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PR Shorts

In conversation with Dushyant Sinha, ICCPL Group

Dushyant Sinha, Founder and Chairperson of ICCPL Group of Companies expresses his views on the importance of value system for running a successful PR company

Dushyant started young at the age of 25 and has worked with big giants like Deutsche Bank and Wipro. With an experience of around a decade in the PR and communications industry ICCPL under his able leadership has serviced 150+ organisations; their major portfolio includes over 50 renowned real estate groups of North India. The organisation also conceptualised and organised India’s first real estate property awards in 2015. This awards ceremony broke all previously held records by receiving 350 nominations from over 100 real estate organisations in cities across the country.

In conversation with the editor/reporter, Dushyant highlighted the role of value system and work ethics to ensure smooth functioning of a company.

Q1.In competitive times like these, how do you narrow down the values that must be imbibed by your employees while delivering their outputs?

With information and data abundance, PR industry has undoubtedly become a very competitive sector. The lines between credible and non-credible sources have blurred. There is no charted list of values, but discipline and conviction to strive for better qualify as the core working principles for me. Apart from this, innovation and creativity should always be the base for every approach.

Q2.Do you think every PR professional should establish a set of value system in his organization?

Every organisation and employee is different. Establishing a set of value system is totally dependent on how you envision your firm’s future. This is not something which can be laid mandatory, but a systematic approach is always better than an unplanned one.

Q3.How do you make sure your employees stick to this value system?

Employees are the most valuable assets of an organisation. I believe each of their work is important. One does not need to chase respect; it comes easy if you give it unconditionally to people around you. This abridges the understanding gap between me and my employees. I treat them as my family and they maintain a disciplined value system in their work functions as a sign of respect.

Q4.What is your say on PR industry being a non-fair play field?

I would not call PR a non-fair playfield. Scenarios like these are bound to exist, with the market space being crowded by young entrepreneurs, experienced and seasoned professionals. The reputation of PR has always been at its best and its value will be more as people have started understanding the worth of online PR plus in tough markets PR works better than paid advertising as it is easy on pockets and brings more credibility to the brand.

Q5. As an entrepreneur, what are the measures initiated from your end to keep your employees informed and safe in the times of COVID-19?

ICCPL holds a very special place in my heart, we have grown together and safeguarding it in difficult times like this was my priority. I allowed my staff to conduct online and telephonic meetings instead of going out, the entire office space was being sanitized 2-3 times a day, masks were distributed to each employee, alcohol based sanitizers were kept at reception, kitchen and other common areas. The biometric was also disabled in order to minimise the mass contact and control the spread. The HR team was instructed to allow the employees feeling sick to stay at home on immediate basis.

Q6. What message would you like to give to the young entrepreneurs and professionals entering the PR industry?

My advice to them would be that ‘Hard work surpasses all’. Keep hustling, don’t settle on early achievements. There is a long road to go and you have to tread smartly and judiciously upon it.

APAC Comms Heads Navigate Covid-19 Challenges & Priorities

An APACD webinar on Covid-19 found the region's in-house comms leaders focused on employee engagement & earnings/customer disruption and systematic change

It is no exaggeration to say that the Covid-19 crisis has caught just about every organisation, from government bodies to the world’s largest corporations, severely off guard. At the same time, it offers a valuable learning experience and is a chance for communications functions to emerge stronger and better prepared to deal with future calamities.

To understand the issues in further detail, the Asia-Pacific Association of Communication Directors (APACD) held a webinar last week attended by 140 in-house executives from across the region. The session was underpinned by attendee surveys conducted via audience interaction platform SparkUp.

Teamwork Communications Organises Virtual Activities for Employees

As the nation is currently going through a 21-day lockdown to cease the spread of coronavirus pandemic, the period of solidarity has been affecting people’s mental peace making them susceptible to anxiety, stress and loneliness.

In order to keep them motivated in such a crucial phase, leading public relation agency Teamwork Communications Group has been conducting a plethora of virtual activities for their employees.

The communication and PR agency, which declared work from home to its employees much before the announcement of the lockdown, are organising fastest finger first contests including puzzle solving, general knowledge questions, social media challenges so that they can stay connected with their employees. Not only that, the company every morning sends out motivation mailers and organises weekly e-meets online with all the employees across all centres to discuss the challenges and way forward.

Ms Nikky Gupta, Co-Founder and Director, Teamwork Communication Group, said, “We always make sure that our employees are just not only burdened with their work but also they should take part in various fun activities be it any events or virtual contests. These changes are refreshing and also help to form a bond with each other. So, in the times of self-quarantine and social distancing, we can stay connected with each other virtually. Moreover, these virtual contests are a kind of rejuvenating break from our highly hectic work schedules. These kinds of breaks during work help to increase productivity, reduce stress and also help mind to stay alert.”

