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Tag: Amith Prabhu

  • Only when there is complete clarity among the fraternity on what each term stands for, we can say PR is changing, writes Amith Prabhu

    Amith Prabhu: PR is not changing. We are!

    By Amith Prabhu

     

    Last week I was at a PR conference on the theme “PR is Changing”. There were some interesting insights shared. However, the most catchy insight was what got shared towards the end of the conference which caught my attention. A stalwart of the profession after hearing what all the co panelists had said declared that nothing is going to change. He was so right! Public Relations has been around from time immemorial. It has been called different things. It has evolved but it really has not changed.

     

    Some tools have got added, some have become obsolete. The mediums have changed. Professionalism has increased. The bottomline is that the core of Public Relations, which is engaging and communicating to influence behavior has remained fundamentally the same. So in sum, Public Relations is not changing. One can argue that Change is the only constant. Indeed, we have seen so much change in the last decade.

     

    The number of magazines have increased with super specialty. TV channels have grown manifold. Digital has become mainstay. Mobile has become the primary screen. Generational shifts have taken place.

     

    Most interestingly, after years of discussion and debate, there is no fix on the Measurement Dilemma in Public Relations. This has nothing to do whether Public Relations has changed or not. We have changed and in the process forgotten to put in place written briefs with clear measurable parameters.

     

    Content marketing has always been a part of Public Relations. Plain vanilla media releases have transformed into infographics, listicles and native advertising. But we think Public Relations has changed. Social media has changed the way content is absorbed. It is yet another medium to communicate in addition to the legacy mediums of print, television and radio.

     

    Most of all the education avenues of PR professionals and the events for the fraternity have increased. The change is merely cosmetic and in the ‘how’. The ‘what’ remains the same. However, my biggest concern is that PR is not doing enough PR for itself.

     

    Several people in the profession are still confused about the very nature of what they do. What has not changed is the nomenclature of terms used ranging from corporate affairs to public affairs to strategic communications to reputation management to marketing communications to corporate communications to external relations to brand communications. Only when there is complete clarity among the fraternity on what each term stands for, we can say PR is Changing. That is unlikely to happen in the foreseeable future. Until then only we will keep changing, Public Relations will not.

     

     

  • Three incidents in a span of 10 hours in three cities make Amith Prabhu wonder where is the value system that takes us towards complete freedom

    Amith Prabhu: Liberation is what we need!

    By Amith Prabhu

     

    We completed 68 years as an independent nation on Saturday. On last Thursday and Friday I travelled to Mumbai. My journey had three components and throughout the journey I was reflecting on our life in a nation which is soon gearing up to celebrate the 69th Independence Day.

     

    What transpired on the Metro train I took from Gurgaon to Delhi, then the experience I had at the airport before I took the evening flight from Delhi to Mumbai and finally the auto ride from Mumbai airport to Bandra for my meeting was quite astonishing. This may not be the typical Public Relations column. But basic common sense and mutual respect is how we grow as a nation in an ongoing public relations campaign with one and another and the world.

     

    The metro train I got into was full, as it always is with space for standing passengers only. On a following station a heavily pregnant woman entered the general compartment and came and stood in front of a fairly young man hinting that she needed the seat. He began to look the otherway. After a few seconds she asked him to make place for her and he immediately gave up his seat. She alighted four stations later and another man who had seen how she got her seat quickly parked himself on the vacant seat to everyone’s bewilderment and the man who was originally on the seat and the woman just watched as this trivial incident unfolded. I asked the man as to why he pounced on the seat when the original occupant was right in front of him and he replied that the original occupant had no right over the seat because he did not initiate the offer. Weird!

     

    Next, at the airport I stand in line for the security check and the queue does not seem to move at all. That’s because the CISF personnel at the monitor has got up to check a bag that has liquids thus preventing movement of the x-ray machine causing a long wait. These are the inefficiencies with which we function. After watching the spectacle for a few minutes I asked another constable as to why he could not monitor the screen to avoid a pile up of passengers which led him to action.

     

    I’m not going to devote space here for passenger behaviour before take-off and after landing. That will be a separate column. The way we want to occupy everyone else’s cabin luggage space and then rush for the exit door upon landing can be a novel or feature film. Less said the better.

     

    Finally, I landed in Mumbai and took an auto. Now the auto man starts riding away and refuses to put down the meter. He has reached the main road and argues that I should pay him a flat Rs 250 when I’m aware on the meter it does not cross Rs 150. I insist on him putting the meter and he insists on dropping me mid-way. Well, after mutual threats I reach my destination and pay him Rs 150 which he refuses but finally moves on with the cash.

