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Tag: Siddhartha Mukherjee

  • The question is that are we building brands or simply chasing numbers in report cards, writes Siddhartha Mukherjee

    Siddhartha Mukherjee: Ranks & SOV no guarantee of Brand-Building!

    By Siddhartha Mukherjee

     

    Our job pressure, typically in the communications industry, is kind of linked directly with the Share of Voice and Ranks that we create for our or client’s brands. If you look at the PR or the Earned Media industry specifically, the mad chase to garner No 1 Rank for our clients (whatever be the scientific or unscientific parameters and unit of measurement) is getting the worse of us individually and the industry at large. The question is that are we building brands or simply chasing numbers in report cards?

     

    Seldom do we, as clients or as custodian agencies of clients, realise that garnering Ranks through Share of Voice is no measure of true brand-building!There are real-life examples galore that keep establishing that while Share of Voice was the highest, whether the brand owner achieved a healthy(ier) brand remained to be far cry!

     

    In the PR Industry, carpet bombing of press releases, press conferences, one on one interviews and other tools is still assumed to be a sure shot route to the ‘so called success’ and client appreciation.

     

    Below are some observations:

    1. Keep the needle moving…somehow!: Does not matter whether the news or conversation that we are creating in the media type and its title are relevant or not. The chase is purely to keep increasing the count of news clips.

     

    2. Importance of Messaging yet to be understood: To build a brand, a key ingredient is its message. The art and science of weaving and hammering the brand message at every news and views opportunity across mediums is the name of the game. There are cases where PR Consultancies, even in today’s day, want a clip with a passing mention of their client to be added into the SOV calculation.

     

    3. Ranks largely to please bosses or clients:SOV and Ranks are good but not of the PR exposure. Forget about naïve juniors! Even seniors in PR Consultancies use the word brand without even understanding the meaning of it. Why would they not? Their KRAs and KPIs are dependent on Ad Values, Count of Clips and thickness of the clippings folder. They have no clue of the brand scores they need to refer to before they can claim or come close to Brand Building!

     

    Take clients even! Whether it is a chicken and egg situation or not is a different debate but there are examples galore where CorpComm desks have no clue of how to showcase the value they are bringing to the brand.

     

    The day our Industry learns the ingredients of a brand and its building blocks, the deliveries, conversation and appreciation will sky rocket! In PR Industry, unless and until the unit of measurement is a scientific one, Ranks and SOV normally tend to indicate volume of work. No way does this indicate the quality of work that has gone behind brand building!

     

     

  • While the overriding takeaway of the recent ‘Roast’ is entertainment, such events can act as great orientations for professionals across communication industries, writes Siddhartha Mukherjee

    Siddhartha Mukherjee: The Roast – An Honest Try towards PR for PR!

    By Siddhartha Mukherjee

     

    A few days back, we witnessed a humble but genuine attempt by a bunch of Industry professionals to create a platform for the Advertising and PR Industry professionals to“Roast” each other. While it could have been moderated and molded much better, I must say, the captains representing our industry did a far better job than the advertising counterparts. For me, more than anything else, this is a small but great example of what PR for PR should and can be.

    Curated by The Commune, apparently this was a first inthe media and marketing industry. Cheers to that!

    What created a strong disposition towards this event for me was that this event, at least, dared to tout PR against an External Industry like Advertising…even Digital for that matter! Typically, for years now, we have witnessed mundane PR/Corporate Communications seminars which have over-glorified our achievements & achievers buttered with Self Gratification.

    Such Open and Industry Agnostic format of events should be held more often! Even established Industry events like Emvies, Goafest, etc. should include or create one! If a brand needs Integrated Brand Communications Solutions, let such “Roasted” events be an eyeopener and act as educative platforms for one and all.

    Talking about the PR and Corporate Communications Industry, we infact have plenty of talkpoints to showcase the good brandbuilding we do despite the ground realities. Plenty to put us on a pedestal. More so, plenty which can outrun those from other industries!

     

    Below are some quick observations:

    1. Small event but great leveler: While the overriding takeaway is entertainment, these events can act as great orientations for professionals across communication industries – public relations, advertising, events, etc. Which means that this can act as great levelers! This should help the Uptight and Upright attitude tone down.

    2. Should be done more often across event platforms: More the merrier. Like Laughter Clubs, our industry-specific events should be held regularly. Does not matter if it is standalone or part of a larger event – Goafest, Praxis, Emvies, Cannes, etc.

    3. Such events can leverage digital platforms: Such events need not to be staged and accessed offline. Digital platform is a great enabler.

    4. Marketers can take the lead: At the end of the day, it is the marketers who use ATL and BTL tools. Advertising, Events, PR, Digital, Social, et al are tools and there are service providers for these. Marketers can use the initiative of a Roast to break the ice, make one service industry understand the dynamic of the other, and of course, entertainthere service providers, once in a while!

