C P Thomas, Founder, ZZEBRA
I aim to be a complete communication consultant. I tell my clients that ZZEBRA can do much more than media relations.
I aim to be a complete communication consultant. I tell my clients that ZZEBRA can do much more than media relations.Communications needs of corporate organizations have grown exponentially in recent times. C P Thomas, founder of communications and public relations firm ZZEBRA, believes the journey ahead would not necessarily be confined to media relations. Instead, it would include a high degree of involvement in corporate planning, impact analysis, relationship building with the stakeholders and the like. Thomas commands a rich and varied 14-years experience in media. He has also worked with corporate giant Reliance Infocomm and PR firm Burson Martselle Roger Pereira (BMRP). ZZEBRA leverages the strengths of his varied background. Thomas discusses his firm’s goals and the outlook of the industry in an interview with Anusha S. Excerpts: Q. When you moved into PR what were your expectations? What I expected to do in PR and what PR turned out to be, were very different. When a journalist moves into PR he generally expects to use his contacts and networking abilities to spin stories and get it printed. However, I found myself to be more useful to the organization because of my corporate knowledge as it helped in strategizing and making plans.
The media background was definitely an advantage. For instance, I could be part of media relations for World Social Forum (WSF) only because of my labour contacts.
When I made a conscious decision to get into PR I met up with a couple of persons. Burson Martseller Roger Pereira (BMRP) was the first to respond. They were looking for a media strategist for all their clients. Given that BMRP was one of the most reputed PR firms in the country, I took up a job with them. As a media strategist I dealt with all the teams.
Q. How did you get to a name like ZZEBRA? Sounds whacky for a communications company. I believe if the work is good, your name or company will automatically get recognized. It’s not the other way round. Take, for instance, the case of ‘Vadilal’ Ice-cream. So long as the brand is good the name wouldn’t matter. If you can have ‘Orange’ for a mobile service brand, ‘Tamarind’ and ‘Mango’ for a shirt brand, ‘Apple’ for a computer brand and ‘Penguin’ for a book publishing company, then why not ZZEBRA for a communication company.
Q. What’s the USP of ZZebra Communications? Public relations (PR) has not grown beyond media relations. People are trying to grow in the business but have not been able to do so. They have not been able to convince the corporates that they can play a consultant’s role in marketing and communication.
PR is part of the whole communications process. Yet, even today it is equivalent to media relations only. I have a deep understanding of media and can handle it better because of my background. For instance, I would be able to tell my client what exactly journalists expect in terms of information, what they as a company should anticipate and be prepared to answer those queries and the like. I am using that as my USP right now. But, going forward, as I get more clients I am aiming to be a complete communication consultant and offer my services in terms of strategizing, thinking and planning and thereby be in a position to tell them that ZZEBRA can do much more than mere media relations. PR has not grown in the country because it has not thought of PR beyond media. Therefore, it is stuck. PR should be involved with the client right from the beginning and not come at the end.
Q. Is ethics a concern in PR business? I do not think ethics is maintained in any field right now. Journalism or PR is no different. Twenty years ago journalism had a sociological angle to it. Today it is pure business. Whatever happens in any other business happens in PR and journalism as well. But after dealing with journalists as a PR consultant it is very heartening to know that the level of ethics in this profession is much more than what it is in most professions.
Q. Will PR remain confined to media relations in India? Yes it can stretch beyond media relations. It’s a function of how society and economy changes. In the 1990s, IPO PR was the happening part. Then it moved to brand building. Now it has become a more open market as everybody understands the importance of communicating to different kinds of audience and so PR is not confined to media. It is reaching out to the shareholders, customers and the like.
Q. Where do you see ZZEBRA heading a year from now? I have a good team. We are slowly but surely expanding. We are already doing top-notch work in the PR field and have also forayed into publishing in a small scale. It’s a big playing field and the aim right now is to establish ourselves among the top rankers in the PR industry and make our presence felt in the publishing domain.
Q. Tell us about your experience in journalism. I spent 14 long years in journalism, covering beats like industrial relations that nobody wanted to cover. My journey in journalism began with Indian Express. I later covered industrial relations for The Economic Times and eventually moved on to corporate reporting. Corporate reporting got me a break with international wire agency Dow Jones. That was the turning point of my career in journalism. It was the most perfect job with a five-day week, good money and a professional environment. One would never have learnt what one learnt at Dow Jones in any other Indian organization.
I got a chance to move up the ladder when I joined as Deputy Editor with Intelligent Investor (now called Outlook Money). Later I moved to CHIP to head the editorial team. My mandate was to bring a journalistic flavour into the hardcore tech magazine. My last assignment in journalism was as part of the team that launched India Today group’s online venture thenewspapertoday.com, after which I took a conscious decision to move into public relations.
