Positive Image
Image Managment is a vital part of corporate success, says Devdarshan Chakrabortyy

Profile
Devdarshan Chakrabortyy has more than 22 years of experience in the communications industry, and has worked with leading advertising and public relations firms of the country. At present, he is the Director of Strategy and Account Planning at Perfect Relations and is based at the firm’s corporate headquarters in New Delhi.

A postgraduate in social sciences, he also holds a Mass Communications degree from the Indian Institute of Mass Communication, New Delhi. He occasionally delivers lectures at on a variety of subjects and regularly conducts multilevel workshops and training programmes.

PRCIMS
Dev is also the Dean of the Perfect Relations Centre for Image Management Studies (PRCIMS), a premier institute that specialises in Executive Development programmes. PRCIMS is a unique effort driven by experts and backed by Perfect Relations - one of South Asia’s largest PR firms and an organisation with many years of real hands-on experience of building power brands and managing high profile image issues.

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It can be often bewildering when a nicely-differentiated product and perceptive pricing fails to strike the right chord with consumers. The issue becomes even more complicated when companies suffering from long stints of downturn or from issues of governance and management look at raising funds or hiring fresh talent. The question of corporate image and credibility can stand in the way of growth prospects and ambitions of a company to be a leader in the marketplace.

Experts will put it down to relatively fuzzy-but-critical factors such as ‘customer confidence’, ‘corporate image’, and ‘media perception’ - areas where PR makes a massive contribution! In fact, this is where the entire set of complex tactical and strategic initiatives that mark a successful PR campaign come
into play.

THE BASICS
Public Relations, as it is practiced in India today, is part of a global set of communications best practices that include elements of marketing, brand building, and of course, corporate image building. It is not just corporates, but individuals and social organisations that are using the subtle-yet-effective art of spin to communicate their messages to their target audiences. It is also about branding and recall in the marketing sense when personalities are built and cults are created. At once, it is about credibility, fund raising, mass appeal; all leading up to the ultimate question: “How much am I able to sell?” Very broadly, PR is about using multi-level communications to build a brand image that is good enough to attract financial success, command authority, and exude confidence. It helps create value.

The beauty of a well-crafted PR exercise is sometimes in its below-the-radar approach. At times, it is not ‘in-your-face’, and on occasions, it’s also ‘faceless’. Here, we are not talking about malicious hate messages or cloak-and-dagger propaganda, but often, mass education, or at the other extreme, guerrilla
marketing that PR helps augment!

EVERYWHERE
Another manifestation of PR is in political campaigns! The traditional media - both the press and TV - in India are being carefully targeted and utilised to showcase success stories, political stance, ideology, and messages. Managing the media momentum becomes critical for political parties and pressure groups alike as the increasingly literate voter in India starts to form hardened opinions about fundamental issues such as corruption, jobs, education, etc.

But more importantly, the world is now moving towards managing the digital buzz through the ubiquitous social networks. As young voters take to more-and-more sophisticated gadgetry, the Internet-savvy politician is immediately held in higher esteem than his peers. When Barack Obama had his first Twitter town hall, it was for the whole world to see and appreciate its reach and success.

While in India, it will take a while for the Internet to become a mass awareness and campaign tool, its impact is not far from being felt strongly. There are at least two big examples; such as the Shashi Tharoor and the Lalit Modi incidents, when Tweets led to turmoil with serious media fallout and consequences for these individuals! Managing this space of spontaneous opinions and emotions is today more important than ever before.

ESSENTIAL
This is where PR, as a discipline, assumes a completely new dimension from a tools-and-technology perspective. As practitioners grapple to fathom new media, the art of ‘messaging’ and ‘blending’ grows in sophistication! While corporate and product images are being created and destroyed online, the more prolific social movements are built and nurtured in the digital arena. From the cola and chocolate controversies, to Anna’s crusade on the Lok Pal bill, to the court case in Russia proposing a ban on the Gita, the Internet is a fertile ground where issues mutate, multiply, and manifest themselves faster than ever before!

Managing this complex world of communications, making sure the messaging is subtle-yet-credible, understanding media and public moods with a view to leveraging it to your company or client’s advantage, is where trained PR professionals are at work, albeit behind the scenes, 24X7.

Some of the great brands have been built through PR alone, while some others continue to use only PR as a marketing tool. Whether it’s Mother Care or the MotoRazr V3, Bausch & Lomb contact lenses, or Starbucks, much of the credibility and sheen these brands enjoy is due to smart PR campaigns that have made them cults rather than mere products!

A CAREER IN PR
As a career option, therefore, PR is an exciting field to be in. There is a huge and growing demand for PR professionals, and the demand will continue to grow over the next decade before it plateaus out. No other career path is growing at these levels today. Once you have earned your ticket by knowing the business, the world is your stage. The idea that it doesn’t pay as much as advertising or any other creative communication field is simply not true. Also remember, it is fee-based and not commission-based. So, the sky’s the limit.

One of the major benefits of being in PR is the cross-section of experience one gathers on the job. Since one is expected to deal mostly with the top management of client companies, the perspectives gained about these sectors and their challenges are unparalleled. At the end of the day, a career in public relations offers something new everyday, whether it is about innovating a new launch strategy for a beer or fishing net, or simply devising a mass market campaign for a new family planning method… Creativity, as embedded in the practicality of application, and simplicity of the solution are the leitmotifs.

The downside is perhaps the lack of a somnolent predictability about your workday. We have also seen some who would rather not take that challenge!

As PR becomes more and more a subject of specialisation, there is a pronounced demand for trained professionals. The Public Relations business faces an acute shortage of trained manpower due to the increasing pace of growth. This is reflected in the 30-35% hike in top-level salaries which the sector has seen in the last one year.

According to ASSOCHAM’s recent study, it was found that in spite of the attrition rate being as high as 40%, corporates are increasingly relying on PR to supplement advertising in helping clients form an effective communication strategy.

The market currently has more than 100 agencies - big ones with 10-15 branches across the country; medium sized with 4-5 branches; smaller city-specific agencies; and of course, thousands of companies including MNCs, Indian majors and mid-sized businesses.

THE ROAD AHEAD
Given the extent of specialisation, it is critical to choose your education carefully! There are many organisations that teach PR and advertising together as two key pillars of marketing. But it is important to understand that each is a distinct discipline with specific skill sets. Most importantly, there must be huge dollops of practical exposure built into the course content. So, look for a course that is ideally backed by a top PR agency where everything that is taught is ‘real’ and comes from practicing professionals who are faculty members. Only then you will be able to start with the right advantage in this highly-competitive arena where people are keen to get in and companies find that they are either faced with a pool that is either too bookish or mediocre. At the Perfect Relations Centre for Image Management Studies (PRCIMS), students get access to the this vital practical exposure. Faculty drawn from expert practioners of the trade, real-world projects, soft skills training (critical for a PR professional), close interaction with the media, mentoring, a classroom experience that encourages the seamless understanding and utilisation of working in and working with the digital space, and the all-too-vital experience of performing under pressure, are all a part of the student experience.