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Tag: PRCAI

  • Media Mantra sparks dialogue with MMDialogues365 anniversary celebration

    Media Mantra sparks dialogue with MMDialogues365 anniversary celebration

    MUMBAI: In an era where communication is both an art and a science, Media Mantra Group has once again taken the lead in shaping its future. To mark the first anniversary of its flagship knowledge-sharing initiative ‘MMDialogues’, the company hosted ‘MMDialogues365 – Decoding Effective Communications’ at The Roseate, New Delhi. The event gathered an illustrious assembly of 50 distinguished voices from the media and communications fraternity, engaging in thought-provoking discussions on PR’s evolving landscape, media’s transformation, and the trends redefining corporate storytelling.

    The event commenced with a special address by veteran journalist GonewsIndia founder Pankaj Pachauri who reflected on his journey from newsroom to entrepreneurship, sharing insights on adaptability and the shifting expectations from news media. Setting the stage for a deeper exploration of the communication industry, a fireside chat featuring Media Mantra Group Director Puja Pathak and BW Businessworld chairman & editor-in-chief Annurag Batra dissected the balance between technical expertise and emotional intelligence in communication.

    Two riveting panel discussions followed, where stalwarts from journalism and corporate communications offered their perspectives on the future of media and PR. The first panel, moderated by PRCAI CEO Deeptie Sethi featured Pankaj Doval (Times of India), Shweta Punj (Moneycontrol.com), and Shishir Sinha (Hindu Business Line). The discussion addressed pressing issues such as media fragmentation, AI’s role in journalism, and effective PR-media engagement strategies.

    The second panel, helmed by renowned communications expert Arun Sudhaman, featured corporate communication leaders like Nandini Chatterjee (Shree Cement), Ajey Maharaj (Fortis Healthcare), Arpana Kumar Ahuja (Jindal Steel & Power), and Abhishek Mahapatra (Independent Consultant). The discussion delved into the creator economy, regionalisation of media, the impact of AI in content creation, and the challenge of measuring PR impact.

    Reflecting on the journey of MMDialogues, Media Mantra Group founder director Udit Pathak said, “We launched MM Dialogues to bridge the knowledge gap in PR and communications by bringing together industry leaders for impactful conversations. MMDialogues365 celebrates this milestone while reinforcing our commitment to fostering learning and growth for communications professionals.”

    Puja Pathak founder director Media Mantra Group stated, “The communications industry thrives on agility and continuous learning. #MMDialogues allows our teams to interact with the brightest minds, gaining perspectives beyond textbooks.”

    Media Mantra Group CEO Rahul Mehta added, “MMDialogues has grown into an unparalleled knowledge-sharing platform, offering insights on strategic PR campaigns, digital transformation, impactful storytelling, and media engagement. As Media Mantra expands its presence both in India and internationally, initiatives like these will remain integral to training the next generation of communicators.”

    With MMDialogues365, Media Mantra not only celebrated a milestone but also reinforced its role as an industry pioneer in fostering learning and collaboration. Rekha Gehani, People & Culture Leader at Media Mantra, highlighted the platform’s role in enhancing employee training and making industry insights accessible through social media.

    As the event concluded, one thing was clear, the dialogue is far from over. With MMDialogues 2.0 on the horizon in 2026, Media Mantra is set to continue leading the way in redefining effective communication for the future.

  • The rise of influencer partnerships: Leveraging social media stars for PR success

    The rise of influencer partnerships: Leveraging social media stars for PR success

    Mumbai: Influencer marketing is not a new concept. It has been around for decades, in the form of celebrity endorsements, word-of-mouth recommendations, and testimonials. However, what has changed in recent years is the emergence and popularity of social media platforms, such as Instagram, YouTube Facebook, and X (formerly known as Twitter), that have given rise to a new breed of influencers: the social media stars. These are individuals who have built a loyal and engaged following online, by creating and sharing content that resonates with their audience. They are not necessarily famous or rich, but they have a powerful influence over their fans, who trust their opinions, advice, and recommendations.

