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Tag: bloggers

  • PRCAI’s Deeptie Sethi emphasises PR industry’s need to upskill

    PRCAI’s Deeptie Sethi emphasises PR industry’s need to upskill

    NEW DELHI: The PR and communications industry is doing very well thank you. That’s the view of The Public Relations Consultants Association of India (PRCAI) CEO Deeptie Sethi. The former Ford India communications boss who was brought into lead the professional organisation after stints in the US expects the spin doctoring business to grow at a healthy 12 percent year on year and she estimates it to cross Rs 2,000 crore in the not too distant future.

    “It has been growing  rapidly and is almost back to pre-pandemic levels,”  she says with a big smile.

    Sethi has brought in a new drive into the PRCAI, organising workshops, training masterclasses, keeping in mind the demands that clients are dishing out in a complex world consisting  of newspapers, whatsapp, digital media print and video outlets, TV channels, social media influencers, bloggers, fake news, podcasters, paid media, earned media, short video platforms  and what have you. 

    “There was a time when all you had to do was draw up the right communications strategy and reach out to ensure print and TV channel journos got the right brand message through the dissemination of releases,” she explains. “But today you have several options and the responsibility of a communication professional has multiplied manifold. There is a high level of penetration of mobiles, and you know, millennials, the way they are absorbing content. Today, we are overloaded with information. Upskilling and sharpening existing skillsets are the order of the day. We listen, we learn, we educate, and we practise.”

    Towards this end, the PRCAI  has conducted a three month programme called ‘Writing Pen Upskilling’ which helps professionals to learn new techniques of writing and helps them visualize a story from the journalist’s and writer’s perspective.   “We had a batch of 41 PR people. Practitioners from 10 consultancies came forward and nominated their people, ” she reveals, adding that another upskilling programme is on the anvil.

    According to her, the manner in which communications messages are being delivered has transformed with digitisation. Currently, the audience consumes messages according to their taste and requirements. And it is quick to voice its opinion and ire against brands to their followers on social media. Hence, crafting the right communications strategy targeting the right audience and tracking its impact is becoming even more challenging.  

    “Performance marketing and influencer marketing are about having the right skills but public relations and communications is all about that trust and authenticity. We have that higher responsibility to make sure we are communicating the right story,” she highlights.

    Sethi cautions that  brands cannot be built in one day. “It is a consistent effort to put the message across to the audience and build credibility in the market. Defining a clear objective is imperative to achieve the right result. The problem is that people are unable to set a clear objective and what they would like to achieve from promotion or marketing.” she explains.

    The industry is focusing on bringing in research-oriented communication expertise and specialisation, which help to identify different trends and customise effective communication strategies.

    “Today, a lot of research is happening in our communication industry, from using data accurately, to learning and improving skills,” Sethi says. “Artificial intelligence, machine learning and automation are all the rage. It is something that agencies, consultancies and  brands are looking to adopt. It is important to figure out where the gaps are and how we can work together and overcome them. Through this the industry is also solving customer’s problems – a skill that is much-needed at this hour.”

    Sethi is optimistic about the growth of the PR and communication industry in 2022. However, she is concerned about the macro challenges that the country is facing currently, with rising inflationary pressures, a weak rupee, and economic uncertainty.

    “If economic slowdown and recession come, budgets will be impacted, thereby, various other things will be affected. We can also be impacted, so we need to be cautious in our approach,” she predicts.

    Wise words from a seasoned veteran.

     

  • Blogmint launches #BloggersDreamTeam campaign

    Blogmint launches #BloggersDreamTeam campaign

    MUMBAI: India is witnessing the rise of social stars, the new age influencers who create and share interesting and valuable social content with the niche audiences that follow them. They might be bloggers with sizable readerships, or socially savvy users with loyal followers on Twitter, YouTube, Vine or Instagram.

     

    With this thought, Blogmint has launched the #BloggerDreamTeam campaign with one of the leading food connoisseur and an eminent media personality, Vir Sanghvi. The campaign aims at discovering and recognising emerging social influencers in India. 

     

    Blogmint’s objective behind the campaign is to discover and recognize these emerging social stars in the form of bloggers, vloggers and micro-bloggers.

     

    Bloggers get an opportunity to showcase their blogging talent and their passion for writing around food and travel themes. In order to channelize their inclination, Blogmint has created a platform wherein bloggers are encouraged to come forward and make their own food and travel blogging recipe.

