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Results of the 1st Unofficial Indian Public Relations Survey
By Editor on Jul 27, 2006 in PRAwards, PRsurvey, Top5, featured
So finally here are the results of the 1st Unofficial Indian Public Relations survey.
We have Text 100, Ogilvy, Perfect Relations, IPAN, 20:20 Media, Lewis PR, Bluelotus, Genesis, and Vaishnavi being voted by participants as the agencies with the best working culture.
Under the agencies with the worst working culture, we have Perfect Relations, yes again, Corporate Voice, IPAN, Genesis PR, and Prism PR.
Category with the highest number of votes received for the salary package for a trainee per month is Rs. 5-10k, for a Jr. Executive and an executive is Rs. 11-15k, for a Sr. Executive is Rs. 16-20k, for a Manager is Rs. 26-30k, and for a Director is Rs. 50-60k.
An average salary for a VP/ Branch Head is Rs. 1-1.5 lac, lowest being Rs. 50k, and highest being Rs. 2 lac. An average salary for a CEO I Rs. 2.5-3 lac, lowest being Rs. 70 k, and highest being Rs. 24 lac.
Read on…
Best PR agency one has worked in and why.
- 20:20 - culture, people, management, growth, exposure, mentors, HR, great role models who respect your views
- Text 100 - professional culture
- e,Lexicon - strategic insight on PR
- Perfect Relations - they raise upto the client’s expectation and deliver their service in style and in time, professionally managed organisation
- The PRactice - exposure and opportunity to grow is good
- Hanmer&Partners - freehand given by the mgmt, scope for initiatives, absence of strict adherence to hierarchy
- AceBrandwidth & Pulse - allowed to learn very fast and grow, challenging working environment compared to a big agency - hence one need to grow to survive
- Ogilvy PR - as they treat brands pretty much the same way they do in advtg, think brands think insights, think insights think ways of influencing people with the relevant insights, one of the rare agencies that tries to ensure every activity on brand leads to a “sum of more than the total”
- Vaishnavi - good clientele, great pay package, and freedom at work
- Also, ISRO, National Dairy Development Board, Anand - freedom to conceive and implement various PR activities specific to the needs of the organisation
Worst PR agency one has worked in and why.
- Perfect Relations - bossy culture, didn’t like the existing culture in the organisation
- Genesis - on New Holland Tractor account, agri business and the target customers - farmers - do not match with stilettos clad girls; also absence of culture, people, management, growth, exposure, mentors, HR
- Percept Profile - initially there were only 2 people in Delhi
- Hanmer&Partners - very unprofessional, very biased
- Corporate Voice - terrible work atmospehere, unnecessary interference from management with no responsibility taken by them, undue pressure on employees
What is a good salary package for a trainee per month?
- Below 5 k - 32.26% votes
- Rs. 5-10 k - 64.52% votes
- Rs. 11-15k - 3.23% votes
- Rs. 11-15k - 3.23% votes
Salary package for a Jr. Executive?
- Below Rs. 5 k - 12.90% votes
- Rs. 5-10 k - 35.48% votes
- Rs. 11-15 k - 48.39% votes
- Rs. 16-20 k - 3.23% votes
Salary package for an Executive?
- Rs.5-10k - 12.90% votes
- Rs.11-15k - 45.16% votes
- Rs.16-20k - 35.48% votes
- Rs.21-25k - 6.45% votes
Salary package for a Sr.Executive?
- Rs.11-15k - 16.13% votes
- Rs.16-20k - 38.71% votes
- Rs.21-25k - 32.26% votes
- Rs.26-30k - 12.90% votes
Salary package for a Manager?
- Rs.11-15k - 19.355 votes
- Rs.16-20k - 9.68% votes
- Rs.21-25k - 22.58% votes
- Rs.26-30k - 25.81% votes
- Rs.31-35k - 22.58% votes
Salary package for a Sr. Manager?
- Rs.16-20k - 29.03% votes
- Rs.21-25k - 12.90% votes
- Rs.26-30k - 19.35% votes
- Rs.31-35k - 12.90% votes
- Rs.36-40k - 25.81% votes
(Here we have Rs. 16-20k getting the highest number of votes surprinsingly, lower than a Manager’s highest 
a boomer)
Salary package for a Director?
- Rs.30-40k - 38.71% votes
- Rs.41-50k - 16.13% votes
- Rs.50-60k - 29.03% votes
- Rs.61-70k - 16.13% votes
Salary package for a group manager?
- Rs.41-50k - 38.71% votes
- Rs.50-60k - 19.35% votes
- Rs.61-70k - 16.13% votes
- Rs.71-80k - 16.13% votes
- Rs.81-90k - 3.23% votes
- Rs. 1 -1.5 lac - 6.45% votes
(Again here, we have Rs. 41-50k getting the highest number of votes, lower than a director’s highest a boomer)
Salary package for a VP/ Branch head?
- Lowest quote - Rs. 50 k
- Average quote - Rs. 1 - 1.5 lac
- Highest quote - Rs. 2 lac
Salary package for a CEO?