  • The PR and comms business has been gaining ground in marketing services, writes Siddhartha Mukherjee

    LookBack 2017: The Needle has started Moving

     

    By Siddhartha Mukherjee

     

    I am passionate about our industry. I believe in its capability and its inherent strengths. More so, having seen the advertising Industry very closely, my belief and eagerness for our industry to get accepted as the Communications Emperor has led me to often critique its shortcomings. However, if I were to sum up 2017, I can comfortably say that the needle has started moving!

     

    Below are some quick indicators of 2017 that makes me believe that very soon, the Paid Industry will have a tough time!

     

    From an Overall Industry Point of View:

    1. Talent: Endeavours are being made to create GOOD institutes that specifically cater to the needs of the Industry. While niche Institutes are cropping up, existing and established institutes are also trying to revamp their course curriculum and faculty.

    2. Recognition outside the Industry: Still rare but our Industry’s acknowledgement at Cannes continues to be steady.

    3. Recognition outside India: That India can lead and hoist its flag applies to our Swadesi Industry as well. Not just through campaign awards but even some of our Industry Captains got acknowledgedas Thought Leaders globally.

    4. Global PR Forums Show Interest in India: This year, quite a few Global Forums like IABC, Page Society, CIPR, etc. have officially shown interest in creating ain India.

    5. Growth Story: Despite a lull market, tightfisted spends and minimal agency fee hikes, this year, as per the PRCAI report, our Industry seems to have gathered a size of Rs. 1315 crore – a jump of 18% over last year!Digital and Social Media services were the star performers.

    6. PR needs PR through Measurement: Industry has realised the role of Measurement and how it can showcase the value PR brings for the Brand Custodians. The discussions on this topic caught pace this year. Not just that, the small but effective role of neutral third party measurement partner fortifying the Client-PR Agency bond has been welcomed.

     

    From a Client’s Point of View:

    1. PR Monitoring Vs Measurement: Many Corporates and Agencies have started realising the difference between PR Monitoring and Measurement. Earlier, they would only feel the need for the former. This year, the preference has tilted towards maintaining Measurement and Analytics as well.

    2. Shunning of Ad Value Equivalent: Many corporates this year gave up the use of Advertising Value Equivalent (AVE). Instead, they have resorted to showcasing their earned media efforts through exposure, engagement and conversion route.

    3. Nonperformance led to change of Agency: 2017 showed many instances where Clients moved on from non-delivering agencies based on performance numbers and report cards.

    4. Brand Exposure more through PR than Advertising: Given that our Industry is Product Launch dependent to maintain Client brand visibility, almost to the extent of 85%, we saw many sectors where Corporates used more of PR Exposures as compared to Advertising! 

    5. CorpComm working closer with Company Management: Saw two interesting developments this year. CorpComm desk being aligned to deliver results for both Business As Usual and Business Not As Usual. The concept of Media “Planning” created a space for itself. Second, some designation nomenclatures changing from the conventional Head of Corporate Communications to Head of Brand Communications. Indicates a positive shift!

     

    From a PR Agency’s Point of View:

    1. Boutique Agencies started getting noticed: Going by the various award platforms our industry enjoys, it seems that small agencies have started getting recognized as effective communicators and innovative brand builders.

    2. More PR Agency Professionals Reporting for Meetings on Time: Yes, to me, this a great indicator. PR Agency teams have reported for client meetings pretty much on time! While the back benchers continue with their sub-standard approach, there have been quite a few front benchers who have positively moved this simple but effective hygiene average!

    3. Willingness to create space for external measurement partners: Till recently, it was not normal for a PR Agency to proactively get an external measurement service provider to work for their client. This year, quite a few cases have come up where it was the Agency team which actually took the lead. 2017 showed good display of confidence, transparency and a tilt towards data and analytics!

    4. Moving towards a One-Stop Solutions Desk: It is a no-brainer that if one were to offer all the value added services from a single desk, for a client, it really does matter whether an agency began as an advertising or public relations agency. This year, PR Agencies took quite a few initiatives towards hiring specialist in the forms of Digital Marketing Experts, Social Media Experts, Creative Experts, Event Management experts, etc.

    5. Impetus on Training: This year, we saw agencies going all out to raise the confidence bar and diversity of their talent pool. Rigorous Training and Evaluation mechanisms have been rolled out by Agencies towards their employees – let us call them our Industry’s future Brand Ambassadors.

    6. Sustenance of Lower Rung Employees becoming stable: As an outcome of the previous point,Agencies are required to spend relatively lesser time towards filling up vacancies due to rolling attrition.

     

    The 2017 has started the ground work towards an explosive 2018! Good times to come for sure in the New Year!

