MxMIndia

Tag: PR

  • Five trends that will change the way we look at Public Relations as a discipline, writes Amith Prabhu

    Amith Prabhu: The next phase in the evolution of Public Relations

    By Amith Prabhu

     

    Public Relations over the years has moved on to embrace several concepts. Newer practices and departments have emerged with the onset of a digital revolution. But more importantly a set of trends have begun to gain momentum that will change the way we look at Public Relations as a discipline. Five of those are mentioned below. One can read a lot about these in various media outlets. Hence I’m just highlighting what I see as the future:

     

    The rise of Tablets – India’s tablet PC market is expected to grow at 40 percent to 7.3 million units in 2015-16 from 0.95 million in 2011-12. This is a small number but this is an influential set of the population  who will define consumption patterns.

     

    The emphasis on Research and Analytics – In a date driven world a lot of credibility will depend on how well numbers are crunched and information is analysed to make it relevant to the product or media consumer. Research will play a major role in planning, executing and measuring programmes in order to achieve a return on objective.

     

    The focus on Storytelling – PR, at times is about telling stories that build reputation but until a couple of years ago no one looked at it that way. The rise of social media where peers exchange stories about people, events, places and brands has led to a great focus on Storytelling.

     

    The importance of Visuals – These can be in the form of photo captions, infographics and listicles and will require in-house graphic designers or knowledge of basic design software to churn them out. Videos will play a big role in making visuals a mainstay of Public Relations.

     

    The blurring lines between Paid, Owned and Earned Media – This has been happening for a while and we are seeing it ever so often. Ad agencies are trying to work with Editorial departments, PR firms are building digital properties and digital firm are buying media inventory that earlier was the prerogative of media buying companies leading to multiple overlaps.

     

    The above trends will change the way clients plan budgets and pay retainer fees. The traditional role of PR professional of being a media relations maven will cease to exist as media outlets downsize and the print industry shrinks. The super specialist and multi-tasking champ will flourish.

     

    Amith Prabhu is the founder of The PRomise Foundation which organises PRAXIS – the annual summit for PR & Corp Comm professionals in India. During the day he is a full time employee at a leading Public Relations firm in their Chicago office. He spent the first eight years of his post graduation career in India and is in the US for two years of which he has completed 18 months. Views expressed here are the author’s own and don’t represent those of his past, present, future employer or of MxMIndia. You can connect with him on Twitter @amithpr

     

  • Value 360 Communications will lead Grohe India's communication strategy

    Value 360 to handle Grohe’s PR

    By A Correspondent

     

    Leading international sanitary fittings brand Grohe India has appointed Value 360 Communications as its official PR agency in India.

     

    Said Ramesh Kaushik, Head-Marketing, Grohe India on the appointment, “We are looking to reinforce our strengths of a consistently delightful consumer experience led by pure Inhouse Designs and superior technology as well as creating new service standards amongst the ever-widening target markets. Our motive is to fortify our position further with a consumer connect strategy that redefines the segment in the Indian market with Value 360 Communications through a fresh perspective.”

     

    Kunal Kishore, Director, Business Development & Strategy at Value 360 Communications, feels his agency will be instrumental in helping Grohe India further consolidate its leadership position in the market. “Our endeavour will be to enable the brand to bolster its position as the leader in sanitary design by carving out a product-led, penetrative strategy that is befitting to the brand, ” he said.

     

  • What are the most important attributes that a PR professional must have to succeed? Amith Prabhu lists these

    Amith Prabhu: The 6 Cs that are the currency of being successful PR professionals

    By Amith Prabhu

     

    Public Relations is a unique profession to be in, for a number of reasons. But two that stand out are the fact that it offers access very early in the career to two categories of influential people. While one category is the senior leadership within the client’s organization, the other is top editors of media outlets one engages with on behalf of a client. The other reason this profession stands out for is the amount of high intensity and high profile events that one has to deal with ranging from launches to disasters and from CSR projects to government relations.

     

    It is that time of the year when students are in their first semesters and brand new employees are in their first few weeks in their first job. Keeping this in mind I thought of touching upon a topic I have an affinity towards – attributes of a PR professional.

     

    A question I have often got asked at campuses during a guest lecture or on Twitter from random young aspirants is what does a PR professional need to have as important attributes to succeed. Over the years I have assimilated these random responses into what I call the 6 Cs. Some of them evolved during conversations I had with my former boss Ravi Kiran. A Twitter chat last month with Shafi Saxena reignited these thoughts and here are the 6 Cs that are applicable to multiple professions and would help many 20- and 30-somethings make wise career decisions. Some of these are bundled in pairs but feel free to mix and match to soar to greater heights

    Critical & clear thinking: The first thing I would look for in someone with or without experience is to how well he or she can think about a given situation, both critically and clearly. This also brings out the passion that one has for a subject or area of interest.

