Media Forecast 2010

With our primary role in TRACK2MEDIA being media consultancy, a lot of people keep asking as to which way the Indian media is heading to in the year 2010. Different people have different reasons to be curious-journalist friends want to know whether the gloomy picture in the media world will continue in the year ahead. The clients in the corporate world are always curious to understand the behavioral dilemma with the necessary evil called media.
Speaking from the perspective of TRACK2MEDIA as a media consulting agency and from a personal standpoint, what media means to us is something which is our forte, our core competency, and certainly our bread and butter. This is also one of the sunrise industries in the Indian market today. I know this statement will raise quite a few eyebrows in today’s context when the television channels are increasingly attempting to get top thin in their hierarchy and overall management practice.
One of the leading group of television channels has only recently hired a global audit firm to measure the employees’ productivity. With the mandate to roll the heads from the top (read all highly paid), restructuring resulted in many of the professionals being shown the doors. If industry grapevine is to be believed, another leading media house is ready with its own liability list. Country’s leading national daily with a financial daily, a news channel and a business television channel has also went through massive restructuring this year.
However, I am still optimistic and this euphoric state of mind has got nothing to do with the measured advertising expenditure in the year 2009. If I go by the Information & Broadcasting Ministry’s clearance to a number of television channels in the recent past, television as a medium of news certainly seems to be poised for another expansion spree. It may not grow vertically and qualitatively, but a horizontal growth and quantitative growth is certainly on the cards.
Even from the advertising and marketing sustenance point of view, on a macro level hardly anyone will argue against the fact that India has become the global hot spot for any global brand. From FMCG to luxury & super luxury, all roads are leading into Indian market today. India along with China has emerged as the market that is critical in any global brand’s strategy for expansion. However, I must admit here that the idea of advertising is vague. And statistics are just that – statistics.
A more critical look into 2010 for the two media platforms leading the way (television and online) will unveil a better idea of where the media is heading to. The rationale of evaluating only the television and online media is that print has apparently reached its saturation point in this part of the world and there is no major expansion on the cards. Even some of the global newspapers tying up with an Indian partner for the local edition over here have put their plans on shelves for the time being. Television and Internet, however, is heading northwards with more players joining the fray.
Journalist friends in the print media may crib that their intellectual superiority and low pay is shameful as against the triple S and one P (Sex, Sensationalism, Silly & Politics) driven television where PYT (Pretty Young Thing) is all you need to succeed. But television will continue to go some distance as against some other forms of advertising, including that of Internet and Outdoor. Television in India may be ridiculed by the serious but minority audience and academicians but it will never go away, at least not in the foreseeable future.
Actually the footprint of television in India is a case study as to how media is consumed and preferred in this part of the world. In terms of marketing strategy, 2010 may see the Indian television shifting from the traditional Ad-Breaks to that of Media Value. The fine blending of advertising and editorial content seems to be on the cards. In the US, this transformation has started long ago starting with the advent of online videos and digital video recorders. These technologies allowed viewers to skirt traditional advertising and put more pressure on media value and brand integration in the content themselves.
With more advertisers ready but cautious with their advertising dollars, the idea of branded integration will emerge as the new buzz word amongst agencies and content providers. Theoretically good content may be the king but advertisers still need to balance the idea of brand image with that of media value. To be precise, branded content may be more readily available, but media value is not about availability but if its right for the brand.
Internet opened up in India nearly over a decade ago and the new kid on the block immediately got a setback. The dot com bubble burst n late ‘90s was inevitable for two specific reasons- with very low internet penetration the whole idea was ahead of its time; and then everybody thought of making a million or two through the cheapest media vehicle possible with no quality content in the kitty. However, over the past decade the increasing internet penetration has ensured that Indian netizens grow phenomenally and online media is a formidable alternative platform to that of television, and believe it or not, even print. If the largest media baron of the world Rupert Murdoch believes the time has come for the paid content online, he has reasons to believe so.
While Internet advertising revenue growth in the US and some other parts of Europe has reached a saturation point of under 5%, Indian forecast of around 20% growth in 2010 sounds too lucrative. This has also led to digital advertising agencies appearing out of nowhere for the first time in the last couple of years. After all, this is where the key elusive demographic that the majority of global advertisers are salivating to get a chance to market is consuming their media.
For 2010, the big question about online advertising is not about why, but where. Google Analytics has suddenly emerged as much in demand as TRPs are there for television. Unlike television where advertising has more of a defined role of where trends are shaping the industry, online is fast emerging as the happy hunting ground for advertisers looking for low cost and high value medium with a global audience.
However, it seems that the lessons learnt from the first round of dot com bubble burst have been easily forgotten here. What is happening once again is that everyone is a content provider whether legitimate or not. In the absence of any defined regulation and the low cost operation, websites have suddenly mushroomed on anything and everything. This makes the job of serious website companies even tougher to produce more quality content and create the right marketing and promotion campaigns to make online advertising a legitimate success. As a practitioner of brand management I feel the online media will see some serious Off-line branding in order to create a market differentiator.
No wonder, when TRACK2MEDIA did a market feasibility survey for its forthcoming online news venture www.indianewsstreet.com, most of the marketers in this part of the world opined that online is a dynamic but fluid media platform. We do understand that advertisers understand the language of ROI (return on investment) and with constantly evolving platforms without rules and metrics, providing a sustainable business model will constantly be a major challenge. For 2010, it will be a year of proving out the validity of online as content providers, updated & instant platforms, and advertisers converge to figure out the right business model in the Indian market.
Television has an edge over here due to platform convergence because this not just ensures having the content available on both online and television, but utilizing both platforms to cross-promote the content and ultimately enhance the viewer experience. For television, online provides a whole new dimension of watching programs from audience interactivity and behind-the-scenes footage to an e-commerce component and social-networking aspect. The marketing strategy of TV 18 is a case study in this context.
If the serious engagement of both the print and television media with their Live Online Site is any indication in 2009, there will be some really serious competition in the segment. Thus, for the media groups with “Only Online” platform to offer, rich content, distinct market positioning and cutting edge exclusivity is the only answer. In the words of legendary Mark Twain, take the roads less travelled by and 2010 is the year for all of you seriously involved with the Online Media. Despite the ups and mostly downs of the media sector in the year, 2010 only promises a better and optimistic media market in India.

Era of quick capital appreciation over

With the economy giving indications of recovery and real estate companies putting up a brave face, the question as to whether this is the right time to buy property has yet again been raking up. If the industry figure is to be believed, it seems many of the prospective home buyers who had put their plans on shelf due to the threat of job loss & inability to pay the EMIS borne out of recession are back in the property hunt. Booking of all the 1400 flats within hours of opening of booking by a leading realty company is also seen by a section of realty analysts as the rediscovery of confidence in the market. Crisis of confidence is said to be over in a market where one of the developers sold its entire 3,500 apartments in less than two days while selecting buyers through draw of lots.

According to a report of real estate research firm PropEquity, the sale of newly launched apartments have gone up from 7% in the October-December quarter of 2008 to 14% in January-March quarter of 2009, and further to 21% in April-June quarter of 2009. This suggests that as prices have fallen, end users are coming back to the market. Even the demand for office space is on the upswing. According to a global realty consultancy firm Cushman and Wakefield’s report on office space, “The demand for office space across the country in April-June quarter of 2009 increased in excess of 65% over the January-December quarter.”
However, these industry figure also conceal more than they reveal on the pulse of the property barometer. The answer as to whether this is the right time to buy is not a simple yes or no, but it depends on a number of factors like whether a buyer is looking for first or second house, for living or investment, if investment then it is for the long run or short run etc. If we take Delhi-NCR as a Case Study here, it has seen two booms and two slumps in the last over a decade. The ups and downs may continue regardless of prevailing market sentiments, depending on the project, geographical locations and various other factors.
These booms and slumps predominantly affect active investors and traders in property who want to make money on every deal they make. Not for those who’re looking for a home to move into. Even when the market was worst hit with the recessionary impact there were good deals in market for those looking to invest in property. If the fundamentals are strong like clear titles, area where growth is expected etc and the price correction has already happened, then one may opt for buying.
This doesn’t at all suggest that the road to recovery for the realty companies is smooth. Many of the front line realty players are deep into debt, and their stock valuation has also nosedived. The boom period of real estate in India from 2005 to 2008 actually led to unrealistic valuation for the property and its stocks. However, it has fallen flat in the wake of economic uncertainty and property prices came down between 10 to 35% from the peak level depending upon the location.
The debate as to whether this is the right time to buy a property is endless since market sentiments is something that no analyst can gauge perfectly. However, the era of too fast capital appreciation in real estate, in some cases by 300 per cent, signaling a lot of liquidity and speculation in the sector seems to be over. While that may not be a good news for the builders, for the common man on a house hunt the slowdown in economy and real estate bubble burst may prove to be a blessing in disguise.

Quest for Rit led me to Rit International

Ever since we at TRACK2MEDIA conceptualized the idea of launching out a venture in journalism, there began an eternal quest for issues. Not that there has been dearth of problems in a developing society like India, but amidst the problem of plenty there has been more skepticism as well. What should be the ideal subjects for a news platform aimed at advocacy and activism? There has been deterioration in every walk of public life.

