Balancing PR agency business goals with innovative workforce strategies

As a new workplace model has emerged, so have the rules of engagement.  PR agencies are no exception with business coming to a complete halt.  For agency leadership, it’s a time for re-invention, business survival, client continuity, and the need to demonstrate a new type of value add.  For HR professionals, there&rs..Read More

AI technology to help you influence, engage and convert

One of the biggest challenges brands face today when utilizing social media is finding the right influencer to align with – and while a "wrong" choice likely won't hurt a brand in most cases, it could be more of a wasted effort. However, in a worst case scenario working with the wrong influencer can have a detrimental impact on a brand. According to..Read More

Pitchfork Partners synergises with ASCI vision

The Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) has appointed Pitchfork Partners Strategic Consulting as its public relations and digital counsel following a multi-agency pitch. Pitchfork Partners will ensure effective communication navigation for ASCI’s stakeholders to strengthen its position as an organization dedicated to safe..Read More

E-sports and mobile gaming platform adds muscle

Himanshu Raj will be responsible for taking MPL’s reputation and messaging forward through strategic corporate reputation management campaigns. A seasoned MarCom professional, he brings to the table a vast repertoire of experience in driving strategic communications, the company said in a press statement. In his previous roles, Raj..Read More

Applying for official leave to go nowhere?

“What is the point of taking leave when you’re just going to be sitting at home anyway?" says Pallavi Mehta, a 30-something software engineer from Bengaluru. In the past few months, since the covid-19 pandemic forced everyone to work from home, Mehta has just taken a couple of days off, when her dog fell sick. The annual..Read More

Undignified practices by major Indian media house

It's a simple question that I want to ask media houses that thought - and are still thinking - it's a good practice to terminate employees on the spot. The editor, board, management & HR all are collectively responsible but no one would reply.

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Deliveroo expands COVID services with "Here to deliver"

Deliveroo Hong Kong has launched breakfast services after the announcement of tightened government measures aiming at slowing the spread of COVID-19. To support its restaurant partners and customers across the city, Deliveroo Hong Kong has launched its breakfast service, allowing customers to order from 7:45am during weekdays and 9am on ..Read More

CGI-created virtual influencers for brands

With more than 1 billion people using social media all over the world, it’s more difficult than ever for brands to stand out from the crowd. Thus, the rise of the influencer, which has been one of the most significant changes in marketing in the last decade. Some creative marketers have decided to to find an alternative to the typi..Read More

“It’s not a positive story, but it’s an important one” says Gail Heimann, CEO

Nearly two months after the start of widespread civil unrest — accelerating PR agencies' push to diversify — Weber Shandwick has released diversity data for its US leadership team, prompting CEO Gail Heimann to say: “It’s not a positive story, but it’s an important one.” According to 2019 agency stats,..Read More

We are not a brand people need to fall in love with

Ryanair’s new marketing boss, Dara Brady, describes his first three months in the job as “a bit helter-skelter”. Brady, who took over when former CMO Kenny Jacobs departed in April, has led the brand as director of marketing and digital as it navigates a pandemic and global lockdowns in the most significant blow to the ..Read More

Reinventing fans’ sports consumption behaviour through hybridisation of real-time broadcast

Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, most sports activities across the globe, including popular scheduled tournaments like the IPL and T20 Cricket World Cup, have been postponed to curtail its spread. Fans miss the animated discussions before a sports season or tournament, the excitement of the opening minutes of a game, the drama of two highly skilled team..Read More

PR-led creative amplified ‘Probably NOT the best beer in the world’

160over90 won the PR category at The Drum Marketing Awards Europe 2020 with its Carlsberg 'Mean Tweets' campaign. Here, the team behind the entry reveal the challenges faced and strategies used to deliver this successful project. Carlsberg had a major problem; people no longer believed it was ‘Probably the best beer in the world’. It had a reputation fo..Read More

“Trust is now the make or break difference for brands”, says Edelman

The 2020 Edelman Trust Barometer Special Report: Brand Trust, reveals peoples’ trust on brands as an important factor guiding their purchase decision, more than anything else (brand reputation, performance or its treatment of customers, employees or the environment). The survey, touching 22,000 respondents across 11 markets, positi..Read More

Deal closes amidst explosion in digital sales accelerated by virus

Sky News understands that S4 Capital will announce this week that it has agreed a deal to buy Orca Pacific, whose clients include the sportswear brand Reebok and the food manufacturer Del Monte. The takeover, for an undisclosed sum, will be the first since S4 raised just over £115m from shareholders earlier this month to provide fi..Read More