Q. What kind of clients and projects are you working on? We have a mixed bouquet of clients and projects. The spectrum ranges from sports, lifestyle, entertainment, film and technology to the social sector. For IMG we have handled the Lakme India Fashion Week, Tata Open, and the Scorpio Speedster contest; activities for Foster’s range from promotions with Hayden and Bevan as well as new launches; brand-building for Juice Salon and Hair Academy; media strategies for World Social Forum; media relations for Ogilvy Interactive and even the launch of Mumbai’s new Italian dining bar Mangi Ferra. A few more big projects are in the pipeline. It is an exciting mix and we are firmly on the growth path.
Q. What kind of clients are you looking to service? I have started with big projects and brands. But we are essentially open to exciting and challenging assignments.
Q. How do you differentiate your organization from the rest when you pitch for business? If I am pitching against a big agency, the competition could be tough. But, when I put down on the table the work I have done, the clients and projects I have handled, very few can match that. Moreover, I have knowledge about all kinds of media right from general news to lifestyle to technology and have a deep understanding of how media works across areas.
Q. Does your journalistic experience work well for you in terms of getting across your clients’ messages to the journalist fraternity? It works both ways. It easily opens doors for me and I can tell the client whom he needs to talk to and when. The flip side sometimes is that I am still treated as a journalist.
Q. When did you decide to venture out on your own? BMRP is one of the best organizations in the PR industry but it did not grow beyond a point. So I decided to move on. Thereafter, during a job search I got an offer from Reliance Infocomm to head their corporate communication department. I readily took it up. Reliance Infocomm was a peek into the Reliance Group but the place had too many stalwarts and hence one’s role was getting diluted to being a mere implementer. I actually wanted to be part of the thinking group but that wouldn’t happen. I felt I was being under-utilized. At that juncture I ran into the event director of Lakme India Fashion Week from IMG. He asked me if I could be the media manager for the event. I took it up. That was when I started out on my own. After that event I decided to start ZZEBRA and was fortunate to get IMG as my first client.
Q. How different is a big or small client in terms of expectations? In terms of expectations, they all want the same. A smaller client, like a big client, would also want coverage in the largest selling, most widely read newspapers and the best channels. All clients are important to us and we try our best to match their expectations.
Q. How do you measure a PR campaign? Right now the focus is on the coverage a client gets across media. It can actually be measured if the agreement with the client is long-term. That is, what does a PR exercise lead to—a change in perception? Let’s assume that one wouldn’t have to go in for advertising and instead use PR. One can then do a perception audit and find out how the brand is currently being perceived and go back after a fixed period and measure how the perceptions have changed based on the kind of PR activity undertaken for the client or the brand. You could draw out a detailed plan that would include media, advertising, on ground activities, promotion and then at the end measure its success or failure.
Q. How does PR compare with below-the-line marketing activity? PR is the best way to communicate. No doubt about that. Whatever one may say, eventually it is about getting some media coverage. Media has a high credibility factor. A person who buys a newspaper believes what is written there. Even two lines in a newspaper matter a great deal to the reader and the fight is to get that space for your company or brand.
Q. What are the ideal attributes of a PR professional? Communication and writing skills are most essential for any PR professional. It is you who would spell out the facts for your clients. Further, one needs to have a thorough knowledge of the industry to which the client belongs. Since it a people’s game, good interpersonal skills are a pre-requisite. Add to this, versatility and an overall understanding of the socio-economic conditions around you.
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Surabhi Patodia of Ola joins Practo as Head of Communications
Patodia served over three years at Ola as Senior Manager, Corporate Communications & PR
Surabhi Patodia, former Senior Manager, Corporate Communications & PR at Ola has joined healthcare platform Practo as Head of Communications.
Patodia started her career in Communications with Adfactors PR, where she helped companies going to IPO with their communication plans. She then went on to be a part of Text100, India's premier Technology PR agency, where she worked with brands like Lenovo, Tata Power Solar, to name a few. She joined Ola in 2016, and was instrumental in building a strong narrative for the brand, across India and International markets.
Patodia holds PG Diploma in Public Relations & Corporate Communications from the Xavier’s Institute of Mass Communications, Mumbai and Bachelors in Business Administration from BIT, Mesra.
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ShareIndiGo appoints Chhavi Leekha as Director, Corporate Communications & Brand Reputation
Prior to this role, Leekha worked with Nokia India as Head of Marketing and Communications
IndiGo airlines, part of InterGlobe Aviation Ltd, has appointed Chhavi Leekha as Director Corporate Communications and Brand Reputation. Prior to this role, she worked with Nokia India as Head of Marketing and Communications. Her role included setting the direction and leading Nokia's marketing strategy, demand generations, brand strategy, event management, advertising, external/internal communications, corporate affairs &CSR.
