PR Watch News
The PR industry is reeling under a perception problem, notwithstanding the fact that many disciplines that are offshoots of PR, such as Opinion Research, have gained the desired respectability and credibility, much more than PR itself. The stumbling block to PR’s full-fledged growth has been the peripheral approach of practitioners. Devoid of substance of a certain calibre, the focus of self-styled PR pros continues to be the ‘column-centimetre’.
Public relations may be more important than advertising to brand value, especially for companies that sell feature-rich or complicated products such as consumer electronics, financial services and automobiles. This was announced by Text100 Global Public Relations recently as part of their Media Prominence Study.
The PR industry is reeling under a perception problem, notwithstanding the fact that many disciplines that are offshoots of PR, such as Opinion Research, have gained the desired respectability and credibility, much more than PR itself, says Khalid Jamal, Principal Consultant & CEO, Orion PR. The stumbling block to PR’s full-fledged growth has been the peripheral approach of practitioners.
PR is not public relations. In India, it only stands for ‘press relations’. And this too is a misnomer, because it is not about relations at all, but is closer to the ‘sales’ function… Even today, the majority of queries or new business enquiries we get has to do with how much media, where all, when, which page…? Top management meetings with us are about the quantity and quality of media coverage. The truth is that the client or the CEO has no clue whatsoever about what value the function or the corporate communication person can add.
Criesse Communications, a year old PR agency headed by Gitika Taraporewala, has been appointed as PR counsel to Franklin Covey South Asia and Vishesh Films for their next three movies – ‘Raaz - The Mystery Continues’, ‘Jashn’ and a third yet to be named film based on the floods of 26/11.
Vaishnavi Corporate Communications has been assigned the media relations and corporate communications mandate for Emerging Media and Team Rajasthan Royals. Vaishnavi will commence work with immediate effect and continue till the end of the second season of Indian Premier League in June 2009.
PIX, the English movie channel from Multi Screen Media Pvt Ltd, has appointed Hanmer MS&L Communications Pvt Ltd as its public relations and creative consultants following a multi-agency pitch. The agency has been given the mandate to manage the communications of the slew of new initiatives and plans of PIX over the coming months.
The wheel always comes full circle. No, this isn't a philosophical observation, but more of a reality check which embodies the old adage that there are no permanent enemies over the long term. Veteran journalist <b>Sandeep Bamzai</b> takes a look at how PR, media and corporate houses indeed make strange bedfellows.
Adfactors PR has bagged the sports celebrity PR contract for Olympic gold medalist Abhinav Bindra. The agency would not be holding any events to promote Bindra, but would be doing PR around those events in which the ace shooter participates.
GoAir, the airline from the Wadia Group, has appointed Avian Media as its communication partner. Avian Media will be responsible for implementing the airline’s integrated public relations campaigns and for promoting GoAir and its services across India.
To leverage its strength in India, R&PM:Edelman has announced a new leadership team. Amit Misra, a professional of 15 years standing who joined the company from October 1, will head operations in Delhi, while Ophira Samuel-Bhatia, who has been with the company for 13 years, will now head the operations in Mumbai.
Ayur Herbal Group has appointed News Communications, the PR outfit of INCL Group, as its communications partner. Meanwhile, the Organisation of Pharmaceutical Producers of India (OPPI) has assigned its PR mandate to Imprimis Life PR.
Will we move from broadcasting to narrowcasting? Will mainstream media morph into consumer-generated media? Will we really be able to measure the impact of PR on company bottomlines? Will CEOs be rechristened as Chief Reputation Officers, thus giving PR professionals much to cheer about? The crystal ball is not working here! As long as free enterprise drives the economies of progressive nations, professional PR will continue to thrive and flourish.
Vinod G Nair, MD, CleaPublic Relations, is quite candid when he says that in India the PR function is not public relations at all, but only ‘press relations’. And this too is a misnomer, because it is not about relations at all, but is closer to the ‘sales’ function… The truth is that the client or the CEO has no clue whatsoever about what value the function or the corporate communication person can add, he laments.
Mutual PR has been appointed as PR agency for Yahoo! India. The agency will serve both Yahoo! India and Yahoo! India R&D.
Linc Pen & Plastics Ltd., manufacturer and exporter of writing instruments, has appointed Hanmer MS&L as its PR partner. Hanmer will handle the entire PR mandate for Linc, which includes, brand communication, product launches, corporate image build up and financial communication.
Percept Profile, the public relations arm of Percept Ltd, has announced the array of clients bagged nationally in the first quarter of FY09. These new accounts acquired range across various categories like hospitality, kitchenware, kidswear, education, real estate, and media/ entertainment.
‘PR-e-Sense’, an online magazine catering to the public relations domain, is all set to go commercial after being operational for more than two years. Launched by the Chennai PR Club and Prime Point Foundation, the ezine already has ONGC, Karnataka Power Corporation, Tata Chemicals and Oriental Records Inc., USA, as its sponsors.
PR agency Blue Lotus Communications has bagged nine new accounts across India over the last two months. The new clients signed on include Nasscom Foundation, Parle 20-20, Chennai Live, and Omnia BPO Services, among others. The agency has a core focus on healthcare, technology, brands and finance.
Mavcomm Consulting has been appointed to handle the communications requirement of the entire DLF Group. Mavcomm, which has been closely associated the real estate major for some time now, recently started managing the DLF Group’s external communications requirements, including their PR efforts, as well.
Read more news about (internet advertising India, internet advertising, advertising India, digital advertising India, media advertising India)
For more updates, be socially connected with us onInstagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook Youtube & Whatsapp
TOP STORIES
