In the wake of this pandemic where physical contact, gatherings, and offline classes are not a possibility, School of Communications & Reputation (SCoRe) made sure that the learning for their students doesn’t stop. The work and conversations have shifted from offline to online with regular classes through video call services like Zoom and Google Hangouts. The institution has made sure that their students get quality education and continuous learning opportunities through session, masterclass, and assignment. 

Last Tuesday, the students of SCoRe had the pleasure of interacting with a veteran from the PR industry, Archana Jain, Managing Director, PR Pundit. Her session started with a brief introduction of the Award-winning mid-sized integrated communications consultancy. It is one of the leading PR firms in India which is recognised globally for compelling campaigns and luxury and lifestyle PR. She captured the students’ interest with insights about the consultancy such as, the significance behind the company’s name and logo, their clientele and the kind of work they do, and the thought process that goes behind it all.

Interesting fact: The three horizontal lines in the logo of PR Pundit signify Tripundra. The lines represent Will, Knowledge and Action respectively.

Within a short period, she gave us many valuable insights into the world of PR and Communications. Following are some of the key learnings explained in brief:

1. PR tactics are a powerful ally for any brand:

PR is a positive boon to brands small and large. Earned media is more effective than branded content at all stages of a buyer’s journey. If a brand wants to progress from anonymity to popularity, it needs to invest in PR. Archana pointed out some research that proves the importance of PR for a brand’s reputation and survival. 

2. 7 Ps of Marketing and PR’s integral role in it:

We have all studied the four Ps of Marketing mix but, with the kind of communication brands and stakeholders are engaging in right now, four are just not enough. In this session we explored the 7 Ps of marketing namely, Product, Price, Place, Promotion, Process, People, and Purpose.

Public relations deals with the last two elements very closely. In order to communicate effectively on behalf of a brand, PR professionals need to study its people and the target audience. A brand’s purpose is another important aspect of brand communications that PR professionals focus on and highlight through their strategies.

3. Evolving nature of the PR industry requires a 360 degree approach:

Archana highlighted that the PR industry is evolving continuously with the rapidly evolving market, change in customer behaviour and the need for constant innovation. Therefore, to keep up with it, PR professionals need to adopt a 360 degree approach which is not limited to traditional media. They could include digital collaborations with influencers, product seeding, multimedia content, and award nominations in their approach.

4. Purpose driven brands:

The purpose of a brand should resonate with its target audience for the communication to attain its objective. Purpose driven communication is about marrying commercial interest with others. One can build equity through purpose driven communication but ultimately it needs to support the business.

5. Case studies:

PR Pundit is the only PR consultancy in India which won a Cannes Lions. It is globally recognised for compelling campaigns and we explored some of those during our session. Archana shared with us some insightful case studies which supported the content that we studied during the course of this session:

– Case example for a Purpose driven brand with a point of view to connect with the consumers:

• United colours of Benetton- #UnitedByVote Campaign
• ITC Savlon- Healthy Hands Chalk Stick Campaign   

– Case example for a 360 degree approach by providing unique experiences to enhance brand appeal:

• Jo Malone London- Launch of India Inspired Jasmine Sambac and Marigold Cologne Intense

• Narendra Bhanwan Bikaner- Sustaining the dialogues and news momentum after a successful launch year.

The session gave us a detailed perspective on PR strategies and how they should be modified keeping in mind the target audience. The case examples highlighted the amazing work that PR Pundit has been doing over the years and it added to the quality of the content we consumed throughout the session. 

– Sakshi Jain

Related Read –

Learnings from Masterclass: Archana Jain

Masterclass on digital learning

Sakshi Jain is a part of Class of 2020 of PG Programme in PR and Corporate Communications at SCoRe, Mumbai. She completed her winter internship with Adfactors PR, Mumbai.

She holds a BA degree in Mass Communication from Prestige Institute of Management and Research, Indore. She has done a two month internship with Aim High Consulting, Bengaluru. Her interest in the field of communication and Public Relations comes from her love for reading, writing and meeting new people. She is always keen on learning new things. Apart from that she is in love with food, dance and cinema.

She can be reached at @SakshiJain_11 on Twitter and as Sakshi Jain on LinkedIn