     

    Curiosity & Creativity: The spirit of questioning is a virtue in a world that heavily depends on search engines to find answers. Asking smart questions also stems from having a creative mind that is always fertile with interesting ideas.

     

    Communicative & connectedness: Excellent written and verbal communications is imperative in a profession that thrives on being people-centric. In addition, the ability to reach out smartly and build on relationships is a plus

    Confidence that leads to collaboration & cross culturalism: Confidence is an amalgamation of multiple factors and its external appearance is in the way we dress and carry yourself.  But confidence comes from a zest to never stop learning. This can happen by conversations, travel and reading that occurs after our formal education stops.

     

    Commitment and compassion for a cause: This is multi-pronged.  Primarily, a CV that shows prior commitment that includes formal volunteering or prior experience that shows consistency goes a long way in building professional credibility. In addition, we often work on CSR programmes for clients. An understanding of this sector can only come from having been part of one in our student days. Working for a non-profit also hones leadership skills. So pick up a cause, go out and volunteer and the difference you make will certainly make a difference to your career success.

     

    This is not an exhaustive list. Feel free to add to this list and take cues from the words highlighted in italics. I look forward to your comments on the column and tweets to me. Please share this with young professionals if you are not one anymore.

     

    Amith Prabhu is the founder of The PRomise Foundation which organises PRAXIS – the annual summit for PR & Corp Comm professionals in India. During the day he is a full time employee at a leading Public Relations firm in their Chicago office. He spent the first eight years of his post graduation career in India and is in the US for two years of which he has completed 18 months. Views expressed here are the author’s own and don’t represent those of his past, present, future employer or of MxMIndia. You can connect with him on Twitter @amithpr

     

  • Compare the status of office punctuality, client interaction, quality talent, physical space and professional events and you'll know why PR in the United States is better than what we have in India, writes Amith Prabhu

    Amith Prabhu: 5 reasons why PR in US is better than India

    By Amith Prabhu

     

    Thanks for the encouraging feedback that has come from various readers. Prof Meenakshi Upadhyay in a tweet requested if I could share some comparison between functioning of the PR business between the world’s two diverse yet well-integrated PR consulting markets.  I have the privilege of having worked in India in the past and a clear plan of working in India in the future. I’m doing a two-year stint in Chicago of which three quarters is complete. While the basics remain the same, the approach to several aspects is different. Here, I will touch upon are Office punctuality, Client interaction, Quality talent, Physical space and Professional events.

     

    I would start off with a comparison of day in the life and this seems to be the norm across businesses in the United States. Thanks to a great marriage between discipline and superb public transportation, staff are in the office between 8.30am and 8.45am to start off at 9am. Come 5.15pm, the offices are deserted and by 5.30 pm there is no one in the office. This cycle percolates down to the clients as well. In India there is a vicious cycle of starting late and ending late. Last-minute client requests that lengthen the day and an attitude where one feels one can come in late because one left office late the previous day and this becomes a chain.

     

    Productivity is higher thanks to a high reliance on technology. Employees at every level are given smartphones so as to be accessible in real time. But, more importantly, this helps one stay connected with clients and other stakeholders without the need to meet face-to-face. So the number of physical client meetings is far lesser thus saving time and energy to focus on quality time strategizing and brainstorming to help the client succeed.

     

    The quality of Public Relations is far superior as course content is in keeping with the times and access to internships with large organizations is greater which in turn gives PR firms the ability to hire from the best universities and organizations. This translates when the PR firm executive makes the switch to becoming a client, who is then well-versed with his or her role and able to manage large budgets to add value to business objectives of the organization.

     

    The work environment also makes a big difference. Thanks to larger turnovers, companies can afford bigger office spaces where individuals get space they deserve unlike in India where thanks to our mindset the space is rationed to staff. I have had the fortune of visiting almost all the offices of the 10-12 leading PR firms across Bengaluru, Mumbai and Delhi as the placement coordinator of my batch way back in 2004 and therefore can state with confidence that the office space story is similar across organizations.

     

    Events for professionals are plenty. There are several associations that a PR professional can become a member of and benefit from. The IABC, the PRSA, the Publicity Club are some of the prominent ones and they all organize high quality events for learning and networking through the year. Unless this trend comes to India, a professional will have limited exposure and be like a frog in the well.

     

    There are other aspects like packaging content, presentations and the self that I will write about in a future column. These are some of the key differences and they truly stand out. But most important the humility and simplicity with which some leaders carry out their duties including travelling by public transport, not having an office despite being the head of the location and instead sitting with other employees in regular cubes are truly inspirational.

