Marketing Communications in the days ahead.

For many years now we have been hearing that traditional advertising is not the way of the future, and of late we hear that the advent of paid news will make traditional PR untenable soon, and the only way ahead is online communication and all that it entails-emails, blogs, articles, social media posts, online video, webinars, and anything else IT comes up with. Is it really true? Are we completely and irrevocably going to move away from the familiar comfort of dispatching information through good old newspapers, television, radio, magazines et al? In India where the newspaper industry continues to grow on the back of many more millions emerging from poverty and being able to buy and read newspapers, albeit the vernacular ones such a scenario seems  very unlikely for a long time to come. The similar growth and decentralization of television channels in different parts of the country would also point to the continuing growth and relevance of traditional media.

This is however contrary to the trend in the western world where traditional media seem to be increasingly struggling to keep pace with the onslaught of modern online media-exemplified by the purchase of The Washington Post by Jeff Bezoz, founder and CEO of Amazon. The importance of online communication is undoubtedly far more pronounced over there with ever expanding budgets being allocated for effectively leveraging the medium which is becoming increasingly sophisticated and complex. India is woefully inadequate in terms of Internet connectivity  with a mere 12.6% of the population having access; but in terms of sheer numbers at 74 million users it is at a highly impressive number three world wide. In terms of their purchasing power these 12.6% members of the Indian users pack an almighty punch, forming as they do the creme de la creme of the Indian society, whose spending patterns fully replicate those of their Western counterparts. It follows therefore that online communications has increasingly become an important component of any marketing strategy.

What promises to be a game-changer in online communications in India however is the emergence of smart mobile phones as a platform for receiving the Internet. With a gargantuan mobile phone subscriber base of 900 million, the possibilities for Internet commerce are immense. Already mobile handset manufacturers and mobile telephone service providers have respectively started creating cheaper smart phones and subscription plans to tap into these colossal numbers. The advantages of using online media over the traditional forms of media are clear and obvious. From costing a fraction of what the use of traditional media entails, to a more intimate interaction with the target audience by way of direct feedback and the possibility of exact measurement of impact created, online media wins hands down an all important markers of efficiency and effectiveness.

So notwithstanding the parallel growth of traditional media on account of demographic changes in India's vast interiors, online communications is going to lead the charge in reaching out to people in a more direct and effective way. With mass scale Internet connectivity through mobile phones promising to change the landscape and demographics of Internet usage in India we seem to be sitting on the cusp of an e commerce revolution.

The perils of being a Public Relations professional in India.

It is not easy to be a Public Relations professional in India. From being completely misunderstood as a profession to little or no appreciation of its tremendous importance to corporations and organisations,  Public Relations as a professional service has not received its due at all. This is quite unlike advertising and event management which are willy nilly recognized as bona fide professional industries.

In public perception Public Relations is equivalent to the dirty tricks departments of corporations, which somehow tries to pass on laudatory but half baked and often exaggerated information pertaining to their clients to a gullible press.  Nothing could be farther from the truth. PR professionals will not pass on any information that will not make sense, or is likely to be laughed off by a intrinsically and rightly skeptical Indian media.

Far from eating out of the hands of PR professionals as the world and sometimes the clients(who ought to know better) believe, journalists will not pick up even those stories which are obviously news worthy, for the simple reason, that they never have a dearth of news worthy stories. If a competent PR professional does seem to have a way with certain journalists, and is able to get his or herstory published, it most likely has to be the result of them having done their homework in terms of facts and research right, every time. This creates a bond of trust between the journalist and the PR representative. No serious PR practitioner will let anything spoil this symbiotic, but strictly professional relationship.

That is why it is critical that a PR professional choose his or her clients with care. Pedigree and integrity have to be the watchword here. You would put a years' old carefully built up relationship with senior journalists at risk if your clients weren't up to much good and you had to represent them. Of course for you to get those kinds of clients you need to have the commensurate skill set. Excellent communication skills, the ability to understand matters pertaining to business, and the capability of pitching relevant stories to the media.

In a far from perfect world, you will of course  come across clients who are megalomaniacs and patently unreasonable, PR representatives who are totally at sea about what is expected of them, and moronic journalists with the IQs of kindergarten children. As a PR person you need to be able to quickly identify the kind of clients you could develop a working relationship with, and the kind of journalists you can have an equal and mutually satisfying professional relationship with.