     

    Bloggers can showcase their opinions or views on a variety of subjects pertaining to food and travel domain. Best blogging talent will be acknowledged by Sanghvi, who will select the top 11 winners from the entire pool available to him in order to make food and travel #BloggersDreamTeam. “There is so much talent out there in the blogging community and we are delighted to have found a way to harness and nurture it,” said Sanghvi.

     

    “Blogmint is committed to building an ecosystem that fosters collaboration between online influencers and marketers,” said Blogmint CEO Irfan Khan. “#BloggerDreamTeam is an initiative to strengthen the emerging online influencers’ talent in India. The food and travel genres are growing rapidly in this space and we are excited to join forces with Sanghvi. Having him as part of discovering and recognizing this talent is a win-win for everyone,” Khan concluded.

     

    A research report published in the Adweek stated that almost 59 per cent brand marketers plan to increase their Influencer marketing budget signaling a positive landscape in the Influencer Marketing domain.

  • 220 journalists in jail around the world: CPJ

    220 journalists in jail around the world: CPJ

    MUMBAI: The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has identified that 220 journalists are in jail around the world in 2014. This is an increase of nine from last year’s tally.

    The committee mentioned that the tally marks the second-highest number of journalists in jail since CPJ began taking an annual census of imprisoned journalists in 1990, and highlights a resurgence of authoritarian governments in countries such as China, Ethiopia, Burma, and Egypt.

    “China’s use of anti-state charges and Iran’s revolving door policy in imprisoning reporters, bloggers, editors, and photographers earned the two countries the dubious distinction of being the world’s worst and second worst jailers of journalists, respectively,” says the report.

    The list of the top 10 worst jailers of journalists was rounded out by Eritrea, Ethiopia, Vietnam, Syria, Egypt, Burma, Azerbaijan, and Turkey.

    In recent years, journalist jailings in the Americas have become increasingly rare, with one documented in each 2012 and 2013. This year, the region has two: a Cuban blogger was sentenced to five years in prison in retaliation for his critical blog, and in Mexico, an independent journalist and activist for Mayan causes has been charged with sedition.

    The report goes on the point out that 20 per cent, or 45, of the journalists imprisoned globally are being held with no charge disclosed. Also, online journalists accounted for more than half, or 119, of the imprisoned journalists.

    CPJ believes that journalists should not be imprisoned for doing their jobs. The organisation has sent letters expressing its serious concerns to each country that has imprisoned a journalist. In the past year, CPJ advocacy led to the early release of at least 41 imprisoned journalists worldwide.

     

  • ‘Blogging’ on brand’s mind

    ‘Blogging’ on brand’s mind

    MUMBAI: If you are a blogger then you will definitely relate with Nora Ephron’s Julie and Julia.  As portrayed in the film, blogging which was once upon a time considered as just a hobby is today the most sought-after platform.

     

    The bloggers’ community has got its due recognition with social media becoming an integral part of our lives. What is interesting to note is that bloggers today are on priority list of many brand managers when it comes to drawing an online marketing strategy.

     

    “Brands today are engaging with bloggers because they want to talk about experiences and the brand with their readers. Bloggers are respected for the various topics they write about and no one questions their credibility as well. Most importantly, blog posts are permanent advertisements. With search being an important function on the internet today, blogs become extremely useful for a consumer. Consumers are always searching for information, products, brands and services. And, if bloggers are not writing about you; you won’t figure in the consumer selection subsets,” elaborates IndiBlogger spokesperson.

     

    Brands and blogging

     

    According to the Business World-IndiBlogger report on the Indian blogosphere, 56 per cent bloggers claim that they influence buying decisions of their readers.

     

    In the last few months, Indiablogger has hosted blogger events for brands across travel, consumer electronics, FMCG, education, finance, personal care and most recently entertainment sectors. SkyScanner, Nokia, Dove, Tata Capital, Asus, Kissan, Racold, Sunsilk, British Airways and British Council are a few popular brands that often associate with bloggers.

     

    Recently, ahead of the new entertainment channel Zindagi’s launch, Zeel invited almost 500 bloggers from Mumbai and Delhi. The reason behind the exercise was simple: though it gave bloggers an opportunity to interact with scriptwriters, directors and actors of the show, it also helped the channel create enough buzz on the digital world.

