-
The Future of PR: Alive, Evolving, and More Human Than Ever
I almost wrote “PR is Dead!” but by the next morning I realised how wrong that was. After more than 25 years in this industry, I’ve watched public relations transform into one of the most dynamic and adaptive fields out there. From the days of explaining to clients what PR even meant, to now drafting content with AI tools like ChatGPT, the landscape has shifted dramatically. Yet one thing hasn’t changed: convincing clients they need authentic, newsworthy story angles. PR is alive and evolving because people are evolving. The “Public” has fragmented into micro-communities, and “Relations” have been reshaped by social platforms and post-Covid behaviour. Stories still need to be…
-
PRPOI: Inspiring Quotes from Women in Communication & Media
This International Women’s Day, this is a blog you must read to be and stay and inspired by strong voices from the Communication & Media Industry to encourage you to continue on your path to the leadership team…all the way to the top. Let’s create a more equal world in the industry: The field of communications has for decades offered vast opportunities for women, and while women still face challenges in reaching the very top, the women in leadership positions in communications serve as role models. They prove that leadership is not a gender-based trait. If anything, these leaders have shown that empathy and other so-called feminine…
-
Gender Diversity in PR
Gender diversity is rapidly gaining momentum across the globe where the corporate world is striving for equal representation of both genders as well as marginalised groups. But we cannot say the same for the Public Relations industry, where it is common knowledge that it is a woman-dominated profession, as a whole. The same goes for India too. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, although women hold 72.8 percent of public relations management jobs overall, only 10.7 percent of roles are held by those who are black, 3.1 percent by Asians, and 3.1 percent by Hispanics or Latinos. However, modern PR as we know it today started off on a…
-
Advocacy Essentials
Interacting with Interest Group Media and Government In India, as in many other developing countries, one of the key driving forces has been that of inclusive growth. Other factors like the changing relationships between the government and the regulator and the question of basic independence of the regulator has also brought about a sea change in the Advocacy landscape. In this new milieu, the big question is: how can industry remain a significant partner in furthering the growth of the economy. A corporation’s socio-political environment can affect its profitability, growth, and, in extreme cases, its very survival. Not surprisingly, corporations have established Advocacy—often an extension of existing public relations—to deal with…
-
Importance of Internal Communications in these challenging times
In a world separated by a mere six degrees of separation, one would think that communicating effectively would not be a challenge. However, despite having multiple channels of communication, we find that people seldom talk to each other or communicate effectively. This often opens gates for ambiguities and leaves room for ‘guessing games.’ For organizations, the COVID-19 pandemic has only further underscored the importance of communicating proactively and effectively. With most of the workforce working from home, the constraints on physical connectivity have only increased, putting a strain on effective internal communication and hence necessitating the need to focus on how companies communicate with their internal stakeholders. What we do…
-
Influencer Marketing: The Way Forward
As the world changes and moves to even more digital formats, one of the greatest pivots we have witnessed in these times has been the rise and rise of Influencer Marketing. As traditional media options shrink, Influencer Marketing and Outreach is gathering strength. In this new fragmented universe, where we all notice media and individuals vie for eyeballs, what is the future of Influencer marketing? Will it be the new way brands communicate with consumers? How will the Public Relations Industry navigate it? These were some of the questions raised in the PRPOI Live discussion on the subject of Influencer Marketing. Witnessing participation from Pankhuri Harikrishnan, Founder Fetch Consulting, Jia…
-
Podcasting and PR
6 things PR professionals must keep in mind while pitching to podcasts Podcast. The new buzz word in town. A medium that is being adopted by every influencer and leader today. Business owners, entrepreneurs, chefs, singers, teachers, youtubers, bloggers, actors and people from various other fields including you and me are the reason why this medium is growing at a rapid pace of 58% every year. Though not as popular as mainstream mediums like video or newspapers in India today, it is fast catching up and ranks as number 3 in the world as the preferred medium of media consumption. I strongly believe it is here to stay and will…
-
Building a team geared towards growth
“The new normal”, are probably the three most despicable words in the last couple of months. But reality check tells us that the world we knew, is not going to be the same place anymore. The planet after this long-holiday will be coming out in a new avatar. And this is the sign for all of us to evaluate and plan a better future for building our teams. Collaborate to contribute better and let your teams know that this too shall pass! Keep it Simple Silly Yes, go back to the basics. Stay connected, talk often, understand their personal circumstances and maybe time to instil little more empathy across the…
-
Essentials to build a career, with fundamentals as a PR professional
Last week I had an excellent chat with good folks at PRPOI. Over sixteen years of working and transitioning from a communications professional to a Sales and Marketing person. If you ask me if I could do it all over again, would I do it the same way, I’d tell you mostly yes. Mostly because I would just learn the lessons quicker (don’t we all wish the same), work harder but yes, I would do it the same way. Here are the ten lessons learnt that I penned down during the week. These are the things I learnt from some amazing people I got to work with, some people who…
-
Why PRPOI?
CFO to CEO: What happens if we invest in developing our people and then they leave us? CEO: What happens if we don’t and they stay? Best. ROI. Ever. As a professional, I was always keen on upskilling myself and learning about the next new thing. As a self-proclaimed one-woman army, it pretty much served my purpose. I was willing to share my knowledge to people who asked but it didn’t really matter to me whether they actually implemented it or not. This worked fine till I started my own company. The first couple of years were very tough for me as I had to unlearn my old way of…
