MxMIndia

Tag: Praxis

  • Senior professionals Gaurav Sinha of Audi India, Ruchica Tomar of MakeMy Trip and Svetlana Pinto of Novartis are among those who will share insights through various short sessions

    Spectra events on Dec 30 & Jan 9

    By A Correspondent

     

    After the completion of Day 1 and 2 of Spectra Prime, the virtual reputation management conference organised by the Reputation Today which also conducts the annual Praxis conference, is offering a bonus day called Spectra Plus. Scheduled at 12 noon on December 30, 2020. The first two days of Spectra earlier in the quarter witnessed a virtual footfall of over 1100 delegates, notes a communique. Meanwhile, Day 3 of Spectra Prime is scheduled to be held on January 9, 2021.

     

    Senior professionals Gaurav Sinha of Audi India, Ruchica Tomar of MakeMy Trip and Svetlana Pinto of Novartis are among those who will share insights through various short sessions.

     

    Said Roshan Alexander, Co-Curator, Spectra: “When we decided to postpone Praxis a week into the first lockdown, we were determined to come up with an alternative and give the reputation management professionals an immersive online experience in the year end. After months of hard work and brainstorming, Spectra was born. As the conference unfolds, it’s feels amazing to see the incredible amount of responses it has garnered in the first two days”.

     

     

  • 6 keynotes by 6 global leaders, 6 panels, 6 special sessions… at the two-day Praxis 2017 in Jaipur starting today

    It’s PRAXIS yet again!

     

    By A Correspondent

     

    PRAXIS, the annual conference of Public Relations and Corporate Communications professionals in the country, is holding its sixth edition starting today. What started as an experiment by a keen PR agency professional and likeminded friends with the blessings of biggies in the business, is today being billed as the biggest PR and corp comm convention in the world.

    In between running around ensuring all the arrangements are done with the finesse of an international event, founder and curator Amith Prabhu took time to ask the questions.

    It took some convincing to get Prabhu to speak since he prefers to stay in the background, and have some young professionals take the lead in fronting the effort.

    A disclosure before you read this. MxMIndia has been an early and active supporter of Praxis from even before it was launched. In fact we like to believe (perhaps incorrectly) that it was an article on MxMIndia by Prabhu post a dismal showing by Indian PR agencies at Cannes that led to the birth of the idea. This year too our support stays. However, this support will not influence our coverage on the event, if any.

     

    So we are on the sixth edition of Praxis. As we get set for Praxis 2017 to take off in Jaipur, your sentiments having scripted the journey?

    I am in disbelief that we have come this far. What was planned as a one-off as grown on to become an annual signature event in the calendar of the discerning Indian professional. The support from the fraternity is what makes it what it is. I feel humbled to have been the catalyst of this movement.

     

    Everything as per plan?

    So far so good. This is bigger in every sense. 12 international speakers. 606 delegates. 350 hotel rooms. 36 commercial and brand partners. It could not have been better than this. The theme Beauty of Communications – Integration of Content, Community and creativity will come alive.

     

    So what according to you makes Praxis, the world’s largest PR congregation? Surely the PR fraternity elsewhere in the world is larger…

    I have been to some of the biggest PR summits in the most evolved markets including those in New York, Chicago and Miami. They have about 300 people who come for a day or two, stay on their own. Here, we offer the entire package in an offsite location where every delegate comes from outside the host city. More than 50% stay in the same hotel. The summit includes two dinners, a live concert – it is an entire package at a price that is a fraction of what global conferences are priced which include just two lunches.

     

    The highlights this year?

    Everything hovers around six for the sixth edition. 6 keynotes, 6 panels, 6 special sessions. We have managed to bring 6 Global leaders of which four are CEOs of some of the largest PR firms. We will also bring out the list of the Top 100 important professionals ranked by the editorial team of Reputation Today – a magazine that was born out of Praxis. The Raghu Dixit Concert will be a major draw. All in all, it will be a memorable experience created by a three member team supported by a dozen volunteers.

     

    A word to those who’ve missed out this year… why they shouldn’t have missed?

    Every leading PR firm in the Top 30 will be there. We do not repeat speakers so some who have spoken in the past do not choose to come because they feel they know it all and we respect that. A few who won’t be here and had registered are cancelling plans due to personal reasons.  Those who missed out have forfeited a great opportunity of learning and meeting 600+ professionals under one roof over two days.

     

    And PRAXIS 2018… where will it be?

    As per our policy of rotating the venue to different zones without repeating the city, we are likely to take it to Hyderabad. We are tentatively aiming for September 28 and 29 in 2018. We have already opened registrations at bit.ly/PRAXIS2018 at a 70% offer for this week.

     

  • The first edition of the Fulcrum Awards 2016 will kick off with 37 categories divided under four sub heads with an objective to recognise both Individuals and team contribution

    Fulcrum Awards announces entry submission for India

    By A Correspondent

     

    The Fulcrum Awards to honour excellence in Indian Public Relations aimed at both in-house and consultancy professionals was announced by PRmoment.in – a leading online magazine for PR professionals in India along with Event Capital – an event IP specialist. The Fulcrum Awards will be hosted on September 24th, 2016 at Aamby Valley soon after closing of PRAXIS. The submission phase has begun.