But by far the most challenging part of a PR representative's job has to be the safeguarding of their commercial interests. Most clients tend to overlook that positive news coverage is worth its weight in gold, and counts for much more than an exorbitantly priced ad. You pay for an ad and it gets published. There is no intellectualising and pitching involved. Besides most people don't believe what comes in ads. Do you get gratitude or gratefulness for news coverage you helped them get from the client? More of often than not there is quibbling about the size(kitne sq cm hai?), and how their product or service was bound to be covered by the press! Instances of clients not paying, or paying in part abound. That is why insisting on advance payments is always a wise option.

Why harp about content?

Everyone has been harping about the importance of content for a very long time now. So much so that it is beginning to sound cliched. Why then do marketing experts swear by content? Well apparently they have genuine reasons for plugging content. When was the last time you paid enough attention to a product being advertised on TV, to want to go ahead and buy it? Do you care to go through all the email messages you have a subscription for? You would probably not even look at direct mail.

If an overwhelming majority of marketers both to the direct consumers and other business marketers use content to sell their products and services, it is because they get tremendous bang for every buck they spend. Customers take to content quite easily and willingly as it is friendly, personal, highly informative and most importantly interactive. Brands realize this to the extent that many of them have become publishers of content. In fact traditional publishers are taking a leaf out of content marketing and digitizing their content platforms in order to survive and thrive in the new dispensation.

In spite of the overwhelming evidence supporting the efficacy of content marketing, and a lot of noise about it, the majority of businesses don't have an efficient and structured content marketing strategy  in place.This may be out of inertia, perceived lack of time or lack of appreciation of its benefits. However the business strategists of most companies only need to think about the sheer lost opportunity in their delaying the adoption of content marketing as an integral part of their marketing strategy going forward. The horse drawn carriage continued to be around much after the first motor car was invented. But it was only after everyone moved on to this new mode of transportation that the modern era truly began.

The inexorable expansion of the Internet and people's increasing engagement with it make it the best platform for intimately communicating with one's target audience. The ones who seize the opportunity and invest in a viable content marketing strategy will certainly have a head start over those who dilly dally. One should also bear in mind the fact that content marketing thrives on genuine content creation and not gimmickry. It's impact is organic and felt over time. Some of the biggest brands in the world realize this and take their content very seriously indeed. Sooner or later any business worth its while will have to do that to stay relevant.

Learning advocacy

Blowing your own trumpet or beating your own drum will not win you many fans. But having someone else advocate your cause will leave people intrigued. This is what lies at the heart of PR, but alas this basic fact is often forgotten in the day to day machinations that clients and PR consultants alike pass on as Public Relations. Advocacy lies at the very heart of  professional and ethical PR, and the more we veer away from this basic tenet, the more harm we cause to the cause.

Like it or not the origin of PR is shrouded in murky propaganda deployed by early twentieth century governments and industrialists of North America in pushing their agenda. By and by as PR as a profession moved towards respectability, it came to be realised that for it to be seriously considered as an agent of public good, it had to operate by a set of ethics. While it advocated the cause of its clients, it was required that it should do so by way of representing and communicating the facts in a manner that was above board and truthful. This in essence meant that the interests of the intended recipients of the message were recognized as being equivalent with those on whose behalf the message has been crafted.

The difference between advocacy and propaganda is the difference between a democracy and a dictatorship. In a democracy you have the right to free speech. Which means that you are free to publicly advocate any cause, as long as you convey facts and do not resort to lies or slander. You are at liberty to interpret and apply perspective, and people have the right to accept it or reject it. How successful you are depends upon the facts of what you are advocating and how skillfully you can represent them.

In the case of a dictatorship the messaging is controlled and force-fed. Neither do the recipients have access to any other source of information, nor are they allowed to express their doubts or displeasure. If the North Korean people are told that birds cried and the weather changed when their beloved leader died and if any of them disbelieved that fact they would be shot, the message would go across! But it would do the people no good. In the former case everyone is equally free to advocate; in the process the people can make the best choice.

