AgTalk | The PR industry has gone complex: Prema Sagar

While we know of the corporate world where serious businesses are managed by men and women of high intellectual ranking, we don’t really get to know the other side of these people.

In an effort to discover the other side of these business honchos and in order to fulfill their objective of providing financial support for life-saving and life-changing medical intervention for critically ill under-privileged children in areas of cancer, cardiac disorder, organ failure, thalassemia and extreme deformities, Genesis Foundation organizes unique participative fund-raising events involving music, art & food and have built a dynamic community of supporters.

Keeping in line with the concept, FremantleMedia in association CNBC TV18 launched a unique initiative called ‘CEOs Got Talent’ enabling CEOs from across the country to showcase their talent on a national platform.

CEO’s Got Talent, is the first-of-its-kind category created by the franchise challenging CEOs to compete against each other through talent that sets them apart from their contemporaries.  The evening brought together mavericks of the corporate and entertainment industry on a common platform in Mumbai. The gala event witnessed twelve CEO’s of India Inc. competing against each other while showcasing varied talents. Proceeds from CEO’s Got Talent will go to Genesis Foundation that provides financial support for life-saving and life-changing medical intervention for critically ill under-privileged children in areas of cancer, cardiac disorder, organ failure, thalassemia and extreme deformities.

Prema Sagar (PS): Well the thought and the idea started way back in 2001 as a private trust to facilitate critical medical care for abandoned and lesser privileged children. Since then, we have not looked back. Steered with our faith and the magic of warmth, courage and optimism, we help these special children discover a world without boundaries or fear by partnering with hospitals, orphanages, organizations and like-minded people.

AG: Please elaborate on creating events like CEO’s Got Talent? How did the thought come up?

PS: The idea and thought has always been to do something unusual and first-of-its kind. We started with something like CEO’s Cook wherein the CEOs became chefs and funds were raised for GF Kids.
The CEOs thoroughly enjoyed the experience and we have done 11such events and at one of those events one of our colleagues put forward an idea wherein the CEOwould sing a song and who so ever pays the larger amount for the performance, his/her amount will be donated to Genesis Foundation. So from that one moment we came up with the idea of CEO’s Got Talent.

AG: How did the association with Colors happen?

PS: Once when I had gone to meet Raj Nayak of Colors and over a conversation with him,we got discussing this.  We then agreed on a plan on how to execute CEO’s Got Talent and now this event is taking place.  Produced by FremantleMedia India, ‘CEOs Got Talent’ a first-of-its-kind initiative that aims to recognize the creativity and talent amongst CEOs is set to air on CNBC TV18 on 22nd and 23rd March, 2014, was judged by a distinguished panel of jury members including renowned actor Raveena Tandon, celebrated director-producer Mahesh Bhatt and Raj Nayak, CEO - COLORS.
The CEO’s Got Talent showcased India Inc.’s leaders in a manner never seen before, even by their peers.  AtulKhatri who entertained the audiences with a rib-tickling stand-up comedy act was adjudged as the all-round champion CEO, who not only excels at business but also at cultivating a personal interest.

AG: Are you also looking at creating more such unique properties in the following year?

PS: Genesis Foundation has, through unique participative fund-raising events involving music, art and food, built a dynamic community of donors, health care organisations, artists and caregivers who are committed to children’s health.  Some of these events are: The Kasauli Rhythm & Blues Festival, JadhavGADH Music Festival, CEOs Sing for GF Kids, CEO’s Cook for GF Kids, Musical Evenings, Art Shows, Theatre, etc.

AG: So how is Genesis Burson-Marsteller growing its Digital capabilities?

PS: At Genesis Burson-Marsteller (GBM), we are launching some exciting new growth initiatives this year. Now that digital has done exceedingly well in 2013; we are planning an initiative which will further boost out capabilities in this space and  help us quickly double what we are doing now. A thing to understand here is that when we get the right strategy we can’t just sit back and relax after that; the drive to excel and perform needs to continue. So we are now looking at how we take it to the next level. The other thing that we are doing, however in a small way, is restructuring our Content and Design Bureau (CADB), which specializes in  creating content and design acrossmultiple media–video, print and online.

AG: What are your thoughts on the kind of goals and roles set for CADB?