Deepa Dey takes Helm at HUL

Deepa Dey has been appointed as Head of Communication and Sustainability, Nutrition & Special Projects at Hindustan Unilever Limited

She comes with rich and valuable experience of over two decades in Corporate Communication, Public Relations & CSR. In her earlier roles, Dey has worked with corporates such as GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare, Bharti Airtel, Spice Jet and Apeejay Surendra Group.

Anuja Choudhary, WizSpk Communication : Staying Ahead of the Curve

How to build and maintain brand reputation and explore effective crisis management strategies

PR and Marketing are the pillars of all brand communication strategies in an enterprise. But how a brand responds to a crisis is especially significant to their model of communication. In recent weeks, the country has witnessed the adverse effects of the global pandemic on various aspects of life and livelihood, and has showcased the breach in many preparedness/precautionary designs. In situations such as these, it is vital to try and construct systems which seek to minimise the negative impact that a crisis could have on the global market. Understanding the nuances of this delicate situation, Wizspk, provides services to our brand partners, to help them navigate brand communications during a crisis effectively and how to adapt, and brace for crisis impact.

Many companies are perplexed over the strategies required to deal with the consequences the COVID-19 outbreak has had on operations. In this time, it is essential to not only establish preventive measures at a health level but also to mitigate its effects on a communication level. Some essential elements to keep in mind to maintain brand loyalty and reputation through PR and social Media Marketing- include quick responsiveness and taking positive initiatives in brand communications, customer engagement and digital marketing.

During crises, practices to increase brand affinity can play a major role in managing reputation. Such practices include cause marketing, content creation and channelling of unitary messages for the media to increase brand visibility and establish a sense of solidarity through community engagement.

Another effective solution enterprises may opt for, to sustain business, is moving events and sales online. Digitalising platforms and reducing human interaction wherever necessary has the added benefit of being cost-effective, moving and utilising resources more efficiently.

The right brand communication should also take cognizance of the sensitivity on any crisis such as the COVID-19 outbreak, and employ communications across the board- i.e. to customers, employees and stakeholders etc. - in a timely, positive and transparent manner.

Wizspk believes that its presence across the country and fluency in strategic communication programmes - allows it a unique vantage point to assess the negative effects that the pandemic has been registering across economic sectors. Agility in ideation and proactivity allows PR industry to prepare the most effective communication strategies with clients, such that the communication is built in anticipation of the crisis and not as a response/reaction to it.

In a crisis it is essential to follow a systemic protocol, involving elements like - key messages, communications, reactive actions etc. Wizspk customises these standardised protocols to fit and adapt to specific industry requirements.

Given that certain inevitable changes such as modification of marketing plans, budget adjustments, or cancellation of events, may not be avoided and that sectors such as Retail, Hospitality and Tourism, are affected more prominently, the right communication becomes even more significant to re-instigate brand identity during times of adversity.

For all these reasons, it seems evident that in times of crisis, it is more important than ever to converge expertise to service of companies and assist them to overcome the situation in the best possible way, both in terms of health and reputation.

Tarunjeet Rattan, Nucleus, on Leadership in Times of Crisis

These are trying times for all of us as the health crisis followed by the looming economic crisis is unprecedented in our lifetime

While everyone knows that we must extend compassion and understanding to all. A lot of businesses are going to be impacted in the coming weeks and it will force us to re-think our business models as cash flow will be seriously impacted. While compassion is the rage, how do you run a business that needs money to sustain as employees have to be paid, rent is due, EMIs are looming and vendors are waiting in line to be paid. Each one of them have their own households to run. This is going to be the toughest time for leadership in the entrepreneurship space. That being said, you can always choose the kind of leader you want to be.

Siddhartha Mukherjee on Understanding & Preparing for the ‘NEW’

Every disruption, like the one we are currently in, leads to a ‘NEW’!

The existing definitions of Life As Usual or Not As Usual and therefore, Business As Usual & Not As Usual (BAU/BNAU) transform into something new in shape, size & meaning. For example, one of the dynamics that is currently undergoing change is “how much”. How much do I need, how much time & money do I spend, etc.

During this phase, stakeholder sentiments - human sentiments after all - go through peaks and troughs. The Quantity and Quality of what individual stakeholders express is not only NEW but very importantly, an INFORMATION GOLDMINE!

Amit Mishra, MSL, on the Needs of the Hour

Clients would be well advised to remove marketing posts and strategies that are not up to date with the ever evolving current times says, Amit Misra, CEO, MSL South Asia

In the wake of the unforeseen social-economic crisis that the industry is undergoing at the moment, consumers are coming to terms with the emotional burden of self isolation, says Amit Misra, CEO, South Asia for communications major, MSL. He feels that in the current situation PR agencies should perform the role of providing a socially conscious voice to counsel clients and colleagues. "Ever evolving, up-to-date communication campaigns and strategies from a socially conscious and innovative perspective is the need of the hour. We are staying positive and focused not just toward just our clients, but our colleagues as well in these unprecedented times,” he says