Deteriorating healthcare and education with hospitals guilty of non compliance of mandatory free treatment to patients, Medical Council of India becoming a den of corruption, schools flouting even court directives on capitation, private banks like HDFC hiring goons to threaten credit card holders even when payment has already been made, Pepsi and Cola flowing in a country known for overflowing rivers and milk, poor public transport and infrastructure. You name it and the problem is there.

There have been some inherent dangers as well. There are actually very few subjects where championing the cause does not land you into playing into the hands of vested interests. What has been all the more challenging is the fact that who are the people and organizations on whose behalf we need to stand for. Corporate Social Responsibility seems to be a mockery of the very purpose when the companies producing carbonated drinks & other unhealthy fried foods are championing the cause with one or two healthy snacking options in their portfolio.

Discussion with a journalist friend gave some insight as to how to make the balancing act. However, the advice to look at micro level instead of macro level was more useful. Thank you sir, I know you read my blog on a regular basis. I am thankful to you for reminding of the fact that there can be people and organizations working for a noble cause around us, without much Page 3 kind of social hype. And I know one of them; actually we are working with them as their communication consultant.

I am talking about Chitra Awasthi and her education management group called Rit International. Rit literally means “Truth” in Sanskrit, and my quest for Rit landed me to Rit international. I agree, we should have thought of them much earlier. It is much easy to contribute less, hype more and get away with the awards in the given categories at various forums but what is challenging is to live up to your convictions and don’t let commercial interests come in the way of your ideals. This is where Rit International deserves all the appreciation by the entire team working on the project of India News Street.

I remember when Chitra Awasthi started her first project in Chuckkle.com, it proved to be a tough call from sustenance point of view since the concept was new and they were constrained by the financial limitations. But the kind of response that the project started getting, it was quite easy a road map to make it a paid site. However, she resisted the temptation to make it a paid website since it would have been anti-thesis of giving something back to the society if you charge kids who are interested in the website.

Looking towards the institutions and corporate world for the sponsorship was not that easy. There was no conscious effort of marketing in its true sense as well. However, the corporate world started coming to them for two specific reasons-as part of their Corporate Social Responsibility as well as companies who make children specific products. As part of the long term strategy also the corporates are now eager to adopt our programmes as means of the above stated reasons. So, the marriage of demand and supply, with no compromise at either side, is inevitable now.
Chitra Awasthi and Rit International is a case study in understanding as to how a business project can be sustained and taken to the next level, without compromising with your ethics, values and convictions. And my friend’s advice still alerts me, keep looking for case studies at the micro level and thus you will not only contribute symbolic but substantive to the society. Point well taken sir, that will also be our defence mechanism against playing into the hands of vested interests.

Life is beyond bylines

“Meaningful journalism…..?”, the dirty look by an industry veteran was enough to intimidate a budding journalist in me. However, in the early `90s I could not read anything other than cynicism in the statement. The quest for getting an entry into journalism and earning the byline was so tempting that I failed to understand what really he wanted to convey. A couple of years later, on my first job as a city reporter the editor sounded more curt and straight when he suggested me to better forget about what all crap has been taught in the post graduation course of journalism. It was the love for bylines, strange fascination to see my name published, that yet again forced me to fall in line.

Over the next few years this byline syndrome drove me too far to even think of any real objective behind being the practitioner of journalism. Now as a communication consultant, the same question has yet again surfaced while talking to journalism students with whom I recently interacted as a guest faculty. The world may have changed over these years, and television may have stormed the media business, but what has not changed is the fact that it is the same old byline around which life of a journalist revolves. Television journalists too are a crazy lot for PTC (piece to camera) and Exclusive and even camera persons never fail to remind for mentioning their credit in the story.

It is not that I have now started detesting bylines, nor am I against given byline to a news story. I don’t actually mind even if the story headline says that “A girl has been raped in broad day light” and follows it up with “By Staff Reporter”. At times this credit to the beat journalist may confuse the average readers as to whether it was the staff reporter who had raped the girl. The idea here is to understand the state of mind where byline rules so supreme that we don’t really care for ethics, journalistic or humane. The cut throat competition among media houses and the rat race among the journalists have only deteriorated the objectives for which journalism ought to be practiced.

It seems we are not in the business to defend the cause of the victim but to victimize the one even further, be it a rape victim or someone who just lost the entire family in a blast. The lure of the byline and its by-product, thanks to the new breed of television journalism, “Exclusive” & “Breaking News” as the say, is so tempting that we fail to see there is a life beyond the credit line of the story too. It seems the entire journalistic objective is to persuade and manipulate the victim to narrate the suffering, and in the process relive the agony yet again.

It is not that journalists who are driven by this byline syndrome do gain something personally out of this “me first & me fast” syndrome. Of course, there are a few smart operators who make a fortune for themselves, but for most of the byline hungry lot it is actually love for the profession that drives them far and further. I know a whole bunch of journalists whose families have suffered due to their main bread winner being too involved in a profession where the only reward has been byline, with only a meager salary of course.

I wonder whether they can channelise this passion for something more meaningful. After all, whose interests are they serving if in the name of being ahead of other media and getting exclusives, the love for the profession too takes a back seat. But then that is a state of mind, which defies any rational explanation for even the best of the Freudians. Is there any way out? Can there be any avenue for meaningful journalism? May be yes, only if these dedicated journalists do get a media platform which is truly free, frank and fearless and not bound by editorial policy that is dictated by the advertising revenue.

In my opinion, only advocacy and activism journalism is the answer….and that too with a media platform that is not bound by editorial or marketing constraints. We need a media vehicle where there is no rat race for “me first & me fast” and where byline comes with your contribution to the cause, not by mere story filing. With these objectives TRACK2MEDIA is very soon launching www.indianewsstreet.com.

The news portal is being established to address major emerging issues and concerns, and welcome citizens’ advocacy and activism as well to coordinate and monitor progress in shaping the policies. The partnership would not merely be intellectual (championing the cause through advocacy) but also numeric (a large pool of activists to have a share in policy making). We look forward to actions that are substantive and not merely symbolic. Hopefully, we will make some of the media friends understand the fact that there is a life, and more meaningful life, beyond the bylines.

Why do you blog?

“Why do you write blogs”, asked a friend while driving on way to what I can call a long drive after quite a while. Had it come from someone who would have been ignorant of the pleasures of academics and writing, I would have avoided it as another off-the-cuff query. But knowing the fact that she herself is an addictive blogger and admittedly a competing writer, if not a better one and works with a leading media house was worth reading between the lines. It was not a normal query and I could read something in her sparkling and even more inquisitive eyes.

To the extent of my understanding of human behaviour, often being judgmental through the prism of Freudian psychology, the query was borne more out of an ideological and professional dilemma. Hence I felt the issue had the merit worth a serious introspection. It was all the more so since it seemed to me as if she herself is looking to find an answer. Writers, good bad or indifferent, are often the captive of their own make belief world where self doubt rules supreme.

I have always maintained that a counter question can not be an answer to a question, something that I often tell her too. And hence I had no liberty of choice but to resist the temptation of asking the same question back to her. Blogging, of course, is not as unusual today as it has been a couple of years back. Of late, the new tool in the form of Linkedin has also been flooding my mail box with all sorts of ideas on blog. This query, however, has not been on the innovative and often stupid ideas as to how the blog can be an effective tool in increasing business and how to increase the traffic on the blog. Another school of thought suggesting how blogging can add to your business too did not figure in my scheme of things.

Thus, there has been a simple query yet it led me to introspect as to why I spend so much time on blogging. Is it the pleasure of leisure that drives me to write blog? Or is it the absence of creative avenue to express that I find a solace in blogging? Well, in my case both the options were ruled out. While the process of establishing a communication consultancy company keeps me on my toes, I have also been doing freelance writing quite a bit. Added to this my advocacy and activism on various media outlets and associations are keeping me over occupied.

What instantly I could think of as an obvious reason that drives any blogger to waste his creative energy is his passion to raise issues and voice concerns. I suppose blog is the ideal platform to raise issues as per your own taste and wish. It is not something which is bound by the editorial policy or editors’ wish list. I believe the blogosphere is ideal for advocacy journalism since there is “no time, length or editorial constraints" and information is immediately available to everyone. “Hmmm…”, the friend agreed and wished “as if we all could have got such an ideal platform in the mainstream journalism where you make a living out of writing your heart out”.

We finally reached to a road side food joint for lunch, but a simple innocuous question forced into some serious introspection. The very purpose of life at one point in time that drove me into journalism, advocacy and activism, had taken the back seat over a period of time. It seems to have resurfaced yet again and hence this debate was the genesis of my initiative for such a media vehicle www.indianewsstreet.com, where we can practice journalism for analysis, advocacy and activism. TRACK2MEDIA is coming out with the dream project very soon, and till then it is blog blog….. and then, of course, this habit forming exercise too will continue.

When metaphysics defies rational explanation

“He looked into my eyes, uttered a few words and my heart started singing……”, it was early stages of my career in journalism that I wrote this intro for a satirical piece on a chance encounter with a fake astrologer. The heady dose of communism and socialism, something that I later renounced due to its inherent contradictions and hypocrisy, made me feel very proud of being rationalist. Discarding anything and everything that did not fit into the stated ideology was the in-thing and fashion during those days.