CMG’s PR shops outperform the marketing services industry despite COVID-19 disruption

The PR agencies in Interpublic Group’s Constituency Management Group saw a revenue decrease in the high single digits on an organic basis and low double digits on an as reported basis in Q2, said the unit’s chairman and CEO, Andy Polansky. The numbers, which he attributed to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, were in contrast to Q2 2019, when CMG&rsq..Read More

E4M Awards 2020 recognise corporate communications excellence

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 suc..Read More

Reporting is costly and century-old advertising model is no longer sustainable

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 ..Read More

Size does not matter as altered course shines spotlight on the small guys

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 soc..Read More

Communities become more valuable to both people and brands

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 bran..Read More

Are CCOs less valuable and less deserving than CMOs?

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). ..Read More

Brands extend their CSR role by expressing disapproval of contentious and socially divisive issues

Where to play and how to play, are the questions that many global brands have positively squared up to in a short space of 100 days. The George Floyd movement, Coronavirus and Donald Trump have given brands a new sense of purpose and redefined societal responsibility in a completely new way.  Brands have moved from being passive to ..Read More

The Consumer Protection Act - significant to marketers, advertising agencies and celebrities

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 con..Read More

Hold the PRess and 600 & Rising merge

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..Read More

Innovation in thoughts, words and actions are top tools for brands to fight COVID-19, reveal First Partners

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 tru..Read More

"Hybrid model of television news plus digital will stay"says Zee's Sudhir Chaudhary

In these times, the challenges for the media are markedly different — we have to work round the clock and at the same time ensure that we stay safe, says Sudhir Chaudhary, Editor-in-Chief, Zee News and CEO, WION. As part of the exchange4media and samachar4media media leadership series, Chaudhury spoke to Dr Annurag Batra, Chairman and Editor-in-Chief, BW Busi..Read More

Finding "Headcounts decrease despite the value of strategy increasing"

26% of respondents surveyed have seen headcounts decreased, and a further 18% were expecting them down the line. This is just one of the findings included in The Future of Strategy 2020 report, released today by WARC, the global authority on advertising and media effectiveness, following its annual worldwide survey of more than 1,200 sen..Read More

Ex-journalist with a political PR agenda

Ex-journalist with a political PR agenda

With the election taking centre-stage, all eyes are on the political drama that is played out.  The election plot is being unfolded in Bihar. Politicians ar..Read More

Siddharth Zarabi to lead editorial strategy

Siddharth Zarabi to lead editorial strategy 

NEWJ (New Emerging World of Journalism Limited) today announced the appointment of senior journalist Siddharth Zarabi as the Managing Editor. An award-w..Read More

Rossotrudnichestvo, the state's 'PR' institution gets new leadership

Rossotrudnichestvo, the state's 'PR' institution gets new leadership

The Russian government is hoping to boost its 'soft power' after installing new leadership at Rossotrudnichestvo, the state agency re..Read More

African Americans comprise 2.67% of US executive & director-level management

African Americans comprise 2.67% of US executive & director-level management

Havas Group reported this week that African Americans comprise 2.67% of the executive- and director-level management rank..Read More

Visual storytelling coupling statistics and art

Visual storytelling coupling statistics and art

Statistics are subjective. This much is clear to British data journalist Mona Chalabi, who has built a career highlighting neglected information through h..Read More

Will this reverse deep-rooted prejudices around “colourism”?

The world’s biggest cosmetics companies have been selling a fairy tale that often goes something like this: If your husband..Read More

PR and Media sharing a common agenda

Yet another media post makes it to Twitter and Facebook. Yet another PR professional loses his/her job. Yet another client drops their agency like a hot potato on a ..Read More

Anushree Chandran expands regional agency brand portfolio

Anushree Chandran has been appointed the Head, Corporate Communications for Publicis G..Read More

"Real customer endorsements do more to build trust", says Urban Company

When home services startup Urban Company re-started after the nationwide lockdown to contain covid-19, the biggest chall..Read More

Communication is key to organisational strategy and reputation

It's a common misconception that women leaders are few and far between in a male-dominated tech space. The recent hiring of Shonali Chakrav..Read More

OPEN LETTER : Social media, fair play, personal respect and integrity

Unlike the shenanigans of the POTUS, there nothing fake at play here between the Indian