     

    Amith Prabhu is the founder of The PRomise Foundation which organises PRAXIS – the annual summit for PR & Corp Comm professionals in India. During the day he is a full time employee at a leading Public Relations firm in their Chicago office. He spent the first eight years of his post graduation career in India and is in the US for two years of which he has completed 18 months. Views expressed here are the author’s own and don’t represent those of his past, present, future employer or of MxMIndia. You can connect with him on Twitter @amithpr

     

  • Public Relations is definitely a lot more than what it is perceived to be and ironically suffers from a perception problem that it created for itself over the years, writes Amith Prabhu

    Amith Prabhu: One size does not fit all!

    By Amith Prabhu

     

    This blog is for everyone but especially for Himanshu Agarwal who was the first to make a comment on my first blog with some vital questions.  I’m not an expert but I can do my best with a decade of experience to offer some thoughts on some important issues that have constantly come up in the business of PR consulting.

     

    On his first question of how Public Relations is measured there is no one straight answer. Public Relations is no longer about media relations where one issued a press release, organised a press conference or pitched a story and then waited for the output in order to measure the outcome. It’s important to understand the difference between output and outcome and critical to decide with internal stakeholders (the client for the PR firm or if it’s the corporate communications manager, then the CMO if it’s brand reputation management related or the CEO if it’s corporate reputation management related) how each programme is measured when completed. There is no one size that fits all. There are new metrics evolving for digital outreach programmes and these differ depending on the social network used.

     

    There is now an emergence of three to four compartments in media output that impact business outcomes. These compartments are referred to as Earned, Owned and Paid which make them self-explanatory. Traditionally, Public Relations-led activities that were in the realm of Earned media but the lines are blurring and all the three categories of organisations are doing what they always did in addition to dabbling seriously in the other compartments. So you have ad agencies hiring PR managers to offer clients earned media opportunities and PR firms hiring media buyers to let clients co-create properties with outlets.

     

    Public Relations is definitely a lot more than what it is perceived to be and ironically suffers from a perception problem that it created for itself over the years. However, this is changing with the emergence of the true-blue professionals. Those who started out in Public Relations after earning a qualification that had Public Relations theory as a subject. The leading PR firms of the world are evolving newer points of view and changing the course of direction by becoming Public Engagement companies in some instances, Public Communications companies in some cases among other things. There is no right or wrong answer as long as clients are convinced about what is being promised and what is being delivered and the leading firms of the world strive to create ethical outreach programmes. Because there is no one size that fits all.

     

    Amith Prabhu is the founder of The PRomise Foundation which organises PRAXIS – the annual summit for PR & Corp Comm professionals in India. During the day he is a full time employee at a leading Public Relations firm in their Chicago office. He spent the first eight years of his post graduation career in India and is in the US for two years of which he has completed 18 months. Views expressed here are the author’s own and don’t represent those of his past, present, future employer or of MxMIndia. You can connect with him on Twitter @amithpr

     

  • The ABC Award which will launch this year to award two young professionals – consultancy-based and in-house, writes Amith Prabhu

    Amith Prabhu: It’s time to give ace communicators their due

    By Amith Prabhu

     

    I got a lot of interesting feedback on my blog of last week regarding the Cannes PR Lions including a thought that I had been toying with. A thought that is as simple as – should PR firms even bother about being part of one category in what is largely an advertising festival. The point is you can love it or hate it but one cannot ignore it. What we need to do is participate in our own national and regional awards and we have a handful of them. PR firms need to set aside budgets for submitting entries and sending employees to these events. For those who are unaware, the exchange4media group and The Holmes Report run two separate awards for work done on campaigns for brands and organizations.

     

    That being said the individual in the profession also longs for recognition and reward. To give this long felt need a fillip we now have The ABC Award which will launch this year to honour two young professionals – consultancy based and in-house. Another award you may think. But the award is unique in so many ways.  First, it is the only award of its kind for the profession in India where the winner takes home cash and access to mentorship from the best in the business. Secondly, the judging is based on a self-application that requires endorsement of the branch head or departmental head and a reference check of shortlisted candidates from individuals the nominee has worked with, who maybe a client or media professional. Thirdly, a peer dipstick is undertaken to select the winner that puts the focus on integrity and value system the person stands for. Lastly, the cash prize for young professionals is sponsored by practitioners who are passionate about Public Relations. An award for the young corporate communicator is being sponsored by ICG – the Indian Communicators Group.