- Lowest quote - Rs. 70 k plus
- Average quote - Rs. 2.5 - 3 lac
- Highest quote - Rs. 24 lac
Agency with the best working culture?
- Text 100
- Ogilvy
- Perfect Relations
- IPAN
- 20:20 Media
- Lewis PR
- Bluelotus Communications
- Genesis
- Vaishnavi
Agency with the worst working culture?
- Perfect Relations
- Corporate Voice
- IPAN
- Genesis
- Prism PR
Participants’ years of experience in the PR industry
- Under 5 years - 40%
- 5-10 years - 23.33%
- 10-15 years - 10%
- 15-20 years - 10%
- 20 plus years - 23.33%
Disclaimer: The results above are the outcome of the 1st Unofficial Indian Public Relations Survey that was conducted for experimentive purposes only in the Public Relations India Open Source PR blog from June 26 - July 25, 2006. The results are indicative of only the votes given by those 30 participants who visited this blog and chose to participate in the survey. These results might not necessarily reflect on the true workings, image, status, or ranking of any PR agency or other organisations in India. Readers who read this are advised to treat the results as opinions of some select PR professionals from the industry, who willingly shared their inputs on conditions of anonymity, and should be awared that these inputs might be subjective.
Also,
- Inputs from participants on the first two questions were removed if they didn’t provide valid reasons why they chose that particular agency.
- Agencies mentioned in the results of the first and last two questions are in random order.
My advice- just read it for kicks, smile, tell a friend, and don’t read too much into it. I wouldn’t have said this had we got hundred plus participants. But are these results all crap? Is there an element of truth somewhere in the results? We have many industry professionals with years of experience giving in their inputs to this survey. Maybe somewhere, there might be. I leave that to each reader. I have done mine.
All said and done, thanks a lot to all participants. We know at least you care about the industry.
Technorati tags: PR, Public Relations, India, India Public Relations, India PR, PR Survey, Open Source PR,
On Jul 27, 2006, Anonymous said:
It is absurd , evn if it was just to generate fun it shd have been done in more entertaining manner(creatively). PR is aserious business & any dip stick survey shd. reflect seriousness either way(good entertainer/ serious parameter & methodology)
On Jul 27, 2006, pov said:
I dont agree with the comment at all. It is just a start. May be we can give some creative inputs ourselves way forward. And i quite agree on corporate voice. seems genuine
On Jul 28, 2006, Peter Pan said:
congrats. many points mentioned are valid. will be of help to many people in PR.
On Jul 28, 2006, Anonymous said:
there is a saying- if you join perfect relations or genesis, you either learn to take shit or give shit.
On Jul 28, 2006, Rakesh said:
Thanks for sharing your link with our friends at Indiagram
On Jul 29, 2006, Anonymous said:
there is ongoing tussle between senior management, who love pushing their ideas, n middle management, who think the ideas are bull. d above results reflect tat.
On Jul 31, 2006, ss said:
agree fully with the above comment. one more to add- a pr agency turns worst when its senior management is full of insecure non-performing souls, who just know how to play hard core politics- affects the other employees, the services, and the image. i think many of the agencies featuring in the worst categories here suffer from this.
On Jul 31, 2006, Anonymous said:
congrats….
Thanks ,This would be usefull for all of us in P.R industry…
Kudos to you for taking the initiative ….and all of them who participated in the survey
Keep up the good work.. ….
On Jul 31, 2006, Anonymous said:
This is excellent.You know what would be very useful is the turn over survey in the industry, atrition etc. Good work guys your sals are bang on. Cheers.
On Jul 31, 2006, Anonymous said:
Though many known & established PR agencies are listed in both GOOD & BAD categories, It is indeed surprising to see an altogether outside Chennai Based PR to be listed in the BAD list - PRISM PR. What a name they have earned in there 11 years of exiztence. Ofcorse - An achievemnt ??????
On Jul 31, 2006, hobbit said:
Dear all, thanks for all your responses. As I mentioned earlier in the post, this survey doesn’t have any bearing on the actual performance or ranking of any PR agency. A list of questions were posted on this blog for one month, and readers gave their inputs to those questions. The results are being displayed without any changes. That’s why, there are boomers, and there are PR agencies coming in both more than one category. (refer. disclaimer)
This was done only among readers who visited this blog. The PR agencies listed are in random order. There is no No.1 agency or the worst agency. The agencies listed here are all those mentioned by the participants.
Let’s take this survey as a discussion so that we can contribute insights into the Indian PR industry, so that PR people like us all can benefit from.
This blog is not meant for maligning any agency’s image. The comments mentioned on this post are from the individual commentors, and I do not take any responsibility for these. But that said, I’m not game for deleting comments, as these comments can always be challenged by somebody else, which is the beauty of free speech and an open discussion. If anybody feels that they are wrong, pls do point it out, for everybody’s sake.
I write this as questions are coming up like on what basis these agencies were ranked, and why a particular agency was in a particular category.
