On this women’s day, while celebrating the occasion, I would like to talk about a women in PR profession, who was the first to benchmark and venture into consumer and lifestyle PR. She is the managing director and CEO of the award-winning integrated communication consultancy PR Pundit, Archana Jain.

She is a strong and confident woman, with a passion for art and loves Italian cuisine. She also loves traveling and gardening. She is also someone who has had a lot of exposure to different cultures since childhood. The reason was that her father was a part of the Indian armed forces which resulted in her being educated across the country. Effectively nurturing within her an ability to adapt to change.

She developed her passion for PR after her first job. While recalling how she landed up in the field of PR during an interview, she mentioned that it was pure coincidence. She had applied for a job as a marketing researcher at a small hotel in Hyatt regency. But when she had appeared for the interview, they informed her that the marketing position was being replaced by a Public Relations position. This boggled her at that time because she was clueless about Public Relations. She recalled studying the manual of the job role and upon liking the description accepted the job.

After 2 years of working with the hotel, she joined the Genesis PR firm for 5 and a half years. It was after her 7.5 years of experience that she realized her passion for consumer tech and ventured into the entrepreneurial field and started PR Pundit in the year 1998.

When asked about her reason to name the firm so, she said that she wanted an Indo-Western name and something which would stick to one’s mind, and hence PR Pundit fulfilled the criteria. Today PR Pundit has a history of over two decades and is a leading PR firm when it comes to consumer, lifestyle, and luxury brands. When talking about Public Relations as a profession, she states that PR is not spin-doctoring. It is telling a good story to the right people.

She led  PR Pundit to become India’s first and only PR firm to bag a Gold PR Lion at Cannes for its campaign for ITC Savlon. Their focus is on creating compelling campaigns to create brand trust in the hearts of the consumers. PR Pundit’s work for “Adidas” was recognized with a Certificate of Excellence in the Social Media category entitled “Building Adidas running with online amplifiers” at the “Sabre” South Asia awards.

In the last few years, 22 of its client programs have secured 33 awards and industry acclaim. In 2018, PR Pundit was acknowledged as the best mid-size PR Consultancy of the Year at two independent industry award platforms.

PR Pundit had stupendous wins across luxury, lifestyle, beauty, and sports at the inaugural Economic Times – Brand Equity Kaleido Awards 2019 held on 01 st March 2019. PR Pundit’s campaigns were accorded GOLD in:

1. Best use of Event: Adidas Parsley Run for the Oceans
2. Best Campaign in Luxury: Jo Malone London – India Inspired Fragrance
3. Best Use of Media: Adidas changing the perception of Kashmir (co-created and executed with Kaizzen)
4. Best Campaign in Sports: Adidas changing the perception of Kashmir

Archana Jain has also been featured in IMPACT’s 50 Most Influential Women list, 2020.

During her speech, while thanking the IMPACT jury for the recognition, she recalls that when she had initially started her career in the PR field, she was an awkward- introverted person and felt that she might not belong in this profession, but after a decade of being in the field and starting PR Pundit, she felt otherwise. She believes as long as we are willing to work hard and persevere, we can make it and excel in the field of Public Relations.

The contribution she has made in the field of Public Relations is undoubtedly commendable. As young PR professionals, we are extremely lucky to have such role models to look up to. We must also be thankful to her and all the other PR women Professionals, who have created this amazing platform for us to grow, flourish and take the profession of Public Relations to greater heights in the coming future.

Read more – 5 Learnings from a Masterclass with Archana Jain

– By Anisha Singh

Anisha is a student of School Of COmmunications and REputations (SCoRe) – Class of 2022 – Spring Batch. She comes from a beautiful city, Shillong, which is also known as the Scotland of East. She enjoys participating in outdoor activities and She is an ex- NCC cadet. She has completed her graduation in Bachelor of Business Administration, from St Anthony’s College, Shillong. She can be reached on Twitter as @anisha907 and on LinkedIn as Anisha Singh