     

    Three incidents in a span of 10 hours in three cities on three different modes of public transport. We are yearning for progress and are proud of our independence. But where is the value system that takes us towards complete freedom? When will we become a liberated nation? How will this change? Who will take the step towards making lives and things better?

     

  • India now has three to four signature events and globally there are a handful of global events that one should consider attending, writes Amith Prabhu

    Amith Prabhu: The season of PR events is here!

    By Amith Prabhu

     

    It is that time of the year when announcements for various PR conferences take place. India now has three to four signature events. Similarly, globally there are a handful of global events that one should consider attending if a plan has been put in place.

     

    In India, the first event is slated for mid-August which is PR Moment’s conference. Next up in September is the South Asia leg of the SABRE Awards in Mumbai. That is followed by Praxis in the fourth weekend of September in Mysore. Then in October comes the e4m conference and awards.

     

    Internationally, there are several but the focus is on six that are becoming bigger and better year on year. The Arthur W Page Conference end of September in Chicago is where the Who’s Who of Corporate America assemble. Then in end October is the Holmes Report Global Summit in Miami. Outside of the Americas there are two major conferences taking place in Africa. The IPRA summit around the fourth week of September in Johannesburg and the World PR Conference on Emerging Economies in Nairobi in mid-November. November third week also has the Asia Pacific Communications Directors Summit in Hong Kong. The Nairobi event by Global PR Forum which organizes the World PR Forum every alternate year and the Hong Kong event organized by Communications Director are taking place for the first time. Besides these, the Spikes Asia Festival in Singapore in mid-September is a good event to attend.

     

    Three other signature events just went by in June and are good to consider in 2016. The PR Week Asia conference and awards in Hong Kong took place two weeks ago. This happened at the same time the Cannes Lions took place in France. A few weeks prior, the IABC World Conference took place in San Francisco.

     

    Four other gigantic events that one should aim to attend as they offer so much learn from. Several top guns also attend these which makes it a great opportunity for high level interactions. These depend on the interest area one has. South by South West in Austin Texas every March, The International Auto Shows in Europe and Detroit, The World Economic Forum in Davos and the Consumer Entertainment Show in Las Vegas are must attends during one’s professional career to get amazing exposure.

     

    Which one have you budgeted for and which one is in your bucket list? If you put them in writing, attending several of these over the next few years will not be hard. It all starts with an intent.

     

  • The late APJ Abdul Kalam was a man of integrity and this is something we all must learn from. Integrity is not an attribute found easily in today’s time and age, writes Amith Prabhu

    Amith Prabhu: The Public Relations person par excellence

    By Amith Prabhu

     

    If there was man who epitomised Public Relations and lived most of his adult life building great relationships and in the midst of the publics it was our former President who passed away last Monday. I met him for a few seconds in 2003 when he visited the institute where I was a student in Pune. I asked him for his autograph and he quickly gave me a printed card in which he had personally signed his name. Very few of his generation would do something like that. His death proved how much Indians loved him. Cutting across all sections the outpouring of affection was there for everyone to see.

     

    I was reading Shekhar Gupta’s interesting National Interest piece and on the late APJ Abdul Kalam yesterday to once again admire the life of this great man who inspired several generations through his sheer simplicity. His style was exactly that of commoners. He did well as President and after his term ended got back to doing two things he loved most – teaching and writing. Long before there was an International Yoga Day the UN had declared October 15th as World Students’ Day’. This was to commemorate Abdul Kalam’s birthday. Such was the power of this man.

     

    He was a man of integrity and this is something we all must learn from. Integrity is not an attribute found easily in today’s time and age. Our profession suffers from it. We have seen it in the past and we hear stories of lack of integrity every other day.

     

    Just last week a leading PR firm sacked three of its senior employees for the lack of integrity. Very often firms put matters of integrity and the lack of it under the carpet. We need to adopt a code of ethics for our profession and maybe learn from Abdul Kalam who was a greater PR person than the current Prime Minister.

     

    Another important learning from Dr Kalam was his love for sharing and imparting knowledge. Again, an important element in our profession. We need to actively engage in mentorship programmes.

     

    Lastly, Kalam Sir as he was fondly called breathed his last as he was delivering a lecture on Making the Earth a Livable Planet. We as influencers in our own right have a major role to play in making this world a better place. We are not doing enough though there are opportunities galore.