     

    The Fulcrum Awards is the only award of its kind which will ensure separation of jury, sponsors and participants to ensure utmost transparency. The invited jury members have been carefully selected to leverage their experience to position the awards as the most prestigious in India The jury members, as of now, include :

    • Arijit De (Senior Vice President & Head of India Marketing and Corporate Affairs -Bank of America Merrill Lynch)
    • Daniel Feiler (Senior Director, Communications ,eBay Asia Pacific)
    • Dimple Kapur (Former Regional PR and communications lead Qualcomm)
    • Meena Vaidyanathan Founder NIITI Consulting
    • Paarul Chand (Editor PRmoment.in)
    • Rashmi Naik (Director Marketing  and Communication, Omidyar Network)
    • Roma Balwani (President, Sustainability, CSR & Communications, Member of the Group Executive Committee,Vedanta Resources plc)
    • Sabiana Anandaraj  ( Chief Operating Officer, Trilegal)
    • Sanjiv Kataria (Strategic Communications and PR Counsel for the Services sector)
    • Sunil Gautam (Serial entrepreneur, strategic communications veteran)
    • Suvodeep Das (VP Marketing at Sodexo SVC India)
    • Veena Gidwani (PR Consultant, Corporate Trainer and Teacher Retired as CEO Madison Public Relations)

     

    The first edition of the Fulcrum Awards 2016 will kick off with 37 categories divided under four sub heads with an objective to recognise both Individuals and team contribution and they will be:

    • Technique Awards: There are 12 sub categories under the technique awards that will be judged for outstanding campaigns
    • Consultancy Professional Awards: There are 10 individual categories that will honour professionals from PR consultancies
    • In-house professional: There are 10 individual categories that acknowledge the stars from corporate communication world
    • Special awards: These will honour five  outstanding entities.

     

  • Q&A with Ketchum Sampark founder & MD N S Rajan and columnist & Praxis founder Amith Prabhu who have announced a PG school for strategic communications

    SCORE high with PR!

     

     

    For people who have spent all of their professional lives building the reputations of organizations and professionals, this duo just doesn’t believe in their faces doing the talking. Just use the logo, we were told. Thankfully, our phone was out of bounds so we couldn’t be reached, else we would have been persuaded to drop the pictures.

     

    Over the last few weeks, over phone calls, text messages and meetings, N S Rajan, Global Partner and Managing Director of Ketchum Sampark and Amith Prabhu, PR professional, MxMIndia columnist and founder of PR conference Praxis have been stitching together plans to set the Indian School of Communications and Reputation (SCoRe). Messrs Rajan and Prabhu were in Mumbai on Tuesday to announce the plans for the institute and meet select media to address questions.

     

    SCORE has been set up by a limited liability firm promoted by Messrs Rajan and Prabhu. Although there’s no direct monetary investment made by either of them, the broad arrangement is that while Mr Prabhu will run the institute, Mr Rajan will play the role of a Mentor and also bring in the monies if there is a need. The business plan expects the institute to be in the black from Year 1.

     

    The institute is is being established in Gurgaon and while admissions process will start soon, the classes will commence in July. SCORE, according to a communiqu̩, aims to be a centre of education and research focused on Public Relations, Corporate Communications and Political Communications. The vision is to be the best school for those who want to make a mark in the field of strategic communications. SCoRe will offer a Post-Graduate Diploma in Strategic Communications with two specialisations РPolitical and Corporate.

     

    Details of the programmes offered are at www.scoredindia.org

     
     

    Students will experience life of being in a workplace at SCORE

     

    Q&A with SCORE Chief Mentor N S Rajan and Founding Dean Amith Prabhu

     

    Congratulations on the announcement. But having heard more about it, and given that there are various media and management schools offering PR training programmes, one was wondering that since why set up another?

    The industry still doesn’t have good number of trained freshers who are pinning their hopes on a career in Public Relations. That explains the overwhelming support of all members of the profession. Moreover, there is a lot that a postgraduate programme in strategic communications can offer, both students and organisations that has been untapped so far.

     

    Don’t you think it would’ve been better if you had tied up with an existing player and offered your services to them? Some – if not all – of the institutes do boast of excellent faculty and have been producing quality PR professionals. So why reinvent the wheel?

    There is no institute that has been set up by practising professionals. And there is no institute dedicated to Public Relations. If PR has to get its due, it needs an academic management that is focussed on offering various specialisations within the craft without being attached to a larger educational set-up where it remains one of many specialisations. For example, SCORE will offer specialisations in Corporate, Political and Developmental Public Relations. Sometimes a new way of doing things is the best solution. More importantly, the school will aim to be the fountain of talent in the years to come.

     

    How is SCORE going to be different from the others?

    SCORE will be the only school of its kind dedicated to Public Relations. Something we have broken down into what we do and what we say – Communications and Reputation. Five things will stand out a) The school will be affordable by offering a well thought out programme at a price point that students can pay easily as they start out a career. b) By being located in Gurgaon the school will tap into a wide talent pool of professionals who will teach c) The accessibility of large organisations and PR consulting firms will enable students to work on live projects and real-time assignments d) This will be the first independent school that has the leadership of most of the Top 10 firms supporting it with guarantees of internships that will translate into jobs. E) And lastly, the curriculum is inspired by the leading communications schools of the world offering an intense programme with extensive in-classroom training

     

    So, why should students apply?

    The programme being offered is like no other. It is carefully planned with the work-life in mind. Students will experience life of being in a workplace at SCORE. They will learn from the best in the profession. Work on live projects. Solve case studies. Make campaign plans. Track news. Consult on projects. Plan events. Meet business leaders. Be equipped to tackle reputational problems. Trained in elements of brand communications, business management and strategic communications in small batches

     

    Rajan, when you are recruiting talent, would you prefer to hire talent that’s from a communications/PR school or someone with a general MBA. For, after all, the people at the other end of the table in the form of clients are pedigreed B-schoolers and hence it makes sense to hire people who can match up to them?

    As is the case with most graduates coming from school, the industry including the PR fraternity and the firm I have been associated with has had to invest substantially in their training and in many cases retraining to make them unlearn some of the concepts. So in the past we have recruited quite many Management graduates.  Hopefully, the curriculum of SCORE with its emphasis on practical training and case-study based learning along with a holistic learning approach would fill the current void and make the students ‘industry ready’.

     

    Or is the hiring of IIM/ISB/etc Tier-1 something that PR firms can never dream of given the price tag?

