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February 2020 Archive

OnePlus Appoints Siddhant Narayan as Mktg. Head

He will be responsible for elevating the brand’s position by spearheading the marketing strategy

OnePlus, the global technology company, appoints Siddhant Narayan as head of marketing for India. In his new role, Narayan will be responsible for elevating the brand’s position by spearheading the marketing strategy with the aim of establishing a deeper connection and increasing the brand salience with the Indian consumer.

He will lead the brand’s ongoing marketing efforts to build its connected ecosystem business in India. He will play a crucial role towards strengthening OnePlus’ brand positioning, media and creative strategies, along with its community culture and engagement.

Global Digital Chair Thomas Crampton exits Edelman

Edelman global digital chair Thomas Crampton will exit the agency at the end of the month, after less than 18 months with the firm

Crampton joined Edelman at the start of 2019 to oversee the firm's $200m digital practice, which houses more than 700 employees worldwide. The unit saw considerable senior level turnover as Crampton restructured operations, with notable departures including US digital head Jessica Clifton, EVP Adam Hirsch and the digital leads of its Chicago, Los Angeles and Washington DC offices. Other exits included global MD Duc Le, US influencer lead Sybil Grieb, US performance marketing head Todd Silverstein, ECD Michelle Franzoia and digital recruitment lead Natasha Avery. In October last year, meanwhile, Matt Harrington was elevated to global president at Edelman, including oversight of digital.

Rajasthan Govt hires PR firm for Image Makeover

The Ashok Gehlot government in Rajasthan is looking for a makeover and has engaged a national public relations agency for brand building

The private agency has been hired a year after the Congress formed the government in the desert state to counter negative publicity in the public space and also to influence opinions by disseminating positive stories about the government. The firm''s contract started from February 1, official sources confirmed, adding that the bidding process to hire the PR firm started in November last year. The agency has been hired for two years, with state Bureau of Investment Promotion (BIP) acting as the nodal agency in the hiring process.

Though the state machinery has Public Relations Department officials at its disposal to showcase government achievements and actions, the Gehlot dispensation still decided to spend a huge amount of money on public relations despite the state''s severe fund crisis, said a senior Congress worker. The PR agency will work to streamline interviews with the Chief Minister and his Ministers to disseminate all positive stories to give the state government a facelift.

In Conversation with Nikky Gupta, Teamwork Communications Group

As Consumers Take Charge of Their Health, Role of Effective Healthcare Communication Becomes More Important

When India first encountered the threat of HIV/AIDS in the late 1980s, health experts were highly concerned about the potential of the spread of this deadly virus in a poorly-aware, densely-populated country like India. Doomsday predictors foresaw India to be the next Africa where HIV/AIDS had already assumed epidemic proportions. However, three decades later, a highly successful multi-pronged anti-AIDS campaign supported by a massive awareness drive has succeeded in substantially reducing the number of new infections. Even as several health organizations worked on the ground to mitigate the threat, India’s public broadcasters were flush with awareness messages about HIV/AIDS and the need for safe sex and safe blood transfusions all through the 1990s and 2000s. The number of new HIV infections witnessed a 50% decline in India over the past decade. No other example can better underline the important role of effective healthcare communication in meeting multiple needs of our times.

Health communication today is a dedicated public relations specialty helmed by experts and communication veterans who know what it takes to effectively send out the right messages to an audience which is more discerning and aware than ever before. Health communication uses available tools of media and communication to raise awareness on public health concerns, improves general literacy of common people about pertinent healthcare challenges, and influences attitudes and behavioral choices towards healthier lifestyles. From the corporate perspective, health communication is today a leading part of brand identity building.

With the customers becoming more aware and evolved, the challenges of healthcare communication become more vigorous and unique. Your messaging has to be tailored to meet the needs of a more intelligent audience who wouldn’t like to have unappealing information shoved up their throats. Research tells us that messages hidden in intelligent communication patterns have a more lasting impact on the minds of consumers. Consumers today are not only more intelligent and discerning, they also want to have greater control over their lives, including their healthcare choices. This offers another unique challenge as well as opportunity for healthcare communication providers. In an evolving communication environment, healthcare communication doesn’t just play the role of information sharing, rather it plays multifarious roles:

Influencing consumer attitudes: Healthcare communication has an important role to play today in driving a change in behavioral patterns of the consumer towards healthier lifestyle choices. This includes aspects such as raising awareness about the devastating health effects of sedentary lifestyles and thereby pushing the audience to adopt a shift towards healthy living; educating consumers about the need for regular preventive health screenings and bringing about a behavioral shift towards preventive health check-ups; raising awareness about the risks of smoking, and helping consumers kick the butt. However, consumer behaviors do not change overnight! They need an incessant dose of messaging to internalize the change. Healthcare communicators do so not by hammering in the points but by driving a gradual change through regular subtle messaging that is neither over the top nor in your face. The messages that have the best impact are the ones that are intelligently hidden in impactful heart-touching stories.