PR consultants who understand advocacy for what it is, know that the ground swell created by it will far outlast the results obtained from the most expensive advertising campaign in the world. This is because unlike advertising which builds hype, advocacy builds goodwill. When Obama launched his first presidential campaign, even his most ardent supporter would have balked at the odds against him. But his articulation of an alternative vision and template of growth caught the fancy of an America which was in the throes of transformation. People were sick of the excesses of the past, and tired of the bad news about a floundering economy and unending foreign wars. So much so that people voted him into office a second time.

Advocacy by its very nature requires time to fructify, and this is something that both clients and PR consultants need to know right at the start. But the payback is well worth the wait.

PR in times of slow down.

At the best of times PR is a misunderstood profession in India. It is viewed upon something like a dirty tricks department rather than an organised and professional part of the marketing plan of a company. Even the so called corporate organisations, who should know better evaluate a PR firm or a consultant's success in terms of the amount of media coverage they will manage to obtain. So at the time of interviewing a prospective agency, there are questions about the size of coverage and the pedigree of the publications and TV channels. Why not buy ads then?

PR consultants too get caught up in this insidious game, and come up with their own set of preconditions for obtaining such coverage. If you remember your economics theory lessons from school, for every theory there would be a set of preconditions-often couched in the words"other things remaining the same". Likewise PR consultants try to ensure any shortfall in promised coverage is attributed to the neglect of  certain precondition. This leads to a sort of an adversarial client-consultant relationship where the former tries to see how much print space or time they are able to wring  out, and the latter are focused on trying to increase the number of news items that appear, irrespective of whether it is in the best interest of the client.

The last couple of years have been rather rough for most businesses and at times such as these PR and advertising agencies often get the rough end of the stick when it comes to receiving payments. Delays are endemic and quite often full payments are never made. This leads to agencies  insisting on advances , which in turn results in loss of business. The worst casualty of the whole process is that something as vital as advocacy and organic promotion , especially in economically stressful times does not receive the due attention it deserves.

Instead of getting fixated on something as abstract as coverage both marketers and PR consultants need to wake up and smell the coffee and realise that there is something called a digital universe, which is completely and totally ROI driven and accounts for every single penny spent. There is no scope for vague and unrealistic expectations here. Businesses worldwide are beginning  to  realise the that this is the way they can get a huge bang out of every buck  spent and in a minutely calibrated fashion too. PR consultants need to upgrade their Internet marketing skills and understand the nuances of this game. You don't just issue a press release to a mainline newspaper or even to an online news portal any more. You need to go to authority bloggers. Your online press release is no good if doesn't have back links. What sort of online reputation does the client and indeed the PR consultant have?

Top drawer professionalism and familiarity with cutting edge technology is the only way forward in the times ahead. As Internet penetration gains even more traction both businesses and PR agencies need to upgrade their skills and leverage the immense possibilities. The time to squabble over traditional media coverage may soon be over.

Does the economy look okay?

When you look around yourself do you get the sense that you live in a BRIC economy that is attracting all the capital in the world and where people are enthralled at the prospect of many years of growth or do you feel a sense of despondency around you? You really can't tell, can you? The mega scams of the last few years, the cynical electoral deals that the political parties make, and the recent near collapse of the rupee-things don't look do good, do they?

Yet the good times too don't end either. Car makers keep on announcing new models. People are still buying their second or third homes. Eating out has not diminished, and despite the hike in air-fares, people are  travelling more than before. At the same time we all do find the going tough in our jobs and our businesses. Orders come after a struggle, every penny is fought over. Clients cancel or renegotiate contracts and the payments take their time in coming in.

Fuel prices do a yo-yo dance, food inflation has been high for far too long now with things like fruits priced almost beyond the range of the common man. The Indian middle and upper middle classes are holding on to their recently acquired affluence(tennis clubs and swimming pools in gated housing community projects) by somehow hanging in there. The poor and the underprivileged (as also the lower middle class) must be growing through harrowing times in an era when inflation is highest with respect to food items.

While in many sectors like housing and infrastructure there is a noticeable slowdown one sees a veritable explosion in the health and education sectors, with international tie-ups, bench-marks and affiliations being bandied about with gay abandon by every trader and builder who has entered the fray- beware Ivy League, here come the best universities in the world. Viva Ghaziabad, Noida, Faridabad, Jalandhar and perhaps Meerut!

India is a young country in terms of its demographic profile.With a huge market like this where the majority of the people are in the earning age-group, everybody in the world wants a finger in the pie. Never mind things like the suitability of the products and services to the market. But all the same any investment and economic activity does create jobs and there is development no matter how lop-sided.