    There are several considerations in the minds of an IIM or an ISB graduate and salary is only one of them. For instance, my own son would prefer to join a start-up.

     

    Yes. I do agree as an industry, we have not actively tapped talent with a general management background. The Top management schools better prepare students to work specially in areas like FMCG . We hope the SCORE curriculum and the rigour of the programme places  those choosing a career in Strategic Communications  on par with their peers from general management in terms of being industry ready.

     

    Rajan, could you for the benefit of our readers and the fraternity, explain your exact association with SCORE? How did you think of mentoring SCORE? Post-Ketchum Sampark retirement planningJ ?

    I have been part of several discussions with industry leaders over time on the need for a practical curriculum for entrants as also training to current young professionals to raise the overall standing of the Industry. This project is to me in a waygiving back to the profession in a small measure the great joy and fulfilment it has given me. SoI am not looking at this as a business venture.

     

    Amith has done a yeoman service to all of us in PR by bringing us under one roof with PRAXIS and I felt if the School project was to be truly neutral and independent and stand for the PR industry in India, Amith is best equipped to anchor and run it.  I am gratified that the Industry as a whole and many of my fellow professionals have graciously accepted to participate actively in this venture and I thank them sincerely.

     

    At 55, I’m far from retired and I’m looking to build my firm in India. While I initiated the idea it was Amith who, having worked for the fraternity at large, immediately saw the opportunity and agreed to anchor it. I will not be actively involved in the day to day operations other than mentoring the young team that will run the school.

     

    Amith, given Rajan’s active association with SCORE and the fact that he’s a veteran PR professional but associated with a large PR firm, did the thought that some PR consultancy professionals/agencies who are rivals of Ketchum Sampark could possibly not encourage your institute?

    This institute is being created with a clear purpose. To offer a world-class education at an affordable price to the future managers and leaders of the profession. My biggest strength has been to work on challenging projects without letting biases creep in. Be it the weekly column I write or the annual event I organise, I never take sides. The school offers every PR firm CEO and corporate communications head the option to nominate an individual for the rigorous training programme on the condition that they will hire the student on successful completion of the programme As mentioned by Mr Rajan , I have the mandate to run the school independently and it will be company agnostic .The fact that a large number of leaders from across agencies and companies have agreed to participate whole heartedly is perhaps an indication of the need for such a school as also its neutrality.  I look forward to their continued guidance and counsel in my new avatar as they supported PRAXIS

     

    PR firms like having journalists on their fold?  Does the setting up of SCORE imply that trained PR professionals is possibly the way to go rather than getting bored-of-their-journalism-jobs editors?

    There is room for everyone. While journalists join PR firm at middle and senior levels bringing in the strength of content creation and media relations. There is always a need for good talent at the entry level as generalists and at other levels as strategists and planners. Some institutes offer PR as a specialisation but do not deep dive to train students in emerging areas where PR is in great demand like the developmental sector or the political arena. Besides, the institutes offer a programme that is expensive thus preventing good talent from embracing it because of price barrier and those that graduate want to work in jobs that have higher starting salaries compared to PR which leads to a brain drain of sorts.

     

    Amith, at 34, you would obviously be among the youngest professionals to get into education. Does the fact that you are not been an educator or have too many years into the profession, do you think SCORE wouldn’t be taken too seriously as an educational institute?

    I turned 35 this monthJ. Well, I was expecting this question from the media but this question has not come from parents of potential students I have spoken to or from fellow ‘senior’ professionals who have signed up to be on the Academic Council and to teach. Age is no barrier to the success when there is an idea whose time has come. That is why Rajan and I chose to collaborate in creating this programme. A good mix of youth and experience can always create wonders. When I floated the idea of PRAXIS in early 2012 I was 31, and many dissuaded me saying it would have no takers but when people saw the product which was of high calibre and independently done there was overwhelming support. My role is three-fold. To attract the best students and faculty. To be the custodian of something that the professional community has been yearning for. And lastly, to let the programme do the talking. 

     

     

  • The third edition of the annual Summit for PR and corp comm professionals starts today in Agra. An interview with event founder and mentor Amith Prabhu

    The Promise of Better PR at Praxis

     

    By Pradyuman Maheshwari

     

    Not many moons ago, MxMIndia requested Amith Prabhu, earlier head of communications at Vivaki (Publicis Groupe) and then working at the Edelman office in Chicago to write an article on how Indian PR agencies had fared miserably at the Cannes Lions advertising awards. He then mooted the idea of a Lions-like conference for the PR industry, and even as we spoke with him to co-organise it, he had taken the lead with his friends to take things forward.

     

    We stepped back and offered him all the possible support in the effort, and are happy to report that the third edition of Praxis, as the PR conference is called, is being held starting today (September 12) in the historic city of Agra.

     

    So while MxMIndia is media partner, that didn’t prevent us from posing some ticklish questions to Amith Prabhu, founder and chief mentor of the event. Amith was not too keen on being interviewed and said the co-chairs of the conference should be doing the talking, but we could finally prevail upon him with an understanding that his pic will not appear as the Big Story image. Pssst, we’ve still sneaked in this headshot. We’ll try and feign ignorance. Read on…

     

    Pondicherry (or Puducherry), Lavasa and now Agra. How will the third edition of Praxis be different from the previous two?

    Each summit is unique in different ways. Praxis 2014 caters primarily to the professionals in the NCR. We call it the super, smarter, slicker edition. The theme is Communicating for a Better World and the focus is CSR. We have nearly 30 speakers of which eight are are international.

     

    In many ways it was for you a dream to build this forum for early and mid-career professionals. Do you think you’ve been able to achieve what you had set out to? Or is it still mission unaccomplished?