A Promise Foundation backed collaborative learning platform to galvanise the PR profession and its practitioners

In an India-first initiative, the launch of the first ever PR Club was announced. Eleven ..Read More

Personalised client attention and focus on quality-driven work and results

First Partners, one of the youngest and fastest-growing PR firms in India, recently completed four years in the public relation..Read More

Disrupting India’s nutrition landscape in favour of plant-based protein supplements

Gozoop, one of India’s leading digital-first integrated marketing companies has won the Public Relations a..Read More

Evolving media landscape mandates PR pros proactively make their pitches more journalist-friendly, finds new study 

Nine in 10 journalists would prefer PR professionals pitch via email inst..Read More

Cultural shake up in offing for all-white PRCA with Race & Ethnicity Equity Board formation

The Public Relations and Communications Association (PRCA) has launched a Race and Ethnicity Equity Board,..Read More

VC backed, Onsurity, adds Nucleus to drive brand expansion

Onsurity is a HealthTech organization that provides employee benefits and healthcare. Backed by Nexus Venture Partners, AngelList and Whiteboar..Read More

FLYX, targets India brand expansion as second largest OTT market

80-dB Communications, a reputation management advisory, has been appointed as the communication partner for FLYX in India. FLYX is a New ..Read More

Shveta Singh joins Brookfield Asset Management

Brookfield Asset Management has strengthened its marketing and communication team with the appointment of Shveta Singh as Vice President, Communications &a..Read More

Strategy, data-driven story-telling and creativity shine for Zeno

Hyatt Hotels has named Zeno Group as its new global PR agency of record following a project relationship that started last year. Zeno wo..Read More

Pitchfork Partners add a touch of British class to its portfolio

The British School of Etiquette India has appointed Pitchfork Partners Strategic Consulting as its public relations and digital consultan..Read More

Nova-IVF Fertility Clinics get a boost from Teamworks

Teamwork Communications Group has been selected as the PR and communications partner of Nova IVF Fertility (NIF), a leading IVF and advanced fertili..Read More

Ant lessons to be learned from the micro-kingdoms

We humans have so much to learn from these feeble and tiny creatures. Even being that tiny, they do and know so much more than us. Here are 9 tiny chara..Read More

Capture the intangible asset value that fosters customer relationships

How do we build businesses in the post Covid world? How do we leverage the connectivity around the world and what is the implicatio..Read More

More accurate customer profiles, increased organic communication and higher lifetime values

The pandemic is prompting consumers to stay at home and buy online. It’s a perfect opportunity f..Read More

SAB Group expands media and entertainment frontiers

Media Mantra has bagged the Public Relations mandate of Sab Group/Sri Adhikari Brothers Group - a pioneer in Indian Media and Entertainment. The partn..Read More

Stay platform agnostic and don't place all your eggs in one basket

After the ban on TikTok, many replicas like Instagram Reels, Mitron, Chingari, Bolo Indiya, Roposo, have cropped up. It opened up an op..Read More

Weber Shandwick to leverage its deep social sector expertise to articulate Tata Trusts’ vision of community-wide sustainable development impact

Tata Trusts, the charitable organization that owns t..Read More

A pact for sculpting new-age start-up Unicorns into early-age Decacorns to produce India’s finest future techpreneurs

In an industry-first initiative, India’s largest public relations consul..Read More

Tactical media communication to strategically manage Pan-India expansion of American artist and fashion designer Johny Dar’s fundraising efforts for refugees

Communicate India, India&rsquo..Read More

Saving businesses from blunders by strengthening their competitive intelligence, market landscapes and trend analysis

Over hundred content items including articles, news pieces, research reports and soc..Read More

Follow this expert advice to pitch meticulously for creating that first lasting impression about your brand

Call it what you want — a pitch, corporate deck, or just a good ol’ PowerPoint, th..Read More

Podcasting is a bit of a wild west where anything goes....

The audio concept isn’t something new for Indians. Be it listening to the cricket commentary, the religious musings, or the radio, it&rsq..Read More

Public Safety Notice: Programmatic Advertisers Beware

You’ve probably not heard about the Sleeping Giants, but this is no fairy tale, they are real and exist. Founded by Matt Rivitz and Nandini Ja

Makeup and shifting beauty conversations, no longer a woman’s turf

In February, Delhi-based digital creator and self-confessed “fashion and grooming rule-wrecker” Siddharth Batra debut..Read More