    According to a report by PRCAI, the PR industry in India reached Rs 2,100 cr in 2022-23. Though conventional media relations continue to be the key revenue source for agencies, the revenue share of digital and social media services has also increased rapidly over the years. More and more brands are recognizing the potential and value of influencer marketing, and are investing in it as part of their PR strategy. But why is influencer marketing so effective? And how can it be leveraged for PR success?

    Influencer marketing can help reach and engage your target audience in a more authentic and organic way. Unlike traditional media, where you have to pay for advertising space or time, and compete with other brands for attention, influencer marketing allows you to tap into the existing network and relationship that influencers have with their followers. You can benefit from their credibility, expertise, and personality, and create a positive association between your brand and their content. For example, a beauty brand can partner with a beauty influencer who can showcase the company’s products, demonstrate how to use them, and share their honest feedback with their fans. This way, brands can reach a niche and relevant audience, who are more likely to be interested in your products, and trust the influencer’s endorsement.

    Influencer marketing can also help with generating more awareness, buzz, and word-of-mouth for brands. Social media platforms are designed to encourage sharing, commenting, and liking, which can amplify the reach and impact of your influencer campaigns. You can also leverage the power of hashtags, challenges, contests, and giveaways, to create more engagement and excitement around your brand. A travel brand may collaborate with a travel influencer who can create a hashtag challenge, where they invite their followers to share their travel stories, photos, or videos, using your brand’s hashtag. This way, you can create a viral effect, and expose your brand to a wider and diverse audience, who may not be aware of your brand otherwise.

    Influencers are also key to product discovery. A consumer trends survey by HubSpot found that 31% of social media users prefer to find out about new products through an influencer they follow rather than any other format or channel. The numbers are particularly high among Gen Z consumers, with 43% preferring influencers as a product discovery channel. Influencers also drive people’s purchase decisions. Among social media users aged 18-54, 21% have made a purchase as a result of an influencer’s recommendation. This shows that influencers can not only influence the awareness and perception of a brand, but also the purchase decisions of potential customers. There are several tactics which can be used to drive more conversions and sales from your influencer campaigns, such as providing discount codes, affiliate links, landing pages, or shoppable posts. These can help not just track and measure the performance of social media campaigns, but also incentivize the influencers and their followers to consider a particular brand’s products or services.

    However, influencer marketing is not a magic bullet that can guarantee PR success. It requires careful planning, execution, and evaluation, to ensure that you achieve your goals and objectives, and avoid any pitfalls or risks. First, you need to define your goals and objectives, and align them with your overall PR strategy. You need to ask yourself: what do you want to achieve from your influencer campaigns? Is it to increase your brand awareness, improve your reputation, drive more traffic, generate more leads, or boost your sales? Depending on your goals, choose the right metrics and KPIs to measure your success, such as reach, impressions, engagement, clicks, conversions, ROI, or customer satisfaction.

    Next, you need to identify and select the right influencers for your brand. You need to consider various factors, such as the size, relevance, and engagement of their audience, the quality and consistency of their content, the tone and style of their voice, the alignment and fit with your brand values and image, and the budget and expectations of the collaboration. You can use various tools and platforms to search and discover influencers in your niche, and analyze their performance and influence. You can also reach out to them directly, or through an agency or a network, and negotiate the terms and conditions of the collaboration.

    Once the right influencer is onboarded, you need to monitor and optimize your influencer campaigns, and evaluate their results and outcomes. You need to track and measure the performance of your campaigns, using the metrics and KPIs that you have defined earlier. Analyze the data and insights, and see how your campaigns are impacting your goals and objectives. Collecting and assessing the feedback and sentiment of the audience, and seeing how they are responding to the brand and associated influencers is also important. Identifying the strengths and weaknesses of campaigns, and seeing what is working and what is not leads to an optimized PR strategy that fetches better results.