Best, HH
On Jul 31, 2006, hobbit said:
But I’d appreciate if we could tone down a bit on taking individual names. And after all, they are respectable PR professionals in their own rights, running highly successful PR agencies.
On Jul 31, 2006, sj said:
Interesting stuff, though it is a bit disappointing to see the industry think small on salary slabs. Considering the demands of the job as well as the importance PR has gained in the industry…. we should be asking more.The PR industry is not a cottage industry anymore and we should be looking at being on par with the rest at least. If not more.
On Aug 1, 2006, hobbit said:
agreed sj, and personally i think account directors and group managers do get a bit more than the brackets most voted here. and let’s not forget, agencies like perfect relations offers extras like laptops and cars to their senior management, although people think the agency pay lesser on cash compared to other agencies.
On Aug 5, 2006, Maximus said:
What fun! We can now abuse each other full time!
On Aug 5, 2006, hobbit said:
yes 24/7
On Aug 8, 2006, Anonymous said:
Hey guys good job done! Thanks for makin dis an interesting forum to interact within d industry. i can c d accolades pouring in from all quarter
On Aug 8, 2006, Anonymous said:
Actually, this place can get quite gossipy and in fact must! Lets start a rating system: Best (un)dressed Chick, Smooth Talker Topper on a Slime Index. Hell, after all, how come we have these surveys which are never about Best Work Done nor does it seem to have any of the Best Agencies who are known for their work not their Chick Factor. I’ll put up a prize for anyone who demonstrates great work done (like real stuff, not the contrived one where the client and circumstances make it look great). I cant think of what work Genesis or Perfect is know n for but I do know Adfactors did a superb job yeons ago on Konkan railways. So lets kick up some dust either on legs or on legwork
On Aug 8, 2006, PP said:
d problem with adfactors is that till one year back, it was so unknown.
On Aug 9, 2006, Anonymous said:
What about some other popular nationally popular agencies like Sampark, Ad Factors, Clea, O&M etc… What about regional champs like Image Advantage or Accolade in Chennai, Solus Media or PRG in Hyderabad, Prognosys or Om in Bombay, PRactice or April Media or in Bangalore… Since India is multi-lingustic and the PR industry has to work in Multi Cultural environment, we need to give some credits to locals as well… Do we national agencies not recognise the potential of regional newspapers and websites and even mobile content / portals coming up in individual states???? Since the survey has not gone in-depth to that extent, we should explore general feelings on it… (Did hear something about Satyan Bhat in comments)
On Aug 14, 2006, Anonymous said:
Quite an interesting survey… must say..
I agree with certain things, Here are some of my comments having worked in some of these organizations
Genesis Burson Marsteller: Processes are the best ! Deepshikha, Prema and Ashwani are like god when it comes to clarity of thought. Definitely one of the best agencies to work with.
Perfect Relations : A good training ground for freshers. Dilip rocks!
Vaishnavi - Natasha is a lady with a lot of class and is a true professional!
Text 100 - Madhuri again is a classic beauty with brains!
Somehow Adfactors PR does not feature in this survey … wonder why?
Naini
On Aug 14, 2006, hobbit said:
hey folks, you are right. the survey hasn’t gone in depth. may be we could do it next time. surely there are good regional agencies….
ah yes…adfactors.. even I wonder why nobody said anything about this one..
On Aug 18, 2006, managinginnovation said:
Interesting survey, but just to make it more realistic can we also add few more names like Torque (Supriyo & Bipul), Comma (Rajeev Desai & Rakesh Thukral), PR Pundit (they have fantastic Clientage), fourth estate (Sunil Khosla), Sampark (Vivek Gautam),E-Lexican (Sudeep & sudeep)…if agencies like O&M can get featured then why not agencies run by Mr. Desai, Supriyo/Bipul, Vivek Gautam or Mr. Khosla (they are big names in the industry).
My personal opinion - lets not name people due to personal grudges - be it Genesis, Vaishnavi or Corvo all agencies are same and no one is forced to work with any agency. It seems someone is paid to write good things abt few people. As matured professionals lets not take names and hardsell if someone is well connected or not.
Rest its really a good read.
A new survey is really what we need with more realistic studies & lets not ignore regional agencies.
Cheers
On Aug 22, 2006, Anonymous said:
Surprisingly, Perfect scored well.
On Sep 16, 2006, hobbit said:
People, this survey is closed…please do not leave your inputs on the questionnaire at the createsurvey link anymore….untill next time, ciao.
On Oct 27, 2006, Anonymous said:
I have heard of other agencies like Brand comm who dont feature in this list who have a great working culture and is considered one of the good agencies to work in. One of my friends friend works there and she moved in from the client side to the agency side and still feels good about it…that should say it all…
On Dec 29, 2006, Anonymous said:
it goes without saying that the pr industry is booming in kolkata.With the surge in business dealings, pr has established itself firmly.IPAN, Kolkata is just ard one and a half yrs old and the kind of business it has generated is quite conspicuous.well done to the IPAN kolkata team .It is one of the best pr agencies in Kolkata and 3 more big clients are in the pipeline to get hold of its services..:)