     

  • A few pointers that can help the good to become better in the professional environment, from Amith Prabhu

    Amith Prabhu: 10 steps to being better PR professionals

    By Amith Prabhu

     

    I am asked this question time and again as to what it takes to be good PR professionals. There is no one answer and it is subjective but broadly there are a few pointers that can help the good to become better in the professional environment.

     

    Request for or draft written briefs: A good PR professional should request for briefs from the client and if working in-house should practise the habit of giving clear-cut written briefs. This is the harbinger of campaign planning.

     

    Organise campaigns: A career in PR is incomplete unless one works from campaign to campaign. I still recall working on over two dozen campaigns in my first job over 42 months. They ranged from a variety of launches to fashion weeks, they included a campaign to manage a crisis and a campaign to organize a golf tour for a leading liquor brand.

     

    Read a lot: This is a no-brainer. PR professionals I have met in the last three month do not buy PR books. Even worse most do not buy any books. And I have met over 300 professionals in the last three months whom I asked for a show of hands if they had purchased books and 290 out of over 300 had not bought a book.

     

    Write for joy: The same set of 300 was asked if they wrote a blog and the answer was no different. 97% had not written a blog or atleast had not written one in the previous 12 months. When will we make writing for joy a habit?

     

    Travel plenty: One of the best life’s lessons are learnt during journeys. PR professionals should travel to explore, to learn and to experience new places, new people, new cultures, new cuisines and get a taste of life that is unique every now and then. At least one holiday for a week annually should be undertaken for the sole purpose of experiencing and exploring.

     

    Attend learning events: Set aside a budget to attend conferences, seminars and training programmes. Several of them are affordable or even free. But making the time to benefit from them needs a plan.

     

    Get involved with new things: More often than not we are stuck within a box we create for ourselves. Sometimes, getting out of the shell and seeking new opportunities within the organisation is a fun way to embrace new ideas. Ask another team leader to involve you on a project just for a different kind of exposure.

     

    Go above and beyond: Help someone in need. Support a cause. Give back. These are not easy but they certainly open new horizons and offer new perspectives.

     

    Ask periodic feedback: Never miss a chance to ask your supervisor for feedback on an ongoing basis. That way there is constant scope for improvement and amends can be made then and there.

     

    Find a mentor: Most importantly, find a mentor early on during the professional journey. This is one aspect that goes a long way. And at some point ensure you pay it forward by being a mentor.

     

    What are the other ways to be outstanding, street smart and restless to do more and be more? Please share your thoughts and add to the list.

     

  • Comments from Amith Prabhu, Gul Panag, Hareesh Tibrewala, Harish Bijoor, Milind Deora and Ranjona Banerji

    How social media has impacted the world for marketers, politicians & even journalists!

     

    Hate it or be hooked to it, social media has revolutionised the communications industry. While some people say for the better, others point out its various flaws. We bring together expert views from a cross-section of influentials – actor Gul Panag and social media strategist Hareesh Tibrewala, brand expert Harish Bijoor, former Member of Parliament Milind Deora and journalist-columnist and MxMIndia Consulting Editor Ranjona Banerji — to tell us more. Dyanne Coelho listens in

     

    Do you think social media has really revolutionised the communications industry?

    Amith Prabhu: Social Media has impacted a lot of areas in an individual’s life, includinginterpersonal communications. We often see people expressing their strongest feelings and views personally or otherwise on social media. This behaviour has also transformed the way the communications business functions in a big way. Unlike in the past, a customer-brand relationship is not a one-way communication anymore. Social media has enabled consumers to voice out their opinions to brands directly which helps them grow. They take the customer feedback seriously and act accordingly. Social Media is a healthy support system in a brands communication chart which ensures a vigorous growth of a company if this medium is applied and used intelligently.

     

    Gul Panag: For starters, it’s two-way communication, which was missing earlier, because you had people talking at you. Now you have people who talk, and those who speak back to you. That’s the one big change social media has brought in, and it’s revolutionary.

     

     

     

    Hareesh Tibrewala: Communication in the pre-social media days meant a monologue: the brand talks and the consumer listens. Now, communication has become a dialogue. This monologue-to-dialogue transformation has been the biggest impact of social media on communication.

     

     

     

    Harish Bijoor: Social media is a revolution for sure. Media, which was hitherto owned by publications, television and radio channels alike, is today open to all. Everyone can broadcast. My tweets are read, liked, re-tweeted, even massacred, by thousands in an instant. In the era before social media, this was not the case.

