PR in India: Opportunities and Issues
By Editor on Aug 17, 2006 in industry, issues, mediarelations
Public Relations is where advertising was in the ’80s. It presents a landmine of opportunities with a lot of quicksand on the approach road, says Ramanujam Sridhar in his candid expression on the Indian PR industry in The Hindu Business Line today. Kudos to him. It’s high time such write-ups come out more in the national media.
He rightly mentioned that clients are today realising that there is more to PR than press conferences, but the profession is still not getting what it deserves. This will happen when PR activities find a genuine provision in the marketing budget and not given the leftover of the advertising budget.
The article mentioned about various issues facing the industry today. The disunity among agencies, which is taken advantage of by clients of all sizes and shapes, to start with, is what I agree with wholeheartedly. We just seem to be happy as long as the monthly retainer comes along. He talks about a body for PR agencies like the Advertising Agencies Association of India to warn agencies against unscrupulous clients. How many PR associations or councils do that today? Associations should focus more on practical issues facing the industry, rather than talk about some idealistic PR dreams that half of the people in the PR industry is unfamiliar with. We need to unite to build the image of the PR industry. The advertising industry is ga ga about how many lions they have won, and how they have done this campaign and how they have saved a company from a crisis. Do we have anybody from the PR industry talking highly of the profession in the recent past?
Ramanujam pointed out issues in client servicing. He emphasised on media training of clients, evaluation of PR achievements, we being more than just media relations experts but project ourselves as strategic counsel. I agree here as well and am with the opinion that we need to stop the ass-licking attitude, just because they are our clients and the monies pour in from them. A customer win doesn’t become an important news, just because the client feels passionate about his latest achievement and wants to show off. If the client starts talking about ET as if it is his family newspaper, it is our fault, not his.
PR training: a must, especially when so many people from other industries are joining PR. If given a proper introduction to the profession and guided well, may be we wouldn’t have so many people in the industry cribbing everywhere – this is not what I want to do with my life.
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On Aug 18, 2006, Maximus said:
Old crap. The world has moved on. Sad if Sridhar is still not getting his consultants cap going. Rest is by and large bull.
On Aug 18, 2006, managinginnovation said:
PR agencies are into lot more things than media relations nowadays – Press Conferences, press releases etc. Expectations of the clients are nowadays are much more realistic thanks to those who have moved to the corporate side and made things easy for agencies.
PR training: a must, especially to those who have joined from other industries, for those who nare veterns in the industry its not necessary.
I agree with maximus – Rest is by and large bull.
On Aug 18, 2006, Rajesh said:
Like in any other business, there will always be ones who will do high-end work and others who will bring just the minimum deliverables. There are both varieties in the market today – consultancies that emphasise on measurement, global practices and there are media relations firm too – there is a need and place for both I suppose.
How public relations will be perceived is not upto clients, but upto professionals representing the business – how they conduct themselves and value they add to the businesses they represent.
On Aug 18, 2006, CJ said:
Not only PR training but PR accreditation is a must. It is time the PR practitioners get together and help set up an accreditation board to benchmark and standardise PR practice.
On Aug 18, 2006, hobbit said:
There has been news about PRCI initiating the process for accreditation of PR professionals in India in April this year. I think it is important that this initiative takes shape fast, as globally there are such systems that have been found to be good for the industry.
On Aug 23, 2006, Maximus said:
PRCI who? Much of the people in charge of the profession today are a bunch of non-specialists: One agency runs like a hotel; the other runs by dropping names and a merry buch of clients going up and down; the third has latched on to the teats of a large corporate; the ones tied to advertising agencies spend time trying to get brownie points for their advertising agencies. Who will certify the certifers? The brightest people I have seen in this profession till date are probably on this blog!
On Aug 24, 2006, managinginnovation said:
I totally agree with Maximus, PRCI is not the solution. They tried to get everyone under the same banner which failed miserably.
On Aug 25, 2006, CJ said:
I don’t know about PRCI, but yes PRSI also suffered from this bane. But let us not blame anyone because all of us are responsible for this stalemate. There has to be a certification/accreditation process in place and it must make a beginning somewhere. As maximus says that the best brains are on this blog who are concerned about this issue, then why not take the first step, and put together the guidelines for accreditation, as well as for streamlining the syllabus of various degree and diploma programs. I am ready to host a one-day event in Chandigarh and invite all of you over. Decide a day, and we can spend a day brainstorming and thrashing out the issue. Are you ready?
On Sep 18, 2006, Anonymous said:
I agree with maximus and appreciate the enthusiasm of cj you name it any thing PRCI or PRSI to me it nothing more than some of the so called clubs with social activities.
On Sep 27, 2006, sidi said:
yes i agree that PR gets the left over budget and suddenly one day someone realises to us PR. there is no method and planning yet
On Jun 6, 2007, Anonymous said:
hi… i was going through this blogsite and found that the best of brains in pr are here… so just wanted ur opinions on certain things… i’m keen on pursuing a PR COURSE ALONG WITH MY MBA IN MARKETING… SO JUST WANTED YOUR FEEDBACK REGARDING THE SCOPE FOR PR PROFESSIONALS IN INDIA AND SUITABILITY CRITERIA….
On Jun 6, 2007, hobbithob said:
hey anonymous, i’m terribly bad in this-giving career advice. Well, you can start with an agency after your course, and preferably stay there for a couple of years before joining the corporate communications department of private companies or PSUs.