I’ve often compared a PR career to living-on-the-edge – a calling best suited to people who can work really hard and smart; and bring to life ideas that lead to change.

PR requires a special kind of person who thrives on action, on ‘doing’ everyday. PR is a series of short sprints that look quite like a marathon, in retrospect.

I landed in Cannes as a member of a jury eager to lend my experience to selecting the best among the best for the inaugural PR Lions. I returned humbled by the learning from the vast pool of creativity, enriched by the knowledge and thirst for more.

The world has changed – while changing further at an incredible pace. The idea can come from anywhere – advertising, PR, direct, promotions, you name it. And let’s stop cribbing about it not being a PR idea. The Idea wins. I also know that Creativity flows from the young and free. So from hereon you are the King of Rock – not MJ. So let’s see it floowww……Excellence in execution is key to success – using surround sound – digital, traditional media, email, event, grassroots, you name it. Traditional PR is alive but often not relevant, insufficient, does not reach audiences as quickly as digital does. Often digital leads, traditional media follows – almost always.

Ashwani has been reporting from Cannes and he has put up an interesting post on how to produce winning PR campaigns. What he said that I like the most was that any campaign has to be built around a central idea, an idea that is simple yet executed well. I also remember having a chat with Prema Sagar before she left for Cannes (she is the only Indian member to be part of the jury) that one of the core things that she look for will be a clear and simple idea and how that has been executed.

According to a survey by PwR New Media among 215 journalists, 89% of the journalists surveyed said email is their preferred method of receiving releases. 6% mentioned snail mail and less than 1% of respondents mentioned social media, RSS, fax, and in person delivery.
Also, 85% of the journalists surveyed said that images are very important. [...]

As much as 49% of Indian opinion leaders interviewed expressed growing concerns about business in India even before the Satyam news broke, according to the 10th Edelman Trust Barometer released in Mumbai today. These concerns about business are not unique to India — 59% for the APAC region, 56% for China, 67% for the UK [...]

Weber Shandwick, in association with The Economist, today came out with a report entitled ‘Risky Business: Reputations Online’ based on a survey conducted among 703 senior executives within more than 20 industries in 62 countries spanning North America, Europe, Asia Pacific and other markets. The report revealed interesting insights:
15 REALITIES
1. Reputation threat level is high: [...]