     

     

    Milind Deora: Social media has really democratised the ability to communicate. Most of it is free, which also makes it extremely attractive. It’s a new, accessible way of communicating with friends and with people you want to reach out to, if you’re a politician or an entertainer. Social media has disrupted traditional mediums [of disseminating news] such as newspapers, magazines, television.

     

     

    Ranjona Banerji: I was an early sceptic about Facebook and Twitter, and only tried them out to confirm my reservations. Since then, however, I’ve been hooked. Twitter is now the top way to get news first (often, along with some outrage and hysterics). The Arab Spring – or whatever happened to it along the way — would not have had any success without Twitter. This, more than Facebook, has truly broken down barriers of language and distance, and allowed people to get in touch, like never before.

     

    Would you say it has been a gamechanger in influencing public discourse in India?

    Amith Prabhu: The last Lok Sabha and Delhi Assembly elections are a fitting proof of this phenomenon. We saw Mr. Kejriwal winning the election with a record breaking number of seats even after he was widely criticised for his resignation. His campaign is a perfect of example of how social media was used intelligently. Similarly, the success of Mr. Modi in winning the national elections can be attributed to the smart use of social media to a large extent.

     

    Gul Panag: Political discourse has gained a lot because of social media. Never before in our history have so many people, and across socio-economic strata, discussed politics as they did during the 2014 General Elections. Also, people and issues that never got attention earlier, now have more of a chance of this. For instance, the North East was never a part of mainstream public discourse. But thanks to social media, the Manipur blockade from a few years ago, got attention. It was already in its third week when some of us posted about it on Twitter, but once it started trending, it made it to the front pages of most newspapers as well.

     

    Hareesh Tibrewala: Indian society is a very communicative one. We have an opinion on everything. Till now, public discourse was limited to views expressed by celebrities or the media. Now social media has made everyone “the media”, and the collective opinion of a large majority starts influencing public discourse.  At times, it may lead to mobocracy, where half-baked ideas find emotional resonance with a majority and subsequently force public opinion. But that is the price to pay for democracy

     

    Harish Bijoor: Public discourse is public today in the true sense of the word. There is a democracy in social media that was not visible in the pre-social media days. Though there is anarchy as well, of course.

     

    Milind Deora: It has made not just politicians, but the government and even corporations more accountable. Today, if people are outraged over the Maggi issue, the company has to respond. Even journalists, who hold stakeholders like politicians and businesses to account, have been kept in check by social media. It really is the ultimate accountability tool.

     

    Ranjona Banerji: In India, although there is a vast nation outside the world of social media, there is no doubt that social media dictates conversations. The fact that politicians and the police get upset about Facebook posts, and the more savvy try to have Twitter accounts, only underlines social media’s reach and importance. Both newspapers and news TV are forced to keep an eye out for what’s happening on social media. Though you could also argue that sometimes they forget that there is a world beyond hashtags as well.

     

    And while social media has given new voice to people, how do you think has it changed the way brands, marketers, politicians and journalists communicate with their stakeholders?

    Amith Prabhu: As pointed out earlier, social media if used intelligently is a big advantage to brands. It gives brands a ready platform to engage with its audience and take their feedback to alter their products and services as per the needs of the customers. Brands are now more interactive with their audience which hugely works in their favour.

     

    Gul Panag: Brands need to realise that it is not just a one-way conversation where they talk at consumers. It is not only about talking to your target audience, but getting your target audience to talk about you. Brands like Redbull don’t employ direct marketing. They sponsor an F1 team, or an aerobatic flight squad for air shows, and that makes people think Redbull is cool. It is rewarding for a brand to have people talk about it, rather than it talking to people, because that also comes at a very large cost.

     

    Hareesh Tibrewala: The best example of how social media has influenced consumer behaviour, is TripAdvisor. If you are in the hotel business and don’t get good reviews on TripAdvisor, you might as well shut shop. It no longer matters how you ‘market’ your brand. All that matters is the opinion of consumers who have used your product. Social media is now about building brand advocacy among consumers.

     

    Harish Bijoor: Marketers, who are essentially used to marketing to the ‘patient’, need to embrace this quick and decisive media for their brands. Time to wake up, smell the social media and learn the art, science and philosophy of marketing to the ‘impatient’. Social media management is a different skill altogether. Marketers cannot hide behind the cloak of their PR outfits anymore. They need to be hands-on and quick in this medium.