    From 250 professionals in the first edition, 22 months ago to almost 350 this time around we have come a long way. A large chunk of participants from both consultancies and in-house are young and raring to go. We want this to be THE forum that professionals of all levels head to every year and we have managed to achieve that.

     

    And would you say that the PR industry and professionals have gained from this?

    I still like to believe we are not an industry but a growing community of very smart professionals. These forums help celebrate the profession. It is for those who attend to say if they have gained or not. The response this year has been overwhelming which makes us believe we are on the right track.

     

    The format though is still very short, right. Like in this year’s edition, just as people would’ve warmed up, it’s time to say your goodbyes?

    Time is at a premium. We have experimented with an additional night in the second edition but the feedback was that it should be optional because half the time we are dealing with client crises which allows for minimal time commitment outside work.

     

    Why not have a longer format? Because it’s just an incremental extra hotel night that people have to pay for, na? You’ve already got them out of their office and spend on travel?

    As I mentioned earlier, time is at a premium for PR professionals. We have had 15% drop-outs in the last 5 days, especially from clients who would have been over 100 at the summit but are now about 85 at the summit because work exigencies. We offered an option for those who wanted to learn from experts to stay back a second night and attend the workshop at an additional fee. So it is really not shorter in the true sense. Also, an additional night would cost Rs 10,000 more on an average which we felt younger professionals would find hard to bear.

     

    Has this South-West-North rotation of venues worked? What will you have next year… East? How about a Praxis in Bangkok, Nepal or somewhere cheap and still away from it all?

    We are open to having Praxis in the Eastern part of India or even in another country which does not require visas. We are exploring that option. Hopefully, when the third edition ends the team of volunteers may have a location for 2015. Someday, we will plan it overseas for sure.

     

    There is a cross-section of top professionals who’ve been giving Praxis a miss? Dilip Cherian, for instance. Various veteran corporate communications professionals.  Comments?

    Like several other leaders, Dilip Cherian has been invited every year and we are hoping to convince him hard enough to be there next year. This year, the CEO of his firm will be chairing a session. We have nine of the Top 10 firms and 18 of the Top 20 firms present in India that are represented. Unlike most events of this kind that are organised by associations we are just a bunch of volunteers with full-time jobs who put this together. Given that, there are six firms participating for the first time this year which is an achievement. One Founder is making his stage debut in a public forum, though his firm has been around for 20 years, which is amazing.

     

    Also, I was just speaking to the CEO of a Mumbai-based PR firm Who was sadly just not aware of the forum. Would you say this is ignorance on the part of the CEO or still miles to go for Praxis (and the Promise Foundation) to promote the conference?

    We would not say it is either. If you were speaking to the CEO, he or she has now heard of it ;-). Sur summit has been built on word of mouth and primarily on social networks. We have a long way to go as a community. The Summit was sold out a month ago and we decided to increase the number from 300 to 330 which is 10% of the 3000 professionals in the country.

     

    So a little about this year: standout, must-attend sessions?

    We have the mother of cause marketing, Carol Cone, who is Edelman’s global practice chair of the CSR practice who has flown all the way from New York to deliver the opening keynote. Paul Holmes will do the second keynote on the Consultancy of the Future.  These are not to be missed. The other stand-out sessions are a presentation on Measuring Metrics and four panels – one by millenials, one by CSR experts, one celebrating Founders of India’s iconic firms and one with regional chiefs of PR firms.

     

    If you were given to chance to go back three years and re-curate Praxis, would you do it differently?

    Each Summit has been planned with learning from the previous one and built with passion. We are proud of the fact that we do not have more than one speaker from an organisation and that we typically do not repeat speakers. We also follow a cooperative sponsorship model where partnering companies pay our vendors directly. What we can do better is to make more Indian professionals in the middle east and far east attend.

     

    Is the organisation of Praxis really a collective, cooperative effort finally? Wouldn’t you want to give the job to an event organiser to do it on a professional basis?

    Praxis began as a movement and continues to remain so. The commitment of some of us is for ten editions. An event manager still helps put together the final look of the conference. With or without an event manager, we are a professionally run social enterprise. But the personal touch can only be there when those who conceptualised it, remain at the forefront of driving it. We are a dozen professionals who ideate virtually and come together at the summit to bring the event to life. The uniqueness is that the 12 volunteers represent 12 different organisations – some PR firms and some corporations.
    So what’s driving the organisers like yourself and others to spend a huge amount of time, effort and possibly monies to organise Praxis?

     

    People and passion for the profession are the cornerstones of this initiative. We needed to bring back the reputation to the profession that had begun to get affected by two important events – the controversy of 2010 that led to one of the largest firm shutting shop and the fact that almost all of the Top 20 global firms making their presence felt in India by the beginning of this decade. One would have worked for a non-profit, but instead we decided that we will create a non-profit that builds reputation for the profession. So here we are!

     

  • Public Relations should be built on the bedrock of media training, writes Amith Prabhu

    Amith Prabhu: Why our politicians must undertake media training

    By Amith Prabhu

     

    Lately, my columns have been focusing on political themes. Indian politics is my pet passion but I promise after this one will stay away from politics until something major happens in the intersection of politics and Public Relations that merits a column. The last couple of weeks have seen an increase in the number of unusual remarks by certain key politicians who talk and they were a mix of prepared statements and of the cuff statements. Either way they came across as utterances that much thought had not gone into. We will take two or three and then examine why media training is paramount to political public relations as much as it is to the world of business and other disciplines.

     

    First, let’s look at the statement the Defence Minister made in Parliament soon after an attack on soldiers near the border led to loss of precious lives. A K Antony said something to the effect that terrorists dressed in army uniforms carried out the ambush. This may or may not have been true. But the error was in saying it so confidently as if he were at the scene of crime. He was going by the advice given to him by top army officials but the tonality and style could have been more tentative and the choice of words could have been smarter. Had he said that ‘initial reports’ coming in are that a few Indian soldiers have been killed. However the nature of the killings indicate that this could be either an attack by the state machinery or by terrorists dressed in army fatigue. And this limits the exposure one has to taunt and triviality. While reports later confirmed that this was the information he was fed by those on the line of duty who survived.