     

    In the business of reputation management, having a great personal reputation is paramount. This award hopes to celebrate people with high reputation in what they best do – consult on credibility and influence. In the near future these awards will be extended to three more age categories across both sides of in-house and consultancy based.  Mid-level professionals, senior professionals and to veterans who will be inducted into a Hall of Fame. Besides this, a scholarship for postgraduate students of Public Relations was introduced last year.

     

    Now the question is remains if whether individuals will apply or just sit back, relax and enjoy and choose to be bystanders!

     

    Amith Prabhu is the founder of The PRomise Foundation which organises PRAXIS – the annual summit for PR & Corp Comm professionals in India. During the day he is a full time employee at a leading Public Relations firm in their Chicago office. He spent the first eight years of his post graduation career in India and is in the US for two years of which he has completed 18 months. Views expressed here are the author’s own and don’t represent those of his past, present, future employer or of MxMIndia. You can connect with him on Twitter @amithpr

     

  • In his weekly column, Chicago-based PR professional Amith Prabhu says internal communications is the key to public outreach.

    Amith Prabhu: Do you know who your biggest ambassador is?

    By Amith Prabhu

     

    Over the last two weeks one witnessed two interesting happenings that would make for good Public Relations case studies. One took place in Mumbai and the other in Goa. While the former had low intensity coverage and most of it on Twitter and a handful of portals, the latter was making waves both as a trending topic and headline news for days together with national ramifications and reactions of great proportions. The two cases I’m referring to are what I would like to call the Forbes India Fiasco and the Modi Advani Drama. While I don’t want to take a position on both these events in this column I think there is lot to learn for students of reputation management.

     

    For those who are unaware and can learn more here, the Forbes India parent company unceremoniously ousted its Founder Editor and along with him three other senior editorial leadership members. While who was right and who was wrong can be debated, on the face of it based on the facts publicly available it seemed another instance of management high handedness. But let’s move to the Public Relations handling of the episode. A reputed media organization like Network 18 could have handled the episode better by having an amicable settlement with transparent communications. There are several stakeholders involved. But key among these are viewers and readers of the various outlets that the group owns, fans of Forbes India and most importantly the employees at the magazine. One way of managing the situation would have been to use social media and the owned media to put out a statement that shared the facts of the case. The media outlets of the group have in the past commented on other conflicts especially among rival media houses. So this would have been a step in that direction. What is happening currently is stories trickling with periodic gaps that will certainly hamper the reputation of the Group brand in the short term. Though insiders may deny any brand damage since there may not be any metrics to prove that, the conversations on Twitter and Facebook as well as the three reports that have been doing the rounds puts the spotlight on unhealthy HR practices as well as corporate high handedness that are rarely spoken of. While both sides of the story will float someday some damage has been done.

     

    The second incident I mentioned is about how the elevation of a regional leader to a national role (based on the mood of the party members) was managed without prior internal buy-in leading to a messy situation in the principal opposition party’s management, less than year away from elections. The UPA government has literally thrown away its chance to win a third consecutive term but the current situation in the NDA and especially its main constituent make it seem like the race is wide open. The bottom-line is that internal communication is key to any change.

     

    It is time for organizations to realize that their biggest ambassadors are the employees or members and with them feeling negatively about the functioning there is no way the trickle-down effect of positivity will move to external stakeholders.

     

    We, as PR professionals are part of organizations (in-house and as consultants to clients) that go through similar situations. Public Relations is not only about what is written in newspapers but a great deal about what goes on at the water cooler. If there is one thing we can learn from these two happenings it is as basic as communicate well internally to build strong external reputation.

     

    Amith Prabhu is the founder of The PRomise Foundation which organises PRAXIS – the annual summit for PR & Corp Comm professionals in India. During the day he is a full time employee at a leading Public Relations firm in their Chicago office. He spent the first eight years of his post graduation career in India and is in the US for two years of which he has completed 18 months. Views expressed here are the author’s own and don’t represent those of his past, present, future employer or of MxMIndia. You can connect with him on Twitter @amithpr

     

  • There are press releases, and there are press releases. Then there is gibberish.

    Speaking of Which | The Importance of Being Coherent

    By Vidya Heble

     

    This is the story of a press release. Once upon a time someone wanted to send out an announcement. This can be done in various ways – fact-efficient and to the point; or laden with company info and logos in headers and footers but with enough information that the copy editor can relatively easily pull out a story after hacking away the extra foliage.

     

    Sometimes however, one sees releases that quite simply boggle the mind. There is one from an outdoor agency, which gives us nothing more than a handful of opinions and a sort of teaser to a story. One can do nothing with this.

     

    Then there was one that turned up and gripped my consciousness to the extent that only speaking about it in Speaking of Which can provide relief. Copy editors are used to prising out facts deeply buried under verbiage, but here the main fact, the story itself, wasn’t even there. We had to surmise what it was. The whole thing, even after three reads, sounded like inebriated thoughts that someone had, “creatively” perhaps, jotted down.

