Lockdown, quarantine, work from home, pandemic, online classes, video conferencing – these are probably the most used words right now. In the wake of this pandemic called Coronavirus, the world is going through a paradigm shifting alteration. Technology is probably the only thing which is enabling primary communication between humans. Ergo, the importance of technology cannot be emphasized more.

We, at School of Communications and Reputation (SCoRe), got a chance of a first hand interaction with Shipra Singh, Senior Vice President at Rudder Finn India accompanied by Tripti Gusain and Gaurav S. Kapoor, Account Directors, Technology Practice, Ruder Finn India. The trio specializes in technology and fintech brands, and initiated the session with the Quiz on logos of some brands such as Flipkart, Netflix, Amazon, Practo, and Uber, to indicate that they are used for different purposes but are bound by one common thread that is technology. 

Public Relations, as we knew it all along was based on coverage of brands on newspapers, brand stories, press conferences, and events. However, over the last few years, PR in India has gone through a huge transition and no longer revolves around coverages and media relations. Now, there are new realities such as Augmented Influence which is a mixture of three ingredients- augmented insights, augmented emotions and augmented intelligence. Now, to define the three:

• Augmented Insights: Augmented Insights refer to data, more specifically, big data. Given the kind of consumers that technology or fintech brands deal with today, communication is nearly impossible if not based on data. Properly researched data and insights about a certain customer base can completely change the communication of the brand as well as the customer behaviour and pattern. Also, while communicating, brands should throw out jargon because industry jargons might not be very familiar for consumers. Augmented Insights help in understanding the cause and effect of consumer behaviour too.
• Augmented Emotions: Augmented Emotions help in connecting with the consumer on a heart and mind basis. They also help in building relevance, establishing connect, securing attention and evoking emotion.
• Augmented Intelligence: There are breakthroughs happening in Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Big Data etc. Technology is trying to mix with human reality so that the right message at the right time can be given out.

“These three together is forming Augmented Influence. Ruder Finn is delivering Augmented Influence to its clients by connecting all the touch points through media relations, analyst relations etc. in context of their environment and with content that has resonance.”, said Shipra.

The second part of the session was taken up by Tripti who talked about how transformation in itself is their business. She started off with some instances where Ruder Finn, as a specialist firm on Technology PR had successfully changed the face of some globally popular brands such as Edx, Google Cloud and Visa. In this context, she shared with the class the case study of the fintech brand Visa, which single-handedly managed to make India go cashless after the event of demonetization. What the PR team did was that they took the 360-degree approach of making Visa the most go to brand for digital payments. The output was that Visa secured a leadership position and was established as a thought leader and an expert. It also became the industry leader and the key referral point on digital payments. Case studies on EDX, Infor and DBS were also shared by Tripti and Gaurav which focused on how Ruder Finn worked tirelessly with these brands to make them the leaders in their sector.

Towards the end of the session, Gaurav shared that how well-researched insights and PR activities based on that can make or break the face of a brand. For a strategy to work, one needs to understand the situation and the context of their target audience. “At the end of the day, you cab get your communication objective out if you have your contacts with the correct journalist.”, mentioned Gaurav.

Shipra also talked about how many times public relations professionals would choose an unethical way of getting their job done. On the contrast, she also mentioned that how millennials today have turned heads away from unethical practices. A study in the U.S showed that the millennial generation is a lot more intelligent and purpose driven compared to the previous generation. Most millennials will not join an organization that doesn’t have ethics.

The session came to conclusion with some key highlights which are as follows:

• Public Relations, even if in bits and pieces, is moving forward now in a very structured way
• It is very important for brands to look out for outward communication so that it attracts all kinds of consumers
• Analyst Communications will be the next big thing for brands to focus on for their communications
• Companies should invest around listening, monitoring and measurement metrics

The session was very insightful with a deep-diving discussion on technology and fintech brands, which are the need of the hour. Technology has been the greatest enabler in these times of crisis. If leveraged properly, it would be man’s best friend in the coming future.

– Baishali Banerjee

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Baishali Banerjee is a part of the Class of 2020 of PG Programme in PR and Corporate Communications at SCoRe, Mumbai. She completed her winter internship with Genesis BCW, Mumbai.

She is from Kolkata. She did her graduation in Media Science with a specialization in Public Relations and Advertising from NSHM Knowledge Campus, Kolkata. She has always been curious about the corporate world and how all these huge brands function and connect with their consumers on a day to day basis. She interned with Ketchum Sampark for a period of three months under the Brands & Lifestyle team. This experience made her more curious about the PR fraternity. Also, she is a person very open to learning and her interests lie in corporate, entertainment and lifestyle.

She can be reached at @baishalibanerj5 on Twitter and as Baishali Banerjee on LinkedIn