     

    A few days later, the Indian Energy Minister made a comment at a press conference that there are various austerity ideas being floated. Shutting petrol pumps during the night is one of them. But nothing has been decided. It is just a proposal, urging people to save fuel by using their vehicles sparingly. This was the most stupid statement to make in a nation of 1.3 billion people where 12% own a registered motor vehicle and makes a sizable number that can panic. Was getting into the details with an idea however bright necessary? The gentleman is known to be a lose canon at times. And all this can change with media training.

     

    Political parties have spokesperson training programmes but do these grown up men and women care to learn? The days of having just print journalists are gone. The media fraternity includes those who write, broadcast, telecast and blog. Moreover several international media outlets are also present to cover newsworthy items of the day. Given this scenario it should be mandatory to get the political leadership undergo an intense training in talking to the media because it is not the same as talking to voters at an insipid rally. That makes the market for media training companies lucrative because the time is not far when political parties will have no option but to invest in professional media trainers. Because a large part of Public Relations is built on the bedrock of media training.

     

    Amith Prabhu is 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. The 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

     

  • Second edition of Praxis summit for PR and corporate communications professionals to be held at Lavasa near Pune from September 27to 29

    Praxis 2013 announced,to be held in Lavasa fm Sept 27-29

    By A Correspondent

     

    The PRomise Foundation for Public Relations, a non-profit organization with a goal of doing PR for Public Relations, has announced the second edition of its flagship event PRAXIS 2013. Billed as India’s foremost weekend summit for Public Relations and Corporate Communications professionals, PRAXIS 2013 will be held at the International Convention Centre at Lavasa between September 27 and 29, 2013. The summit will bring together students, professionals: young and mid-level and veterans of the Public Relations business under one roof to discuss various aspects that impact the profession (*See Disclosure)

     

    The inaugural summit was held in November 2012 at Pondicherry and was a resounding success. The summit in 2013 will see over 300 professionals in attendance. The keynote address is to be delivered by Lord Peter Chadlington, Chief Executive Officer at Huntsworth PLC and the founder of Shandwick.

     

    There will be two other keynote speeches, three power panels and three workshops in break-out groups. There will be two gala evenings including a live concert. The event sponsors will be some of the leading public relations firms, a media measurement company and an academic institute among others. The Holmes Report will be the international media partner. MxMIndia will be the online media partner. Participants may register by accessing the microsite at www.praxis2013.in

     

    The pricing will be uniform for all age groups with reduced rates for early birds. Participants have more than seven months to plan and prepare for the event to be held in the picturesque hill city of Lavasa which is an hour away from Pune and three hours away from Mumbai.

     

    The PRomise Foundation was created in 2012 for the purpose of organizing events for the professional community among other things. The Foundation has a Board of Advisors consisting of senior professionals from academics, media, corporate communications, marketing and business. A Board of Mentors comprises country heads of the leading Public Relations firms. The younger professionals consist of Supporters and Friends who contribute time and ideas to the smooth running of the various initiatives.

     

    Another initiative that is the outcome of the first summit is PRonto Рinformal and quick evening gatherings in the key metros once a quarter with the third Thursday dedicated to this get-together with no specific agenda. The first one will be held at The Media Caf̩ in Gurgaon on the evening of February 21 followed by one in Mumbai in March and in Bengaluru in April.

     

    Liza Saha and Umesh Nair – both of whom work full-time with leading Public Relations firms are summit co-chairs and are putting together PRAXIS 2013 in their spare time with the help of like-minded professionals from 15 other organisations who are all trying to create a platform for the profession on a voluntary basis.

     

    According to the summit co-chairs, “PRAXIS 2013 promises to be a weekend where the best in the business come together to learn and bond. After a very positive response to the inaugural summit we are convinced that events such as this are the need of the hour.. This is a humble effort by few of us volunteers to give back to the profession and pay it forward. We are looking forward to the months ahead in planning what we believe will become the ‘Go To’ event year-on-year”

     

    * Disclosure: MxMIndia is a media partner of PRAXIS 2013 and Pronto.

     

  • As many as 255 delegates and 35 speakers are set to assemble in Pondicherry for PRAXIS 2012, an independent PR conference. MxMIndia is partnering the event

    PR folk get set for PRAXIS 2012-11-23

     

    By Johnson Napier

     

    The hotel was buzzing the evening before with activity thanks to a film shoot. Tamil superstar Karthi moves in and out of his DTH-fitted vanity van (ah, well, a bus), as the core team of PRAXIS 2012 ensures that all’s well with the organising the event (*See Disclosure).

     

    The scenic and pleasant climes of Pondicherry, er, Puducherry that buzzes with tourism activity at this part of the year is expected to see action in a different avatar over the next couple of days. And it isn’t action in the form of adventure games or a beach sport that the place prides itself upon but rather something that has a serious if not exactly academic connotation to it. Le Pondy in the former French colony will play host to over 250 communication professionals from India (and one from Nepal) who will throng the venue for a unique and first-of-its-kind experience that’ll be high on business knowhow.

     

    This is just the beginning: Amith Prabhu, co-chair
    He landed from Chicago just a few days back, and has been connected ever since, trying to ensure the event happens without any booboos. Well, he was doing that even when he was in the US, taking full advantage of the time zone difference and not impact his day-job at Edelman. 

    MxMIndia posed a few questions to Amith Prabhu, co-chair of the PRAXIS 2012 and also founding trustee of the PROMISE Foundation, under the aegis of which the conference is being organised.

     

    It’s the Big Day today…  do you see the event setting new benchmarks?