Coming out of the University with hot blood and activist mind, it was always ideology grappling for facts and figure and it never went the other way round. Therefore, astrology, metaphysics or occult science was something that was always a subject to despise. Over a period of time, some interest in psychology, followed by parapsychology and struggle of cruel fate in the fast lane of metro forced me into looking for so many developments which failed to give any rational reasoning. The failure of logic and the so-called worldly wisdom further led me to delve deep into metaphysics and the result: I got introduced to astrology in an attempt to find answer too many of the questions that otherwise would have remained unanswered.

Still, it was more to do with astrology and occult sciences as the subject of academic interest than a guiding force. Some of the wrong predictions amidst many right ones made me believe that astrology is not a prefect science. This was till the time I met Pradip Bhattacharyya, for whom it has been more than science; actually he studied the subject thoroughly to find out more about this to guide and counsel others.

This young Bengali astrologer in Delhi has a family tradition of astrology. But his fascination for the subject is so strong that he has become a perfect blend of astrologer, metaphysician, counselor and motivational speaker. He is all rolled into one, without probably himself realizing his all round area of expertise. A chance encounter through a common friend was filled with skepticism. And I must admit that I was determined to cross check his highs & depths, something that I normally do with astrologers without telling them how much I know about the subject.

It is here that I found Pradip Bhattacharyya to be different from the league. May be he is not professional enough to ask for money that adds to his charisma and persona. Even though some of my queries made him understand that I have some knowledge and command over the subject, the calm and composed astrologer had his business as usual. Of course, he admitted after convincing me and my queries that he had realized the amateur astrologer in me. Most of the practitioners in the trade today don’t have the required knowledge and depth over the subject and easily get agitated if ever get a client who is cross-questioning.

Pradip Bhattacharyya is different and was not agitated over once by the fact that there is somebody who is arguing with him over planetary transits and movements. He is the new breed of astrologers who has turned his childhood hobby into profession, something that he had never planned. But, as they say, stars have their own ways to determine the destiny of one and all. The young astrologer works as a content executive with a telecom company that provides astrology content to mobile companies.

In short, he is the man behind the SMS you receive in the morning predicting your future. And, mind you, writing daily scientific researched predictions in less than 100 words can be quite a challenging task. And convincing me has always been even more difficult, something that Pradip has done quite successfully. I am, no doubt, impressed. The question is whether you too believe in some stars and want to check out what is destined for you tomorrow. If yes, Pradip Bhattacharyya is the right person. Even if you are a so-called rationalist, try him out for once. Most of you won’t get disappointed.

Nurturing holistic development of children

Request by a journalist friend to meet an educationist working for kids and young adults was honoured by me like any normal invitation. To be honest, it was more to do with personal obligation than meeting or finding a platform to work for the social cause, so I thought. That is how I met educationist Chitra Awasthi and her organization, Rit International. Rit means truth in Sanskrit, and as the name itself indicates she set up this organization more as a cause and with a social purpose in mind. A strategic brand consultant in me never thought that it is not necessary to compete with the existing education in order to bring a meaningful reform. If there is a will, you can add value to the existing educational framework in the given society. What is all the more important is the fact that the society and educational institutions will be more than willing to accept and adopt you. A number of emerging replicas of this model is a testimony to the fact.

Of course, there has to be initial skepticism with many of the existing players feeling threatened. But the continued acceptance by the society only reflects the fact that there is absence of quality education in the country. More importantly, there is an urgent need to shape the young minds that are going to be our future. No wonder, the innovative approach in education management has driven Rit International to the forefront with various schools, institutions and children’s’ associations. However, and I must admit it honestly that as against the advice of TRACK2MEDIA as a strategic consultant, Chitra Awasthi has resisted the temptation to convert it into a business venture in the conventional term.

For Chitra Awasthi and her team of educationists Rit International has more to do with a mission than business vision. Actually, it was while working as consultant on various educational Programmes that she did realize the need to create a platform for the same purpose. Moreover, in a technology driven new India she also felt the need for an education management online programme to cater to the students, particularly the school kids.

In the kitty of TRACK2MEDIA it is interesting to have an organization where Vision and Mission Statement is derived from the social philosophy that every kid is special in his/her own unique way. And hence they believe in the holistic development of the child. More importantly, Rit International is a platform to provide academic and other creative avenues to each and every child, unlike some other platforms like the talent shows on various TV channels where it is meant for a select and privileged lot.

This is because Chitra Awasthi feels that unless we succeed in laying a solid foundation for all the children irrespective of the economic strata that they belong to, this sort of vacuum and demand-supply mismatch in education will always be there. The difference and the surprise package do not end here. Actually, in all their educational and other creative Programmes for the children and young adults, you will find a Brand Ambassador from the same age group only. Well, I am indeed impressed.

No bias towards Turtle Animations

When a journalist friend from Hindustan Times called me to suggest him some case studies for the Independence Day special story on financial freedom, frankly speaking I had very many options to suggest. The newspaper had planned story on the young professionals who were dissatisfied with their day-to-day lives and hence took the initiative to foray into something meaningful and thus got their financial independence. A couple of clients, a few friends, even TRACK2MEDIA itself, it seemed to be a problem of plenty. Actually, this was going to be your story, my story and everybody story, so it seemed to be.

As professionals we all have come up in life like that only. In the given scenario my initial thought was that there is nothing extraordinary about any of them to be suggested. But on second thoughts I realized there is a difference among all of us who have been at the end of professional grinding before opting for this sort of financial freedom. And it is here that I vouched for Turtle Animations to be incorporated in the 15th August special story. I knew very well that I was doing it at the cost of annoying some clients and few friends who were overlooked. But then the professional in me vehemently argued in favour of Turtle Animations.

As a matter of fact, most of us have opted for entrepreneurship and financial independence out of the need, often compelling need. To be honest on professional grounds, had it not been forced by the destiny, TRACK2MEDIA was designed to take shape after another couple of years. It may have been conceptualized thorough professionally by me and some of my journalist friends, but chicken and egg syndrome was putting a brake on the execution. However, destiny has its own script that often takes us of our feet. The same goes true for many of other companies that I regularly deal with. An unpleasant experience, sudden flow of money from somewhere, family or peer pressure, growing expenses and need to survive, one or many such reasons have been the genesis of most of the start-ups and then they grew as a successful venture.

And it is here that Turtle is different from all of us since the promoter Sanjay Banerjee had no such compelling need. Turtle Animations is a case study of the urge, and not need, of a talented artist who preferred a career over taking over reigns of the family business of the largest pharmaceutical company in the Himalayan kingdom of Nepal. Coming out from a palatial bungalow to the dingy by lanes of South Delhi, he took up a job in one of the television production houses, worked overtime, and in between continued advance course in animation. How many of us have got courage and guts to do this?

Today Turtle Animation is a “Brand” in the true sense of the term with NASSCOM award in its kitty, Tata NEN nominating them as a hottest start-up and Hollywood Studio, Columbia, showing interest in their masterpiece conceptualization Angelina-joe-lee. No doubt, my conscience voted in favour of Turtle Animations to be figured in the Hindustan Times, even if it costs me a few annoyances. After all, we all work for some sort of satisfaction and a feeling of pride in whatever we do. I was not ready to sacrifice my “Creative Independence” on the day of country’s independence.

My lazy Saturday morning of the holiday on 15th August was cut short with a number of phone calls, mostly talking about the HT Business lead story even before I had actually opened up the newspaper. At least I had never received that many phone calls for one specific news item, neither as a journalist nor as a PR professional. Sanjay Banerjee called up to say that this coverage will remain as the best among whatever I have achieved so far for them. Though personally I don’t agree with this and feel that TV coverage on ET NOW has been the best of the lot. Others called up with appreciation and clubbed it up with their wish list too. With a profound sense of satisfaction I feel TRACK2MEDIA has a reason to feel proud. And an assurance to one and all, it is not bias towards Turtle Animations rather merit that works in their favour.

Turtle Animations broadened my horizons

When a client from animation studios shared his wish to foray into education sector, at the first instance I just dismissed the idea. You should not distract focus from your core competence area, I said firmly. This was despite the fact that I could see the determination in the eyes of Sanjay Banerjee. I have known Sanjay Banerjee as a friend first and then as a client now who believes in certain level of perfection in whatever he does. During the course of our journey I have also realized that it is often his gut feeling that has brought Turtle Animations to where it is today.

From a mere another start-up venture a few years back, Turtle Animations has seen the professional heights to the extent that some Hollywood studios have now shown interest in their masterpiece work Angelina-joe-lie. Not that the recognition has came from oversees only. They have bagged the NASSCOM award for the said project and even the Tata Nen nominated them as a hottest start-up venture in its very first year of existence.

All that credentials added with the fact that I know the man and his mission in Sanjay was not enough for me to give my consent for the education foray. And TRACK2MEDIA being the strategic communication consultant to them, unlike other Indian PR agencies meant for mere press relations, it was imperative for Turtle to get the communication agency convinced. They reminded me of the fact that only a couple of months back another client from the real estate sector had ventured into education and TRACK2MEDIA went gaga for them.