     

  • By and large, communications machinery outside the broadcast sector is not attuned to the idea that there is a world after launch, writes Siddhartha Mukherjee

    Siddhartha Mukherjee: Broadcast houses offer learnings to sustain brands

    By Siddhartha Mukherjee

     

    While sectors like FMCG, Telecom, Automobile, BFSI, etc are high on the use of communications tools and media investments, seldom do we realisethat the one sector that is actually doing true justice to brand communications through proper sustenance is the broadcast houses. Launches, beyond a point, are easy. It is an arduous effort to sustain and that is where Communication expertise comes to play!

     

    Broadcast houses, TV channels in particular, are doing an amazing job of brand sustenance, even after a very effective launch.

     

    Well, let’s say this – TV channels need audience (target consumers) to keep consuming their programme offerings every day. Unlike say a phone sim connection or a toothpaste, where the point of decision is one time and product, after purchase, lasts for a long duration of time, in case of TV channels, influencing the audience to stay on with a channel has to be an everyday affair.

     

    How are TV channels managing this:

    1. Mandate or KRAs Are Clear: KRAs set by the management are clear. Communications will not just be about Launch Communications. The bread and butter comes through sustenance. Audiences have to be attracted and maintained through the entire episode of the programme – does not matter whether it is IPL, Bigg Boss, a Movie, a Fiction or a Non-Fiction series. Which is why communications departments of TV channels, with their agencies, work literally towards daily planning.

    2. Large Team: No doubt! Such large, regular and serious mandate calls for a large team. Typically, the CommunicationsTeam within a TV channel is much larger as compared to their counterparts in other sectors.

    3. True Deployment of IMC: Brand Building is about Touchpoints across the Paid, Earned and Owned route. TV Channels use this wonderfully even during sustenance! Advertising, Promos, News, Social Media Conversations, On-ground activations, Viral, name it and they are using it!

    4. Interplay of Earned and Paid: For Marcomm,this is one sector that optimizes and times its exposures beautifully. Whether PR should lead followed by Promos and Ads or should Promos take up the communications first and then PR or both should go hand in hand becomes a great learning point from this sector.

     

    By and large, communications machinery outside the broadcast sector is not attuned to the idea that there is a world after launch. No wonder then, they gasp to achieve Share of Voice when they donot have a launch to manage. The fact that they can create product brand stories for sustenance often gets missed.Indeed broadcast communications offers huge learnings!

     

     

  • While clients may have their own reason/s and principles of starting the meeting on time or not, I see no reason why PR agency personnel should walk in late, writes Siddhartha Mukherjee

    Siddhartha Mukherjee: Come to Client Meetings ON TIME!

    By Siddhartha Mukherjee

     

    Strategy, Restructuring, Innovation, Re-invention, Growth, Value Adds, and many such other words have been used when discussing about the required change within the PR agency world. All these descriptives are agreed and valid propositions. However, one basic baby step that should kickstart this process and catapult this industry miles ahead is by coming for client meetings on time! While clients may have their own reason/s and principles of starting the meeting on time or not, however, I see no reason why PR agency personnel should walk in late! It is sub-standard.

     

    To me this small action continues to re-iterate the external world’s perception about us.

     

    May I also add that rarely have I come across clients who have clearly conveyed their unhappiness about this indiscipline. In fact, on the contrary, I have seen clients welcoming their agency personnel irrespective of the time the latter tread in on the red carpet.

     

    A confession, however. I have come across PR agency teams who have been very punctual not only in terms of their reporting time at meetings but also the quality of contributions in the meetings. However, such groups have been rare!

     

    I am sure that for some of you readers, this is really no big deal! The fact that we are discussing this by itself could be a point of ridicule. However, for me, coming to client meetings on time indicates the following:

    1. You value client’s time
    2. Your day is planned with clear end of the day objective
    3. You are serious to add REAL VALUE in client’s business
    4. You are well prepared for the meeting
    5. You are keen to get back to Planning, Action &Implementation
    6. You have a relatively better Work-Personal Life balance

     

    Quite strange but true. More often than not, whenever I see PR agency teams walking in late, I am pretty sure of the quality and outcome the meeting is going to fetch. As usual, precious minutes are lost, exact meeting agenda is nowhere to be seen and very importantly, for those, who have bothered to come on time, it is a sheer disappointment, if not irritation.

     

    Earlier, I have spoken about mergers or shakeups in the PR agency world…quite imminent. Here, may I also add that most of them will die a natural death if those worthy agencies were to simply gear up on client meeting punctuality.

     

     

  • The cancerous AVE/EAV, thickness of clippings dossier, etc. help agencies dig deeper into the grave, writes Siddhartha Mukherjee

    Siddhartha Mukherjee: Why Agencies lose Clients despite Data showing Good Work!

