IndiaPRBlog! IndiaPRBlog! Public Relations in India, PR agencies, associations, news and discussions Articles
Who should speak to bloggers?
2008-01-07 19:39:00 Even as blogs come into their own as media outlets, bloggers will continue to be a ?breed? apart. One of the implications is the ?one-size-fits-all? approach may not work with them. And the first thing companies need to do is identify the right persons internally who will engage with bloggers.During my recent visit to the BlogWorld and New Media Expo in Las Vegas, I listened to and interacted with Mike Prosceno, VP, Marketplace Communications (Blogger Relations), SAP and Brian Solis, Principal of FutureWorks, an award-winning PR agency in Silicon Valley. And they shared some interesting insights on this topic.According to Mike, bloggers are less interested in just the news; they are more keen on what we as companies are doing and why we are doing so. And there is a need to engage with them and have a 360 degree conversation. According to Brian, this means there is no place for a press release with bloggers; it has to go beyond this; while journalists are more interested in the news,... More About: Bloggers , Speak
Are PR professionals just mediators?
2008-01-07 17:28:00 I know today is not my turn to write...but couldn't keep the contrariety and the dissension going on in my head...had to let it out and when the angst is related to all of us, I couldn't help feel that this was the right place.Public Relations is a part of the good old IMC (Integrated Marketing Communications) mix and is nowadays considered to be the one of the most crucial elements for a successful communication campaign. PR is a part of the Media and A&M (Advertising and Marketing) industry and yet is not just treated as a step sister, but sometimes scum. As excited and honored I am to be a part of that industry and having grown and specialized enough to have some sort of an expertise in the profession, it saddens me when Media (Journalists) treat PR professionals as an interruption, just a watchdog who mediates meetings and interactions and says nothing at all, a coordinator for information almost only to be a delivery boy...it upsets me when media thinks that 'you' are t... More About: Professionals , Fess
Stalagmite Theory in Public Relations
2008-01-06 15:21:00 I would like to borrow a concept that is oft used for television viewership to Public Relations and I think it suits just fine. The concept is that of Cultivation Theo ry or the Stalagmite Theory. I quote "Black et. al. used the metaphor of stalagmite theories to suggest that media effects occur analogously to the slow buildup of formations on cave floors, which take their interesting forms after eons of the steady dripping of limewater from the cave ceilings above. One of the most popular theories that fits this perspective is cultivation theory."Cultivation theory (sometimes referred to as the cultivation hypothesis or cultivation analysis) was an approach developed by Professor George Gerbner, dean of the Annenberg School of Communications at the University of Pennsylvania.One of the core assumptions and statements of the Cultivation theory is that television is responsible for shaping, or ?cultivating? viewers? conceptions of social reality. The combined effect of massive televis...
Measuring the success of a Public Relations campaign - I
2008-01-04 09:25:00 We as Public Relations or corporate communications professionals are incessantly asked about the ROI (return on investment) on a particular initiative. What I've put together below could be a way to answer to that crucial question. We could actually look at it as three different aspects or phases of measuring the success of a particular public relations campaign.Three levels of measuring public relations effectiveness have been identified by Dr. Walter K. Lindenmann, Senior Vice President and Director of Research at Ketchum Public Relations. He labels the basic level ?outputs?, the intermediate level ?outgrowths? and the advanced level ?outcomes?. 1. Outputs measures message transmission and the initiative response 2. Outgrowths measures message reception with immediate reaction 3. Outcomes measures attitude and behavioral changeOutputsOutputs of a particular PR campaign will be with respect to the initiative that was undertaken; like that of a press release announcing a product la... More About: Success , Campaign
Top 5 Predictions for Indian PR Firms in 2008
2008-01-03 19:40:00 These are heady days. As India moves forward with a constant surge, it?s pretty much never say never; be it the stock markets; the string of acquisitions hitherto thought of as impossible. Clearly it is a time for innovation led consolidation.The PR business as a microcosm of Industry and it too has had its share of innovation led consolidation too, and among the other notables have been a string of acquisitions, the latest being of Hanmer by Publicis. Things in general have been good with the entry of several brands as well as value corrections in revenues for most major firms or networks for existing business.2007 was a year of slow tectonic change, 2008 promises to have far greater velocity and the trends point to some trends that would go down as big shifts in my opinion:A Holistic Brand Experience Inclusive of Web 2.0 & Social Media PropertiesSocial Media in India has been a long time in the coming and 2008 will see a greater adoption of the social media and the whole web 2... More About: Indian , Predictions , Firms