Still not convinced I reminded them that there is a difference between an established realty player and a first-generation animation business. However, I was reluctantly dragged into the business venture meeting for the proposed institute. And now I will not shy to admit that my business world view had been a bit myopic. While I have always maintained that education is a recession proof business, the fact of the matter is that many existing institutes are just minting money today without offering anything substantial.

It may look from outside that the Animation business is cluttered in the market with biggies like Picasso, Big Animation, AAG, MAAC, and others getting the lions share, the fact of the matter is that they are just better positioned in the market be default. Turtle Animations is going to set the differentiator with its in-house facility functioning like a simulated production house complete with real world infrastructure and headed by a team of highly experienced industry experts.

Moreover, the new venture is also going to initiate Industry Academia Interface (IAI) under which it will sign with a few universities to give its students an exposure to the production environment and also an opportunity to interact with key industry players. The institute will also tie-up with one of the universities for accreditation of courses. The response of the companies offering JV partnership has overwhelmed me. It seems there is always scope in any given market provided you fill the vacuum in that given space. And I must say that Turtle Animations has taught me this lesson.

Social Media over reliance reflects strategic PR dilemma

July 17, 2009

Recently in the wake of a bad press, a large corporate house handed over its crisis management to the PR agency which suggested the exclusive social media solutions, since the target audience has been net savvy. This made me introspect as to whether the social media is fast taking over the prime time or there is a strategic PR dilemma which is leading to over reliance on this new age medium. As a practitioner of brand management I am also a proponent of social media, often speak endlessly before the client to convince as to how social media is valuable. But the role of social media is effective only when we make use of a prudent media mix, including the traditional media, television and social media.

Unfortunately, what is happening is that like in the early days of Web design, SEO, PPC, email, and banners before it, there’s too much swooning and not enough thinking about social media right now. PR professionals are so engrossed in “how to use it” that they often don’t even think “why to use it”. The philosophy of relying on the exclusive use of social media under the pretext of the target audience being net savvy is in my opinion an anti-thesis of branding. This is because the very ethos of branding suggests that the brand is built by audience far greater than those who actually use the product. But at times such quick-fix solutions seem to be a win-win situation for both the agency and the client, since this agency also quotes the least price in the competitive pitch.

It seems the US Presidential elections and the emergence of the Social Media President in Barack Obama has made the public relations professionals across the world vouch for the use of new age technology to spread the awareness campaign. In almost all the competitive pitch where we have presented our PR plan, I feel we are not just obsessed but also suffer from obsessive compulsive disorder as far as the use of social media is concerned. While it is true that the American President’s use of the social media will go in the folklore of the PR history for the participation and communication with all American citizens, the question remains: can every PR campaign or brand recreate this kind of two-way conversation in every society?

The question becomes all the more critical in India since there have not been very many scientific studies to understand the audience’s concern which is always critical to the success of any PR campaign. As a practitioner of the trade, my understanding is that it was the overall PR strategy and not mere social media tactics that was critical to the success of the American President’s campaign. After all, it is the PR strategy that defines the success or failure of any brand or campaign and Barrack Obama’s success has been no exception.

Public Relations strategy is all about the process of identifying what is top of mind in a community and relating your brand, product, organization or campaign to what is most relevant to your community. That process is really all about listening to your audience and making what you have today relevant to their concerns. PR strategists have to first of all become true marketers to understand that what consumer wants, what they get, where are the gaps and how their product can fit into that gap. The same logic goes true for the foot soldiers of PR who deal with the media on a day-to-day basis.

Many of the PR practitioners today would lead you to believe that social media is ready for prime time and that you should forsake all other forms of publicity. That is probably a wishful thinking which is too ahead of its time. While consumers clearly want to engage with brands in social media, the number of social media users, though growing fast, is not yet overwhelmingly large. Moreover, the fallacy of “we’ll engage with our customers and let them do our publicity for us by telling their friends” reads well in a marketing plan, but is exceptionally difficult to execute unless your brand is compelling in a way that most simply aren’t.

What has become fancy but unavoidable today is that more for our own convenience than any strategic reasons we often try to convince the clients for the use of social media. This saves the agency from the dirty job of dealing with the journalists who belong to the traditional media. Social media channels can be highly effective public relations tools, but they can't replace traditional media entirely. Successful public relations programs meld social media and traditional media with other communications tools and techniques.

The best part in the business of branding is that there are no rules for a successful path. What worked for Barack Obama may never work for you or me. So, don’t be shy to get back to the old-fashioned PR ways of laying down your ideas on what to do in order to get people to learn about the brand, how to identify business with your brand, how to create awareness, how to create a viral campaign, how to interact, and how to manage a crisis (when someone talks bad about your company or product).

Social Media has the potential to penetrate deep into the target audience but it is finally PR Professionals who have to position themselves as the best qualified to oversee the extent of social media mechanisms an organization uses to communicate with its stakeholders. This is essentially because public relations puts a high priority on the whole organization-stake holder relationship than marketing or advertising does.

No UGC, No MCI, No Bar Council; Minister to have his own way

Strange are the ways of functioning in the power corridors, so it seems. Instead of curing the disease, its symptoms are treated more often than not. When the issue of the capitation fee in medical colleges erupted in the media, suddenly the powers-to-be wanted to be seen in the media with their own wish list. Not only an ambitious blue print for reforms in the higher education mooted out, it was conveniently leaked to the media as well. The moot point here is what was the need to have a super regulator in the first place.

This attempt to remote control the academic institutions is nothing but an anti thesis of democracy, where the jurisdiction of independent bodies is being curtailed. After all, democracy is the art of decentralization of the power and not to decentralize it. If there are reports of corruption in states, should it mean that the centre should take charge of the states as well? What is the guarantee that the proposed super regulatory authority will be corruption free?

The basic tenet of democracy and the conventional wisdom suggests that power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. If there has not been a fool proof system in the admission procedure of medical colleges despite of so many regulatory bodies playing their role, how will the new super regulator do it without any check and balance mechanism.

Actually the whole business of getting into independent bodies is borne out of the desire to control the institutions. Not very long ago, the then Union Health Minister A Ramdoss tried his best to control the All India Institute of Medical Sciences by curtailing the wings of then AIIMS chief Dr Venugopal Rao. The move failed, thanks to the apex court intervention. And now is there another move to take control of the independent bodies, like the Medical Council of India, the University Grants Commission and the Bar Council of India. However, conventional wisdom would suggest that the centralization of power only adds to more corruption, but then probably wisdom has no place in the megalomaniac society.

Wanted a genuine PR professional

The given headline here might give the impression of a routine vacancy for the job, but actually it does reflect much more. As a matter of fact, it also reflects an industry in dire need of genuine professionals. Around thousand plus companies in India who have hired various Agencies for the purpose of brand building are the worst hit in the absence of professionals. And media is not ready to take the industry and its practitioners who can’t differentiate between, news flash, news update and news break. The PR industry is really groping in the dark and mediocrity is ruling the roost.

In India who are the PR professionals in the first place? And how many of them have any depth or background in the Brand Management. There are dropout journalists, failed marketers, and a bunch of people who failed to make it big in their given professions. There is another breed of smart operators who started as a low profile second or third assistant of a PR or Corporate Communication professionals and grew up on the sheer merit of playing one against the other in the industry or otherwise playing into the hands of a lobby or two.

It works till the time you continue to operate in a system where favours have openly been exchanged. But when confronted with the demanding clients who mean serious business, these so-called professionals are left just shooting in the dark. Just imagine the Deputy CEO of a PR Agency criticizing a PR contract without realizing that it was he who actually finalised the deal. This happened when he got flak by the junior colleagues for the Agency working on a pharma client where targets are unrealistic. Unable to explain as to how things could be improved, the “boss” criticized the contract as being unrealistic. It left all the junior colleagues baffled. If the person who signed the dotted line of the contract calls it unrealistic, then why did he go ahead with the deal in the first place?

The fact of the matter is that these so-called “bosses” are there not on the merit of their professional competence. Nor have they risen from the ranks in the industry. They have just managed to survive at one given mediocre Agency by the cardinal principle of sycophancy and hence can’t e expected to understand the challenges of PR. No wonder, in the so-called training session of such “smart” agencies, what actually is being discussed is the story of rabbit and tortoise. I wonder whether they seriously need motivational stories or have not been taught all this in the schools.

Another top “boss” of a PR Agency was once found asking the junior most colleagues that what KPI (key point information) is. The said person has got a journalistic background and it was all the more surprising since in journalism that is the most common route to do an industry story. Now if a trainee level colleague will be asked such stupid questions by the seniors, how will the industry shape up as a knowledge driven sector? No wonder such seniors only learn through trial and error method that KPI is used only “in our organization”. And juniors are not to be blamed here since they have just begun their career and have hardly been exposed to how the professional world functions. Their survival instinct hardly encourages them to look beyond the given spectrum.

