I started my career by managing communications for some of the most famous and exciting technology brands. Along the way I was convinced that I loved Public Relations. The reasons are many – not only is communications an exciting and dynamic profession but one can clearly see (those who understand this function) the value a PR professional brings to the business.
My experience during my foundational years at a PR firm gave me an insight that despite the PR community being mature at a fairly large level the ‘younger lot of professionals’ do not understand the worth of the work that they do. The PR community has three important aspects. First, the brands and stakeholders who believe in the significance of communication, the second is the current professionals themselves and the third is the future professionals who should be educated in the right manner and the third aspect needs to be worked upon and hence the idea of creating a PR school that will train the students to be meticulous PR professionals. And for me personally contributing to the cause of PR education in India in some way was the biggest reason to be a part of India’s first school dedicated to the study strategic communications SCoRe- Indian School of COmmunications and Reputation.
The second reason for me to take up this role was because I believe in what SCoRe has to offer. No other school in India has a programme that is as robust as this and which offers everything that is related to ‘the new age PR’. There are hardly any PR firms in India who have well rounded talent who know all aspects of traditional PR, digital PR, project management, market research, data analytics and a lot more. SCoRe will train its students to be best-in class and that is the cause that I strongly believe in. I don’t think young talent today (including myself) have ‘all’ the skills that a new age PR pro should ideally have.
My experience during my PR career involved designing a lot of campaigns that had more of a marketing bent which made me keen to take up a role that gave an equal importance to marketing – this is the third reason. While I execute the marketing communications campaigns for SCoRe, I get to be a part of the PR profession in a big way. Moreover, I get to understand the business in a new light as I get to listen and discuss various aspects of PR with leading professionals from across the spectrum.
The fourth and an important reason was to be a part of a start-up which I believe will be fast-growing. We are a three member team that handles – the programme design, admissions, marketing, structure of the organization, internal policies and everything that is related to forming a new organization. My contribution has ranged from varied tasks; from selecting our school’s branding colours to building media relations for it. This set-up has given me the exposure to learn various aspects of not only the PR business but also business in general. And while I learn & grasp all of this I also get to enjoy the dynamism, value and pride that a PR professional gets from his/her job.
Lastly, the school lies at the heart of the PR profession and is strongly connected to most Indian leaders in PR. The heads of India’s top PR firms are a part of the schools’ governing bodies and many other national and international PR veterans form its advisory board. And, getting a chance to interact with all these leaders on a regular basis and looking at the profession from their perspective is the cherry on the cake.