So how does the citizen of this country feel? Where Jaguar and Jugad(locally assembled auoto-motive contraptions), Lear jets and bullock-carts(still find them not far from any urban centres), call-centers and manual scavenging, computers and  medieval mind-sets all compete for attention. Does he feel that the economy is rocking? Or is he as clueless as you and I?

PR-The way forward

The PR industry in India is increasingly gaining acceptance with a greater understanding of what it entails amongst not just the large companies, but across businesses. The clientele ranges from mighty corporate firms to tech start- ups to budding artists to politicians to what have you.

The reason for this is that PR provides a far bigger bang for the buck than any other form of communication and everybody who has realised this wants a piece of the action. However PR firms today operate in an ever changing media scenario, where newer forms of communication like social media and the concomitant churning in the traditional media have compelled a re-think on traditional PR strategy.

In order to remain relevant PR firms in India need to constantly innovate so as to be able to keep pace with the latest developments and changes both in their media and non-media based approaches. PR firms today have to demonstrably be able to prove the efficacy of their craft. Broadly they need to increasingly focus on the following:

1. Quality Content:  At a time when there is an abundance of PR firms and consultants,  what will distinguish one from the other is the ability to create quality content that is contemporary and effective.

The days of the ubiquitous press release are over. Content creation is specialist business and one needs to have the skills to leverage it equally well to both traditional and social media. Equally important is the ability to reach out to a non-media audience of influencers, and indeed the target customers of the client directly.

 2. Quantifying Results: Traditionally PR firms would quantify their performance by measuring the total media coverage (space or time) in terms of ad rates and multiply it by a further factor ranging from 2 to 5. This often left the clients dissatisfied as they had no way to accurately find out the impact it had in terms of consumer response. However the increasing role of Digital PR has made quantifying pretty straight forward.  You know how many and what type of people have accessed the content and what they think of it.

In times to come Digital PR is going to drive communications campaigns and the fact that this form of PR can show you where the money is makes it a very powerful tool indeed.  You will be able to study the data, extrapolate it and predict a highly effective course of action for the future.

3. Focus: Worldwide (including India) there is a tough economic environment, and firms and companies are looking to save the last dollar or rupee. In such a scenario PR firms and consultants should be able to take a focused and calibrated view of the client’s objectives and come up with plans that show visible results. Media and other exposure should result in leads, sales and expansion for the client. The bottom line is the bottom line.

Digital PR in India

Is there such a thing as organised digital PR in India? Worldwide digital PR is credited with creating huge success stories for corporations, professionals and individuals. This has a lot to do with the fact that in the developed markets of the world, the online universe is truly understood for what it is. A seamless, precise and highly calibrated means of communication.

In India in spite of the huge evidence of its cost effectiveness and efficiency there seems to be an inertia which dogs the use and application of this highly effective means both by communication consultants and their clients. This is not to say that many Indian companies do not aggressively use digital PR or that there aren't communication professionals who specialise in it. But it is nowhere as important or pervasive as it should be. Consider this. Facebook at last count had 46 million MAUs or Monthly Active Users in India and this number is growing. Which mainline newspaper can boast of this kind of highly focused as well as segmented reach? This is a goldmine sitting to be tapped. How many PR consultants and Corporate Communications heads devote the kind of time they should, to optimally utilise Facebook's phenomenal reach.

Inherent to digital PR are certain advantages that it offers over its traditional counterpart. First and foremost the shelf-life of the messaging is considerably longer than in traditional media. Secondly the messaging is interactive, which lets you instantly gauge response. What's more you could then go ahead and integrate it with social media tools. Digital PR in fact has the wherewithal to directly accrue revenue/attention to your client, by in a sense creating a direct hotline( to borrow a term from older times)with the target audience. What's fantastic of digital media coverage is the fact that you can track its reach quite easily and precisely and know exactly its faring.

A lot of resistance to digital PR arises from the fear of the unknown. The fact that it deploys technology. This is actually typical of any period that witnesses a paradigm shift in the way things are being done. The world is going digital and a lot of us are not quite comfortable with the fact. Why there are still people in India and even in the West who cannot send text messages. So it is not surprising that the real power of digital PR is yet to be effectively harnessed.