    By Siddhartha Mukherjee

     

    ‘PR needs PR’ is one success mantra that I have been etching on the industry walls since Day One.The latest addition to my list ismy blind belief that the Client-PR Agency relationship should be long-lasting! Clients switching agencies every three-odd years will not help. To ensure real quality growth, the client-agency relationship needs to go way beyond the three-year average. I understand that certain divorces are beyond the control of CorpComm and Agency. However, majority ofcases are where agencies have had to part ways despite neutral data showing that they have done a bloody good job!

    Why have agencies parted ways or have been asked to leave?

    Some quick possible reasons?

    1. No clarity on WHY does the Client need PR (Agency): The eternal black hole continues. Why do we need PR? Or a CorpComm? Or a PR Agency for that matter is addressed very shallowly and tactically. Not strategically. For many on the Client side, PR or Agency still continues to be a function about getting CXOs profiled, manage negative news, issue a line of press releases or manage events. When the expectation setting is so shallow, mood swings on the Client side is bound to destroy Agency value and longevity.

     

    1. PR Agencies do not support their case with REAL DATA: When the base is shallow, PR Agencies start digging their grave by hiring tactical or jugaad executives for servicing the client. This team has no inkling of what will exactly impress CorpComm and his or her internal customers. Furthermore, the agency servicing desk has zilch understanding of the kind of data to maintain or showcase at the time of appraisal. The cancerous AVE/EAV, count of articles, thickness of clippings dossier, etc. are archaic numbers that the agency would throw at the Client…only to dig deeper into the grave!

     

    1. CorpCommdoesnot understand data: It is sad but true! While not many but a good chunk of CorpComm professionals have no understanding of RESEARCH, DATA, MEASUREMENT, and so on. Their responsibility revolves around pushing out press releases, chasing papers for publishing those, applying jugaad to manage a negative news, create newsletters, manage events…add on a few here and there…pretty much like the PRO of yester years. However, the core urgency of CorpComm himself being able to do “PR for PR” within his internal customers through scientific data and measurement can do better! No wonder, Agencies will be perceived as jugaadvendors whose costs can be negotiated in exchange of dhaniya, mirchi, and what not.

     

    1. Internal customers of CorpComm have not been educated through data: Pretty much connected with why we need PR and the Agency, many a times, CXOs and other internal customers have no clue on the exact value that PR Agencies bring to the table. No wonder, procurement/commercial teams are directed to take charge of fee negotiations.

     

    1. Agencies wanting a specific threshold of retainer fee: The surprise element is that nowadays, agencies are working a business model where they are avoiding client fees below a specific threshold. As a result, they are the ones who are sending the divorce notice to clients.

    Like I mentioned earlier, there can be many other reasons to the Client-Agency divorce. However, the above are very commonly heard. While it is sad but this hints at a huge opportunity for agencies to start using REAL DATA.

    In my next article, we will focus on what an Agency can do to make a comeback and salvage the divorce.

     

     

  • Having an official paid mechanism to get news published will mark the beginning of a speedy death of the PR industry and journalism, writes Siddhartha Mukherjee

    Siddhartha Mukherjee: Pay for News Publishing? Nail the Coffin!

    By Siddhartha Mukherjee

     

    While this has been on for quite some time, what got me to rethink was when I came across this getting publicised at one of India’s largest annual gathering of communications professionals a few weeks back.

    It has been a while that some of India’s largest media owners launched a “pay for news” service – both for general and business news. Against payment, a company (or its agency) is assured of getting its news published on the online platforms of the newspapers.

    Shocking? No! Not this bit, at least. To me, it is a very unfortunate but natural progression of media owners and media (advertising) agencies gradually closing in to devour the earned media space! It is a corroboration of India Inc’s ignorance or inability to understand how journalism, public relations and its stakeholders – CorpComm and PR Agency – should ideally function and add value to Corporate Brand Reputation.

    What makes it disturbing for me starts with the basic point that no one is vehemently opposing it! Having an official paid mechanism to get news published will mark the beginning of a speedy death. Of whom? Not only the public relations industry but also journalism per se. What we are not realising is that if we allow paid dynamics to settle in, the advertising agency will have a much deeper and effective influence on the client and the media owner as compared to the PR counterpart. It will be nailing the coffin, faster and with assured results!

    The concept of brand building, relaying out informed opinion about a brand and hailing journalism as the watchdog of our socio-economic fabric will start crumbling. A professional combo of PR industry and journalists which stood for creating and sustaining news andviews, will lose its existence completely.

    I have detailed how the points below disturb me:

    1. Our Industry continues to get dictated by the Paid Industry: Stopping just short of the word audacity, I feel sad to say that it is our industry’s conduct that has empowered the media owners andpaid agencies to even dare to think of coming up with the proposal of paying for news publishing. We could have avoided this situation. The paid industry, comprising media owners (for want of higher revenues) and agencies (for revenues and destroying the earned space), for years now, have been trying to stub our industry’s growth. We are not realising that the day this new paid principle gets set as a norm, the Big Brothers from the advertising world will bury our industry through sheer monetary muscle power and mutual camaraderie.