     

    We should not name the organization or any of the people – so I have given them generic names; the people are called by standard character names from Hindi films. This is how the release began, and how it ended, verbatim. Only the proper names have been changed, and identifying words replaced in square brackets. Read every word, and vow never to write like this.

     

    START

    “The definition of advertising and marketing is changing , o is the definition of mediums be it tvc, print or design, they have to blend in very well to push the brand in the new age market, each medium is depended on the other for the impact of the brand, that’s the reality today where design have started playing a major in India as well.

     

    Design is relatively new compared to other mediums in our country, brands have discovered the need of great design at every consumer interface, There is a great need of design and aesthetics while keeping the brand philosophy in mind in a clutter and massive market like ours.

     

    Company So-and-So has grown to be one of the upcoming [organizations] in India today, For last one year or so we have been toying around and have been taking good amount of [certain] projects and clients on board, only when we felt we are ready today to launch a new vertical we have decided to announced,  we have a great set up right sets of people from [one function] and [another function] as well,

     

    Raj who has recently joined Company So-and-So as [designation], will be involved in Company So-and-So’s Baby as well, as he has spend some time in [other functions] as well This will be fronted by Amit and Vijay along with Raj who will take care of the [Raj’s function].

     

    Like the philosophy of Company So-and-So in design too, Two or at least one, out of Three senior guys will be directly involved in the each and every thing that comes out of this unit.

     

    Company So-and-So’s Baby, a brand consultancy focused on multiplying your brand & business growth. Because what we define should keep your brand alive for years to come. Give your brand enough opportunities to leverage. With an eclectic mix of exciting experiences, nurture a loyal audience.

     

    From defining a path to growth to creating a name, nomenclature, verbal & visual language, packaging, tangible retail engagement and viral content for the virtual world. Company So-and-So’s Baby combines intuitive force to achieve objective growth. Applies behavioral insight to create a world of meaningful brand rituals. Grooms consumer communities for cultural action.

     

    Over the last few months of undercover existence; Company So-and-So’s Baby, has squared with strengths of [various brands and clients – one whose name was misspelled].”

    END

     

    The first two paragraphs sound like quotes that should be attributed to someone. What the actual announcement is, is never stated. All the sentences are disjointed, often incoherent. Two paragraphs from the end, it sounds like a pitch to a client instead of a news release.

     

    We don’t know what went wrong, but we hope something did. We hope this is not what the organization thinks is a press release.

     

  • In week 2 of the new weekly column 'PR, etc', Amith Prabhu on how and why a journalist can never do justice to the role of communications advisor.

    Amith Prabhu: The case for Public Relations in governance

    By Amith Prabhu

     

    The Indian Government’s Public Relations among its most important stakeholder – the citizen, is in doldrums. Public Relations is no more about plugging a story, dining with a journalist, preventing a negative article from being published or sending bland releases to media outlets expecting them to carry the news or information. All this used to be Public Relations in its early avatar. Today, Public Relations encompasses a variety of specialized tasks that include social responsibility, crisis communications, internal engagement, content creation and a lot more. Governments cannot ignore this important function and need to quickly embrace the modern digital offerings to connect, communicate and co-create. The Arab Spring is an example of how a new generation of digital enthusiasts deployed social media to bring about change in the regime.

     

    What should the present or future governments do in order to be in sync with the times? How will future tax payers – the youth of today view the government’s that run the nation? And who will take the lead in bringing about this change? These are some questions that do not have concrete answers as of now but a few thoughts exist on what can be done and all of these in the realm of Public Relations.

     

    Internal Communications – A government that does not communicate with citizens in an interactive manner will lose the right to govern.

     

    Social Responsibility – The government at the centre along with the states needs to go all out to make the five basic amenities available easily to every individual and without making it look like a favour is being done – Clean Air,  Affordable Housing, Motorable Roads, Uninterrupted Water and Power Supply & Quality Education. With these in order, the rest will fall in place.

     

    Crisis Management – The incumbent government has navigated crisis after crisis by being dwarfed because it not only did what was inappropriate but did not accept, admit and acknowledge wrongdoing with transparent communications. The imperative during a crisis, and every scam unearthed is a crisis, is to allow for a flow of information that is clear-cut.

     

    Citizen Outreach – A multi million rupee advertisement a year before elections will fall through as trust levels dwindle. The government needs to ensure it does some are all of the following: A monthly address by the Prime Minister on the state of the nation, an annual town hall by members of the cabinet in various Indian cities to connect with the masses and a clean administration that touches people’s lives meaningfully.