If the PR head of an Agency is so scared of facing a demanding client that she keeps asking junior colleagues for ideas to counter the client, then it is pathetic. There is a difference between exchange of ideas and evading behind your juniors. Sometimes the situation becomes hilarious when a junior is asked by the senior as to how to calculate a column centimeter. These people need to be told that there are much better paid professions than PR. But then it seems that PR has fast emerged as the last refuge of drop outs with people from as diverse background as hotel management and medical landing into the profession.

Professionalism can’t be expected of such bunch of mediocre and very often it so happens that over enthusiasm to do pro active PR often results into generating negativity for the client. I remember some time back it was the initiative of a PR Agency to get the PepsiCo product Quaker Oats certified by the Indian Medical Association. The story was pushed into the media without realizing the consequences. “If the Quaker Oats is a healthy food option then why the hell does it need an IMA certification”, media wanted to know. There were reports that the IMA has been sold into the hands of a multinational.

And in the wake of the controversy, PR Agency somehow backed out of the entire deal. Of course, industry grapevine has it that there was blame game within the organization and seniors conveniently put the blame on the junior executives. After all, PR is the only science without any definition. No wonder, it is also an industry where seniors don’t lead from the front, so it seems.

CLASH OF INTEREST; STILL IT’S MY BUSINESS

PR in the decade is set to wipe out bullshitting


A leading corporate group recently invited pitch from the PR agencies for its prestigious account. The short listed PR agencies were given a level playing field and there had been nothing to suggest any element of favouritism when one of the PR Agencies clinched the deal on the merits of its exposure in the given industry. It looked like a normal competitive pitch where one of the Agencies got the account on its sheer merit.

It was so till the time another Agency which had lost it in the competitive bid poached for one of its key professionals. After that it was an expose of sorts. Switching to the new Agency made the professional change his loyalties too, and hence it was brought to the light that the Agency which bagged the prized account was actually handling the account of the competing brand as well which had a clash of interest with this client. The greed of the Agency had made them conceal this information despite of the fact that they had signed the contract with the clause that they will not handle the account of any competing brand till the completion of their agreement.

The expose was not confined to the board room of the Corporate Group. It was rather selectively leaked to the media and hence there were newspaper reports on the subject. The Agency was immediately summoned by the Corporate. To the utter surprise of one and all, the Agency tried to defend its act by reiterating that they are not handling any PR campaign of the rival group and are actually taking care of just the Investor Relations for them. And what does this Investor Relations mean? To the best of my knowledge as a communication professional, it means issuing Press Release and sharing other financial information with the audience who are key stake holders and have invested money in the company through equity. Well, if Investor Relations is not part of Public Relations, then I suppose even Event Management and Public Affairs too are not part of the PR business.

The said instance here clearly suggests as to how PR Agencies play the role of spin doctors to the detrimental of the clients. The contract of the Agency was revoked and they were shown the doors. However, this is not the only exceptional instance of PR Agencies working on the competing brands with conflict of interests without the knowledge of the client. If such agencies do not wake up to the reality that PR is evolving to a new level they will soon get mowed down. The next decade is going to call for PR to redefine its path and roles. Public Relations in this part of the world lack an identity because it means so many things to so many people. With almost anyone getting into PR, it is time it evolved into a genuine profession.

Nothing is more criminal in the business of PR than to work on the competing brand where there is clash of interest. However, some of the PR Agencies seems to believe in the theory of being indispensable just because there is no safeguard mechanism to protect the clients. A few clients from the same sector in the kitty and it goes to the head of the Agency to become self-styled specialists, and hence indispensable.

This criminal negligence becomes all the more grave if the Agency is doing it without the knowledge of the client, often misleading the client after signing the contract with the clause of “No Business” with competitors. Can anybody believe the same Agency working on the PR campaign of Crocin and Ibrufen in the paracetamol segment or Quaker Oats and Kellogs in the breakfast segment? I can understand Lays PR being in the same kitty since the product is not a healthy snacking option and hence there is no clash of interest. But this all happens within the PR industry and there are Agencies who shamelessly claim to be ethical and “clean” people despite of such unethical trade practices.

There are Agencies which have taken a smart way to deal with the situation in the wake of getting such competing brands with clash of interests. A couple of years back an Agency handling the account of one of the largest PSU telecom company got an offer from the competing private telecom company. Under the contractual obligation of “No Business” in the segment, they floated a new subsidiary of the parent company, only for the billing purposes, and henceforth it was business as usual with same set of people handling both the account.

While the PR industry world over is moving towards specialization, in India this specialization seems to be heralding for all the wrong reasons. In June 2004, Dejan Vercic at the IPR's AGM, commented that: "We, the PR community, are the essence of a free society, a market economy, and political democracy, and we should start thinking about ourselves as such. There never has been and never will be a closed society with public relations." I believe this comment is of great relevance as it extends well beyond PR to communications in general. Moreover, it also clearly suggests that specialization does not mean you start living into your own cocooned and isolated world.

Agencies that live in their own fool’s paradise, believing that since they operate in a given sector, like healthcare or education, they have become specialized ones. The arrogance becomes all too obvious if they continue with the business without getting exposed. Agencies who believe they can afford competing brands with clash of interest need some serious introspection for their own good. I have reasons to believe that such unfair trade practices would not last long. And for the sake of the profession and industry in general, let’s hope that PR in this decade will wipe out all the bullshiting as far as business norms and ethics are concerned.

PR CRITIQUE ON PUBLIC DEMAND

It is not easy for a blogger journalist to repeat his writing on the same subject yet again unless there is an earth shattering development or impact. So, the resignation of Uttarakhand Chief Minister, the apprehension were raised in my last piece following the PR fiasco leading to election debacle, is not the reason what forced me to ponder over the legitimacy of my criticism. In my opinion, more than the impact of writing what actually drives a writer is success in connecting with his audience far and wide. That is the ultimate yardstick of satisfaction which often compels one to react further on the subject.

In a developing society where there are not very many performing politicians, it would not be ethically correct to take a pleasure out of B C Khanduri’s resignation, and now fate hanging in balance. “I told you so” or “me first” or worst even “impact of my writing” is something on which television channels and a section of print media thrives. The idea here is not to toe their line. At least, I have sympathy with the Khanduri whose only fault has been his innocence to take the tall PR claims on the sheer face value. Now the question is why am I writing then? The fact is that I am amazed by the response over the last piece and hence comes this admittedly lengthy one.

I always thought that blogs in this part of the world are read only within your acquaintances. This perception has many takers and there is a general feeling that unlike the western countries with more internet penetration and better literacy, it is not a medium to reach to audiences far and wide in India. Actually, I was wrong and could not anticipate the power of this new age medium. A host of phone calls, most of them establishing touch base with me through references was very touching. And, of course, there were usual close friends who in any case always stand by me and hence my writing. The response has actually overwhelmed me, to say the least. Many of these new callers even wanted to know which the PR Agency that I was talking about is.

Well, I have throughout maintained that it was more to do with the academic discussion on the trade practices and not a personal attack on any particular PR firm. Many of such standalone PR Agencies are in any way confined to category B and C publications and without any effective working relations in the mainstream media. Media is often found mocking over the quality of their work and working culture. Moreover, within the industry and circle of those who matter it has been an open secret now. The day the industry gets a bit more professional and is institutionalized, there will be no space for those who take the clients for a ride and are often found working on the competing brands with conflict of interests as well. There must be a check and balance mechanism to keep the clients informed as to whether the Agency is working for the cross purposes.

However, there are reasons to believe that such unfair trade practices can not be sustained for long. Many a PR Agency which were seen as doing well only a couple of years back, are out of the business today. You can not fool all the people all the time, the old adage still stands valid. In the industry a successful communication campaign may take time to evoke a response and get noticed; a failed campaign does not take that much time. It is a cruel world where every campaign is a challenge forcing you on the edge of the sword. One may not get his due appreciation for the job done, but any failures and critics have their way.

Some old friends from the JNU who established contacts with me after a long while and who know it all, insisted that the expose should have been more target specific. “If not Agency, at least person accountable on the given account who messed up with the campaign should have been exposed thoroughly so that one is seen in his true place within the industry”, they suggested. I won’t deny the fact that they have a valid point and an expose should be like that only. But the idea here has not been to expose just one or two black sheep of the industry; they are very many in any case.

Another group of friend, who are more into the teaching of communications, admitted that it is easier to preach it in the classroom than to practice. The actual practice of the business becomes all the more difficult if you have to implement the fancy ideas that you proudly preach on your own. You have nobody to blame in the given scenario. After all, communication and PR is not just about boring academics which have little relevance to the industry. The art of leadership has a much bigger role here, both to drive the team along and network & connect with the client and media. I have serious doubts as to whether this can be taught in any classroom.

What actually compelled me to write on the subject has been my commitment to the profession which is not being seen in a very high esteem in this part of the world. Unlike the western countries where PR professionals are seen as Image Consultants, in India the retained companies treat PR practitioners not as Strategic Consultants but order takers whose only job is liasioning with the journos. More the media jugaad, the better you are as a professional.

