Shunali Shroff, Head-Corporate Communications, Shringar Cinemas Ltd
“PR is more about strategy and less about calling up the media constantly. Different products have to be treated differently and so a mass press release isn’t always the solution. In fact, that is not PR at all…Information has to be released in such a way that it elicits a response from the media and the consumers…shock, interest, awe, aspiration it can be anything …it all works.”
“PR is more about strategy and less about calling up the media constantly. Different products have to be treated differently and so a mass press release isn’t always the solution. In fact, that is not PR at all…Information has to be released in such a way that it elicits a response from the media and the consumers…shock, interest, awe, aspiration it can be anything …it all works.”
An Honours graduate in Economics Delhi University, Shunali Shroff started off as a journalist with Asian Age. Thereafter she moved to PR, and has done public relations for STAR for four years, worked for Rathikanta Basu at Broadcast Worldwide, and even launched her own PR company called Spindoctors. She is currently heading the Corporate Communications of a much talked about multiplex chain – FAME. In conversation with Pritie S Jadhav of exchange4media, Shroff speaks about her PR ideologies and plans to build the Shringar frame even bigger. Excerpts: Q. What is this purple colour initiative?
We started using our house colour purple to brand different Fame properties. There is the Purple Privilege which is a loyalty programme; then there is Purple Ribbon which is a charity event we do from time to time by showing movies to the less privileged sections along with a major film star.
Q. Shringar Cinemas has become a brand in itself. How much of a role has PR played in this brand building effort?
Initially, when there was just Shringar Films, and our PR was unstructured. Once we entered the multiplex business, PR became a very important tool, more so because we were the pioneers in this region. We used PR as an effective tool to introduce our new schemes and our plans for the property. Secondly, given their experience in the distribution and exhibition business, both Shyam Shroff and Shravan Shroff were profiled extensively in the media, which also brought our brand into prominence.
Once our expansion plans were clearly drawn out, we took a corporate approach towards the delivery of our messages, targeting the consumer, industry and the film fraternity individually. We put together a full-fledged PR team and I took over as Head – Corporate Communications. We also engaged the services of a national communications consultancy, Vaishnavi Corporate Communications, which ensured consistent and creative messaging in Mumbai as well as other parts of the country.
An important point to note is that while we did advertise in key publications across Mumbai, our budgets did not allow for full-fledged brand building campaigns. Shravan believes that anyone can spend money. So the onus of giving the brand a shape and form was left for PR to achieve. Today, the Fame brand of multiplexes is recognised as a pioneer, as innovators, as the place where the stars come to watch a film and, most importantly, as a brand that does more than just screen movies. PR, in my opinion, has played a huge role in creating this image.
Q. Please share your experience of building this brand.
Very early on, we realised that in this star-struck country, nothing worked better than the power of Bollywood and the sheer passion that consumers have for cinema. Obviously, this was a natural connect for us, as we were in the film business. But what we did differently was to use the aspirations that people had with Bollywood to connect with our consumers.
Let me elucidate. Fame brought back the magic of star-studded, red carpet, full-blown premieres back into the limelight. We began with the multi-starrer ‘Kaante’, which was such a huge success that producers, distributors and directors came to us to organise premieres for their films. These premieres were a return to the glitz and glamour that surrounded the launch of a new film. What’s more, we didn’t stop at Hindi films. We also created the trend of premieres for Hollywood blockbusters, some of which were held at the same time as the worldwide release of those films.
We also began the trend of ‘paid’ previews, which essentially allowed cinema lovers to watch a film in advance of its official launch. No need for special passes or a friend in the film industry…all one needs to do is buy a ticket for the preview. This was also a great PR driver for us.
While this was taking place, we also worked towards internalising the promise of the brand by strengthening our back-end processes – from booking tickets online and on SMS to the most courteous, well-informed staff – we made sure that every visit to Fame was an experience in itself.
Our biggest challenge came when we began to expand -- we now have four multiplexes, with many more slated for launch in the near future. The multiplex business saw a lot of new entrants and the challenge for us was to drive publicity and imagery around all our multiplexes, three of which are located in Mumbai.