    2. Our Industry is not Opposing this Move: So far, I have not come across a single PR organisation, a corporate or the industry body oppose this move! What gives me confidence to say this is that I am quite sure that atleast 50% (if not more) of any total news/views/editorial published by a newspaper, TV channel or online portal daily is courtesy a CorpComm or PR Agency source. Which means that the day these two sources jointly put their foot down, media houses will be devoid of content and will be forced to rethink of this move. It is time that our industry officially files its displeasure. (Mind you, the standalone agencies will be better placed to take this forward. A great way of separating the grain from the chaff!) On the whole, I was expecting the PR body to take this up and oppose this upfront publicly. It is a matter of survival of our industry. Alas!

    3. Industry Events are open to accepting them as sponsors: I feel industry events are great opportunities of showcasing our vision and work ethics. While on one hand, external parties, with vested interests, outside our industry have gone all the way of malign our Industry under aspersions of work ethics and transparency, wonder why we are rolling out red carpet to those very detractors. Also, given that most of these industry events are backed or supported by industry body/ies, under vision and ethics, wonder why we don’t lay down clear rules of approaching for and processing sponsorship requests.

    Already, there are many affected areas that our industry is grappling with to ensure sustained growth. Not opposing, if not publicly welcoming, is a sureshot formula for speedier and certain death of our industry.

  • Both corporate communications professionals as well as the PR Agency service providers have achieved various small and big milestones that have helped move the needle, writes Siddhartha Mukherjee

    Siddhartha Mukherjee: 10 Delightful Achievements by our Indian PR & Corporate Communications Industry

    By Siddhartha Mukherjee

     

    Though not much has changed in terms of the ground level conditions that were actually meant to catalyse the growth and prosperity of our Indian PR and Corporate Communication Industry, I think the story lies in the fact that despite no change at the ground level, our PR Agency and Corporate Communications army has still managed to pull off a wonderful turnaround and facelift for the Industry.

     

    If you look back, both the Corporate Communications professionals as well as the PR Agency service providers have achieved various small and big milestones that have helped move the needle!

     

    Below is a list of 10 Key Achievements of our Industry:

    1. Better placed in establishing Accountability & ROI: For a function that has always struggled to establish REAL value, it has proactively come a long way in establishing its effectiveness through right measurement, research and higher dependency on data. What started as a function that was all about news management, volumes of news garnered, equivalent advertising value and negative news nipped, today, given its aura, this function literally starts and ends each day with Scientific Measurement and Research data.

    2. Attracting larger budgets: The above point is encouraging internal customers to invest more on this function.

    3. Expectation beyond Media Relations and News Management: Slowly, but steadily, the PR & Corporate Communications function has been able to establish that their skill sets is actually into Brand Management and not just News Management.

    4. Managed a seat at Strategic/Board Meetings: Given all this, the PR & Corporate Communications professional has carved a well-deserved seat for itself in Strategic or Boardroom discussions.

    5. Well acknowledged Employer Category on Job Portals: There was a time when not all job portals will separately acknowledge and highlight PR & Corporate Communications as a potential employer category. Today, it is right there!

    6. Participation in Plenty of Global and GloCAL Gratification platforms: Our Industry needs gratification. Today, there are plenty. Not only are Global Awards or Forums reaching out to our market, but also, there are interesting local Awards and Forums that are popping up.

    7. A challenging contender of Social Media management: Our Industry has done an excellent job in capturing the title of being the key custodian of Social/Online Media management. Kudos to the PR Agency and their Client Contacts for doing a fantastic proactive job!

    8. A wonderful samaritan during crisis: As a country or market that is abuzz with Crisis, management of Brand Crisis comes as second nature for our Indian PR and Corporate Communications professionals. Cost wise, effectiveness wise, understanding of stakeholder management, all these benefits come easy within our Industry!

    9. Key Tool for Reputation Management: CEO and CXOs have realized the potential of Brand Reputation and what it can do with their own career graph! No wonder, their dependency on PR & Corporate Communications to manage Brand Reputation is acute!

    10. Better Supply of Talent: On the supply side, educational institutes and academia are warming up to the idea of opening up institutes or adding special course curriculums that will ensure a supply of well-trained freshers ready to join the Industry!

     

  • Like advertising agencies built the advertising industry, PR agencies have built our earned media industry, writes Siddhartha Mukherjee

    Siddhartha Mukherjee: Ideal Client Expectations from a PR Agency

    By Siddhartha Mukherjee

     

    Like advertising agencies built theadvertising industry, PR agencies have built our earned media industry. Our PR or earned media industry has come a long way…Salute! The hardships and challenges that they have overcome is incomparable. Infact, it is despite these challenges that they have also helped the advertising industry grow to a size and stature we know of today (link of my first article)!