     

    Similarly, Imagica, the theme park from the house of Adlabs Entertainment, invited close to 30 blogging mothers to spend a day at the venue.

     

    When asked how the activity helped the brand, Adlabs Entertainment CMO Harjeet Chhabra says, “If we have to measure the response through the excitement amongst bloggers and their experience at Imagica, then we can surely say that we had 30 happy women bloggers and their families at the end of the day. Such initiatives are not carried out for immediate results. They are done from a long term viewpoint as opposed to being tactical or promotional. These activities help drive conversations on the digital platform and builds social content with a long term standpoint. We believe that one of the key parameters for measuring success of activities such as these is the scale of engagement and involvement. Being an experiential destination, it is imperative that the influencers are provided the right experience and engagement platform which Imagica provides.”

     

    The byproduct of these activities is the impact and reflection on social media. For example the number of tweets sent out by these influencers, the number of shares and eventually the number of people the message reaches out to. “We have also seen tremendous success in terms of the number of images being shared, including the trendy new fad of selfies. Such are the moments that actually define the success of any activity; however small or big. We are inspired to do more and more such events and are very soon going to be back with a food blogger’s event too,” adds Chhabra.

     

    One of the biggest trends in the blogger’s space is the increased usage of video content on YouTube in the form of tutorials and reviews. When Maybelline New York India launched the Colossal Kohl Turquoise, popular blogger Rati Tehri Singh created videos that showcased different styling technique using the product. These video tutorials were then shared on the brand’s social platforms.  

     

    The shifting trend

     

    While most brands have celebrities with a huge fan following as brand ambassadors, the rise of the influence of bloggers and their marketing strategies have helped brands in many ways.

     

    “Blogs reach out to a wide range of audience and have a diverse group of fans. A blog entry related to your brand will be seen by a larger fan base whom you may have not targeted earlier thereby expanding the reach of your brand. Bloggers and influencer marketing strategies have truly transformed the decision-making process of consumers while purchasing products and services,” says FoxyMoron co-founder Harshil Karia.  

     

    Over time, brands are also realising that it is important to cherry-pick the bloggers so that relevant content is created for your brand. “A large fan base is not enough to amplify the brand’s message. Content that is relevant to the target audience and in sync with the brand’s philosophy increases engagement.  In fact, bloggers are now entrenched in the larger community of fans and followers. Brands are not only reaching out to bloggers before a campaign begins but also establishing and maintaining long-term relationships with them irrespective of a campaign launch,” adds Karia.

     

    With the blogger community getting popular in the online marketing business, it will be interesting to see how brands go ahead and engage them uniquely in the coming days.

  • Garnier Fructis ropes in bloggers for product testing

    Garnier Fructis ropes in bloggers for product testing

    MUMBAI: In order to reposition the brand perception Garnier Fructis has gone ahead to add an improved formula to its product. The brand recently conducted a blind use test activity to get feedback on the product.

     

    The campaign was executed through an on-ground and online activation in eight cities including Pune, Patna, Guwahati, Ludhiana, Lucknow, Jaipur, Coimbatore and Vijayawada.

     

    Garnier Fructis’ campaign targeted three different groups of consumers. An activity was conducted in colleges across the selected cities for students to participate in the blind use test. Students also had the opportunity to learn fun hair styles and hair care tips in addition to winning goodies.

     

    The next group that was selected for the blind use test comprised women from housing societies. These consumers who tried the shampoo and conditioner later were asked to visit an activity area in order to find out more about the brand.

     

    Taking the consumer test online, the brand reached out to over 50 top beauty and lifestyle bloggers across India. Bloggers received a package containing the ‘Love Long Hair’ shampoo and conditioner and were asked to try it for a period of two weeks. The brand name was revealed after two weeks and bloggers were surprised to understand that the brand was Garnier Fructis. With top names like Miss Malini, Ayushi Bangur and Ritu Rajput participating in this unique blind test, Garnier Fructis succeeded in converting top online influencers in the digital space.

     

    The social media campaign was executed by Foxymoron. When asked about the key learning from the campaign, FoxyMoron, co-founder & online strategist, Harshil Karia mentioned that bringing together a large set of bloggers was a challenge and needed a lot of logistics. He also said, “By conducting such an activity using digital influencers it added great advocacy to the whole campaign.”