    This is definitely historical for the Indian PR fraternity. It has evolved more as a movement of bringing several minds together than just another conference. We have had to reject over 35 late-comers in the last two weeks, both because we had planned for 200 and the numbers exceeded and also to help create a culture of planning in advance and not support the concept of ‘last-minute’ registrations. Delegates will get to visit a beautiful Indian town which has rich history and is a centre for spirituality and learning. They will get to listen to and interact to over 40 leaders – all under one roof and in a power packed 24 hours. There will be a concert at the inaugural gala which adds to the excitement.Thus is the first event of its kind completely organized in spare time by full-time professionals who have day jobs

     

    Tell us of some speakers that you are proud to invite at PRaxis and whom you feel should be the ones to watch out for at the event?

    We are proud of the fact that over 12 CEOs of Indian PR firms could commit to travel all the way for this cause. Deirdre Breakenridge who has authored several PR bestsellers is also visiting India for the first time and exclusively for PRAXIS. Prof Dr JV Vilanilam will inaugurate and deliver an address that is solid and insightful. A few of India’s leading corporate communications managers will also share their insights at various panels. The Emerging Leaders panel certainly will be a highlight.

     

    Does the demographic split of delegates who have registered thus far suggest any trends?

    There is a healthy mix of youngsters and seniors and an almost equal number of men and women. There are delegates from all the three major metros and one from Nepal too. It is clear that the community has been eagerly waiting for an event of this nature and a lot of young people have made the investment of money to be part of this event. India is waking up and smelling the coffee and that is a big deal.

     

    You mentioned about your core-team organising this in their spare time. Any special efforts to differentiate PRaxis from other similar events?

    To start with this event was born out of an online conversation and inspired by certain situations. No part of the event was outsourced to an event management firm to ensure costs were low and the benefit could be passed on to delegates. The event was only marketed on Twitter and Facebook with event ambassadors playing a huge role in building momentum.We did not add the awards element to keep politics at bay.

     

    What do you intend PRaxis to throw up at the end of its 2-day showing?

    We are hoping this summit is the beginning of an annual feature and will also give birth to many more smaller day-long summits in the metros that are targeted at those who cannot afford a destination event. We are sure PR professionals will look at their profession in a new light. Most importantly we are confident the summit will lead to a structured organisation of members who meet frequently to mentor and to be mentored. This profession can only regain its sheen which a few events in the last few years have attempted to destroy.

     

    Most suggestions or workable solutions that get discussed during such events are left ignored or are not converted to action soon enough. What does PRaxis intend to do in this direction?

    The main purpose of this event was to bring the fraternity together which has been achieved with over 80 organisations being represented by 255 delegates. The road ahead is very clear and is two pronged – to do one large annual summit and a few mini-summits annually & to offer a forum that is largely online and connects offline to help professionals learn from each other aspects that can only be handed down through experience.

     

    What do you expect the youth to take away from this event – something that will make them return again next year to learn more?

    We are hoping the younger delegates will get to interact and listen to senior professionals whom they idolise. Most importantly, here is an event that they can call their own which is truly secular and democratic in every sense. It is not an extended offsite of one PR firm to which everyone’s invited. It is not backed by any single body that makes it polarised. Most of all it is truly an event by and for professionals completely organised by volunteers who in have full-time jobs. We are sure some of the terms that are abused and wrongly used like ‘agency’ and ‘industry’ will be used less and less.

     

    PRAXIS 2012, the flagship event of the PRomise Foundation for Public Relations, a non-profit created to enhance the reputation of the PR profession, is scheduled to take place today and tomorrow (November 23 and 24, 2012). The organisers have invited over 35 speakers who would discussing and deliberating and help steer the industry forward.

     

    The summit will be inaugurated by academic and writer Prof J Vilanilam and followed by an interaction to be moderated by APCO India’s Managing Director Sukanti Ghosh. This will be followed by a keynote address by Deirdre Breakenridge, author of several PR books, speaker and professional communicator, who will talk on the theme “Our Time Is Now” and cover impact of traditional and digital forms of earned communication in her address. Following next would be a panel discussion on Storytelling and Creativity. The Storytelling panel moderated by writer and editor Amrita Salian will have two best-selling novelists Anita Nair and Ashwin Sanghi share tips and tricks on storytelling in the world of fiction that PR professionals can learn from and apply to real life in real time.

     

    The day will proceed with a panel discussion on creativity to be moderated by managing editor of The Holmes Report Arun Sudhaman who will be joined by Founder and Principal of Genesis Burson-Marsteller Prema Sagar, Edelman India’s Managing Director Robert Holdheim, Head of Corporate Communications at Airtel – Deepa Dey and Shweta Shukla, Head of Corporate Communications at Procter & Gamble and Prasanth Chalpalli of creative shop Jack in the Box, the man who led the team that promoted last year’s sensation Kolaveri Di.

     

    The second day would begin with a ‘by invitation’ only breakfast session where N Madhavan, associate editor with Hindustan Times will lead a conversation with the keynote speaker, Deidre Breakenridge on all things communications and digital. The summit will then kick off with two panel discussions that will focus on key challenges that communications and PR professionals are facing increasingly – Measurement and Ethics. The first panel on Measurement will be moderated by Aseem Sood, Director at AMEC and CEO of Impact Research and Measurement. The other panellists include Meenu Handa, Director of Corporate communications at Microsoft India, Shravani Dang – Head of Corporate communications at Avantha Group, Paresh Chaudhry – CEO of Madison Public Relations, Jaideep Shergill -CEO of MSL India and Sunayna Malik – Managing Director of Text 100 India.