Impact of commercialisation of news on the PR profession

Traditionally PR has always been viewed with some suspicion. The image which a PR person carried until not very long ago, at least in India was that of a sort of a fixer, a member of the dirty tricks department-somebody you used to resort to subvert the media, and worse bribe them to toe your line or sing your tune. It is only recently especially in the last ten years so that PR professionals have been recognised for what they are-practitioners of the discipline of advocacy- that uses effective and calibrated communication to convey the best image of one's clients through media and non-media vehicles.
The rise of the PR profession in India coincided with a tremendous media explosion. From a state run television broadcaster and a few legendary newspapers the country saw the entry of scores of round-the-clock TV channels, and hundreds of newspapers and magazines from across regions. While this definitely benefited the consumer of content, who witnessed a veritable information revolution they could not even have imagined, just a few years before, the quality of content was sometimes the casualty. This was because of the inevitable shake out in this fast growing industry. Bottom-lines began to dominate; paid news made its entry, and indeed became mainstream- thanks in no small measure to the respectability accorded to it by the nation's premier newspaper house.
How does this augur for the PR industry? Ironically not very well at all, contrary to what one might imagine. PR builds its equity on the fact that it advocates and does not hard sell. It conveys news about something; does not advertise a message. By implication there is no exchange of money or consideration. All the money that gets paid is the retainer  at the beginning of the month to the agency for its professional expertise. Now if all news could be bought and not pitched, no body would employ the services of a PR professional; they would all go to advertising agencies instead. And news itself would not remain news for very long. Everybody knows an advertorial when they see one. No matter how you dress up paid news, if you are going to name brands in the grossest possible way, and pay lip service to the industry under review, you are harming the brand equity of both the product and the newspaper.
This cannot go on indefinitely. There will be a time when highly respected newspapers would have turned into trade directories-who would like to read to read a sublime editorial in a trade directory? A bit alarmist perhaps. My point is that as much as the newspaper industry or the community of journalists, PR professionals too would like the news media to move away from gross commercialisation.

Why CSR is a must for Indian companies irrespective of size.

First the moral reason. Despite India being among the fastest growing economies of the world, and the world singing hosannas to the emerging Indian middle class, it scores extremely poorly on most human development indices. The arrival of the FI Grand Prix and the fact that India now has a booming automobile industry cannot mask the co-existing abysmal poverty, that is all too evident. Poverty is not an invisible underbelly in India. It is up front and stark, but we all pretend that we don't see it. Much as the British colonialists went to their clubs, gym khanas and golf courses in pre-independence India, not caring to notice the plight of the common Indian who lived an emaciated existence, much of middle class India which is the backbone of the new corporate sector is blind to the misery of their fellow Indians. This does not reflect well upon us as a people. Where is our moral conscience? How can we be so insensitive to our fellow human beings?
The second and perhaps decisive reason is self interest. The present economic development model is not tenable. It will lead to tremendous unrest. You have to make everybody join in the good times. Look at the sheer numbers of the deprived. How long will they silently watch as the privileged  amongst us live better and bigger than ever before? Now more than ever before we need everybody in the fold. The benefits that will accrue will be tremendous. As we help marginalised people join the mainstream, they will eventually become economic force multipliers. They will lead to economic activity of a scale that will be global in its ramifications.
The government is doing what it can to help. The private sector has to pitch in. In our cities, towns, villages, and tribal area. It has to build schools, plant trees, help with rain water harvesting, clothe and feed the poor, distribute books-there is so much that can be done in India.

It is heartening to see that companies in the corporate sector are now joining hands with the government and NGOs and helping with community development, environment issues, besides pure philanthropy. This needs to continue and be taken to the next level. We need our Andrew Carnegies, Warren Buffets, Bill Gates and Rockefellers. The smaller companies have to get their act together so that CSR is given the prime importance that is due to it.
The media professionals have to pitch in by providing adequate coverage to all manner of CSR activity. PR and advertising plans should  always have a CSR component, as  the easiest thing to do in India is social activity. There is so much that is wrong. From uncovered drains to dirty toilets, from streets without lighting to classrooms without books- there are so many causes that can be taken up.
Let CSR be the number one priority for the next decade and see how India moves up the human development indices. Only then will we be able to hold our own on the world stage. All the pretty people in the world driving around in their Ferraris won't do it for us. It is our masses who will do it for us. But they have to be clothed and fed first.