    Influencer marketing is a powerful and effective PR tool, that can help you reach and engage your target audience, generate more awareness, buzz, and word-of-mouth for your brand, and drive more conversions and sales for your products or services. However, it is not a one-size-fits-all solution that can guarantee PR success. With careful planning, execution, and evaluation, influencer marketing can be leveraged to achieve the brands’ goals and objectives.

    The author of the article is Value360 Communication co-founder Gaurav Patra.

  • 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.

     

  • PRCAI launches first edition of PRologue on completing 20 years

    PRCAI launches first edition of PRologue on completing 20 years

    Mumbai: The most influential PR professional body, Public Relations Consultants Association of India (PRCAI) celebrated two decades of leadership on Thursday.

    Marking the occasion, the communication body has unveild it’s new brand identity, felicitated AIPR winners and launched first edition of a much neeeed PR dialogue ‘PRologue’.

    PRCAI PRologue bringing together leaders from the communications industry under one roof to charter the future of the PR industry, taking it into a new era of Interverse of Communications 3.0.

    The first edition of PRCAI PRologue included a surfeit of influencers, industry experts, opinion leaders representing diverse companies, brands & start-ups to discuss the course of new age communications.

    PRCAI PRologue captured the pulse of new trends such as ‘Tech-ing It to the futureverse’, ‘Weaving trends with zillenials’ and ‘Re-powering ethics in communications’ through a day-long conference.

    PRCAI PRologue presented an extraordinary forum with a diverse and exemplary list of guests & panelists from renowned companies, including a keynote address by MG Motor India’s president & managing director Rajeev Chaba, and SHEROES founder Sairee Chahal.

    The speakers came from all across the country to contribute to compelling ideas and thoughts.   

     Sharing his enthralling thoughts on the occasion, PRCAI president Atul Sharma said, “PRCAI is constantly striving to create a more professional, ethical, and prosperous PR industry. In the past year through various initiatives, we have been able to bring the industry together, push our learning and development initiatives and also evangelise the profession across quarters, and the results are nothing short of remarkable. I am delighted with the focus and vision that the new team has brought to life.”

    PRCAI CEO Deeptie Sethi said, “PRCAI as an entity is reinventing itself and driving relevance for our audiences and stakeholders who are both impacting and impacted by our highly skilled industry. The launch of PRCAI Prologue, new collaborations, research driven insights are a true reflection of our new brand identity that is will take it’s members, practitioner, academicians together to #influencingPRogress into the new era of Communications leadership.” 

  • PRCAI appoints Deeptie Sethi as its first CEO

    PRCAI appoints Deeptie Sethi as its first CEO

    Mumbai: The homegrown PR professional body Public Relations Consultants Association of India (PRCAI) on Tuesday announced the appointment of Deeptie Sethi as its first CEO in its history of two decades. 

    In this newly created role, Sethi will be working closely with the managing committee to further build on PRCAI’s vision of making the public relations industry more professional, ethical and prosperous, said the statement.

    She will be focused on driving visibility and helping the association in challenging, supporting, and raising standards and also developing strategic partnerships to increase awareness and relevance, it added.

    In this role, she will be effectively leading, developing and shaping the agenda for the public relations community in India.

    “The scope and reach of public relations have seen exponential growth in the last few years. Today, effective communication is integral to every business. These are exciting times for the industry and I am honoured and thrilled to take up this opportunity to build, grow and serve our community. I am equally optimistic about the prospect and look forward to adding value for PRCAI members and the larger communication fraternity,” said Deeptie Sethi on her appointment.

    Sethi has served in leadership communications roles working for MNCs for more than 23 years in India and the US. She has helped businesses leverage the power of public relations and communications leading strategic planning, media relations, brand and reputation management, crisis management and compelling advocacy programs. 

    Announcing the appointment, PRCAI president Atul Sharma shared, “At PRCAI, we believe in leadership that inspires, drives results and encourages our members and communities. We are happy to have Deeptie as the first CEO of PRCAI, as we look forward to expand our footprint, and scale to newer heights. Moreover, as the role of public relations takes centerstage in all facets of business, we are excited to have an experienced communications professional like Deeptie to build the future roadmap for PRCAI.”