     

    Milind Deora: I use it as a good way to get feedback on issues. The current joke on social media is that the Prime Minister tweets to wish Algeria on its national day, but won’t tweet about scams in the government. But sooner or later, this will build up to a crescendo where he’ll have to say something. Social media makes you, as a politician, more accountable. It is all about a viral communication strategy and it’s different and more interactive than any other medium.

     

    Ranjona Banerji: I think the corporate world has not yet fully understood how to exploit social media. The internet community is averse to intrusive advertising and many companies have not yet understood this. However, Twitter is a great way to complain to service providers and in my experience you often get a far prompter and more effective response from social media handles than you would if you had the courage to take the call centre ‘press 1 to be ignored, press 2 to be insulted’ route.

     

    Conversations have now moved from the coffee table to a social media platform. What do you envision for the future of the communications industry?

    Amith Prabhu: Communications business in India has a lot of potential and social media is a big part of it. A couple of years ago a PR conference was born thanks to a conversation on a social network. PRAXIS was born on twitter basis a single tweet. Similarly there are innumerable things that one can do with the help of social media. Social media opens up new ideas, infinite avenues and amazing possibilities for people who are ready to explore its power. I even secured a job at the global co-headquarters of the world’s number one PR firm using social media.

     

    Gul Panag: In the future we’re going to see periodic, disruptive changes. For example, the first round of disruption came with Twitter, then Pinterest and Snapchat. You will always find a disruption the moment we settle into a status quo, and you can either evolve yourself, or you will be forced to evolve because of the disruptions that will happen. Instagram began as a photo-sharing medium, but it also has videos now and that’s enabling people to put their stories across in a manner like never before. So that’s disruptive change.

     

    Hareesh Tibrewala: Mass communication in its current form will remain. However communication strategies going ahead need to have active social listening (to understand public chatter), social engagement strategy to engage in one-on-one conversations as well as influencers and advocates strategy as something integral to any communication architecture.

     

    Harish Bijoor: Yes, discussions which were one-on-one in the physical world are today all about one-to-many in the virtual world. This is a trend. On social media, your friends are those you have never met, but seem to know well.

     

    Milind Deora: I think the future of media will really be a hybrid of social media and television. Back in the day, if I was an artiste, a fan would write to me and I would respond. Now the fan is not writing to you privately, but in a public forum, letting the whole world know what he thinks of your music, and you are responding to his comments publicly. So one has to be very careful about using it. But it’s definitely opened up individuals, corporations, governments to greater standards of transparency.

     

    Ranjona Banerji: Perhaps people sitting at the dining table tweeting to each other instead of talking? The methods of communication keep changing. Who knows, if you ask me these questions 10 years later, we might be saying: “Wow, I’d forgotten all about social media!”

     

    First appeared in ‘dna of brands’ dated July 20, 2015

     

  • Public Relations is about the simple touches that an effort goes into that registers in the mind of people a connection is aimed at, writes Amith Prabhu

    Amith Prabhu: Public Relations is about the simple touches

    By Amith Prabhu

     

    My cousin’s son who lives in the American Midwest is a 19-year-old freshman in college (equivalent to first year). He is a regular American teenager whose parents are of Indian origin. The interesting part is that he is currently a White House intern. That’s not the story. The story is that he is currently enjoying his summer vacations with his parents and every Saturday evening the President of the United States in whose office he is an intern calls him to check on him and get a sense of how he is doing. This in essence is Public Relations.

     

    I recently heard that the Global VP of Marketing of an upcoming mobile handset brand spends 30 to 40 minutes with journalists on a one-on-one call during the launch of a new device. The outcome is some outstanding coverage in the media outlets on the day of launch. These seem like minor interventions but they go a long way.

     

    I have heard this legend about this famous Indian actor. He is a stickler for punctuality and down to earth. If he has to be at a venue or a film shoot location at 9 am he ensures he reaches there by 8.45 am and either circles the neighborhood or waits patiently in his car so he can show up on time and then on meeting people he will introduce himself by stating his full name which makes people see the human side when he says, “Hello, my name is Amitabh Bachchan”.

     

    When asked what the secret of his popularity was, the Chief Minister of Tripura said, “We do not keep any secrets from the people — that is our secret. We are transparent. We do not make any promise which we cannot fulfill. We make only those promises which we can fulfill. If we try to fulfill people’s expectations, they will obviously then elect us.” He is more famously known as India’s poorest Chief Minister and is the longest serving CM of the state. People love him and there is no greater public relations than honesty and simplicity.