The industry has not evolved as a knowledge driven sector, even though a few cynics would like to believe that if you have knowledge driven clients in the portfolio, say like healthcare, you are also knowledge driven. The same wisdom (?) would also suggest that if you have clients from other sectors, say like Real Estate, your thought process is also like a builder. This heady mix of hypocrisy and myopia only reflects that we are not good brand ambassadors of the profession. When our own fundamentals of Image and Reputation Management are not clear within ourselves, how can we do the same for the clients? No wonder, such cynics are often found dragging their own career prospects within the same mediocre Agencies for decades.

We are, therefore, treated more like vendors who have been assigned a job by the client. And to be honest with ourselves, we are to blame us only for this. We never feel shy of resorting to unethical trade practices to get the clients. Moreover, within the organizational set-up of most of the PR Agencies today, it is “Loyalty to the Boss that Matters the Most.” “Yes Boss” flows from top to bottom and inquisitive mind, creative thought and critical reasoning are increasingly being relegated to the dustbin. Anybody defying the fundamental and cardinal principle of sycophancy to set the record straight and reward the performance and potential is often seen more trouble-maker than trouble-shooter.

No wonder, the organizational growth chart is heavily loaded towards Loyalty (to the boss), Potential (in the eyes of the boss) and Performance (boss and not client will decide the parameters). Anybody who has been taught in the management classes that Performance, Potential and Loyalty should flow in that order is a misfit in the given scenario and upright professionals are seen as liability. PR industry, therefore, has been facing the highest attrition rate even during the slowdown and there is always a musical chair waiting for the head of the PR team. Does anybody still have any questions as to why PR industry has not evolved as a respectable and knowledge-driven sector in India? Any way, this one is on public demand.

WRONG PR MOVES PROVED TO BE NEMESIS OF UTTARAKHAND

As the General Elections come to an end with UPA’s miracle story, parties on the other side of the fence have gone into introspection mode. One pertinent question which has all along been asked from various quarters is that whether branding and PR campaigns of the political parties and individual candidates actually translate into votes. Well, the basic instinct of a communication professional will always like to answer into affirmative.

However, very much like the political parties, we communication specialists too need to do some serious introspection over the way we practice what in collective consciousness is known as PR. After all, we too have had only mixed results and have definitely gone wrong both in strategic moves and tactical delivery. And since we have the advantage of a section of media being with us, we always try to evade the unpleasant realities. As a result, while we often boast of the credit of our client’s (party or candidate) victory, we rarely want to share the blame when the client loses.

It may sound fancy to blame it on the non-performance of the client when things don’t go the way it was projected by the PR agency. Of course, we conveniently, and often shamelessly, forget the tall claims of conducting political audit and gauging the mood and pulse of the voters only a few months back. Let’s face this fact called hypocrisy in our business. Actually our complacency to the job and an approach towards “Groupism” within our own peer group makes us believe that whatever we discuss within ourselves is the mood and reality of the masses. Sadly this “I appreciate you and you appreciate me” mentality falls flat on our face when confronted with the ground realities. If communication specialists have to institutionalize the branding and PR campaign in the country the way it is practiced in the west, we have to get rid of the syndrome of “when I am good, I am god; when I am not, I am human.”

Let’s take the case of Uttarakhand state where the ruling BJP was shown the doors by the electorates despite of very many performance driven initiatives. Now if we analyse the message emanating from the General Elections of 2009, the message is loud and clear-Perform or Perish. The parochial card of caste, religion and other jingoistic instruments were put silent by the resonance of development and governance. Shiela Dixit in Delhi, Nitish Kumar in Bihar, Shivraj Chouhan in Madhya Pradesh and Y S Rajashekhar Reddy in Andhra Pradesh are classic examples of the message that those who have paid attention to governance have won the voters’ confidence and received handsome returns by way of refurbished mandates.

Then what went wrong with Uttarakhand which has not been far behind these states in terms of governance? An army man by instinct, B C Khanduri pushed forward the reforms process which has always been a challenge in the hilly terrains. Still the voters of the state seemed to be determined to derail his train. There is a big question as to why? Was it the problem of perception and projection? That should not have been the case as Uttarakhand Government had hired a PR agency much in advance. And industry and government sources suggest that the mandate to the agency was loud and clear—Change the Perception & Project the Achievement.

The idea here is not just to blame the PR agency. After all, they are in the business of communication and conventional wisdom would suggest that if they can’t do their own PR, then what is the point to be in that business? So, a little bit of self appreciation is acceptable here. But is not acceptable is the approach to treat a failed communication campaign as business as usual for them. Since the business of PR has only recently evolved in the country and most of the so-called communication specialists don’t have any depth or background in brand management, it is more a game of “advertising is what you PAY for; and PR is what you PRAY for”. Now all the wishful prayers can’t be answered all the time.

And more often than not it is client who prays more and suffers even more. Well, in this case, Uttaranchal Government hired a PR agency without getting into a competitive pitch. “High Level Recommendation” and “Influential Connections” seemed to be the only criterion behind the selection of the agency. Perhaps they should have taken a lead from the Haryana Government which was at the receiving end of media backlash after the police laathi charge on the Honda Workers. They hired a PR agency after a rigorous competitive pitch and the result: within ten months Haryana emerged as the number one state in terms of positive media coverage. This is a fact which has been backed by an independent monitoring agency, CIRRUS.

But Uttarakhand is a case in contrast. Perhaps in his overzeal to do what successful governments in western countries do, B C Khanduri failed to cross check the credentials and get into competitive pitch. The campaign for Uttaranchal’s “Perception & Projection” was handed over to non-specialists and it was not even cross checked as to whether the same set of people were working for the candidates belonging to the rival parties as well. “Money Hai to Honey Hai” mindset prevailed and Uttarakhand stood out as the only state which defied the national trend of “Vote for Governance”. And as the BJP sources claim B C Khanduri might be asked to step down, as part of the generational change in the party borne out of the election failure. What a costly price of wrong PR moves? This PR campaign definitely deserves to go down as a Case Study in the academics of Public Relations.

The only answer to the questions raised above is to institutionalize the business of PR, Branding and Communication. Only transparency will bring qualitative change in the way we practice this trade. It is a well established industry in the western countries. However, in India many political parties and state governments want to keep it low decibel information while hand picking the PR agency. As a result, most suitable and deserving specialists often don’t even come to know which government is on the look out for an agency. Needless to add, who suffers the most in this case. However, we communication specialists also need some serious introspection as to how we practice this business and how we ought to practice. But the moot point remains-in the fiasco of Uttarakhand PR campaign; will the real PR Agency please stand up and share the blame? After all, it’s just for the academic discussion on the trade practices and not “personal”, and I repeat not “Personal” at all.

Realistic Realtors Foray into Recession Proof Education

The real estate sector in India, like worldwide, is reeling under liquidity crunch borne out of overall economic slowdown, increasing debt & lowering demand and an over cautious lending institutions. While some of the realty companies seem to have resigned to distress selling, there are a few realistic realtors in the country who are smartly turning this adversity into opportunity. These are the players who are diversifying so that the show goes on irrespective of the slowdown.
Some of the biggies of real estate are divesting non core businesses like the telecom which has further deepened the hole in the pocket. However, a clutch of mid-level developers have of late shown the way to their big brothers. These are the realtors who have realised that there is a safe haven which is also recession proof and hence are chalking up plans to invest in the education sector. In the last one month, four real estate developers have announced plans of setting up business schools across the country with the combined investment exceeding Rs 500 crore.
But the fifth realtor whose foray into the “business of education” has set a differentiator is the Delhi-based company AEZ Group. The Group has diversified into education with a 50 per cent stake in Mother’s Pride, the pre-school chain in north India which has been valued at Rs. 1000 crore. Now that is a huge investment and alone accounts for all the real estate investment in education. Mother’s Pride, which runs 26 schools across the National Capital Region has annual revenue of nearly 100 crore per annum.

AEZ Group plans to invest in another Rs. 500 crore over the next five years for the expansion of the joint venture. In the endeavour to catch pace with the growth plan in this emerging sector, the Group plans to add 100 branches across India over the next three to five years. The chain has 14,000 students on its roll and plans to have close to 1,00,000 students on board over the next five years. The school chain is also eyeing oversees expansion although plans have not been finalized as yet. The joint venture is also planning to have a new chain of schools, Sparsh which will cater to the physically and mentally challenged children.

The model has worked successfully in some countries like US and Canada. With diminished demand for housing and a cash constraint, it’s a natural progression for many developers with available land banks. The Chennai based R. R Industries, Ahmedabad based Omega Realty, Delhi based Ansal Plaza and Kolhapur based Sanjay Ghodawat group are the realtors all set to take a plunge in this lucrative sector. They feel that this is the right sector for investment which is upbeat, risk free and where revenue is growing at more than 50 per cent across the industry.
Ansal API also plans to invest Rs 200 crore in next three to five years for setting up private schools, engineering institute across various centre in the country. The group has already tied up with e-learning service provider Educomp and has leased out its three operational schools in Gurgaon to Educomp. The realty major also plans to build school in townships being developed by them.
Similarly, the Ahmedabad based Omega Realty plans to get into business schools - to be named as United World School of Business - with a proposed investment of Rs 105 crores. The three proposed schools in Mumbai, Delhi and Ahmedabad will commence operations in academic session 2009-10. Another builder to jump into the education bandwagon, the Kolhapur based Sanjay Godhawat Group plans to offer courses in engineering, management and also in the pipeline is an international school. The development of the 150 acre Sanjay Godhawat Institute will happen in three phases with an investment of over Rs 250 crore.
The trend seems to have a pan-India outlook and is now being seen amongst the builders in south too. Chennai based real estate firm R. R Industries has tied up with National Management School (NMS) which is being set-up by US academics to start 25 business schools across the country with an estimated cost of Rs 9 crore.
Experts say the reason for the rush into education is the burgeoning demand supply gap and also a logical extension into an adjacent category for builders who have the necessary wherewithal. High rate of returns on investment coupled with huge imbalance in demand supply is attracting real estate players towards the sector who will be at ease in setting up the required infrastructure who already have land banks with them.
However, the diversification won’t be an easy one, as similar initiatives have flopped in China. Among the realtors who have thus far announced their foray into education, only AEZ Group has announced to take the quality Indian education forward to the international platform. Now that certainly sounds like an attractive proposition.