     

    The next panel on Ethics would be moderated by Nitin Mantri, CEO of Avian Media and will have Ravi Kiran – Founder of Venture Nursery, Ophira Bhatia – Director of Corporate Affairs at Cadbury India, Valerie Pinto – CEO of Perfect Relations and Yusuf Hatia, Managing Director of Fleishman Hillard India as panellists. The session that follows is a roundtable created to discuss issues concerning young professionals and will be moderated by Summit Co-Chair and Chairperson of PRCAI South, Shane Jacob. This panel has two young entrepreneurs Poonam Ganguly of Media Moments and Neha Rastogi of WordsWork, two young chief communications officers – Shwetank Jain of Future Group and Vikram Kharvi of Tata Housing and one more young professional who will be chosen from a blogging contest.

     

    On high pitch

    The 2-day event has received a tremendous response from the industry be it through mere participation or even sponsorship. Sharing his view on the participation and interest being evinced by his firm, Sukanti Ghosh, MD India, APCO Worldwide, who would also be moderating the morning session on day 1 said: “APCO has its management team attending the Summit, as we have a management meeting planned on the sidelines of the event. We are delighted to be an official partner of the event. I, personally, am happy to be one of the Praxis mentors as well.”

     

    Elaborating on his expectations from the 2-day event, Ghosh added saying, “The Indian communications industry has for long needed an objective industry platform that brings together diverse industry voices. Praxis promises to provide just that. I congratulate the organizing committee for conceptualising and bringing to fruition an industry initiative of this nature.”

     

    Presenting his viewpoint, Nitin Mantri, CEO of Avian Media said: “It’s a one-of-a-kind and much-needed event for the PR industry. In our industry, most of our time goes in celebrating events that belong to our clients but this is an opportunity for our members to do so. It’s a step in the right direction and it is good to know that a lot of agency bodies are supporting the initiative.”

     

    When asked about his expectations from the conference, Mr Mantri said he expects the level of interaction to be very high. “The quality of discussions, networking with prominent people etc would all be exciting stuff to do at the event. I think the delegates should look forward to and imbibe as much knowledge as they can from the various seminars and keynote addresses. As for me, I am going to be part of a panel discussion and I also am on the Board of Praxis as well.”

     

    Excited about being a part of the initiative, Jaideep Shergill, CEO, MSL India who will be seen with a large pool of members from his firm, said: “I see the event as one of the big things to happen for our industry. It’s high time we had an independent event for the industry. In fact the event has drawn in a huge response from all quarters, a fact that can be confirmed from the high number of delegates and speakers who would be attending it. Also noteworthy is the fact that this event is not being held in a major metro city which takes the focus away from the Summit as people get busy in meetings and other personal appointments. With Pondicherry as a venue, one can look forward to having a suitable captive audience that’ll attend the sessions. I would say that Praxis will open an opportunity for new ways of doing business for the PR industry.”

     

    The summit sponsors are – Platinum Partner: Edelman India; Gold Partner: Genesis Burson Marsteller and The Content Company; Silver Partners: Impact Research and Measurement, APCO Worldwide, SIMC Pune, Adfactors Group. Other event partners include Avian Media, Sage India, SABMiller India, Sula Wines, Avignyata, Centronics Support, Aircel, Shady Ideas and Westland Books. MxM India is the online media partner while The Holmes Report is the international media partner. PR Moment.In, PR Buddy.Org and Global alliance are strategic partners.

     

    * Disclosure: MxMIndia is a Media Partner of PRAXIS 2012

     

  • It's passion for the profession and a desire to grow it that will see two PR conferences happen in the next quarter

    For PR, with love… in Jaipur & Pondicherry

     

    By Johnson Napier

     

    For all the publicity and attention that follows a product launch or an event or any image-enhancing exercise, experts would tell you that behind all the glam and glory is the hard work and toil put in by a team whose only aim is a good result.

     

    But those that run the show also know that it is not just about satisfying the client or ensuring profitable ROI. In fact there is a larger agenda that confronts agencies like being prepared to face unforeseen challenges or being ready with a vision to convert unrealistic dreams into reality… more importantly, it is about the team being ready to be able to put up with everything and anything that gets thrown across at them. Public Relations (PR) agencies realize the need to fulfill this aspect of the business and that’s why the enhanced emphasis on providing adequate training and exposure on a constant basis.

     

    This November, the “training”, “exposure” and “upcoming trends” facets concerning the PR and Communications space may well be fulfilled what with a plethora of initiatives being planned.

     

    First up is the all-encompassing PRestival 2012 that’s being planned on a grand scale at Jaipur. Being put together by the team at PR website Image Management, the festival emphasizes the need for a common platform to bring Asia’s communications community together for a constructive and productive purpose. Touted to be the biggest such initiative in Asia, the event will witness PR and communications professionals from across 12 countries in South and South East Asia, including India, China, Singapore, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Philippines etc troop down to be a part of the conclave. What makes it appealing is that the event has partnered with a number of key industry bodies, including the Asia Business Communication Association (ABCA) – one of China’s biggest PR associations, the Public Relations Consultants Associations of India (PRCAI), the Association of Business Consultants of India (ABCI), the Public Relations Global Network (PRGN) and the Public Relations Organisation International (PROI).

     

    Following PRestival 2012 would be PRAXIS 2012 that’s being put together by The PRomise Foundation for Public Relations. Being promoted as ‘India’s first weekend summit for Public Relations and Corporate Communications professionals’, the event will be held at Le Pondy in Pondicherry on November 23 and 24. The summit aims to bring together students, professionals: young & mid-level and veterans of the PR business under one roof to discuss various aspects that impact the profession. (Disclosure: MxMIndia is a media partner of PRAXIS 2012)

     

    Elaborating on the need for hosting PRestival 2012 at Jaipur, Kunal Pal of Image Management & Project Manager of PRestival 2012 said: “In my many interactions with PR industry leaders, something that has repeatedly come up is the need for an industry event which can balance learning and fun. Backed by this encouragement, PRestival was conceptualized and the idea is to celebrate the PR/Communications industry while bringing together professionals and students from across Asia in a collaborative, festive environment. Like most conferences, PRestival will showcase industry leaders in interactive panel discussions and speeches, but the core emphasis remains promoting learning, networking, and fun for all our delegates – from CEOs to students.”