     

    More often people mistake public relations to be something else. And forget the easy methods of outreach which are about simplicity, honesty and punctuality. We see and hear of these stories in daily life. Ultimately, it is the individual who represents the brand or the organisation who makes all the difference. Public Relations is about the simple touches that an effort goes into that registers in the mind of people a connection is aimed at.

     

  • When you think of Public Relations and are seeking ideas, think of what these twelve brands have done uniquely to stay in the news or make news, notes Amith Prabhu

    Amith Prabhu: New age brands that have built themselves using smart Public Relations

    By Amith Prabhu

     

    In the past couple of years we have heard more about start-ups than any time in the previous years. And among all the stories of these new age companies, a few stand out. They are built by solid teams and have mostly made news for the right reasons. In this column, I have compiled a list of a dozen companies that have made news, stayed the course and survived to lead the categories they operate in. This is not a comprehensive list but nevertheless is a made up of companies that have built brand with smart use of Public Relations.

     

    First up, are the two poster boys of e-commerce. Flipkart and Snapdeal. They are talked of in the same breath and have grown from strength to strength through smart inward investments and some smart acquisitions. They are in the news each single day.

     

    Next, in my list is Ola. This company has made city commuting a breeze alongside its international rival. But more than anything, the positive word of mouth it gets from its drivers is worth mentioning. Zomato is the brain child of a young consultant which has gone onto buying several companies across various countries. Today, this app dictates where one should go for a date, or to just grab a bite or for a nice brunch. Completely built through word of mouth.

     

    PayTM is a boon for those who do not own a credit card. This mobile wallet company is a gateway for those who use Uber. It is going places and has some very smart investors. Next up is Micromax. This handset-maker is giving a tough fight to established players like Samsung in the mobile device market. Largely built on high quality at low pricing.

     

    Indigo Airline is the only profitable airline and is less than 9 years old. Though not a start-up in the true sense it has the heart of a start up in everything it does. One of the coolest brands around and has done very well for itself. Make My Trip is the online booking portal which has become the default website to plan holidays, book air tickets and reserve hotel rooms. Again, a good example of how brands are built through word of mouth.

     

    Urban Ladder and Blue Stone are two of the nearly dozen brands which have drawn the attention of Mr Ratan Tata. That in itself is good public relations. Few other brands in this list have managed to do that. But when unknown brands manage that they indeed get noticed.

     

    Lastly, Housing would have featured in this list of smart Indian brands but then I chose to keep it out for obvious reasons. The two brands I want to highlight are media brands that are making waves. Scroll and Scoop Whoop have made their presence felt with uniquely different yet refreshing brand of journalism.

     

    When you think of Public Relations and are seeking ideas, think of what these twelve brands have done uniquely to stay in the news or make news. Lots of stories are hidden that can ignite and inspire. Please share your list in the comments section.

     

  • Holding group by a PR professional, cancelled media conferences, a client's blog welcoming a new PR firm… Amith Prabhu puts together six observations from the first six months of 2015

    Amith Prabhu: Pot Pourri from the world of Public Relations

    By Amith Prabhu

     

    This column is unlike any other of the past two years. It is a collection of observations from the past few weeks that are relevant to the Public Relations profession. As we have completed six months of 2015 I have jotted down six thoughts:

     

    Holding group by a PR professional – The only holding group centred on Public Relations is the Daniel J Edelman Inc, the parent of companies such as Edelman and Zeno. However, last month former CEO of BM, Mark Penn announced the creation of Stagwell Group, which is likely to become the first holding company that is focused on Public Relations and built around smart, new age reputation management companies.

     

    Cancelled Media Conferences – I was chatting with a senior journalist who shared with me a peculiar problem. He mentioned a specific company that has made cancelling media conferences a habit. But the interesting part is that the mode of communication to invite journalists is not the same mode used to inform the invitees of the cancellation. This journalist was invited on email followed by a phone call but the cancellation message came from a mobile number which was previously blocked because of spam messages from that number.This led to the journalist travelling from one end of town to another to realise the media conference was cancelled.

     

    Unethical Poaching – We are a free economy but certain decorum would go a long way. In the recent past, several veterans at leading firms have moved on to other companies and broken the rule of non-poaching for a certain period of time leading to a lot of bad blood.

     

    A client blog welcoming the new PR firm – Coca-Cola India recently ended a long relationship with a PR firm and signed up another firm. But the interesting gesture was the substantial blog written by the Director of Corporate Communications on the company website about why they chose a new firm and how they will miss the firm that worked on the business for a long period of time.

