PR World

Hello, Ogilvy’ famous words: “If you have kept a dog, dont try to bark yourself’”.If you have an Ad agency or PR person or agency,dont try to take over their job.Narendra.
Interesting debate is on regarding the recent Jet Airways crisis and communication in crisis.
Pl chk:
http://pr-discussions.blogspot.com

http://prclicks.blogspot.com/
That’s right. Floated by veteran masscom professional BN Kumar, this is the latest member of PR bloggers. PR Clicks’ endeavour is to prove that in business there is no life without PR - crisis or no crisis….

Sea water turns sweet! Though irrational, this news about sweet water in the sea spread faster than forest fire and engulfed the entire city of Mumbai.

‘Lord Ganesha is drinking milk!’ went the frenzied rumour. In less than a couple of hours, long queues materialized at milk shops and temples across the country.

A rumour suddenly erupts in a small town in Gujarat that ICICI Bank is in trouble. The rumour mill works overtime. And, see what happens. ……Overnight, the country’s leading private bank has customers across the country thronging its ATMs to withdraw their money.

Rumours can spell havoc and tacking the crisis arising out of rumours is an arduos task.

Check with experts on tackling rumours and tackling  crisis.

www.conceptpr.com

http://pr-discussions.blogspot.com/2008/09/re-prpoint-crisis-communications-woh.html

B N Kumar

B N Kumar (BNK to his friends) has over 30 years of experience in mass communications as a journalist as well as a PR professional. He has acquired varied skill sets like Strategy Planning, Media Relations, Media Training, Event Handling, Corporate Events, Networking, Crisis Communications and Corporate Communications and developed wide contacts in corporate and media circles.

Presently he is President at Concept PR, India’s largest, Independent PR Company.

BNK began his career with Free Press Journal, the then leading English daily published from Mumbai, and later moved over to United News of India, the news agency with the largest news gathering network. He has also worked with Business India and The Week magazine and contributed content to The Times of India, The Economic Times, Indian Express, Mid-Day, Newstime and a host of other publications covering a wide range of topics like business, science, space science, crime, films and politics. At UNI he was known as the “fastest reporter” and has won several internal awards.

He joined the PR profession with Reliance Industries Ltd where he worked with the legendary Dhirubhai Ambani handling media relations during the largest ever AGMs that the company had and public affairs campaigns.

BNK was part of the team that set up Ogilvy PR (then O&M PR) – the first PR arm of an advertising agency in India. The other PR consultancies where he worked included Capital Images (of Walchand Capital), DeanPielle PR and a start-up company Beehive Communications.

He had his second stint with the Reliance group when he joined Reliance Infocomm handling media for the company’s wireless business and several product launches and media visits to Dhirubhai Ambani Knowledge City (DAKC) – the largest telecom campus in the country.

He moved over to Concept PR in March 2006 and since then has been handling a wide array of communication for the agency’s clients.

Apart from several IPOs, some of the clients that handled over the years include: Sahara India Group, DLF, GMR Infrastructure, IRB Infrastructure Developers Ltd, Rural Electrification Corporation, Aditya Birla group, Birla Sun Life Insurance, Birla Sun Life Mutual Fund, Cbay India, Tech Mahindra, Idbi bank, Tourism Malaysia, Reliance Infocomm (CSR), 20th Century Fox, DaimlerChrysler; Prudential-ICICI, J P Morgan Stanley; Siemens Ltd; Kanbay India Ltd (Software), Boeing, British Airways, HCPL (Cadbury’s)and National Egg Coordination Committee.

One of the prestigious CSR accounts that he handled was for INTACH  (Indian National Trust for Art & Cultural heritage) for Ganga Action Plan to spread the message of keeping the Ganga clean during Mahakumbh (the grand Hindu religious fair).

A Press release is an announcement coming from a company or a service organization. While those who issue press releases should keep this in mind, those at the “receiving end” must (yes, must) also look at it in the same way.

Often Press releases serve as a kicker to a major story that can be unfolded in the near future. For instance, if a Press Releases says, a CEO forum has an cautious optimism over the slowing of Indian economy, it gives the journalist an opportunity to b rush up his knowledge bank. The release, with a host names of participants gives enough ideas to media persons to contact them for his or her future stories, participation in industry related stories and features for supplements.

I for one, when I was an active journalist, I used to grab all the releases that would come to my agency, keep important contact numbers in my phone book. Many of my colleagues would often borrow my phone book for contacting people for reactions on major announcements, RBI surveys etc.,

Here are some tips for those who write Press Releases:

• Please remember that a Press Release is what one would like to read in print, in a newspaper.
• It is not meant to be used as an ego massager for your boss or client.
• Sometimes you can be a bit nasty, by showing similar ‘ego massager’ from competition and ask your boss/client if he would like to read the stuff in print! His reaction would be “bull shit”!
• As I have always been telling my clients the size of wastepaper baskets (you may call them dust bins!) is ever increasing. And if your target is those bins, then you may have a field day!
• A Press release should be brief, and to the point. Journalists do not have time to read through your research document, however well written it may be, just you do not have time to read through every news item in its entirety.
• State the most important point first.
• If you have to make an announcement about India winning at NSG, you do not have to begin the release by saying that the nuclear impasse in India began many years ago with the Left parties opposing the deal!
• Nobody would like to read your essay, not even your child!

So, be a reader before you become a writer!

Sea water turns sweet! Though irrational, this news about sweet water in the sea spread faster than forest fire and engulfed the entire city of Mumbai.

‘Lord Ganesha is drinking milk!’ went the frenzied rumour. In less than a couple of hours, long queues materialized at milk shops and temples across the country. It took a whole day of scientific explanation to convince spell-bound devotees that there was nothing even remotely ‘divine’ about this phenomenon. Yet, they stubbornly refused to see the truth. ….The story doesn’t here. Please check:http://www.conceptpr.com/

PR is merely not all about communications in crisis!

It’s much more than that. You need PR in happiness as well as horror! We are living in information age and information has never been a potent weapon than it is today!

As my boss Vivek Suchanti says inform and be secure! Hiding information or attempt to circumvent may get you temporary satisfaction and very temporary benefit, but in the long run that does not help at all.

For instance if you try to kill a story in a section of the media, you may succeed for a limited time. But that story is bound to raise its head again and again! In this age of transparency, it’s a crime to hide any information. So, use PR and derive benefit of the potent weapon that you have! Call in your corporate communications team or call us for business.

For further interesting information pl click on this link: www.conceptpr.com

Friday, September 5, 2008