Sleaze & Media Hypocrisy

A small item in the inside page of a daily newspaper would have otherwise gone unnoticed. Crime and sleaze have become so repetitive that it no longer shocks collective or individual consciousness. The more the element of sensation, the more it is newsworthy and headlines material. Individual journos too seem to get a kick out of championing and taking a moral high ground while lambasting the police, society and the system in general. Introspection is the last word in the vocabulary of the media. So the news of Delhi Police arresting 9 people, including women, for allegedly duping several by running a fake Friendship Club is in no way an earth-shattering news item.

However, a couple of pages down the same newspaper edition there seem to be an element of hypocrisy with a number of advertisements. The bombardment of very many sleaze advertisements, inviting lonely hearts to “enjoy” either with Indian or Foreigner as per their choice made me reopen the page yet again. A number of classified and display ads were overtly and provocatively inviting men to enjoy with the beauty of their choice. No doubt, the role of the media had gone down the drains in the lure of paid ads and it was all too obvious that marketing guys were calling the shots in one of the leading newspaper of the country.

If there is an element of social responsibility for the media, such overtly suggestive advertisements are anti-thesis of social concerns. Delhi Hot Escorts, Foreigners only-Real Ramp Models only for 5 and 7 star guests, Escort Service by Decent Slim Educated Beautiful Gorgeous Girl, House Wife, Models, Air Hostess, Enjoy and Relax Your Mind, Complete Satisfaction for Broadminded Guests, these are some of the samples of such advertisements. Of course, most of such advertisements are guised under the Massage Parlors or the Escort Service, but the suggestive and provocative tone of the advertisements says it all. For instance, “satisfaction is necessity of every human culture; peace of mind guaranteed, any time/any where females from BPOs and MNC,” does one need to add more to it?

Though legally, such advertisements are within the framework of the specified law of the land, but apart from the legal standpoint, there is always a moral and ethical standpoint as well. And this is something that every media house in India proclaims to champion. In fact, one prominent publication with a bouquet of magazines has the stated policy of not accepting any advertisements by liquor or tobacco companies, even if the said ad is surrogate in its nature. It is in this background that one wonders where the media focus has gone wrong.

The newspaper, as part of its sacrosanct duty (?) puts a disclaimer on the page carrying all these ads: “Readers are recommended to make all enquiries and seek appropriate advice before acting any advertisement appearing in this publication…..Any subscriber entering into any commitment in relation to any advertisement published in this publication, shall do so entirely at his/her discretion, intelligence, and risk…….”

It is not about taking a moral high ground on the world’s oldest profession called prostitution. But the very nature of media business and its added social responsibility suggests that the three leading illicit business globally, that is narcotics, arms and flesh trade, should not be allowed to flourish in any given manner. After all, flesh trade is not guided by just the simple economics of demand and supply. Of course, there is demand for the trade to flourish, but more often than not supply is borne out of compulsion and helplessness. Critics may argue that these ads reflect voluntary flesh trade by the so-called high class. However, the voluntary nature of this business turns out to be a catalyst for the flesh trade to flourish and in turn is a rogue for the society.

If those in the media business think otherwise then why does any call girl racket gets into news. If this is an accepted norm for them, then the lack of unusual element does not make it newsworthy at all. And if it is not acceptable then one such news item followed by such suggestive and provocative advertisements are nothing but sheer hypocrisy. It is true that the media business is fast turning out to be market-driven than editorial driven, but then journalists too are responsible to be a party to the hypocrisy.

Mystery Wrapped in Enigma Called Politics

“We politicians know our business much better than you journalists” said an MP from the Congress Party during an informal chat. He was referring to the media headlines about the unraveling of the ruling United Progressive Alliance (UPA). Well, driven by the basic instinct of a communication professional who has spent nearly a decade in political journalism; I tried to bombard him with a volley of arguments.

However, later some introspection made me realize that there was some merit in his argument as well. At a time when political reporting is fast turning out to be political advisory and the line bifurcating between the editorial and the reportage getting blurred, there is a need to see our respective roles in the proper perspective as well. We must ask ourselves as to whether we have subconsciously assumed that we know the business of politics much better than even the seasoned politicians?

It is true that the access to the power corridors and some filtered inside information gives the media professionals a sense of empowerment. Over a period of time this sense of pride translates into an air of expertise, which further leads to “I know it better” syndrome. Journalists often forget the fact that the classified and confidential information which they think has given them a cutting edge, is more often than not fed to them by the vested interests from a section of the very same power corridors. It is not about media empowerment; rather it is “selective use” of journalists that the politicians are very good at.

Let’s face it. Any politician who has risen from the ranks knows his business much better than a journalist. Yes, at times media professionals show due smartness in reading what is stated between the lines. But they often fail to read it when it matters the most. For instance, when Laloo Yadav as the Chief Minister of Bihar was found guilty in fodder scam; he made the statement that he will rule the state from jail itself.

Journalists with their predominantly upper caste and urban middle class upbringing were prompt to write advisories. Many of them condemned Laloo for his ignorance about the law of the land that was all set to force him to resign. I don’t remember a single newspaper report which suggested what Laloo actually meant by that statement. But a super strategist in Laloo Yadav had his plans ready and he literally ruled the State by installing his wife as a puppet chief minister.

The media assessment of bad days ahead for the ruling UPA in the event of the Laloo Yadav’s RJD and Ram Vilas Paswan’s LJP joining hands and forcing the Congress to go solo, is yet again fraught with strategic danger. This can also be strategic part of a grand design during these elections. Laloo Yadav has any way reiterated time and again that he is very much the part of UPA. But their separation will definitely led to realignment of the voters of Bihar.

Had there been a straight fight between the UPA and the NDA, the choice was cut out for the voters. While a sizeable chunk of OBCs with caste loyalties tilted towards Nitish Kumar have gone to the NDA, the Upper Caste distaste for Laloo Yadav have also added to the fortunes of the NDA. Added to this is the fact that Nitish Kumar has of late emerged as the face of development in Bihar. Now the voters of Bihar have their options from a bouquet of parties and alliances.

While Laloo Yadav still is a major force to reckon with in the Yadav heartland, the transferable votes of Ram Vilas Paswan will be icing on the cake that seems to wok to the advantage of both. And if Congress succeeds in making a dent in the Upper Caste votes, that can be nemesis for the NDA. After all, Congress is contesting as the only party in the state which is not holding the crutches of the regional OBC satrap today.

Similarly, media may find today the UPA’s growing list of estranged allies, like the PMK,TRS, MDMK, PDP and others, but the fact remains that almost all of them have been non-committal over joining the NDA. And any other front can not survive either without the support of the Congress or the BJP. Moreover, the post poll scenario may throw an altogether different picture as none of the estranged allies have gone on record against the UPA.

Laloo-Paswan duo declares them as the real UPA, while Anbumani Ramadoss of the PMK has sent a message between the lines for the congress when he openly thanked Prime Minister and Sonia Gandhi for their constant encouragement. Going solo or without the ruling UPA can also be seen as a smart move to counter the anti-incumbency factor. Imagine a post-poll scenario where the PMK-AIADMK combine wins most of the Tamil Nadu’s 39 seats, won’t the Congress dump the loser DMK and ally with them.

Only time will tell whether the strategy will work or not and more importantly, who will have the last laugh, Congress for its strategy or the media for its prophecy. But, till then, political class, irrespective of the respective parties, will be busy in various strategy and counter-strategy. Media will be busy decoding these strategies, with more miss than hit. Politics, after all, is the game of a mystery wrapped in an enigma.

In Defence of Political Horse Trading

As the world’s largest democracy heads towards its biggest soap opera called the General Elections, there is a sudden spurt on the communication front as well. Media seems to be suddenly awakened from a deep slumber borne out of recession. Journalists are once again smartly playing the psephologists & destiny makers of India. Forget regional and vernacular media, even the mainstream newspapers are busy beating their own trumpets. Thanks to the impact of television, the medium that every print journalist feels it is their sacrosanct duty to criticize, elections are no less than showtime.

Newspapers are carrying the pix of reporters with every routine political reportage, like the constituency profile. Too many photos on the same page is baffling, often giving the impression of a Tutorial Advertisement where the candidate has secured distinction and hence chest inflated with pride. Reporters carrying beats as diverse as health and education have also been put on election duty.