     

    Global Power Lists – There are now two global lists of the movers and shakers. The Holmes Report has been publishing an annual list of the Top 100 in house communicators which has always had atleast three India based communicators of large conglomerates featured there. Now, PR Week has created a laundry list focusing on the three global regions which has over a dozen Indians featured in it including those based in the APAC region.

     

    The highest ranking Indian – In a recent management rejig, BM promoted Prema Sagar as vice Chairperson of the APAC region. This is the first time the Founder and Principal of GBM has had a designation enhancement and reports directly to the global CEO. This is arguably the first time  an Indian professional based in India is reporting directly to the global CEO of a Top 10 PR firm.

     

  • There should be two sub-categories within the PR category. One for work created and therefore entered by PR firms and the other for work created and therefore entered by ad agencies, writes Amith Prabhu

    Amith Prabhu: When will there be a Cannes Lion Grand Prix for PR, by PR and of PR?

    By Amith Prabhu

     

    This is my customary, annual column focused on the Cannes Lion. I eagerly track and follow the Cannes Lions each year, ever since PR came to be included as a category a few years ago. Ever since, India has been represented on the jury by Prema Sagar in 2009, Veena Gidwani in 2010, Nandita Lakshmanan in 2011, Sunil Gautam in 2012, Dilip Cherian in 2013, Radhika Shapoorjee in 2014 and this year the original name was Ashwani Singla, who was replaced by Paresh Chaudhry. I’m hoping other PR pioneers like Madan Bahal, Bela Rajan, Archana Jain and Ameer Ismail are invited in the years to come. I listed these names for the record as well as for the singular purpose that the organisers know there are many more names to cover. If not, like a global power list that just came out last week, some critical names will get missed out because of limited knowledge about Indian PR that certain international editors possess.

     

    Finally, the grand prix went to a campaign entered a PR firm. This was MSLGroup New York office. I have high respect for this PR firm because the only time I was a client they were the consultancy on record and in my last consulting role before co-founding the PR school I was closely associated with this firm for most of 2014. Well, I was elated that MSL won it though Leo Burnett, the primary architect of this campaign #LikeAGirl for Always spared no effort to take ample credit for the work which no one has refuted. Interestingly, one of MSL’s senior executive who was on the jury also commented that he was aware of Leo Burnett’s contribution to the campaign. Well, the fact of the matter remains that this was a well-deserved win and the winner takes it all. Last year’s Grand Prix went to Creative Arts for the Chipotle campaign because they entered it and Edelman got credit for it. This year the campaign was entered by MSL and they won it. No dispute there.

     

    That brings me to the moot question. If the Cannes Lions is an advertising-led festival why is PR even there? It could possibly be because most PR firms are owned by one of the Big Four holding companies that owns most of the Top 20 advertising agencies. In that case there should be two sub-categories within the PR category. One for work created and therefore entered by PR firms and the other for work created and therefore entered by ad agencies. Then the post award bickering will not exist. I’m hoping there comes a time soon when there is no ad agency involved in the Grand Prix winning entry and the entire campaign and award belongs to the PR consultancy itself. Sharing and team work are great but then stealing the thunder is not done, after an award has been given away which is what the ad agency did very well.

     

    Now comes the real big question as to why not a single campaign from India-based PR firms made it to the shortlist. There were three campaigns that made it to the shortlist of 200 from India and they were from ad agencies which sends a bulk of the entries in this category. I have always being stressing on the high entrance fees of the Cannes Lions. An entry fee and the cost of packaging an entry is close to a monthly retainer that some clients pay. Then, comes the work in question. Do we do cutting edge work that is worthy of international recognition. I think we do but we fail to package it well, as always and miserably fail in sending them because of the cost involved.

     

    As the Cannes jury was being announced in April, India witnessed a fabulous campaign on Net Neutrality. As the jury was sitting to evaluate the entries, India witnessed one of the finest Public Relations campaigns of all time. The International Yoga Day. I have not seen another first time event getting the kind of talkabaility and free publicity that this event got. Unfortunately, they were not put together by an ad agency or a PR firm and they may never go to Cannes. I’m hoping I am wrong and they feature in the shortlist next year. These are surely Gold and Grand Prix material. Because they were simple ideas translated into magnificient campaigns.

     

    Well as we get on with another season of awards here’s opening three things change. A) There are more entries from India in the shortlist. That has only happened once. B) The Grand Prix winner is an idea completely planned and executed by a PR firm and the ad agency does not take credit. And C) India gets couple more good and credible awards. Sabre is great but there are no other of good standing where work can get recognized and rewarded.

