these can be gauged through this tactical service. For these and others, such as – budget planning, positioning, key messages, prioritisation, etc. – Research and Audit is key! Research & Audit is for CXOs utility.
The challenges of 2016 need specific attention. Best if we start with the tactical ones. They are easy to achieve and in a much shorter time. More so, they are internal in nature. Strategic ones are slow burners and will need a lot of external synergies with various corridors of the Industry.
Demand needs to be collated and documented. On whether Suppliers can meet those demands, well, I know of many isolated cases where some PR Agencies have over delivered beyond a Client’s imagination! It is just a matter of sharing those practices and making it a mass movement!
Siddhartha Mukherjee is a senior PR industry professional and currently Senior Vice President, Eikona – Earned Media Planning, Audit and Advisory. The views expressed here are his own.