     

    Is this asking for too much? Do all of the above resonate in what we advise our clients or chief executives? Can businesses learn from governments and vice versa?

     

    I someday hope the leader of the government hires a professional Public Relations manager with a dedicated team to drive all of the above and more. A journalist can never do justice to the role of communications advisor.

     

    Amith Prabhu is the founder of The PRomise Foundation which organises PRAXIS – the annual summit for PR & Corp Comm professionals in India. During the day he is a full-time employee at a leading Public Relations firm in Chicago. He spent the first eight years of his career in India and is in the US for two years of which he has completed 18 months. Views expressed here are the author’s own and don’t represent those of his past, present or future employer. You can connect with him on Twitter at @amithpr

     

  • Introducing a new weekly column titled 'PR, etc' by Chicago, US-based public relations professional Amith Prabhu

    New weekly column ‘PR, etc’ by Amith Prabhu: To new beginnings!

    Introducing a new weekly column titled ‘PR, etc’ by Chicago-based public relations professional Amith Prabhu

    By Amith Prabhu

     

    It’s summer and it’s the season of awards. That’s when people can make travel plans, look at the year gone by and plan for new beginnings. It’s that time when I make the new beginning as a columnist on the invitation of the Editor of the media outlet you are reading. Public Relations as a profession is coming into its own in India with two awards for the business, with at least two credible conferences for the community and with two portals dedicated to Indian news and views that interests fellow professionals.

     

    Writing a weekly column should be fun but it won’t be easy. I took up the challenge because our profession needs these platforms to exchange ideas. You, as a reader can contribute in two ways – sharing ideas for forthcoming columns and commenting on the columns with a point of view. And yes, two words you will never see in these columns are ‘industry’ and ‘agency’, other than in this paragraph for the first and last time. Because in our profession these don’t exist as of now. For the first column I wanted to focus on how the last decade has witnessed three major milestones for the profession and how fortunate I have been to be part of these historic times.

     

    Firstly, a new group of individuals began to flow into the business in the form of natives that will eventually replace the immigrants. Given the advent of media institutes offering robust courses at the under graduate and post graduate level a new breed of professionals began to emerge at the dawn of the new millennium. Until then a large number of pioneers moved from into Public Relations from varied disciplines including but not limited to Publishing, Marketing, Advertising, Journalism and even Hoteliering. This is great for the cause of the profession as people get grounding in theory at these institutes that some smartly apply to the practical world.

     

    Secondly, almost all the major Public Relations firms headquartered in Europe and the United States have made inroads in one of the fastest growing economies either by starting up from scratch or by acquiring existing firms. This is great for professionals as it gives instant access to global knowledge and best practices, transfers across the world and opportunities to interact with colleagues from across the world thus changing the rules of the game entirely. I joined an Indian PR firm in 2004 after a rigorous campus recruitment process. When I moved on in 2007 the firm was international by virtue of being acquired.

     

    Third and lastly, several senior communications professionals have made their way into boards and found a seat at the table, thus giving the art and science of public relations its due. This to me is the hallmark of the last decade and something that needs to become a rule rather than an exception. That will happen only when we are able to show value we bring to a business in terms of strategic thinking and innovative tactics.

     

    I have set myself a target of writing about 500 words (not more) each week and will stick to it. Here’s to new beginnings as I await your suggestions for future columns and points of view on this one.

     

    Amith Prabhu is the founder of The PRomise Foundation which organises PRAXIS – the annual summit for PR & Corp Comm professionals in India. During the day he is a full-time employee at a leading Public Relations firm in their Chicago office. He spent the first eight years of his post-graduation career in India and is in the US for two years, of which he has completed 18 months. Views expressed here are the author’s own and don’t represent those of his past, present or future employer.

     

  • Dentsu Communications, a full service independent communications agency and a part of the Dentsu India Group, has begun operations in Kochi

    Dentsu strengthens Southern India network

    By A Correspondent

     

    Dentsu Communications, a full service independent communications agency and a part of the Dentsu India Group, commences operations in Kochi.

     

    Rohit Ohri, Executive Chairman said, “Our commencement of operations in Kochi is part of our larger strategic plan of accelerated growth in India. We’re now fully equipped to offer integrated communication services to all our clients in the Southern India. Arijit Ray, CEO Dentsu Communications, Suresh Mohan Kumar, National Planning Head and Ashwin Prathiban, Regional ECD (South) will drive this new initiative. I’m confident that under their leadership, we shall see a new spurt of growth in this region.”