It is party time for the communication professionals other than journalism as well. Some advertising agencies, thanks to the political networking, are making merry during the road show. Public Relation professionals are having their slice of the cake as well since respective political parties as well as individual candidates, all need a consultant for image makeover. However, in their scheme of things, the measurement of an image makeover is as good as their coverage in print media and television.

Some of the politicians have gone a step further and took the help of PR pros to launch their own website and blog. While the role of the new age media in attracting the fancy of youth can not be underestimated, the fact remains that a predominantly urban PR rhetoric has so far failed to translate into quantifiable votes. The fiasco of such a drive for NDA in general and BJP in particular has been quite evident with the Indian Shining campaign during the previous government at the centre.

The General Elections of 2009 are going to be one of the most complex one in the history of independent India. The report card of the incumbent Congress-led United Progressive Alliance is not too impressive, thanks to the global recession and terrorism. The main opposition party, the BJP and alliance has to put more efforts to keep its own house in order rather than harp on the anti-incumbency factor that has been the most dominant factor in the elections of late.

The failure of the Congress and the BJP to show an impressive report card as well to keep its alliance flock cohesive has yet again allowed the motley crowd of parties to raise their head in the form of a Third Front. Interestingly, all these fronts and alliances are all set to regroup in the event of a fractured mandate. As some of the columnists have rightly pointed out—the next Lok Sabha will see the emergence of a Fourth Front. Elected members from all the three fronts will realign, but all in the name of national interest and honouring your and mine verdict. Political compulsions will make strange bedfellows in the house called the Parliament where Lok Sabha represents bedroom.

Haven’t we seen money exchanging hands to buy loyalties, media busy with a series of sting operation and a prominent politician glorifying the role of MP (money power, of course), “paisa koi khuda toh nahin, per khuda ki kasam khuda se kam bhi nahin” (Money may not be god, but god swear it is no less than god). From Tehelka to cash bundles in Parliament, the sensitivities of the collective consciousness have started accepting this stark reality of Indian politics. Isn’t it an appropriate time to institutionalize the practice?

Even at the cost of being called an anarchist, I take the liberty to suggest the legalization of horse trading in the post poll scenario if the verdict comes out for the hung parliament. Let there be IPL-isation of the law makers in the country. At least a common man who has cast his vote will have the opportunity to know the price tag of his parliamentarian. If in the game of cricket we can accept the fact that every player has a price tag beyond his much-hyped national duty, why not in politics. I know all this sounds cynical, but in the theater of absurd called Indian politics, may be history is yet again reminding us that a chaotic state is the primary necessity of revolution.

Symptoms of Deep Rooted Malaise

The rebel face of Nehru-Gandhi clan Varun Gandhi has once again landed himself in trouble. Election Commission has taken a strong objection to his anti-minority remarks. While the Election Commission and the district administration have declared Varun guilty, the Bharatiya Janata Party could not afford to stand for this poster boy who was always seen as a prize catch by the BJP against India’s first dynastic family.

With general elections round the corner, the BJP refused to stand by Varun Gandhi and instead preferred to dissociate itself from the statement. As a matter of fact, the party even refused permission to Varun Gandhi for holding a press conference at the party headquarters on the issue. The young leader’s uneasiness was evident when he was addressing the newspersons at his mother’s residence. While denying the remarks, he also said in a tongue-in-cheek statement that he has always followed the party philosophy of protecting the Hindus.

The question is that in today’s political culture of invectives, character assassination and war rhetoric why only blame the young Gandhi scion who just seems to have got carried in his over zeal to be in the good books of the party leadership. From Kalyan Singh to Lalji Tendon, and Sadhvi Rithambhara to Praveen Togadia, everyone has tried to reap the benefits of hate speeches in the land of Uttar Pradesh, where the banks of holy river Saryu have seen enough political bloodshed in the name of protecting the community and religion.

However, what makes the act of Varun Gandhi all the more unfortunate is that he represents the young face of a resurgent India. Are we seeing the emergence of Gen-next Narendra Modi? At least, Varun Gandhi does not seem to be cut out to fit into that role. He could have easily positioned himself in the league where some of the young politicians have of late shown tremendous amount of potential in terms of transforming the socio-polity of the country. This new breed of young guns are sophisticated, know their subject and constituency, connect better with the young India and have done reasonably well in whatever limited opportunity they may have got. A Jyotiraditya Scindia, a Milind Deora or a Rahul Gandhi, all have displayed potential to connect better with the new India than the so-called grassroot politicians who believe character assassination and inciting mob attracts more to their electorate.

The act of the Varun Gandhi is more of a deep rooted malaise in the Indian politics in general and the BJP in particular. Isn’t it true that the same young leader was earlier hailed by the party for some of his remarks which can not be termed decent for an emerging politician? Had the Election Commission not taken an objection this time, probably Varun would not have even realized as to how far he marched in the politics of hatred and invectives.

While the BJP has distanced and dissociated with the remarks as it doesn’t suit their elections and the allies, there are others who are ready to glorify the speech as it fits into their brand of politics. And this is where Varun Gandhi needs to do some introspection over his positioning within the framework of the emerging Indian politics in general and the BJP in particular. He has to understand that the BJP of today is no more the BJP of ‘80s era. It was an altogether different party and culture with no taste to power and only a symbolic Muslim face in the unit, that too in the backseat. The BJP of today has to accommodate with the alliance partners who may not subscribe hard-hitting communal overtones, because of their electoral compulsions in the state politics.

Amateur politicians like Varun Gandhi can easily be made scapegoat to pacify and win back alliance partners like the JD(U) or the BJD. Added to this, there are more Muslim faces in the party like Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi and Shahnawaj Hussain, who have tasted power, are vocal and media friendly. They will not feel shy of giving a piece of their mind in the event of communal overtones. Therefore, an ideal positioning for this young and ambitious leader would be that of a sophisticated and educated youth leader, someone who is an alternative to the youth faces within the Congress party.

Changing the political philosophy and overtones of one Varun Gandhi may not cleanse the Indian politics. After all, he represents the mere symptom of a deep rooted malaise. But Varun Gandhi has to make a choice as to whether he wants to reposition himself in the Indian politics and take a leap into New Age politics. May be those roads less traveled by, in the words of Robert Frost, make all the difference in Indian Politics in general and Varun Gandhi’s political fortunes in particular.

Relationship Index and Media

RELATIONSHIP INDEX AND MEDIA

In an ironical twist of fate, a successful PYT (Pretty Young Thing) has preferred to be worldly wise and hence dumped a lesser mortal boy friend-turned-fiancé. It is true that the conventional wisdom would suggest that the Slumdog Millionaire damsel, Freida Pinto broke off the relation as her world had changed overnight and poor chap did not belong to the new league. After all, a star actress has parted ways with a non-entity whose only claim to fame has been a result of the media probe into the personal life of the actress.

The media obsession with this relationship gone sour actually forced me to discuss the subject with journalist friends, most of them specialists on relationship and gender-specific issues. There is a general consensus that what Freida Pinto did was a logical conclusion after her sudden stardom. Even Deepika Padukone did the same once she realized that her star status and nouveau riche lifestyle is no match to her erstwhile boyfriend with whom she had spent cozy moments thus far and must have repeated promise of dying for each other.

Some of the columnists went to the extent of reminding as to how many successful women, some of them basking with sudden and unexpected glory, did the mistake of marrying a lesser successful men, only to repent and divorce later. Well, I can quote hundreds, if not thousands of couples where one of the partner, women included, suddenly became a superstar in their own given field, but still honoured the commitment to their respective soul mates. But this is not precisely the reason why I wish to challenge the so-called conventional wisdom.

Those who believe a relationship with more successful women can not run smooth are subconsciously advocating a feudal social structure which suggests that “man is for the sword and women for the needle.” Come on guys, why should a relationship be a battle of sexes all the time. It is true that equal rights for women must be ensured in the relationship and beyond. But Ms Pinto’s behaviour reflects a women chauvinism which many of the columnists are justifying in media, all in the name of a fancy notion called feminism. However, it will always remain debatable as to whether this extreme women liberation mindset has actually done any good to the women.

Moreover, it is not that I have taken an exception to Freida Pinto’s worldly wisdom, only to counter the argument that relationship is primarily the battle of sexes. Why I call it an ironical twist of fate is because a relationship which involves a great dose of time, effort and emotion, suddenly becomes a game of mud slinging and dirty linen in public. And for this not only the PYT but her boyfriend is equally, if not more, to be blamed for entertaining the Page 3 sleuths. Equally to be blamed are the bunch of friends for whom a slice of media glare had more value than their own decency and star couple’s personal dignity.

The idea is not to suggest that one should stay in a relationship even when they turn out to be strangers, both socially and emotionally, for any given reason. But then there is always a dignified way of parting ways than using media for character assassination of the person who had been till recently soulmates, at least claimed to be madly in love. A word of advice for all the journalist and columnist friends: it is true that our profession thrives on being unconventional, but what is unconventional can not always be justified too. At least, I have strong objection to let the media and public transgress over an issue that involves time, effort and emotion of two concerned individuals.