Top workplace resolutions for 2008 (Thursdays with Tushar)
2008-01-03 19:31:00 Well, keeping my part of promise to come back to you with my reflections of 'Agar - Magar'. The moment I saw the play it reminded me of a question asked to me by Vikas almost a month ago. How many times have you landed in a situation like Peehu, where you are forced to choose something which you never wanted? How many times your leader (Boss, Chief, Sir - whatever adj. you may be using) has requested (ordered) to do something which you always ('never') wanted?So, what is the issue? Was the teacher right? or was Peehu right? I think they both were right in their own perspective. At one hand, the teacher was following established traditions and rules and on the other hand Peehu (in his second avataar) was challenging the teacher to be with him breaking all rules & traditions. Imagine, you are in a similar situation in a corporate life. What would you choose? Conventional wisdom of choosing what is there in the organisation's rule-book or unconventional courage to stand by wit... More About: Workplace , Resolutions , 2008
Writer/Sr. writer
2008-01-03 08:07:00 Writer/Sr. writerBangalore, Karnataka, IndiaJan 3, 2008 More About: Writer
Thursdays with Tushar: New Year, New Resolutions?
2008-01-02 19:38:00 We from India PR Blog wish all our readers a very happy 2008! I am taking a break this week from a series of Public Affairs posts we are posting. We will get back to the serious business from next week.Well, do not go by the heading of this post. I am not going to bore you with usual resolutions, which you might have read in almost every newspaper or magazine in the country. I am going to talk about a children's play I saw with my little tiger. The play was unique. It was adopted by Gulzar from some Japanese story. Agar - Magar was the name (if translated crudely it is 'Either - Or'!?). It had two endings for the same story.The story revolved around a teacher and his pupil named 'Peehu'. Peehu's mother was suffering from some unknown sickness which is killing people across the village. Teacher wants to go across the snowy mountain range and bring back medicine from a doctor which could cure the illness. Peehu decides to accompany his teacher in order to save her mother and oth... More About: New Year , Year , Resolutions
Top media relations tips from 2007
2008-01-01 19:32:00 Having a look at the top media relations tips from this blog in 2007:1. Best media relations practices by PR professionals: What is the best way to issue a press release? What time of the day do we issue a press release and on which day of the week? How do PR professionals pitch for a story and what are the most-preferred options? Recently we conducted an online survey 'Media Relations Best Practices' on this blog and it was responded to by around thirty PR professionals and journalists who are readers of this blog. Here are the results.2. 15 media relations tips by PR professionals and journalists: A list of select media relations tips from PR professionals and journalists who participated in the recent online survey 'Media Relations Best Practices' on this blog.3. Pitching to media - 5 key factors to keep in mind: What does it take to sell a story to a journalist? These are some key points gathered from interactions with the scribes over the years.4. Media pitching advice from... More About: Tips
PR Plan for the New Year
2007-12-30 18:25:00 Am sure you are aware that with the year closing in on us, it was time for reviews and serious introspection. So we all got back to our drawing boards to review the year gone by for our Clients, work on Annual Strategies for the coming year and discuss the highs and lows with regards to plans, achievements and bloopers and at the end of it all we all were unanimous about one realisation that hit us... that clients were no longer willing to be satisfied with Vanilla PR.... not happy with the regular press conference, press briefings, press releases, one on ones et al...WHAT NEXT was the question they all asked! And thankfully since my Agency had always groomed us towards thinking 360 degrees communications and not just basic PR, we were happy and also anxious at the same time.Happy since we knew that that was coming and like I mentioned earlier, the Agency that I work for has always driven us towards working on Integrated Communication Stratgies... we were always made to understand n... More About: New Year , Plan , Year
Top 12 posts at India PR Blog in 2007