     

    On that note I end with three cheers to MSLGROUP. For making history, no matter what their detractors say.

     

  • A written brief must follow the SMART model and the response should always have the SMRT approach, writes Amith Prabhu

    Amith Prabhu: The Client Brief – is that a myth?

    By Amith Prabhu

     

    At a recent conference I was attending there was an interesting discussion between the corporate communications directors sitting on the panel and the consulting people in the audience. The discussion was on how can this relationship get better. How can folks on either side make the twain meet?

     

    In my opinion, the easiest relationships are between clients and consultancies where the client wrote a brief and a clear one at that each time there was an activity. A brief that covered the challenges, objectives, the measurables and key guidelines to achieving the task at hand.  I can bet that not more than five percent clients do that.

     

    Consultancies can never target more dollars or more rupees in the foreseeable future until they insist on a client brief. This will require training for clients to write briefs because many of them have come from non-consultancy and non-marketing backgrounds and are in the job either because of their age or because of their connections (most probabaly they are former journalists). Nothing wrong with that, just that it is doing no good to the profession in the long run if the client does not understand what constitutes public relations and isn’t able to articulate that well.

     

    A written brief must have certain elements in it. Follow the SMART model and the response should always have the SMRT approach. SMART stands for Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Time Bound. And SMRT in the response stands for Simple, Meaningful and Real Time. These need no explanation.

     

    Most important mention a budget within which you can operate. Even free publicity that good relationships comes at a price. There is a small cost attached to a coffee meeting and there is a huge cost attached to a fam trip. But engaging the journalist is mandatory and will cost money. Similarly, doing a flashmob in the office may have a tiny cost compared to the cost of using professionals to create a flash mob on the street with necessary permissions.

     

    I would really wish we can have a survey done of how many clients share a written brief and insist that the team at consultancy responds with a plan based on that brief. My dipstick with 10 corporate communicators ended up with a negative response. I chose one each from FMCG, auto, retail, tech, telecom, hospitality, commodity, aviation, real estate and banking and not a single gave a written brief for every activity.

     

    It may be the absence of the habit, sheer laziness, inability to write one or an attitude of not wanting to do so that leads to the absence of a brief. I want to conclude by quoting from an article written by fellow professional from Kenya – Paul Barasa, “There’s a skill to writing a PR brief. If you get it right your consultancy will deliver first time – no surprises. If you get it wrong (or worse still don’t provide one at all), it costs time, money and on many occasions strained emotions to put it right.

     

  • Typical characteristics of this group include late-coming, indiscipline, arrogance clubbed with intellectual prowess, good writing skills and intelligence, notes Amith Prabhu

    Amith Prabhu: New age problems of dealing with younger talent

    By Amith Prabhu

     

    I was recently in an engrossing conversation with the HR team of a PR firm. They were asking me for solutions to deal with the millennial. Typical characteristics of this group include late-coming, indiscipline, arrogance clubbed with intellectual prowess, good writing skills and intelligence.

     

    While it is not easy to sack these people because of the later, the former is becoming a cause of concern in many organisations. And this seems to be a pattern across the board and not just in Public Relations. I am not an expert on the subject but I shared a few suggestions that one could implement.

     

    When I started my career in Public Relations consulting over a decade ago, we had no option but to be intelligent and disciplined. To be punctual and write well. And to be humble, simple yet smart and sharp.

     

    In the last decade, an influx of several influences have changed the way talent has been transformed. One way to deal with the problem is with kid gloves. I told the HR team – Don’t make them like you, accept them as they are, but introduce rewards for those who are easier to handle.

     

    One set of rewards is to have random weekly draws with really pricey gifts. Ensure the lucky draw is held at the start of business and only those physically present get to take home the price. And publicise the list of those who missed the prize because they were late to work.

     

    Another method to deal with lack of punctuality is to offer good quality breakfast in the office from 8.30 am to 9.15 am. Those who don’t make it on time miss out. Some don’t care but over a period of time, everyone will care when they hear from others what was on offer.

     

    The arrogant and indiscipline bit will change over a period of time but lack of punctuality can be cured. Another method is to link punctuality with salary raise. While everyone gets the regular raise, those who were super punctual get a special bonus.

     

    These problems are bound to increase as more and more youngsters born in the 1990s flood the workplace in the next decade.  We can’t force them to be like us. To each his or her own but at least reward those who value time.