Are PCs a good PR tool?

Yes if you are a showbiz celebrity, a sports or any other super star. You could also be a political heavyweight whose announcements have a bearing on the country. Otherwise the impact of most PCs is zilch. How many PCs have we slept through, where company spokespeople take you through dreary PPT presentations detailing facts about their products or services that ostensibly has no news value and therefore no chance of getting carried anywhere.
There is so much that is invested in terms of time, effort and money in PCs, that one really needs to take a serious look at the whole concept. PR agencies recognise this and if they agree to holding a PC, they do so with proviso that there be bankable celebrities present, whose pictures or footage could then be presented as coverage, even though it might not at all add value to the brand or even detract from it. If for example a multi national had decided to set up shop in India, and they decide to call a Bollywood A lister for the launch PC, all the news would be about the impending release of that person's next big budget movie, rather than the nitty gritty of the business model the company has in mind for India.
There are of course Press Conferences that are hugely successful and impactful. These usually have to so with momentous occasions. Like India signing the nuclear deal with the United States, or Apple launching its next product(that is momentous). Or you have Tom Cruise make his maiden trip to India(that is momentous for his fans). Alternatively it could be about dramatic or salacious revelations that appeal to vicarious sensibilities of lay readers( a closet homosexual celebrity coming out in the open).
The bottom line is that Press Conferences are useful if they are warranted. If there are reporters clamouring for information about your company's activities it is a good idea to collect them at one place and disseminate the information in an organised manner. For example if a hospital has been getting negative press consistently, and the hospital administration wants to set the record straight and give their side of the picture; then a press conference is just the thing to go for.
A stage managed or contrived press conference may get you some manner of coverage, but it will not do much good to the image of the company or organisation in the long run. It is far better to engage the media organically over a length of time, and get them to know your products, services or cause for what it is, and let them carry forward the message at the right time.

Impact of social media on PR.

We all hear a lot about how social media are revolutionising corporate and social communication. But is that really the case? Do we see any real and concrete evidence of that happening around us? Or is it something that we all talk about(media agencies and corporates) and at best give perfunctory importance. What for example is the impact of social media on brand perception? How does the access to social media empower the customer? Do the social media help increase customer loyalty?

These are metrics which need to be studied and quantified. And the important thing to remember is that one cannot approach social media randomly and hope to achieve great results. You have to plan and be very methodical. Your messaging through these media determines the type of image you portray. So if you are given to sending out over the top messages, that is how your brand image will be perceived; so you have to be careful that whatever you put out is in absolute synergy with how you want your brand perceived. So be certain that people form the right impression.

The next thing to do is to choose the right vehicles and link them to your blog. A good blog which has an interface with vehicles like twitter, linkedin, flickr, facebook, etc will help generate a buzz. It is important to have a consistent pattern. A good way of communicating is to go out there and 'socialise'-for instance participate in discussions and fora that are of common interest, but always remember to control the exchange of information in a way that it adds value and does not detract from it.

Social media are in fact great in helping you connect with you target audience in a way that no other media can match. It gives you the opportunity to interact personally and directly as well as resolve problems in a better and more empathetic manner. Social media also obtain great and honest feedback and allow you to conduct research in a more thorough fashion giving you the opportunity to give your target audience exactly the product and service they desire and not a close approximation.

So social media can enhance brand value in the most efficacious way, provided you figure out the right way of doing it. This is because no other media lets you feel the pulse of your target audience, this up close and personal.

What does PR mean to people in India

Organised PR as an industry is of recent vintage in India, and most people have a very fuzzy idea about it. From pan chewing, safari suit wearing public sector Public Relations officers, to shady wheelers and dealers who somehow wield influence with the media to people who could sell you news space or time, much like advertising executives; there are many preconceived notions about PR as an industry.

There is no concept of PR being the science of communication and advocacy. Something that the legendary Philip Kotler enshrined as one of the 4 Ps (promotion, remember) of Marketing  Management. That it is a subtle, long term and organic process which necessarily has to take a holistic approach, and is not restricted to obtaining media coverage is lost on most companies that engage the services of PR firms. Almost always success is measured in terms of media clippings, or electronic footage, a firm supplies at the end of the month. Monthly deliverables, which is exactly the wrong way to go about approaching a company's PR objectives, is usually the first thing that most prospective clients want a commitment on from their PR firms.