Leekha has also worked with Uber India as Consulting Director of Communications and also served a stint at Spice Global as Group President, Brand and Corporate Communications.
Leekha has completed her MBA from the prestigious Narsee Monjee Institue of Management Studies and BA from Shri Ram College of Commerce.
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Aditya Birla Group appoints Sandeep Gurumurthi as Head of Corporate Comm. and Brand
Gurumurthi who was part of the core team that launched ET NOW stepped down from his role as Managing Editor in August 2018
Aditya Birla Group has appointed former ET Now Managing Editor Sandeep Gurumurthi as Head of Corporate Communications and Brand.
Gurumurthi who was part of the core team that launched ET Now stepped down from his role as Managing Editor in August 2018.
He was associated with the channel since inception and besides anchoring breaking news and other special shows, he hosted ET Now's flagship debate show India Development Debate weeknights at 9 pm.
Gurumurthi began his career with national broadcaster DD News, and prior to joining ET Now, he was associated with CNBC TV18,
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Yaap appoints Deepak Singh as Chief Creative Officer
Singh is one of the most awarded creative talents in the country and has won over 1000 national and international awards
Rainmaker Ventures-backed Yaap, the digital advertising agency has appointed Deepak Singh as their Chief Creative Officer. Deepak will be based in the Mumbai office and will oversee all creative functions across the Yaap network in Mumbai, Gurugram, Hyderabad, Shillong, Dubai, Singapore & Jakarta. He will report directly to the Board of Directors at Yaap.
Singh is one of the most awarded creative talents in the country and has won over 1000 national and international awards at Cannes, One Show, LIA, New York Festival, Goafest, Adfest, Spikes Asia, Young Guns and more. He has also been on the jury of some of these prestigious festivals and led creative teams across agencies including Leo Burnett, Grey Worldwide, McCann Erickson, DDB Mudra, TBWA, Dentsu and The Social Street.
For the past 3 consecutive years, Singh has led a young team from The Social Street, which has gone on to give an exhilarating performance. He has been instrumental in securing the Creative Agency of the year title for the agency, several times during 2018.
Commenting on his new role, he added, “Saying yes to Yaap was actually not a very tough decision to make for me. Right from the time we first met, Atul had a clear picture of why he wanted to hire me. I am glad he has chalked out a much bigger role for me. Being a young and vibrant company with expertise in Digital Content, Design and Influencer Marketing, Yaap I believe will be a great learning experience for me. I’m raring to go “
Atul Hegde, co-founder Rainmaker Ventures added “Deepak is a welcome addition to the array of Partners we have at Yaap, which has a unique non CEO model, our aim as investors, is to ensure that we are able to attract the best & brightest of talent into the senior management pool at Yap. Within a short span of fewer than 3 Years, Yaap has grown into 70+ people across 7 offices in South East Asia, India & the Middle East and it was the right time for us to bring in a Senior Creative talent. I wish Deepak all the very best and I’m sure he will be a great asset to Yaap. “
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Leo Burnett India promotes Rakesh Hinduja to COO, West
He has been leading the operations of Leo Burnett’s head office in Mumbai as the Executive Director and Branch Head
Leo Burnett has announced the promotion of Rakesh Hinduja to Chief Operating Officer, West. He will continue to report to Dheeraj Sinha, Managing Director, India and Chief Strategy Officer, South Asia and Rajdeepak Das, Managing Director, India and Chief Creative Officer, South Asia.
Hinduja has been leading the operations of Leo Burnett’s head office in Mumbai as the Executive Director and Branch Head.
Speaking about the elevation, Dheeraj Sinha said, “Rakesh is the perfect role model for the new-age agency we are building. His leadership on all the three parameters of People, Product and Profit has been stellar. Under his watch, we have consistently seen spectacular work that has won our brands market-share, and glory at platforms such as Cannes Lions, Spikes and Effies. He has delivered high-quality growth for the Mumbai office, leading the teams to win a new business almost every two weeks. The momentum and buzz at Leo Burnett Mumbai are palpable. Rakesh has been an amazing team player, helping push the Publicis Groupe’s Power of One agenda. Leo Burnett Mumbai’s contribution to our services such as Prodigious has helped Prodigious to become the number one ‘agency production house’ in the country within a span of two years. More than anything else, Rakesh has a never-say-die attitude and he always plays the game with a sense of camaraderie that we really value at Leo Burnett.”
In his new role, Hinduja will drive the Power of One agenda for Leo Burnett in the West. He will help build cross-platform solutions for our clients using our services in Entertainment (Publicis Entertainment), Content (Content Factory), Experiential (Arc Worldwide), Production (Prodigious), Digital (Indigo Consulting and Digitas) and Media (Zenith Optimedia, Ecosys and Beehive). He will lead all the functions of Leo Burnett Mumbai to create world-class work, build a high growth business and create a culture where people come to do the best work of their lifetime.