2007-12-29 14:29:00 We have some good developments at India PR blog in 2007. Firstly, we have the India PR Job Board launch that is used by many leading PR agencies and read by hundreds of PR professionals today. Then the formation of India PR Blog writer's team with PR professionals and journalists from across organisations, formally to be announced soon, came as a significant milestone that is pushing the blog as an industry platform for free and frank discussion.Among all the posts at this blog in 2007, we have some posts that stood out from the rest in terms of readers' participation and page views. These are the top 12 PR posts at India PR Blog in 2007, one for each month:January 2007:15 media relations tips by PR professionals and journalists: A list of select media relations tips from PR professionals and journalists who participated in the recent online survey 'Media Relations Best Practices' on this blog.February 2007:Corporate Blogging - Making a strategic approach: Should your organisati... More About: Posts
Media Trends - 2007
2007-12-25 19:41:00 This time of the year is naturally devoted to some introspection of the past and reflection into the possibilities that the future would bring. We can look forward to glossy anniversary editions of magazines, the catalogs of ?the best and the worst? developments in the newspapers and panel discussions on TV on the? celebratory and grievous moments? for 2007.Since there will be all this and more to assimilate, I promise to keep this post on my learnings and observations on media in 2007 as brief as possible.The Fall of Simplistic Media Relations and the Rise of Space CrunchThis report in the Business Standard on the record number of product launches this year corroborated what I have been experiencing in my daily media outreach as a Public Relations professional. While in the past 2 years we have seen an increase in the number of newspapers, magazines and TV channels, this increase is hugely outpaced by the number of brands in the market today. Given their new presence in the space a... More About: Trends
Future PR Communication Models
2007-12-21 07:33:00 We have learned through experience or through academics that there is basic simple model of communication. Here, you have a sender, who creates the message then you have the receiver who receives the message. There are 5 key elements that define a communication process:Source ? the originator of message, codes the messageMessage ? a set of signs and symbolReceiver ? the message intended to, decodes the messageChannel ? a means of communication or accessNoise ? any form of disturbance (physical, psychological) that can disturb the original contents of the messageThe above is the Linear Model of Communication which was constructed by Shannon & Weaver, 1949. The communication is successful, only when the receiver gives feedback in a particular form of communication.Basic models of communication were based on one-to-one (letter writing) or one-to-many (speeches, television broadcast) form of communication. Since then models of communication evolved into something more complex, only ... More About: Models , Future
Policing The Media; Is Regulation Required Or Is It Another Retrograde Atte
2007-12-20 19:35:00 At a time when the India Media is racing ahead and projected to growing faster than the Indian GDP, as much as twice in some recent reports, our world suddenly seems on fire with the news that Indian media stings may soon require oversight to determine if such a sting is indeed in public interest as well as being able to stand true on the test of entrapment.The venerable Delhi High Court was rancid when it asked whether the media was carrying out sting operations or ?stinking operations?.The state of affairs has come to such a pass that in disposing off a petition on the now infamous sting telecast by private TV news channel in August, the court suggested that the information and broadcasting ministry constitute a three-member committee and all TV channels should seek permission from it before airing any sting operation. The suggested panel is proposed to have a retired high court judge and two officials with the ranks of additional secretary and additional commissioner of police.Th... More About: Regulation , The Media , Etrog
Thursdays with Tushar: The Affair continues...
2007-12-19 20:09:00 In the last week's post we discussed about basics of public affairs and how it is becoming more relevant in recent times. This week, we will take our journey forward and discuss about the various tools being employed to manage this socio-political equations.Every organization has a different view towards how to manage this set of stakeholders and many of them devises the system which works best for them. Organizations do active lobbying, offer sponsorships, deploy code of conduct, some even pay bribes, offer consultation (directly or through industry bodies), sometimes practices voluntary self-restriction or even go for legal remedies in order to manage the socio-political stakeholders. We will discuss about all these in a step by step method.During my past experience, I have worked with an organization which followed a very strong 'code of conduct' and believed strongly in consultation and voluntary self-restriction if needed. I have also worked with an organization that strongl... More About: Affair
Thursdays with Tushar: Digital tools!
