The Hindu Business Line : Relating to PR

Clarity. Without this, communication ends up as `confusion, complacency, even chaos,' writes Kerman Kasad in The Art of Public Relations, from Brand Vision (www.usp-age.com) . "Because clear messages address the concerns and needs of listeners, they naturally take the form of a conversation more than a lecture or announcement."

The book, edited by Shashidar V. and Amit Bapna, is like a series of conversations, in the form of dozens of short essays on a variety of topics. Such as, `twelve deadly tips to strategic internal communications,' in which the clarity that we started off with is at number 5. `No more sexing up,' exhorts C. Chandra Mouli, in a different essay. "The target group for PR is not the press alone but may be more than one in a given situation - employees, shareholders, government, community, suppliers or financial institutions," he points out.

Build creativity into campaigns, Veena Gidwani advises the PR clan. Because `journalists are more receptive' to creative ideas. "Three `I's - interest, impact, and investment - brought together by one big creative idea make for a successful PR exercise," writes Gidwani. An article on sports sponsorship rues that Anju George is a case of `classic waste of charisma'. Why so? "George, who could be a perfect role model for women's health and fitness brands, lacks a sponsor..." Wonder if this, in fact, is the case, because media reports in October 2005 had noted that `despite a contract with a global sports accessories major,' George did not have in place support staff team of `a full-time coach, a doctor and a masseur,' which her competitors had.

"Public relations is one of the most misunderstood and misinterpreted professions," laments a long chapter. "PR is a much abused and mistrusted word. The way it is practised today is akin to the world's oldest profession," reads a quote of Avis, chief dreamer of imagequity, a reputation management firm.

"Don't shoot the messenger," pleads Noumaan Qureshi. "Companies in India are purely sales-focused and for them PR is only a cheap alternative (with editorial publicity) vis-à-vis advertising." But "with increasing competition and customer awareness, Indian companies will realise the importance of PR," hopes the author.

Net applications enable PR practitioners `to forge richer and more robust relationships with customers,' assures Aarti H. Sabhaney in a chapter titled `PR in Blogosphere'. A caveat, though, is that "blogging is an instantaneous feedback network and could disseminate factually incorrect information about organisations and individuals in public spotlight."

Is there a connect between successful PR and value creation, asks Sunil Gautam? It is very difficult to measure value creation, he admits. Yet, "successful PR does have a connection to value growth, whether it is share price, profits, revenues, or some other measure important to the company."

The role of PR extends to every communication opportunity that can potentially influence the key constituencies either by creating a perception, or informing/educating, states Kishore Ravuri. "Financial PR is fast gaining space with companies that have come to realise the need to build a brand and competitive positioning while executing financial activities," he writes in a different essay.

`PR kiya to darna kya?' asks Prabhat Choudhary, in an aptly-titled piece about the short lifecycle of a movie. "An IBM or a Honda, or a Gillette, has years to build/ consolidate/ harness its brand whereas a Dhoom or Bunty Aur Babli has to run through the entire process in the span of 8-12 weeks... The process behaves like throwing brand grenades at a targeted set of audiences."

Engaging insider accounts.

http://BookPeek.blogspot.com

D. Murali