Driving demand and creating customer base: One by product of influencing consumer behavior is the creating of demand for a particular set of healthcare services. Doctors and hospitals are not the only healthcare delivery providers today. In recent years, the concept of healthcare delivery has evolved to become more personalized, digitally driven and tailored to improve comfort and quality of life of consumers. Facilities such as home healthcare, home monitoring of health vitals and activity tracking devices are examples of how multiple players have entered the healthcare domain to improve efficiency, comfort and add a general wellness quotient to health. Healthcare today is not just about treating diseases, it is about promoting an overall healthy lifestyle. Therefore, health communicators have a prominent role to play in informing the consumer about the new facilities and services they can use of.

Advocating on policy issues: Corporate organizations often have interest in advocating on key policy issues that may impact their future or have a large social bearing. The reasons for this interest may vary from business reasons to ethical considerations. Here again lies an important role for health communicators. Right and impactful messaging can help influence authorities and drive policy changes as well. Delhi’s poor air quality has been a subject of intense debate and discussion in recent years, especially over the past few months, and for the first time there are visible efforts being made by government agencies to improve the environment. Much of it can be attributed to the subtle but important role played by healthcare communicators (acting on behalf of multiple agencies) in making this an issue of serious public health concern.

Building brand identity: Building a brand identify takes several years of effective multi-pronged strategies. One of the most vital pillars of this strategy is effective communication. Healthcare providers or key players in the healthcare industry such as hospitals, product and service providers know that brand building does not happen overnight. Your identity is strengthened step by step, one brick at a time. Healthcare communicators achieve this through multiple simultaneous approaches which may include all of the aforementioned pointers and more -- increasing awareness about common healthcare issues, building your image as a reliable service provider, influencing consumer behavior towards using your product and helping portray you as a key industry leader through advocacy and opinion-building.

The State of Corporate Reputation in 2020

Weber Shandwick Research Finds Companies Facing Complex Challenge of Navigating Two Dozen Drivers of Corporate Reputation

Research released by Weber Shandwick, one of the world’s leading global communications and marketing solutions firms, confirms that corporate reputation is an invaluable asset with appreciable impact on a company’s bottom line. The State of Corporate Reputation in 2020: Navigating the Omnidriver Era finds that Asia Pacific executives, on average, attribute 61 percent of their company’s market value to their company’s overall reputation. The State of Corporate Reputation in 2020: Navigating the Omnidriver Era, an online survey, was conducted by Weber Shandwick in partnership with KRC Research among 2,227 executives in high revenue companies across 22 markets worldwide; Asia Pacific markets included Australia, China, Hong Kong SAR, India, Indonesia, Japan, Singapore and South Korea. In addition to reputation, the survey covered culture, CEO activism, employee activism, crisis and risk. Additional reports on these topics will be forthcoming.

Barclays Appoints Jaydeep Raval as VP of Corp Comm.

Raval was previously associated with Kotak Mahindra Bank for 10 years where he was the communications lead for their Bank & Capital Markets verticals

Barclays Bank PLC has appointed Jaydeep Raval as Vice President, Corporate Communications. Raval will head external and internal communications for all businesses of Barclays in India, and will also play a role in building Barclays’ profile in the Asia Pacific region. Prior to this role, Raval was associated with Kotak Mahindra Bank for 10 years where he was the communications lead for their Bank and Capital Markets verticals. Raval had a seven-year stint with Adfactors PR, India’s leading independent PR agency, before joining Kotak Mahindra Bank.

He was part of the BFSI team and serviced marquee clients such as State Bank of India, Standard Chartered Bank, IDFC Ltd., SBI Capital Markets, amongst others.

Madchatter bags Blink Digital’s PR mandate

Madchatter will work on showcasing the work being done by Blink while managing the overall communications for the agency

Madchatter Brand Solutions has won the Public Relations mandate for Mumbai-based digital agency – Blink Digital. The PR firm will work on showcasing the work being done by Blink while managing the overall communications for the agency. Blink Digital is a full-service digital agency that works with brands like KFC India, Dream11, Spartan Poker, Amazon, Intel, Borosil among other giants.

Speaking about the win, Rikki Agarwal, Co-founder, Chief Business & Operating Officer at Blink Digital, said: “While Blink has done campaigns that have gotten global eyeballs and several international accolades, we wanted an industry expert that could showcase our work and help us generate more conversations in the digital space. We had seen Madchatter’s work in the marketing and advertising industry and are delighted to have them on board as our communications partner.”

PRSJ Joins Hands with PRovoke for A-P Summit

The PR Society of Japan is partnering with PRovoke to host the A-P PRovoke Summit & SABRE Awards in Japan for the first time on 17 September in Tokyo

PRovoke''s Asia-Pacific Summit and SABRE Awards are the highlight of a series of activities commemorating PRSJ''s 40th anniversary. The daytime Summit will feature the IN2 SABRE Awards at lunchtime, followed by the evening SABRE Awards ceremony for Diamond and Gold honours, and regional Agencies of the Year.

PRovoke''s Asia-Pacific Summit is part of a global network of events that explore the innovation, disruption and evolution that continue to redefine influence and engagement. Since launching as the IN2Summit, the series has grown rapidly to span the globe, with annual conferences taking place in such cities as Amsterdam, Beijing, Berlin, Chicago, Dubai, Hong Kong, Johannesburg, Kigali, London, Mexico City, New York, Paris, Sao Paolo, San Francisco and Singapore.

February 2020 Archive

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