2007-12-19 19:33:00 Dear Sir, I am working with one of the India's leading PR agencies at the Sr. Executive level. Now we all are hearing about the next wave of Public Relations being digital communications/online PR or the digital PR; could you help me to understand on the various tools of digital or online public relations? - PratibhaDear Pratibha:You asking us a question on this blog is the power of digital PR. Don't you agree? Okay, I have just one suggestion to make - please read through our blog and you will become an expert of digital PR. In fact, one of my previous posts on the same subject would give you some ideas to begin with and there were quite a few posts on the subject available on our blog from my fellow contributors. But since you have asked this question, let's discuss about how it all started and where it is leading to.All through the 20th century, most of our communication was using old media vehicles and in a monologue form. It was a top down approach (even today we follow that... More About: Tools , Digital
To call over phone or to email ? that is the question
2007-12-18 20:20:00 I briefly debated internally before writing this piece - do we the campaigners of the communication age actually need to discuss something as mundane as a phone call and an email. I mean standing at the footsteps of a virtual revolution that will potentially change our business interactions (as it already has our personal ones), do we still need to discuss if we have got the basics right?My instinctive sense from observing the everyday use of these basic tools is ? YES. We often see people around complain about the ?delay? caused in taking action due to email ping pong. And there are those who spend hours over phone trying to persuade and ?explain? but the party on the other end, ?just doesn?t understand?! (It would be worth sharing similar experiences that any readers of this post may have had and actually help explore this theme better)Most of us haven?t read text books on email and phone etiquette and manage reasonably well, following invisible guidelines based on our judgment an... More About: Phone , Email , Question , Call
Top PR goof ups of 2007
2007-12-18 19:44:00 Who could forget the incident of Microsoft PR agency sending off the spokesperson briefing document to the journalist instead of the client by accident? Don't worry, we have an Indian version of it as well. Ok what about that one about the YouTube video of rats in a Taco Bell?Shel Holtz has picked out the PR and marketing gaffes from the newly launched Money magazine's annual '101 Dumbest Moments in Business' list. Check them out. Quite a few lessons to be learnt from our global PR counterparts' misadventures: #8?A YouTube video of rats frolicking in a New York Taco Bell gets millions of views. #16?Microsoft PR agency Waggener Edstrom sends a 12-page dossier on a Wired contributing editor to the Wired contributing editor. The less-than-flattering dossier, calling the editor ?tricky? and ?sensational,? was meant to go to Microsoft executives. #17?Redux is warned by the FDA to rename its energy drink, which was called Cocaine. It was renamed to Censored, then NoName. #21?Th...
Calling the Best PR Agencies in India: The Profiling Project
2007-12-17 20:24:00 The PR Agencies page is one of the most viewed pages on India PR Blog. The page lists major PR agencies in India.Since the India PR Blog is read across the blogosphere, it can be a good platform for PR agencies to be seen by prospective clients and partners across India and abroad. Also, it is a good way to expose your agency to potential employees, young and experienced, who are just entering the PR industry.Till now, we have been listing only the names of PR agencies. This doesn't provide much information to any reader. They are only sent to the respective PR agency websites.However what if we include some basic information on the page itself in about 3 paragraphs. The information could include:1. Your current clients2. Your expertise areas3. Branches across India4. Key people5. Awards won/ key projects handled.6. Your agency logo7. Contact informationAll you need to do is send us the information to editor@indiaprblog.com. Like before, we are not charging any money for this.But i... More About: Project , Calling , Profil
Calling HR consultants: Using India PR Jobs Board to reach out to potential