Frankly for most clients using PR effectively involves a learning curve. The initial days are tough with the clients expecting coverage on demand."I want to figure in about half a page of that leading English daily on such and such day!" By and by as the advocacy starts gathering momentum and the multiplier effect gathers steam, the clients come around and figures our what the whole business is about.

Just to let people have an idea about the heft of the PR function, I am going to list out its salient features-

• PR strategy and planning
• Personal branding
• Reputation management
•Press Releases
•Press conferences
•Media interactions/interviews
• Site visits/tours
• CSR
• Internal communication
• Analyst and investor relations,
• IPO support
• Building brand awareness
• Social media engagement
• Issues management
• Crisis communication
•Financial results and reporting
• Mergers and acquisition
• Product or service launches
• Thought leadership
• Media briefings
• Event support
• Media training
• Editorial content: white papers, case studies, articles, newsletters, opinion pieces, etc

Posted 20th October 2011 by Vipin Labroo

Internet Nirvana

Internet commerce has taken the world and particularly the West with its high Internet penetration, by storm. People are opting out of the 9 to 5 office grind; the blue collared workers are hanging up their tools, and taking to the Internet. Not only are people outsourcing all their requirements to the lowest service or product provider, they are also ushering in a new way of life. Traffic is the holy grail of this brave world, not of the motor vehicle variety but of the type that has to do with the number of visitors to a website.
People are working out of their homes-from garages, studies, perhaps from their kitchens and bathrooms as well. There is a new kind of jargon, being used-SEO, back links, buying cycle, viral marketing, affiliate marketing so on and so forth. There are all kinds of enticements akin to an Arabian Nights fantasy scenario, where all your desires could be pandered to, if only you followed a certain path. It is very difficult to find method in this madness.
There are interactive platforms like Elance.com or Freelancer.com, where you can genuinely find both work and workers across a wide spectrum of industries. International payments are a breeze with enablers like Pay Pal who let you receive and and payments in dollars.
Then there are advisory fora like Warrior.com, that let you  collate collective advice on cutting edge technology that is changing the face of Internet commerce even as we speak. There are software like Commission Commando which claim to direct enormous amount of web  traffic to your site, thus earning you huge pay cheques without your having to sweat for it.
You can create content, make business plans, sell electronic equipment, do truant school kids' homework or write reviews on the latest Internet games-there is really no limit to how much work you can possibly bid for on the Internet. There also scams galore, Click and make money. Participate in  surveys and make money. Really the world of Internet commerce is very dicothomous- perplexing and liberating, fascinating and dangerous, alluring and treacherous at the same time.
There is no doubt that there is potential for making a fair amount of money. But you have to work(the key word) with the good guys and know the villains. Also the revenue model should make sense. There  should be something for both or all the parties involved and there is no such thing as a free lunch. And lastly the virtual world is a great facilitator for the real world, not its replacement. At the end of  the day somebody has to create the products and services that are so furiously traded on the Internet.

PR vs Advertising

Advertising has had its heyday. And not surprisingly so. Anything which can be paid for does not have the ring of truth attached to it, even if it is indeed telling the truth. Moreover everybody can pay and advertise. So how does a product or service stand out? One way is to do personal and niche advertising through the new media of internet and mobile telephones. But pretty soon even these will suffer from the same disadvantages.

The best way to get your product noticed is to get it endorsed by media and other influencers without paying for it. Or have people recommend it of their own. This is where PR or Public Relations comes in. It is the art of leveraging opinions, points of view, and approaches to a product or service’s perceived values or benefits. It’s akin to winning general elections, where all political parties leverage opinions, and agendas. But the one party or combination of parties who get the messaging right win and form a government. Mere spending power, nor tom toming of achievements does not guarantee success; it is the actual perception of the electorate that matters.

Companies and indeed political parties have realised it, and that is why the PR industry is on an ascendant, as opposed to advertising which appears to be at a crossroads in this information, and increasingly individual driven market-place. Of course the budgets devoted to advertising are colossal, but they seem to be delivering at a diminishing rate of return. PR on the other hand demands comparatively miniscule investments, but a whole lot of understanding, strategizing ability, and exceptional communication skills.