     

     

    Commenting on the expansion and the South market, Arijit Ray, CEO Dentsu Communications said, “We are extremely upbeat about our operations in the South. The Bangalore operation is our largest and most integrated with 3 pillar clients. Toyota, Nissin and TVS. With a clear focus on building the Bangalore operation into a hub of excellence to cater to all markets in the South, the capability and talent building process is bearing fruit. With a fully integrated, Creative, Events, Media and PR Team, that has conceived and executed the Etios Motor Racing programme, the team is set to leverage integrated opportunities on current and potential clients. What is heartening is that we have been able to build our strategic integrated capabilities around our clients brand and business mandates.”

     

    Adding further, Mr Ray said, “We see a lot of potential in Kochi. We have a great team that understands the local nuances to start our journey in Kerala. Saji Jayakumar our Kochi head and his team will surely do everything to make it a stellar operation.”

     

    Ashwin Parthiban, Regional Executive Creative Director, Dentsu Communications said, “Dentsu’s Kochi presence offers exciting creative possibilities, and an interesting opportunity to work on a mix of both local and national brands that are based in Kerala. There is a refreshing appetite for path-breaking creative ideas among clients here, and benchmarks are set very high. But most importantly, Keralites have a rich story-telling culture, not to mention a very evolved appreciation of film, and this mix provides delightful creative inspiration.”

     

    Suresh Mohan Kumar, National Planning Head, Dentsu Communications said, “Kochi office underlines Dentsu’s emphasis on and commitment to southern markets. Our key differentiator would be our ability to conceive and deliver totally integrated communication solutions. Bangalore will continue to be the planning and creative hub but we will tap into our teams’ local expertise to provide our clients with solutions that make a difference in the market place.”

     

  • Soon after making the acquisitions of MarketGate and Istrat public, Publicis Groupe's Jean-Yves Naouri and Bertrand Siguier spoke with MxMIndia

    Acquisitions will continue: Publicis

     

    By A Correspondent

     

    This is Jean-Yves Naouri’s third officially announced visit to India. As Chief Operating Officer of Publicis Groupe and Executive Chairman of Publicis Worldwide, he has been the group with 19 years and knows perfectly well that India is a very critical market for the network over the next five years. Soon after announcing the acquisition of well-known consulting firm MarketGate and digital shop iStrat, Mr Naori addressed the media in Mumbai. He spoke to MxMIndia and a dozen other business and trade publications before flying back to Paris soon after midnight.

     

    Jean-Yves Naouri

    We had made a conscious decision a few years ago that Publicis will work with two strategic pillars – one is digital and the other is e-commerce. This is a long-term strategy that we have drawn out. So we are not considering tactical investments, we are moving forward using our previously devised strategy.

     

    When you talk about slowdown,  many countries dream to have the kind of growth that India has shown this year. We are very confident in the potential that India seems to offer and have taken some measures that seem to be promising. So we strongly believe in the potential of India going forward and by making investments we are not looking at the GDP numbers vis-a-vis the year 2012 but the longer implications that it would offer.

     

    Don’t you feel it would have been apt for you to have a one digital agency servicing all other agencies?

    This is not the approach that we have. For us digital is an intrinsic part of our vision and strategy and we want to make Publicis group the numero uno digital company. We want every single operation to become fully digital. This is a change of approach in order to better service our client. You cannot expect one digital agency to service all our clients not only because of cost reasons but also sometimes they do not have all the capabilities required to cover all areas. So we have made a choice to have a different approach where we want every single operation to become fully digital. We are consciously strengthening and adapting our every single operation and that’s how you see Indigo joining hands with Leo Burnett and participating in this transformation. Also, iStrat joining Publicis and Resultrix joining ZO… Saatchi has a very different organic approach where it is hiring digital talent to transform itself from the inside.

     

    So wouldn’t hiring hiring talent have been better?

    I do not think one strategy can be better; strategy is a result of the approach that we are taking or the conscious analysis of the best way by brands based on their contracts and situations and sometimes we feel it is better to do it organically and sometimes through acquisitions.

     

    How would you rate the performance of Publicis Groupe in India?

    Firstly, we have made India our true area of focus. As we’ve said, in the BRIC countries we have doubled the size of our operations in Brazil over two years, we are on the verge of doing the same in China and we continue to accelerate our efforts in India.

     

    And if you were to compare your network versus the others operating in India?

    I do not look at comparisons rather I look at our clients – that is what matters to us. This has been the driving force for us. When we announce our strategic plans the first element that we take into consideration is: what do our clients need and how can we take them to the next level? So the acquisition of MarketGate on the one hand that brings in some strong expertise in consulting to the CEOs and CMOs with undisputed talent is one such message. Also, the fact that we have announced our partnership with IBM in the area of e-commerce and have presence in China and in India is also a strong commitment to this domain.

     

    We also look at initiatives in the healthcare domain where India is very strongly placed.