2007-12-17 19:50:00 We launched the India PR Jobs Board six months back and since then, there have been 25 job postings, more than 4000 views, and more than 150 applications.The most popular posting was that of CMCG India on Aug 30, 2007 that was viewed 175 times and had 18 candidates applying for the job. The second was of K2 Communications on July 25, 2007 that was viewed 123 times and had 11 candidates applying for that job. The third most popular job posting was from brand-comm on Oct 30, 2007. It was viewed 112 times and 12 candidates applied for that job.Some of the other organisations that have used the job board so far are LINOpinion, 20:20 MEDIA, Dag Communications, Text 100, Aarohan Communications, RockeTalk, P'zahn Consultants, India News Communications Ltd., Finesse PR, Corporate Voice | Weber Shandwick, Imprimis Life, PRHub, and IPAN.Not bad. But it could have been better.When we launched this job board, we focus more on HR professionals from PR agencies and corporates to post jobs and ma... More About: Calling , Reach
Managers/Sr Managers
2007-12-17 11:01:00 Managers/Sr ManagersBangalore, Karnataka, IndiaDec 17, 2007 More About: Managers
External Affairs Manager
2007-12-17 07:04:00 External Affairs Manager Delhi, Delhi, IndiaDec 17, 2007 More About: External
Putting News First
2007-12-16 16:36:00 "The world seems a whole lot bigger than on the map"?says one of the promos on Discovery's Travel and living. I kind of agree to that. With all our perceptions of the world getting closer and distances fast dissolving with the evolving and increasing modes of transportation, conveyance and communication ? and with the almost homogenization of all world cultures (would refrain from using the word Californication), the contexts and references, incidents and situations that are of relevance today are getting more local, niche and far from the macro-global issues that supposedly make news to us.This brings me to the word that surrounds our very senses today and brings about that sense of deliberate connectivity ?NEWS! There is an overarching need to reach out to the audience, to get him to listen to us first, be that first source, the most credible source, and the all encompassing source of news?everyone claims to have hit the pulse and understood the audience's nerves in terms of wha... More About: News , Putting
84% PR agencies in India focus on media relations, only 2.5% on consumer to
2007-12-14 12:24:00 Only 2.5% of Public Relations agencies in India focus on ?Consumer touch PR?, while 84% execute the ?white & pink paper PR? focused on media relations. This is according to a recent survey conducted among 216 PR agencies in the country by Harish Bijoor Consultants.(A far reality from what most PR firms portray or should be doing!)That's Harish Bijoor, Brand Expert & CEO, Harish Bijoor Consultants Inc. speaking at the 29th All India PR Conference organised by PRSI at Chennai. Harish also emphasised on the need of infrastructure development in India becoming more sensitive to the people and how planning needs to be done bottom-up and seamless in its involvement of all consumers and it is in this key area that PR needs to play a more strategic, long term role.Are the other speakers at the Conference echoing similar opinions? Are we all just press release pushers, and need to ideate and manage programs more that involve the end-consumers directly? Maybe in the guise of the 'in... More About: Media , Focus
Buy side or sell side; Agency or Client, Doer or Make Doer, where's the gam
2007-12-13 19:38:00 The weather in Mumbai or Bombay as I tend to yet and maybe always will refer to it is amazing. For those interested in the weather, the best time to be here is from November through February.As I look outside the window, around me the madness continues. No one has noticed the weather. When I moved back to Bombay, my adopted home from Bangalore earlier this year, the weather was the last thing on my mind. The excitement of the rubber hitting the road again in a sell side assignment is what was floating my boat. That the traffic in Bangalore is arguably and notionally more crap may have entered my mind.Where am I taking you with this? Well, simply: Where would I rather work today, Agency or Client ? For years, it has been the path of exodus from PR or Advertising or other MarComms agencies to Client or Buy side roles. Traditional wisdom seems to suggest that moving to a client role has been the staple ambition of most communications or marketing interns, a larger aspiration seemingly b... More About: Make , Sell , Side
Thursdays with Tushar: The Affair of a different kind
2007-12-12 19:31:00 Whenever we use the word 'affair', our mind starts working overtime thinking about sultry Bollywood romances or those office gossips you might be hearing inside elevators or in corridors, but here we are going to talk about the affairs of a different kind. In today's edition of Thursdays with Tushar, we are going to talk about the business of Public Affair s.Let's do a 'google' on Public Affairs:Public Affairs: Pub-lic af-fairs: plural noun: general matters:Issues that affect people generally, or issues arising from the relationship of the public to an organization such as a government body or a financial institution ( takes a plural verb )noun:definition:field of study: the study of issues involving the interrelationships between the public and major institutions such as government ( takes a singular verb )This is what I found while googling for a definition of Public Affairs from one of the web dictionaries. Pretty simple, isn't it? Is practising public affairs as simple as ... More About: Diff