Commenting on Rakesh’s promotion, Rajdeepak Das said, “Rakesh is always there, backing great creative work and making integrated thinking happen for our clients. He has been an essential part of the journey to get where we are today. This elevation is much-deserved and will take all of us to greater heights.”
Talking about his promotion, Rakesh Hinduja said, “I am happy with my journey at Leo Burnett – a new-age, solution-providing ‘Wave 3’ agency. I’m proud of the brave we have work done and I am hungry for more. Hereon, there are a lot of exciting things to do and in quick time. I want to take a critical pause here to thank all our clients and the Burnetters for their belief in me.”
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Publicis India appoints Neeraj Bassi as Managing Partner & Chief Strategy Officer
Along with Srija Chatterjee and Bobby Pawar, Bassi will help in fostering collaboration and delivering on the Power of One synergy across the Groupe
Publicis India has announced the appointment of Neeraj Bassi as Managing Partner & Chief Strategy Officer. Neeraj will work from the agency’s New Delhi office. Along with Srija Chatterjee and Bobby Pawar, Neeraj will help in fostering collaboration and delivering on the Power of One synergy across the Groupe.
With over two decades of professional experience, Neeraj has worked with some of the world’s most renowned brands including Coca-Cola, Asian Paints, Cadbury, BMW, KFC, Adidas, Samsung, British Airways, WeChat, Voltas, Audi, HSBC, Max Life and Tata Singapore Airlines – Vistara among others.
He joins Publicis after a brief stint as an independent Consultant where he provided strategic guidance and brand solutions for multiple clients across various categories. Neeraj has worked with some of the top market research networks such as TNS, IMRB, and NFO and led the Strategic Planning function in advertising agencies including Cheil, Ogilvy, JWT, McCann in India and abroad. Neeraj has also won multiple awards across reputed award festivals that recognise effectiveness such as Effies (India & APAC), AMES, WARC, etc.
Announcing the new appointment and welcoming Neeraj aboard, Saurabh Varma, CEO, Publicis Communications, South Asia said: “In Neeraj, we found a partner with a shared vision of driving a deeper level of integration within the Groupe by leveraging the Power of One model. Neeraj’s vast experience and media neutral planning approach will help clients in building a holistic brand experience which will aim to create one-to-one consumer engagement, at scale. I look forward to working with Neeraj and wish him the best of luck.”
Welcoming Neeraj to the Publicis family, Srija Chatterjee, Managing Director - Publicis Worldwide, India said: “Neeraj joins at a time when the Groupe is implementing a profound transformation which puts our clients front and centre of everything that we do. His wealth of experience of working across diverse sectors and with cross-functional teams will help build a narrative around our clients’ business and marketing transformation that connects data, content and technology in an omnichannel world. I’m excited to welcome Neeraj to the Publicis Groupe family, and we look forward to him riding the next strategic wave at the agency.”
Bobby Pawar, MD & CCO - Publicis Worldwide, India added: “I’ve always believed great work is born out of a strong partnership between strategy, creative and clients. Neeraj Bassi has a history of creating strategic platforms that killer ideas can springboard from. His cross-platform approach to planning will also be a huge asset to our march towards the future of creativity. It also helps that he is fun to be around. I can chat with him for hours; the chemistry is very important when you are going to be more or less living out of each other’s metaphorical pockets.”
Commenting on his appointment, and his plans for the agency, Neeraj Bassi said: “I am really excited to be part of Publicis India and looking forward to partnering Bobby and Srija to create stellar work that stands out in the market. Working with clients as an independent consultant has given me insight on the primary concerns of CXOs and how communication can help resolve them. Clients today need an omnichannel approach to planning that focuses on identifying and solving their business problems holistically, rather than getting trapped in a discipline-specific approach. I am fascinated by the way all Groupe companies have come together at Publicis to create Power of One, and I look forward to wielding this power to build successful campaigns for our clients.”
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Airbnb appoints Google's Aristotle Balogh as Chief Technology Officer
Balogh formerly served as Vice President of Engineering, Application Storage, Indexing and Serving at Google
Airbnb has announced the appointment of Aristotle Balogh as Chief Technology Officer, according to media reports.
Balogh is expected to begin his tenure with Airbnb in November and will head the engineering and data science teams. He will also be in charge of infrastructure, information security and IT, as well as engineering for payments and community support.
Balogh formerly served as Vice President of Engineering, Application Storage, Indexing and Serving at Google, where he was instrumental in developing the infrastructure and data platforms of Google Search. He also worked as Chief Technology Officer at Yahoo and VeriSign.
According to reports, the company is expected to file for an Initial Public Offering (IPO) next year and Balogh's appointment comes at a time when Airbnb is still without a Chief Financial Officer after Laurence Tosi stepped down from the role earlier this year.
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