    PR agencies have consciously transformed themselves. It has been a very tenacious and organic transformation. For clients, their value and credibility has only increased.

    Let us look at what a client ideally expects from a PR agency today! As compared to 10 or 20 years back, while some have transformed, some basic ones still remain.

    1.   PR is no longer a Jugaad of Journalists: Gone are the days when a client will hire an agency only to stop the publishing of negative news or get space for a story irrespective of its merit. Jugaad was the gamechanger then. Being able to dine and wine was one of the key skillsets. Today, jugaad skills have become minority. Today, Corporate Brand Reputation Management is about understanding stakeholders, their thinking and ensuring that their belief in client brand remains unaltered irrespective of Business As Usual or Business Not As Usual.

    2.   Know the Brand Building Process: Ask a candidate why he or she chose PR as a career, still, atleast 50% of them will justify it by replying “I like meeting people”. Client is expecting that the use of PR or Earned Media as another or integrated alternative to holistic brand building. Client is expecting that one would therefore have an understanding of target audience, messaging, unique proposition, the end of communication objective, etc.

    3.   Come for Meetings on Time: This is one of my personal favourites. One of the basic hygiene issues that clients still complain about is that their agency servicing team is not punctual or serious about timelines. Respecting meeting time is a key area. While I have seen that some clients encourage or are cool about this, however, by and large, this still remains to the sore point for most clients.

    4.   Dress Sensibly: Hmm! I have personally seen and have even heard clients talk about bizarre dressing sense of their agency personnel. Does not matter whether it is a regular client meeting or an event, the least client expects is that the agency personnel will dress “decently” and “as per the occasion”. Outlandish, minimal, exposing, indecent, tacky, well, descriptives like these are what clients have used to describe some of their servicing team members. Mind you, this is for both the sexes.

    5.   Talk my language, not yours!: Client has hired the agency so that it can understand the client’s business, plan out and execute a communication plan for the business and show its effectiveness as per the client’s business model. Why should the client/end-elient listen to jargons, expressions and explanations that belong to the PR industry! Talk to the client in business language.

    6.   Show ROI & ROO through Research and Measurement!: I have long maintained that AVEs/EAVs is a cancer for the Industry.  Clients want to know whether their agency’s work has brought returns for the client’s business in terms of objectives and on Investments. Towards this, the client is expecting the agency to adopt the science of research, planning and measurement. It is only through this that the client will understand the value their PR agency is bringing on the table.

    7.   Don’t React, Pro-act: Client is expecting that the PR cgency will ensure that the client’s brand is seen and heard with equal thrust and credibility every month, month-on-month. Hence, working only during product launch phases is a sub-standard delivery. Client is depending on PR Agency’s acumen to create media exposure even during lull months and also beyond launches.

    8.   Understand the subject called Reputation: Nowadays, the word reputation is quite abused. Everyone likes to talk or show themselves as experts of this subject. Not just that, for some reputation starts and ends with journalist and news management. For a client, this is a small drop. Reputation is an ocean. Client is expecting the agency to dive into the client organisation’s matrix and study HR, Finance, Vendor, Marketing, Customer, and all other corridors and suggest ways of strengthening or avoiding Reputation damage.

     

    Well, the list can be long. In today’s age, understanding of digital, advertising, content creation, and many other one-stop services are also suitable mentions in the above, but the idea is start with the basics, especially the ones that have been bone of contention for years!

     

  • to envisage a situation where marketers use everything but conventional advertising is an interesting thought, writes Siddhartha Mukherjee

    Siddhartha Mukherjee: What if Advertising did not exist?!

    By Siddhartha Mukherjee

     

    “What ifs” are normally unconventional…sometimes even unorthodox. I thought of one such “What if” scenario – What if our marketers, ready to supply their goods and services, did not use conventional advertising at all to generate demand. All they had with them was “Earned/News/Editorial”.

     

    Historically (and pre), religions, beliefs, gods, idols, cultures and many other such realities have successfully managed to center themselves into our lives. If you come to think of it, communications – creative and sustained – has played a very important role in achieving this success. Go back thousands of years, there was nothing called “advertising”. There was nothing called paid, earned or owned media. All that the Think Tanks then used to communicate their concepts was plain and direct communications. As mediums, they used pamphlets, mass addresses, word of mouths, road shows and other such mechanisms. Despite no backing of “technology” or “media spends”, all these aspects not only achieved wonderful launch but also amazing acceptance (sustenance) by the respective intended target audiences.

     

    This brings me back to my unorthodox “What If” question?Cut to the 21st century, imagine if corporate and product marketers were to use only earned media tools and nothing else.