PR Consultants are not Spin Doctors
2007-12-11 19:49:00 'Spin Doctors ' is what many think a Public Relations Consultant is?Well, I was quite flummoxed when I realised that that is how many perceived Public Relations or PR Consultants to be?so you are in the business of creating news huh?", "You create news when there is none?" ?"You make sinking organisations look nice?" Of course, the most common understanding of PR is getting covered in print and judging the works of the Agency per column centimeter of coverage in Print et al. So, is that all that a Public Relations Consultant does?Well, I say, NO!Public Relations has been slow in evolution and needs some definitions beyond creating corporate images. I define Public Relations as the Art of communicating with the masses and formulating a Scientific approach to reach out to your target audience to enable the publics have better understanding of an organisations' objectives and intention thereby building a favourable image.PR or Public Relations is not just about Media Relations; it is... More About: Ulta
What they don?t teach you in PR schools ? Part I
2007-12-11 07:36:00 This post is specifically dedicated to young professionals in Public Relations who in the years to come will be the change agents for the industryI am someone who not so long back, made the transition from a PR student to a Public Relations professional (yes PR to Public Relations :) ) . From attending endless sessions on ?what is a press release?, ?what are the 5 must-dos for a press briefing?, to more exciting prospects of real-life work experience at an internship to the final placement week, I have been through the regim of any average communication student.While I am not the right person to speak about the improvement areas for PR academia, I feel there are gaps between what one is taught in a communication school to what the ground realities at work are. In this post, I have shared some thoughts based on my experiences as a young professional ?Press briefing, press release, newsletter are NOT Public Relations only Public Relations tools. While we learn what they are, it is als... More About: Schools , Part
The Blog Council talk goes on...in India now
2007-12-10 19:36:00 Some big corporations recently got together and formed a private blog club called Blog Council to share best blogging practices. Current members include AccuQuote, Cisco, Coca-Cola, Dell, Gemstar-TV Guide, General Motors, Kaiser Permanente, Microsoft, Nokia, SAP, Starwood Hotels and Resorts, and Wells Fargo. The Council will organise its own events with the next one coming up on January 22.This is generating quite a buzz in the blogosphere curently. While some bloggers chose to report about the launch positively like Direct2Dell and BlogworldExpo, others slammed it outright. From the name to the press release and FAQs pasted on the main page, the brickbats keep flying in. They say Blog Council promotes worst blogging practices. Mashable says 'Not a single corporation from the list of founding members is the maintainer of a blog or New Media presence that I?d consider to be ?doing it right.? I think of Yahoo, Brightcove, Southwest Airlines and Google as examples of effective and pro... More About: India , Talk
Developing relationships in the World Wide Web
More articles from this author:2007-12-09 19:47:00 Some people fondly call it PR 2.0, in few western PR markets they have even moved to PR 3.0 and some call it Digital PR. What exactly is it? Does online PR exist? Can we develop relationships in the WWW? Well, let's try and find out.We live in societies. Our social life reveals much about us than anything else. The way we dress, the way we interact, the neighbourhood we stay in, the vehicle we drive, the organization we work with and so on... There are many factors, which symbolises the society we belong to. Today's marketer analyses all these and more to interact with us on a daily basis. In the world wide web, we reflect the same characteristics. The groups we belong to, the applications we use, the blogs we write, the networking sites we hangout on, the friends we keep and so on. The new age marketers need to analyse all these in order to interact with us - but hold on! There is one BIG difference.The big difference is that in the www, I am the one who has the power not only to... More About: Relationships , World , World Wide Web , Wide , The World 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 |
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