     

    A somewhat similar effort is being put in by founders of PRAXIS 2012. Amith Prabhu, a public relations professional and part of a group of young Indian professionals who  have created The PRomise Foundation elaborated agreeing that “there is definite need to have a forum where individual practitioners working in PR firms or corporate communications departments can become members and come together to exchange ideas and share experiences. The Indian PR community has grown rapidly and with almost every Top 10 global PR consultancy having an India presence the need for events that bring professionals together is a much needed one. A start needs to be made and we have made a small start.”

     

    Amith Prabhu

    On the differentiation being taken in terms of PRAXIS being a weekend event, Amith Prabhu had the following rationale to share: “I worked in India for eight years and have never seen a single weekend event where PR professionals come together as a community to celebrate the profession, break bread together and learn from each other. There have been attempts by some organisations to offer such events but not in the form of an offsite where busy people can leave their work behind for a day or two, which is what we are offering. We need at least 2-3 such events annually as the PR consultancy business is growing.”

     

    And it’s not just the organizers who are excited about partaking in these events. The industry too is excited to be throwing its weight behind such initiatives. Highlighting the role that such events play in pushing forward the cause of the industry, Nikhil Dey, President – Public Relations, Genesis Burson-Marsteller said: “We can all benefit from forums that integrate thoughts and ideas from all ages and experience levels. While there may have been a void in past years, that is changing as we speak with the launch of two fantastic events dedicated to bringing students and youth together with industry experts for an exchange of ideas, knowledge and experiences. Both promise to be extraordinary events that can serve as a launch for the continued exchange of ideas and best practices between the leaders of today and tomorrow.”

     

    Sharif Rangnekar

    Sharif Rangnekar, CEO and Director of Integral PR & President of PRCAI said: “There are far more platforms, conferences, workshops happening focused on our industry than ever before. The last quarter of this year will in fact see a PR Festival in Jaipur and a youth-focused event in Pondicherry being staged. In both cases, the PRCAI is extending as much support as it can as an industry body and is working closely with the organizers in the area of content.”

     

    Nitin Mantri, CEO of Avian Media shared that it was important for PR professionals to engage with and participate in forums held by industry bodies. “I strongly feel PRCAI is one such body that can become a unifying force for the industry if everyone contributes to it. In fact, the PRCAI was formed as an initiative by a group of individuals and is currently the leading industry association. However, any initiative by individuals is also welcome and should be encouraged by all.”

     

    Nikhil Dey

    Addressing shortcomings

    While hobnobbing and exchanging ideas and mantras would be the order of the day, these events would also focus on getting the youth acclimatized and set to face the challenges of tomorrow. This would be achieved by way of lending out training exercises and modules for all, especially the youth, to emulate. Emphasizing on the need for more training programmes, Mr Mantri said that “there was a need for training modules to be undertaken by professional bodies on a periodic basis that will enhance and upgrade the skills of available talent and make them more consistent in quality.” Adding further, Mantri opined that some of the institutes were still focused on providing theory-based curriculum. “While fundamentals are important, the emphasis on real time and on-ground learning should be equal or greater. This will help us hone better PR professionals and get them more excited about their careers,” he reasoned.

     

    Adding his POV, Mr Dey highlighted how talent at both at the entry level and middle management was bright, young and energetic, and how they were able to multi-task and take on additional responsibilities with pride. “But they still need proper knowledge and experience to grow and improve, and this is why regular training is so important,” he added. Lending the formula practised at his own agency, Mr Dey shared, “At Genesis Burson-Marsteller, we have always fostered a robust learning and development (L&D) environment and recognize that today’s youth are tomorrow’s leaders. We created an L&D programme over ten years ago designed to address performance gaps and improvement opportunities at different levels. Also, one of our most successful programmes, aimed at entry-level team members, is called the Associate Learning Programme (ALP). After an intensive selection process, the chosen associates are put into a one-year programme which combines all three forms of learning: classroom sessions on professional and behavioral skills; coaching by the mentor while on-the-job; and self-development through reading, sharing and counseling. Associates graduate from this programme as well-rounded professionals who are ready to deliver in a knowledge-based environment.”

     

    Sharing his thoughts, Mr Rangnekar said that while training and a re-alignment of courses held by various institutions with market requirements, is a necessity, “PR does call for individuals to have that spirit and instinct to enjoy people not just to get along with but also their behaviour, characteristics, consumption patterns and the variety of emotions that everyone goes through.”

     

    For Mr Prabhu, the three key areas essential for training the youth of today include a) Writing and storytelling skills which comes from practice b) Social media skills that come from embracing the medium fully c) And the last one is a combination of discipline and honesty which boils down to ethics which one needs to imbibe at an individual level. However, according to him, organizations need to instill that culture at all levels with ethics focused training and through leading by example.

     

    Kunal Pal expressed, “As the role of a PR practitioner evolves, it is essential that the industry place a greater emphasis on training and supporting talent. Gone are the days when all it took to be a successful PR person were strong verbal and written communication skills. Today’s professionals need a wide range of skills and that is why, in part, talent scouting has become a much more evolved process in the industry and even universities are relooking at the kind of talent they produce. While we are making progress in this regard, there is still some way to go.”

     

    So while the industry seems gung-ho about playing an integral part and supporting such conclaves, what it also needs is for all to show unity in the cause. Rather than have an individualistic or divided approach it would be great if the entire fraternity worked together in achieving a common goal: that of uplifting its own survival for the future. Going by the response that these two conclaves have managed to elicit so far it’s not hard to imagine why the above would not be a reality.