PS: Today, everybody wants ready packaged content, so we are now going ahead and expanding the team in this Centre of Excellence to include writers across different industry domains and designers who can work with all mediums, online, print and video. The team is already creating some interesting productsranging from coffee table books, blogs, brochures to videos etc. and we will be relaunching this Centre with a lot more services to offer clients.

Another exciting new conceptwhich will enhance the services offered by the Content and Design Bureau is the GBM Newsroom. The first of its kind in the Indian PR industry, The GBM Newsroom will provide actionable media intelligence, curate new concepts and media distribution channels that go beyond the press release, with compelling and innovative storytelling capability. With the art of storytelling becoming more visual, multi-media content such as video clips, animations and infographics changing the game, GBM Newsroom will enhance content creation capabilities, by producing and supplying content, going beyond the traditional press release. The content created as part of this Newsroom will be available through a dedicated portal to journalists, who will come onto the site, insert a password and get access to relevant content. He / she can also subscribe to alerts and get updates real time.

AG: Along with other industry committees, you have also played an instrumental role in setting up the Public Relations Consultants Association of India where you were the Founding President. So do you think that there is a need of a central body to put the industry in order and to voice the industries needs and demands?

PS: The PRCAI is an apex body which constitutes the leading PR firms in India. It has been doing some good work in spreading the knowledge of PR and also focusing on the issues which matter to our industry. There is a lot more which we can do together as an industry to address the changing face of communication and the PRCAI has been pursuing that agenda diligently. I believe we shouldn’t think only about the negatives, but focus on creating a better understanding of Public Relations as an industry overall, in India. PRCAI has achieved some good momentum and also launched excellent initiatives like the Indian Sabre Awards last year.

Similarly, an informal forum of Public Affairs Professionals was formed in the year 2008.  Over the years the Forum had garnered more than 110 members, with representation of heads of the Public Affairs / Corporate Affairs functions of leading companies, industry associations and select government bodies.  In July 2012, the Public Affairs Forum of India (PAFI) was formalised and today, is perhaps, the only registered society in India, comprising of organizations and individuals working in the field of Public & Corporate Affairs.  Our goals – then and now - are very clear -- to raise and maintain standards of practice of public affairs, and to enable the Public Affairs industry to attain recognition and credibility.Public Affairs – a term used to describe an institution’s relationships with its various external stakeholders –hastraversed a long distance. It has become increasingly critical to an organisation’s future more than ever. Today, it represents an organisation’s efforts to monitor and manage its business environment and encompasses government relations, communications, issues management and corporate citizenship strategies for advocacy on public policy, building a strong reputation, mapping stakeholders and finding common grounds with them.
PAFI intends to play an important role here by playing the role of an enabler to the Public Affairs community and help them to advance and develop the field of public affairs, and provide tools and resources that would enable members to achieve their business and professional goals, in an ethical manner.

AG: What is your take on the PR measurement system in India?

PS: Measurement is integral to every campaign we do at Genesis Burson-Marsteller. We not only measure output but also focus on outcomes and the impact we make on the client’s business. We always tell our clients, we don’t measure our own work since there could be a question of biases. Hence we do it via a third party and every client we work with, signs up with Impact Measurement, so that all the parties involved in the business have the same unbiased information and know what has been achieved for the success of the campaign.

AG: General industry perception states that with growing technology, areas of expertise and media's dependence on it, the PR industry has gone absolutely complex. What is your take in that?

PS: That is indeed true. We need to stay in sync with what is happening around us in the communications ecosystem and adapt our plans and strategies and the way we work to achieve results for our clients. Earlier we had different divisions and teams working specifically on tasks like client servicing, designing, writing etc. Then we unified all of it, keeping the client and his needs at the center, so that we can provide all the communication services that he / she requires, through one Client Leader. This is more complicated than it sounds, because we have to ensure that while the client gets one key person or team to interact with, all the different areas of expertise are still available to him, in an integrated manner. So we now have a matrix structure where different people with different expertise make up a client team, based on the requirements of the programme at that time. Therefore, while we have clear Centres of Excellence with deep expertise, they also form part of every client team to deliver an integrated communication campaign. That I believe is the only way forward!