     

    Some quick thoughts:

    1. Media Owners would be under Control: The explosion in the list of media owners (especially Print and TV) to grab a pie of the conventional advertising (Display or TVCs) moolah would not be there. Media titles would have been much lesser. It would be created by those who would have genuinely believed in quality and relevant content. The business model of media owners would have largely been subscription based.

    2. In-Content Brand Placements would be better used: Editorial/Programming teams would have made for better thinkers and users of in-programme brand placements.

    3. Rationale would prevail in Marketing Budgets and P/Ls: The budgets that go behind conventional advertising remain to border around being bizarre. Spending a fraction of that on well thought overall IMC (Integrated Marketing Communications) or unconventional communications would create far more effective ROOs or ROIs.

    4. PR Industry would be THE ONE: There would be no celebrities from the advertising world. There would be those celebrities who would be known for building a brand, it’srecall and reputation through unconventional forms of brand communications. PR agency and corporate communications would have different, much higher and wider KRAs and KPIs. Clubs or industry bodies would have looked and thought differently.

    5. Talent Pool would have been of Higher Quality: A communications professional would have to be IMC (Integrated Brand Communications) specialist and not just a creative professional, media planner, copywriter, media relations specialist, event management, etc. B-schools would have to rethink their course curriculum.

    6. Awards would have been holistic: The plethora of awards platforms would not be there. Select, realistic and holistic awards would have got created.

    7. Brand Health Studies would look different: Advertising industry’s biggest support that it (kind of) works is because of various brand health studies (like TOM, Disposition, etc.) that marketers/advertisers commission to find out the efficacy of the ad campaign. This was proactively and scientifically created to suit the needs of the advertising industry. In the absence of conventional advertising, brand health studies would have been conducted in a different way.

    8. Editors would be been the sole gatekeepers of SPACE: Space buying and selling would not have existed. Editors would have been the sole decision makers or gatekeepers on which brand entity to write on, discuss or showcase and in what editorial form.

     

    Am sure there can be a longer list. However, to envisage a situation where marketers use everything but conventional advertising is an interesting thought.It opens immense opportunities and forces us to rethink on the brand building mechanisms we have adopted so far.

     

    With the way conventional advertising is progressing, it won’t be long when unconventional communications forms, including earned media will see the real dawn!

     

  • Very rarely have I seen that measurement, analytics and reports are being used to build brands and in majority of cases, they are used to please bosses, writes Siddhartha Mukherjee

    Siddhartha Mukherjee: PR measurement is used to please bosses, rarely to build brands!

    By Siddhartha Mukherjee

     

    The core objective of having a communication research and measurement mechanism is to build and manage a brand – Corporate or Product. Our industry has established ways of measuring Communications – PR, Advertising or any other tool for that matter. Irrespective of print, TV or online mediums, count of clips, column or square centimetres (space), GRPs or any other quantitative and qualitative indicesare readily available for marketing and communications custodians to build brands.

    Unfortunately though, very rarely have I seen that measurement, analytics and reports are being used to build brands. In majority of cases, it is being used to please bosses! If you look at PR in particular, data sets being used by client contact points to showcase PR efforts and how it is benefitting the organisation is not only laughable but also discouraging, to say the least. It is largely being used as a mathematicallymanaged (self) gratification scorecard.

    These dynamics come into limelight when you look at two types of professionals in the industry. First, one who believes that PR is a brand building tool and nothing else. Second, who believes that PR is an ego massaging tool and nothing else. The problem starts and ends with the latter. Using PR to build brand is strategic and is hardwork. Using PR to “please” and massage egos is easy and doesnot require planning or much effort.

    Like first, the second category are also present both in PR agencies as well as in the client side. In both, there are “bosses” who are getting pleased consciously or unconsciously.

     

    Some quick thoughts:

    1. Who are these Bosses?:

    Well, they are primarily users or rather the potential direct and indirect scientific beneficiaries of every PR Communications. CEO, Marketing & Sales Heads, HR Head, Finance Head, CorpComm Heads, PR Agency Heads, Account Heads and so on.  This is the simple part of the question-answer series.

     

    2 Are these Bosses being “Pleased” or have they have chosen this convenience themselves?

    Well, in most of the cases, as far as the CXOs within the Corporate Organisations are concerned, they are being “Pleased”. Who are they being “pleased” by? Well, definitely without generalizing though, it is some select people within Corporate Communications and/or PR Agency functions. They work towards first understanding the personality traits of these HEADS/CXOs and figure out whether this individual will get “pleased” with self-gratifying, ego massaging “pleasing” data or does it have to be hard core brands data that involves details of exposure, target audience, messaging, market & ROI data and so on.

    As for the rest, they have consciously chosen to be “pleased” because for them PR is a Tool that is used for ego massages! Also, it is easy.