Q. What are the other PR efforts Shringar will employ as it moves to other cities?
Our biggest USP is the Bollywood connect that we give our consumers as also the overall experience. Obviously, the effort is to reproduce the Fame PR model that we have used at Fame Adlabs, Fame Malad and Fame Kandivali. We have already done a lot of that at Fame Nasik and therefore we believe that it is a model that can be replicated across the country. Let me give you an example. We recently premiered Nagesh Kukunoor’s stunning film ‘Iqbal’ at Fame Adlabs. A few days later, we took the star cast and the director to Nashik to premiere the film there. We have done similar events with the cast of ‘Yahaan’ and ‘Kya Kool Hai Hum’.
Q. What qualities in your opinion make a successful PR professional?
The books might teach you otherwise but the best way to do PR is to not do too much! I have always insisted that the press should not be flooded with dull press releases from any of my clients. Less is more. Stick to big events or major contests and make it fun and exciting so that the media would themselves be keen to grab it.
There are PR people who harangue the press with calls to carry stories on their clients. I think there is no need to do that. A lot of PR happens by itself, you just have to make sure you give it the right direction. PR, in my opinion, is more about strategy and less about calling up the media constantly. Different products have to be treated differently and so a mass ‘press release’ isn’t always the solution. In fact, that is not PR at all. Even a peon can use a fax machine and send out releases. Information has to be released in such a way that it elicits a response from the media and the consumers…shock, interest, awe, aspiration it can be anything …it all works.
Q. How do you see the PR industry as it is today and where can it go from here?
The PR industry in India has come a long way from being mere postmen delivering press releases to being consultants who are involved in the brand building process. It has today become a mainstream arm of marketing instead of the peripheral role it played a few years ago. The potential is immense. Companies and individuals alike are waking up to the power of a good PR campaign. Indian PR professionals are also being recognised for their skills, bagging impressive assignments across the globe. The big advantage that PR has is the credibility factor with consumers. After all, third party endorsements in the form of articles in newspapers and stories in the electronic media are far more credible than advertisements.
Q. What does Indian PR industry need to come up to the international standards if at all?
Well, the PR industry here is still fragmented. Today, there are very few national agencies that truly understand the business and provide true consultancy. Also, the quality of professionals needs to improve. In a way, PR is the new sunshine kid and therefore you have a lot of fresh young faces that are jumping into the fray. However, there are very few people who are capable enough to mould them into true PR professionals. I think with international consultancies tying up with agencies in India, there will hopefully be an exchange of best practices. We now have big international agencies like Financial Dynamics which has tied up with Vaishnavi, and Burson Marstellar which has tied up with Genesis. So, international best practices are coming to India and professionals are also getting opportunities to work across industries around the world. This is also applicable with the corporate communications function. I strongly believe that we are on the right path and it will just be a matter of time before India is a force to reckon with on the global landscape.
Q. Take us through your experience of working with STAR, running your own agency and now Shringar.
I was a beginner at Star. Initially it was exciting as there were channels to launch, Star was going Hindi, DTH was being planned, etc. Our TV shows were being lapped up and we did road shows in TRP cities to promote them. It was almost like a template after sometime. I helped Rathikant Basu launch his TARA bouquet of regional channels.
Running my own agency with my partner Parul Gossain was by far the most fun and also challenging. Sameer Nair planted the seed; he suggested I become a PR consultant for Channel [V], which definitely needed a lot of attention at that time. Sameer had just taken over Channel [V] and he turned it around with ‘Popstars’. We did road shows for that and it was the first ever talent show that was organised in India.
We were offered Sony Music at the same time, so we were well entrenched in the youth/music/film scene since Sony was also promoting music for films like ‘Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham’ and ‘Lagaan’. Then we handled the IIFA and soon we had a lot of film PR on our hands.
There was definitely no dearth of work and we realised that the film industry had old-fashioned PR professionals working for new-age directors. It was a marriage that was not working. So we started with smaller movies like ‘Plan’, ‘Everybody Says I’m Fine’, ‘Chandni Bar’, etc. And, before we knew, we were saying no to clients as doing PR is one thing but running a company professionally, organising salaries, etc., was another.
Q. Where do you see yourself in the PR industry after a few years considering that Shringar is your own company?
I plan to stick to PR. We have 21 new properties opening in the next two years. So there will be sufficient work to keep me on my toes. We will need to think local as we expand and yet maintain our image as a multiplex chain that has set international standards in every regard, be it technology or our service.
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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
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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
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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.
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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.”
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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.”
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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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