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.
10:31 PM
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.
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.
5:24 AM
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.
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.
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