     

    3. How does the “Pleasing” mechanism work?

    Well, to start with, the “Pleasers” study their target audience (bosses or person they report to) well. Doesnot take much to understand if ones boss or reporting person on the client side is marketing/measurement numbers savvy or not. Normally, very few are genuinely so.

    Once that is identified, measurement can be used to emotionally manage or satisfy the boss. Count of articles, thickness of Clippings folder, Advertising Value Equivalent, Photograph of the boss in news coverage vs competition, interviews of the boss vs competition, getting coverage in Publications or TV Channels that boss or boss’s family reads or watches, so on and so forth.

     

    4. Ideally, how should Measurement scores be used?

    Well, first, one should be very clear as to why measurement systems are in place. CXOs, CorpComm and PR Agency should be on the same page on this bit. Till that time, measurement should not start at all. Second, the bosses, on the client (Corporate) side, are mere Spokespersons we are talking about. They cannot be bigger than the interest of the Corporate and Product Brand. PR is not for massaging their egos and a pleasing mechanism. It is purely to build brands by fine tuning Communications strategies and tactics.

    On the agency side, the bosses need to understand that it is because of their “Pleasing” approach that our Industry doesnot have any recognition or respect outside this industry.

    ROI (Returns on Investment) or ROO (Returns on Objectives) should be the bedrock of all that measurement matrix the Client and Agency is using.

     

    5 .How can one change this?

    Not sure where to start. All I know is that there are many starting points. PR Industry body can bring in a change. PR Agency or Agencies who are doing this kind of work should do PR on it. Clients can start using a clear code of PR Usage within the Organisation. Corporate Communication Professionals Bodies can roll out policies.

    Let me assure you that there are clients (corporates) who are staying clear from PR’s “pleasing” mechanism. They are using PR and its measurement clearly from Brand ROI and ROO perspective. This has forced the PR agencies to shape up, think, deliver and talk the language of brand building. They are getting paid (better) because of this and not “pleasing” mechanism.

     

  • If Communications and HR really want, the prospective CEOs will not come from Finance, Marketing or Sales functions but from the HR-Communications combination, writes Siddhartha Mukherjee

    Siddhartha Mukherjee: HR is the first PR success!

    By Siddhartha Mukherjee

     

    After the CEO, HR is the biggest and most important desk that should bear the torch of the Company’s Vision and Mission. Not just momentarily, but through the year! However, it is rare that we come across examples where HR is no longer just a support function but graduated to being a growth partner! No wonder, to justify their existence, they make their presence felt largely through reactive adhesion and not through the much required proactive cohesion.

     

    Public Relations (or Target Audience Relations) takes a new meaning when it comes to PR for andwith employees. If a business concept has a buy-in from its employees, business growth and success will surely come. HR’s basic KRAs of Talent Attraction and Sustenance come easier then.

     

    If you look at various stories of business failures (small or big), one of the main reasons (if not the only) has been that of employees getting alienated by the Company’s vision and Top Management. Which is why, irrespective of whether it is a newly launched entity or an organisation that is many years old, the Human Resource of that organisation should becontinuously prepared and aware of the business dynamics. Continuous, month-on-month communications programmes ensure increase commitment levelsand retention.

     

    Below are some thoughts on how HR should become the first and a regular PR success:

    1. CEO should get HR and Communications Work Together: Yes, rare, I know! But where it happens, this initiative pays off amazing dividends. The mandate should be very clearly drawn around the stated vision and mission. HR should focus on the employee experience and communications should weave the story through interesting personalised communications! This should not happen adhoc or a few times but every week, month, across offices and departments.

    2. Understanding Internal & External Ground Dynamics: HR and Communications can start by gathering an understanding of the external and internal dynamics. More importantly, use that to set targets for the quality and quantity of employees the organisation needs to sustain. This should eventually give them way forward on attraction and permissible attrition targets.

    3. Understanding the Word called Reputation:While there will be many self-claimed in house and external gurus of this subject, HR-Communications combo is best placed to understand reputation. The simple reason being that reputation is built or damaged by (direct or indirect) human intervention. If reputation is about promises or experiences, communicating those promises and delivering on those promises, the HR and communications team can become a perfectly constructive combination.

    4. Working together on Talent Attraction, Sustenance and Exit: Attracting the right talent, working on the candidate’s entry process, sustaining him/her and being with the candidate through the last mile of exit from the company can be laden with multiple opportunities to build the organisation and maintain the brand reputation.

    5. ROI Measurement Tool: Not just communications but HR department too comes under the scanner of proving its worth and ROI. There are amazing ROI measurement possibilities that will put HR and communications high on the altar within the organisation.

     

    It is time that HR, IT and other such functions move beyond support and become growth partners. The words Human Resource is so weighty and full of responsibilities and possibilities. If Communications and HR really want, the prospective CEOs will not come from Finance, Marketing or Sales functions. It will be from the HR-Communications combination.