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July 2020 Archive

PR Superwomen

E4M Awards 2020 recognise corporate communications excellenceThe first edition of the exchange4media PR and Corp Comm Women Achievers Summit and Awards 2020 was held virtually, earlier today. The awards recognised the contribution and success of women in the PR and corporate communications industry. The Women Achievers Summit brought together women leaders, achievers and trendsetters to touch upon the opportunities and challenges in the communication industry. The awards aim to identify, acknowledge and felicitate women leaders who are shaping the industry through their incredible work. Through this initiative, we will also laud agencies and corporates who are doing remarkable work by encouraging gender diversity in their work culture.

South China Morning Post

The South China Morning Post has announced it is reversing its decision to move away from a subscription model, having taken down its paywall after its acquisition by Alibaba in 2016. From the start of August, the Hong Kong-based publisher will roll out a metered paywall for its website and app over coming months. Readers worldwide will be able to access some articles for free before they are prompted with a message to subscribe for further unlimited access. They will also have access to SCMP’s virtual and in-person events. In a nod to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, news and information critical to community health and safety will still be freely accessible.

Micro-influencers

The absence of traditional ads and heavily slashed marketing spends, finally established that bigger is not always better when it comes to influencers. Brands entered 2020 roaring to spend heavily on marketing. A microscopic yet might virus put paid to those plans. Yet, even as the power of traditional ad mediums tanked, the value of digital avenues rose due to the spike in social media use since the pandemic began. Kantar reports that engagement on social platforms has soared by an eye-watering 61% and usage of Instagram and Facebook in the most coveted demographic, 18 to 34 years, has jumped over 40%. With traditional advertising out of the picture, brands altered course and began focusing on influencer marketing, one of the few options at hand. But even the creator-led niche was not free from the vagaries of the outbreak.

Brand Communities

There has been a remarkable increase in a search for meaning in life and work, a search for confidence and inspiration. One result — it will be increasingly important for organizations to have a social higher purpose that engenders inspiration among the employees looking for meaning in work and customers and others looking for brands that they respect and admire. A social higher purpose will address society problems such as hunger, healthy living, access to education, inequality, hidden and not so hidden cultural biases, and the big one, climate change. The importance of earning trust in brands and institutions, which has been eroding for well over two decades, was made vivid in the days of the pandemic and surrounding events.

The high-tech CEO dilemma

Are PR pros respected and valued enough within high-tech corporations? I've visited websites and read bios of leadership teams at dozens of high-tech companies. Those pages feature photos of the usual suspects: CEOs, CFOs and chief technology officers. Then you see a photo of someone who holds the title of chief marketing officer (CMO). But I haven’t seen many VPs of PR or media relations or chief communication officers (CCO) in these pictures. The conclusion seems apparent: Companies believe CMOs are more deserving than CCOs. Why? Because CCOs don’t deliver as much value as CMOs. Maybe this is fine. I don't think so. So, what should be done? One way to add value is to contribute insight into how PR influences sales generation and brand enhancement.

The Indian Institute of Human Brands (IIHB)

The Consumer Protection Act, 2019, an Act of Parliament, received the assent of the President of India last year. But it came into force only last week on Monday 20 July, 2020. This is ‘an Act to provide for protection of the interests of consumers and for the said purpose, to establish authorities for timely and effective administration and settlement of consumers' disputes and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto’. The Act is of special significance to all marketers, advertising agencies and endorsers (read celebrities) because of its various provisions. The Indian Institute of Human Brands (IIHB) has put out a special Report, which has been exclusively shared with the Economic Times Brand Equity.

Black PR-Advertising unite

Two employee-led organizations advocating for diversity in the PR and advertising industries have formally joined forces, creating a united front in their effort to hold agencies accountable for racial inequities — and push for change. The merger of Hold the PRess and the ad industry’s 600 & Rising creates a movement more than 3,800 people strong, a group of both Black employees and non-Black allies bound by their common goal of having PR, ad and marketing agencies answer demands aimed at disassembling systemic racism in the communications business. Hold the PRess, which has garnered more than 300 petitioners, is lobbying the industry to come clean by July 31 in terms of providing the number of their Black employees, including executives; accounts that are Black-owned businesses; and diversity & inclusion action plans.

B2B and B2C bare it all

Ever since the Covid-19 pandemic has hit the planet, there has been a lot of debate about how companies have or should be responding to the situation. Over the last three years at First Partners, we have been co-organizing an innovation series to bring forth insights for communication. Given that the undeniable relevance and immediacy of innovation could not be truer in the times of Covid-19, we decided to look at the brands' response to the pandemic from the lens of innovation. Accordingly, with Reputation Today and PRovoke, we organized a set of online salons entitled ‘Innovation During & Post Covid Times’; one involving communicators representing B2C brands, and the other with those from B2B brands. These salons shed light on how these distinct set of professionals and brand reputation custodians looked at the current situation.

July 2020 Archive

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