These are my comments to two blogs today. I thought why not add it here only. I’m running out of muses.

at madanbahal.blogspot.com on his post - ‘Have you read any book on PR?’

I agree with on the need to read up more. I wanted to share an incident that happened that happened in my PR school. Our cor.comm teacher on our first day asked everyone if we wanted to be there in PR by choice or by chance. He said if PR is our choice, then it would be a wonderful profession and we would be instrumental in changing the dynamics of it everyday. Otherwise if we are there by chance, we just get added upto the 95% of the crowd in the industry today.

I think the first generation PR people in India were instrumental in getting the profession a bad name- starting from visiting the pressclub with bottles of whiskies. What can you expect then?

Well, it’s changing. PR is now about strategizing correctly. Not me or my friends want to ass lick any of our clients. If we need to flatter them and make them remained pleased, we prefer doing it with our knowledge. We have learnt that the first rule in successful client servicing is being honest and telling him what can be done and what cannot be done, explaining the whys to him, and then devising a way to come out successfully.
Cheers, hobbit

This ones at http://ringblog.typepad.com on generally on PR in India

PR in India is a fast growing business. Some say corporates are opting PR instead of advertising increasingly. Most use it as a sales support tool although there are big corporates that recognise the importance of PR in long-term brand building.

There are more than 100 agencies-big ones with 10-15 branches across India like Perfect Relations, Genesis PR, and Vaishnavi, medium size ones with 3-4 branches and smaller city specific PR agencies. Many of these are affiliated or are Indian subsidiaries of global PR companies. For instance, Weber Shandwick and O&M have their India offices. Likewise, Fleishman Hillard has affiliation with e,Lexicon.There are industry specific agencies like Text100 and 2020 for IT companies, Imprimis for health care companies, and Adfactors majorly to financial companies.

MNCs looking for agencies in India can get an agency easily. but it is advised to consult someone locally and study the local market scenario beforehand otherwise you could find yourself paying 5000 USD for a project to one agency that you could have easily get done with 1000 USD. Similarly, be careful when you discuss the deliverables with the agencies. Understand the media thoroughly. You don’t want your company write-ups on C-class publications but being presented to you as if it is a coverage in a la India’s own Time magazine.

Having said all these, the industry is filling up with people who are professionals coming out of real PR schools. You can expect worldclass results from many agencies and many MNCs have returned satisfied.

PR in India in the eighties were more of buying a drink for journalists, which had the profession got a bad name. But the second generation of PR people is seemingly different. they believe in strategising, pitching with creative angles, and all the other tricks in the book. A redefinition of the profession is undergoing currently in the country.

Outsourcing potential is there plenty in research-primary, and secondary and writing.

Hope these immediate thoughts are useful. Would love to provide more anytime.

cheers, hobbit

Read all of Hobbit’s posts - 20, 19, 18, 17, 16, 15, 14, 13, 12, 11, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1,

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