PR PRCAI Initiative | New Delhi
Friday, July 26, 2013 | Pages: 16
India
Bulletin 2013
Flat margins, growth to continue PRCAI’s latest report page 05
Issued on occasion of SABRE Awards India by PRCAI
Think outside arbitrary lines
says David Gallagher, President, ICCO
page 13
The SPEAKERS TONIGHT
page 07
India suffers from bargain pricing! Despite recent concerns about a widening trade deficit and the pace of economic reform, there is no doubt that India has the potential to develop into one of the world’s most dynamic markets-major overseas multinationals continue to recognize the opportunity presented by a population of more than $1.2 billion, and Indian companies continue to demonstrate the ability to compete on a global stage.
Paul Holmes Editor, The Holmes Report
The opportunity for public relations in India is equally exciting. The industry has a rich heritage here, the quality of the best campaigns we have seen from India over the years compares with any in the world, and the industry’s leadership here is committed to raising standards of professionalism-which is why, when we were approached by the Public Relations Consultants Association of India to partner on the Indian SABRE Awards, we accepted with enthusiasm.
The work we are recognizing tonight-all of those campaigns nominated for our first Indian SABRE Awards-demonstrates that our enthusiasm was not misplaced. There is plenty of great work being done in this market, by multinational clients and Indian clients, global agencies and local independent firms. The major challenge facing the consultancy business in this market is that much of that great work continues to be delivered at bargain prices-a reflection of the fact that many clients in this market do not yet appreciate that value that PR can add to their brands and to their corporate reputations. That value is undeniable. Public relations is uniquely well placed to deliver credibility, authenticity, dialogue and engagementattributes that underpin successful communications more than ever in the social media age. At a time when
reputations are more fragile than ever because of increased scrutiny and the ability of citizens to advocate for the brands they love-or to undermine brands that fail to deliver on their promise. We hope that the SABRE Awardsrecognized internationally for celebrating the highest standard of creativity, professionalism, integrity and effectivenesscan play a small role in educating the marketing and executive community in India about the kind of returns an investment in good PR can deliver. We would like to thank our partners at the PRCAI, our judges, and all of you for supporting this first Indian SABRE Awards competition. We would like to congratulate all of our SABRE finalists. And we look forward to building on the success of this first SABRE dinner in India to showcase the very best that the industry here has to offer
Time to be acknowledged are online on social networks speaking their minds.
Sharif D Rangnekar President, PRCAI There is every reason why we should pat ourselves on our backs and allow others to acknowledge us. We are currently an industry of now and the future, with the potential of occupying a critical position in the space of communications. We have it all - the ability to create messages and narratives, identify stakeholders, engage and converse with them and ultimately establish a chain of carriers of what we want to say. We respond. We listen. And most importantly we don’t buy or sell. We get people to buy into our messages, concepts and thoughts, thus creating a word-of-mouth buzz that is more powerful than any other means of outreach. In the Indian context, we are up against a more diverse European Union, layered with over 22 languages, a force of over 40000 dailies and over 125 television news channels, and people who treasure their right to expression like it were oxygen. Of these people, over 137.million
We reach out to these people, find ways of engaging with them, converse with the media and respond when needed. We are on our toes all the time, quietly chipping away, making an impact, a difference. Connecting with emotions and consciousness of the publics that matter. And no one realizes the power we have, the relevance we provide and the change we can bring for any entity or to society. We do all of this at costs that actually defy the value generation models in the West or how other verticals of marketing are valued even here in India. Even though we sign confidentiality agreements that underline our proximity to business, unlike advertisers, event managers and creators, only occasionally do we match the costs of lawyers or other consultants. Therefore, we could safely assume that we generate a lot more value and genuine assessments of ROI would show that. However, this should not be a reason not to grow our business or increase profit margins that are so crucial for re-investment into talent, infrastructure and research. We need more research that helps us showcase what we do and the impact we
make as PR practitioners. We also need to go back to the earlier role of PR that gave us enough strength to be seen as central to marketing, image and reputation and integral to any entity or business. Public relations - the two words when defined cannot and could not have meant anything less than building relations with stakeholders that influence businesses and other entities and their reputation. This meant, very simply, not just the media or the individual on a social network, or pressure groups, politicians, governments, employees or talent etc. It encompassed all of them and more. Today, perhaps, we are sitting at a time and place where we have a lot more to do and a greater role to play, that gives us that chance to change references points on what PR is. And many of us have already started the journey, but have never had that opportunity to share the greatness of our work with the world outside of our space. By the nature of who we are, we have always waited for third parties to spread the word and talk about us. But we need to do this for ourselves and a platform such as the SABRE Awards is just one of those critical spaces to articulate some of our best work.
Hesitation to do so only limits our definition and the potential to grow our business at a better pace. Even if we are the back-room players in the outreach space, we should never forget that even playback singers do live performances! It is time to move from the greenroom to the stage. So yes, we have every reason to pat ourselves and get acknowledged and celebrate what we do and who we are
Today, perhaps, we are sitting at a time and place where we have a lot more to do and a greater role to play, that gives us that chance to change references points on what PR is.