MxMIndia

Tag: The PRomise Foundation

  • Despite the hardship written on their face, the beggar in Chicago always wears a smile, writes Amith Prabhu. An example of how one can learn basic PR tactics from a street beggar

    Amith Prabhu: Beggars are not choosers but in Chicago they also know how not to be losers

    By Amith Prabhu

     

    There is some element of Public Relations in every walk of life. As an avid practitioner and a true blue professional, I try and look for traces of PR in everything purely for academic reasons. Having spent two years in Chicago I have no doubt that this city is indeed a pioneer for the profession and has given the world several brands that took birth in the area over the last 150 years.

     

    But one aspect of the city that has caught my fancy is the few beggars that straddle the high footfall locations. Despite all the greatness of this city, it has its share of homeless and hungry. Every evening when one walks home in downtown or heads to one of the train stations in the west loop from the city centre, paths do cross with these men and women who are hoping against hope to earn a few dollars.

     

    But what sets them apart is the way they approach a potential benefactor. And to me this is public relations in its simplest yet most powerful form. I was not convinced whether an entire column should be devoted to this observation but the bottomline is about how packaging goes a long way in building reputation and this is at the heart of Public Relations.

     

    These men and women are generally well-dressed. They have a pleasant demeanor and most importantly have a script that is succinct and impressive. Most of them greet passersby by saying Happy Monday or Enjoy your Weekend. Importantly, despite the hardship written on their face, they always wear a smile. Best of all, even if they did not receive a cent from the one they solicited, they do not curse or abuse because they know the same person will pass by again on that same route.

     

    We think of big public relations but here’s an example of how one can learn basic public relations tactics from a street beggar. A column on this theme may seem out of place but the idea is to share anecdotes and learn from every possible situation. India has plenty of beggars and the general public is largely indifferent to them. It is a menace that adds to the already existing problems of urbanism. But if these beggars learnt to behave politely they would do themselves a favour because beggars are not choosers but they can choose not to be losers.

     

    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 PR firm’s Chicago office. Views expressed here are the author’s own and don’t represent those of his past, present, future employer or of MxMIndia. You can connect with him on Twitter @amithpr

     

  • There are a bunch of those under 30 who are focused on executing the event. There are those in the 30- to 40-year age bracket who are planning various elements of the conference. And there are those over 40 who are supporting the event by way of their presence and sponsorship, writes Amith Prabhu

    Amith Prabhu: Musings from India’s only weekend summit for Public Relations

    By Amith Prabhu

     

    What happens once may not happen twice but once happens twice can always happen thrice. These are my favourite lines from Paulo Coelho’s The Alchemist. I’m writing this column on the car as I travel from Lavasa to Mumbai. I feel humbled that I’m part of a group of 15 young men and women who have put together the second edition of what is arguably India’s only annual weekend summit for Public Relations and Corporate Communications professionals. The last two days at the hill city of Lavasa were intense and enriching. Over 250 professionals from around the country came together to celebrate the profession.

     

    While a report of the event will be found elsewhere I want to highlight how the movement of PR doing PR for itself has gotten off to a solid start. Praxis was created with the singular belief that the profession needed a forum to come together and the concept was born on a Twitter conversation. Ever since the first edition took place in Pondicherry in November 2012, a lot of traction both online and offline has happened leading to a natural build up to this event which makes it obvious that this completely volunteer led event is here to stay.

     

    What sets Praxix aside is the entire approach of the event organisers lend to engaging with speakers, sponsors and participants. A sense of community is paramount. Attention to detail and a high adherence to punctuality give the summit a uniqueness very few events in the similar space can talk of. Having established a reputation for being a serious event with a lot of fun goes a long way in getting people to look forward to the next edition. The excellent line-up of speakers with solid content to share add to the vibrancy of the flow.

     

    I am glad that the collaboration between multiple generations is a fine example that several other sectors can learn from and emulate. There are a bunch of those under 30 who are focused on executing the event. There are those in the 30- to 40-year age bracket who are planning various elements of the conference. And there are those over 40 who are supporting the event by way of their presence and sponsorship.

     

    All eyes are on the third edition which will happen somewhere in the North around a year from now. Because whatever happens once may not happen twice but whatever happens twice will certainly happen thrice and in this case go on to happen annually. I’m glad that this was an idea whose time had come. And some of us took it upon ourselves to make it happen.

     

    Amith Prabhu is the founder of The PRomise Foundation which organises Praxis. During the day he is a full-time employee at a leading PR firm in its Chicago office. Views expressed here are the author’s own and don’t represent those of his past, present, future employer or of MxMIndia. You can connect with him on Twitter @amithpr

     

  • Public Relations 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