     

    Is research something that you are looking at in a big way?

    No, we are not looking at research for some conscious reasons. We feel odd that a same company will be releasing a campaign and will also be judging its relevance through a market research company of its own. We see an ambiguity there and are not pleased with it. Secondly, there is a profound transformation of market research these days and it’s due to digital. It enables you to have access to the best sample of audience from around the world that can provide you immediate and more adequate reactions to your needs. So we do not feel comfortable investing in research.

     

    How active is Razorfish going to be in India?

    It is very likely that we will see some development of all our pure-play digital agencies.

     

    In 2010, you had mentioned that your revenue will double by 2015. Do you see that goal being achieved a bit earlier?

    If there is a surprise, I would announce it in due time.

     

    Any regrets on not bidding aggressively enough for Taproot India?

    We never look back; we look forward.

     

    Can we expect any more acquisitions in the near future?

    We will continue to explore possibilities and again, I use the word acquisitions in different ways. It’s a acquisition of talent, of companies etc.

     

    Are you looking at acquiring more creative agencies?

    We have no limitations in the areas that we are strong in. India is important for us and we will continue to strengthen our focus around it.

     

    ***

     

    The advertising business is not like Bollywood: Bertrand Siguier

     

    You could mistake him for a pensioner sipping his cup of coffee and reading the papers at the India International Centre or the Indian Merchants Chamber. At the media interaction at Mumbai’s Four Seasons Hotel last Friday, he was quiet looking around occasionally to figure what was happening.

     

    Bertrand Siguier has a rather long title: Special Advisor to Maurice, Levy chairman of Publicis Groupe. He was Executive Vice-President of the group till 2009. Mr Siguier has been overseeing India operations for a while and is familiar with the market here. Soon after the announcements of the twin acquisitions of MarketGate and iStrat, and as the mediapersons made a beeline for Jean-Yves Naouri (interviewed above) and MarketGate CEO Shripad Nadkarni or IStrat CEO Navneet Singh Sahni, MxMIndia caught up with Mr Siguier for a quick, freewheeling chat.

     

    Bertrand Siguier

    Wouldn’t it have been better if you would have had one digital agency that services various creative agencies rather than three that the Publicis Groupe has acquired this year?

    It is one of the ways to go about doing business but we have chosen to do it the other way round and that’s because of our agencies. For example, given that Leo Burnett is quite big and that it prefers to operate in a certain way, we didn’t want to twist their arms and force Arvind Sharma to follow a certain model. That’s one of the reasons that we acquired Indigo, which is one of the biggest and best digital agencies in this country. If you ask me whether Indigo would work with other companies in our group I would say, yes.

     

    Do you think the issue of fiefdoms or egos is an international trend or is it just limited to India?

    It’s an international trend I would say except a few countries. Like say India, which is a priority and a large market and has potential, we can yes. But in other countries that is not the case. It may be okay for India, Turkey or Germany.

     

    What about Saatchi & Saatchi? It’s still not up there in India?

    Saatchi will be back; we’re not going to let Saatchi go down. Saatchi has a huge history and we need to have a strong Saatchi in India, which hasn’t been the case for some time. It will be the case starting next year. There has been a change in leadership already last year with the coming in of Matt Seddon who is not Indian but has done a terrific job in restoring order in the organisation. It is not an easy job to do….

     

    What about Publicis – are you content with the way the agency is doing in India?

    Oh, yes, we are very happy with Publicis; altogether it is doing very well. If you ask me, I am not pleased with anything but given the overall picture Leo Burnett is doing well, Publicis has made a lot of progress but I still want to see more in terms of creativity and visibility. For example, we were not present enough in Goafest so, that is one area that we need to work on.

     

    But Publicis is not considered a sexy agency in India…

    You may be right but you have a very Indian focus. I do not know why this market is obsessed with stars – the advertising business is not like Bollywood. I know that in India some creative people are considered as stars. You see them in newspapers, you see them with beautiful ladies, you see them trying to film things for Bollywood…we are not in that league. I think we could do a bit more.

     

    With low margins, is it profitable to stay in the Media agency business these days?

    Low margins on big business can produce some satisfactory results. If you play legally and in a straightforward way and if there are no funny things going around and under the table, it’s a low-margin business.

     

    Will the doubling of turnover for Publicis happen sooner than the prescribed timeline of 2015?

    I only have a guesstimate and I think we can achieve that before the set timeline. It would be good if that happened.

     

    Are you looking at hiring more talent across creative agencies here in India?

    Yes, there is a possibility. It is a question of opportunity; I do not want to make a big declaration. If we come across companies that we feel are exceptional and have exceptional talent then why not…