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UTV Bindass was launched in 2007 and has since, established itself India’s first 360 degree Entertainment Brand for the Indian Youth. It is a community building platform to bring the youth together using the power of TV, Web, Mobile, Ground and Campus activities. Bindass, as the name suggests prides itself with brand values of being Fun, Frank, Fearless and Free.

Created from the insight that today’s youth are proud Indians with the confidence to actively and impatiently seek, and in fact demand unique experiences and content. With groundbreaking shows like Emotional Atyachaar, ‘Dadagiri’ ‘Khan Sisters’ and ‘Big Switch’, UTV Bindass has cumulatively expanded its reach within its target group over the years and has become a platform for self expression that mirrors millions of free-spirited Indian youth.

Jyotika Ahuja, Communications Head, UTV Group said, “In a short span of 4 years UTV bindass has created a strong name for itself in the youth space. Now as the brand embarks on the next level of brand extension we were keen to partner with an agency that could help us support our new PR initiatives and plans ahead for brand Bindass with a fresh perspective and great enthusiasm. Their team fit the bill which made them the preferred pick and we look forward to working with them.”

Sunayna Malik, Managing Director, Text 100 India said, “UTV Bindass is a very special addition to our diversifying client roster and marks our foray in the challenging but exciting entertainment space. We’re elated to have reached this milestone in partnership with India’s only 360° entertainment brand. We look forward to a long & rewarding association with UTV Bindass in their journey towards becoming a platform of self expression and community building for today’s youth.”

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“We are extremely happy and proud to have our first overseas tourism client on board at the beginning of 2012,” said Madan Bahal, Managing Director, Adfactors PR Pvt Ltd. announcing the tie-up. “Adfactors PR’s ongoing work with India Tourism Development Corporation and previous collaborations with various national and international tourism boards like Kerala Tourism, Switzerland Tourism for their external communication outreach programs equips us with the capability of handling such a challenge. With our unmatched experience, domain knowledge and team bandwidth we will be able to put across the affluent culture, tourism and heritage of Turkey to the people of India. Now with bouquet of clients we have introduced Travel, Hospitality and Leisure (THL) practice.”

“We are very excited about our partnership with Adfactors PR, the largest professional PR agency in India,” said Ozgur Ayturk, Culture & Tourism Counsellor, Turkish Embassy. “We are very positive and confident about this partnership and hope that Adfactors PR will help us in reaching out to the right audience by being visible in the right media at the right time. We have been doing promotional and cultural shows in India to promote Turkey as a destination, and will continue to organize more such events with the help of Adfactors PR in future,” he added.

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With India as its focal point for the first quarter of the year, Red Mango has awarded the PR duties to Percept Profile which already has in its kitty the honour of working with iconic brands from the F&B industry of the likes of Le Meridian, The Intercontinental and others. Expected to create a broad and strong image of Red Mango in India, Percept Profile will deliver a 360º PR mandate to the client and thus position is as the game-changer product offering in the Indian market.

Ranked as #4 on Restaurant Business Magazines “Future 50” list of fastest growing chains in 2010, Red Mango has seen a phenomenon growth in 2010 with fully functional outlets in 147 locations and is planning to add 24 more outlets in the near future with a view on doubling the number of outlets by 2011-12.

On bagging the PR duties of Red Mango Rahat Beri, COO of Percept Profile said, “It’s a matter of immense pleasure & pride that we will be associated with the India launch of Red Mango which is expanding its footprints in the field of Food and Beverage in the country. Adding a unique touch to product offerings, Red Mango caters to today’s diet conscious consumer who wants to eat well & stay well. We will definitely help Red Mango touch more consumers with our cutting edge PR activities and initiatives.”

The India head of Red Mango Rahul Kumar was cited, “We are extremely happy to have Percept Profile on our board & it will positively have an effect on our growing Indian footprint. Keeping the track record of excellent performance in mind, we finalized Percept Profile as the agency which will help us in creating a positive awareness of the brand in the country.”

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The PR industry in India today is facing potential growth-limiting challenges such as a dearth of home-grown talent, a fall out from recent PR scandals and a move away from traditional PR towards strategic communications. The report touches on these issues, as well as the widely reported misconceptions about size of the Indian PR industry, and the ramifications of this over-inflated figure on the market. A recent Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India study pegged the size of the industry at a wildly inflated $6 billion whilst MSLGROUP’s research points to $140 million being a more true representation.

Jaideep Shergill, CEO for Hanmer MSL and Member of MSLGROUP India Management Board commented, “The challenges before the Indian PR industry are not that different to what other service industries have had to face in the past – a serious talent shortage, disconnections between fees and value and measuring performance accurately. Furthermore, we must look ahead and ask ourselves how the industry should react to a worsening global economic situation. These are questions this report tackles and by bringing these tough issues to the fore, we hope that it puts the industry into perspective and kicks off a discussion on the roadmap that PR in India so desperately requires.”

“The industry is at an important crossroads, and we have taken the first step in not only asking difficult questions of ourselves and the industry, but also providing potential solutions to foster a stronger and sustainable India PR market.” added Sunil Agarwal, founder of 20:20 MSL and Member of MSLGROUP India Management Board.

In addition to highlighting a variety of trouble spots, Understanding the Public Relations Industry in India: Challenges, Opportunities and 2012 Outlook report also identifies opportunities for PR agencies such as offering integrated strategic and speciality communications, bridging the compensation gap, ensuring performance measurement and understanding client expectations.

Throughout the report, critical questions are posed to agencies and their staff, clients and their organizations, media and the industry at large which are aimed to spark debate, ideas and potential solutions that can strengthen the industry’s future. Some of these include:

- A misunderstanding of the size of India’s PR industry, hiding the on the ground realities and core issues.
- A serious Indian talent crunch, stunted by a more lucrative in-house corporate communications sector, increasing the demand-supply.
- A lack of understanding of how PR can play a strategic role, resulting in low PR retainers – in the Rs 20-lakh ($40,000) range compared to the average advertising retainer of Rs 2 crore ($400,000).
- A vital need for PR firms to offer integrated communications as the line between PR, advertising and digital begins to blur.
- Speciality communications such as niche PR, engagement through social media and employer branding to be recognized as growth focus areas for PR agencies.
- Despite the global economic turmoil, India continues to grown at 7%, presenting a unique opportunity for PR firms in terms of global and Indian MNCs.

MSLGROUP India, one of the largest PR and strategic communications brands in India, has developed this report to further its and the industry’s goals for sustainable and professional development. PR professionals, clients, organisations and the industry recognise that PR in India is at a critical juncture and Public Relations Industry in India: Challenges, Opportunities and 2012 Outlook offers a transparent and robust précis to move the industry forward.

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The firm’s focus is on ethical influencing and bringing alive creative outreach campaigns using an evidence-based approach. We are starting the year on a high, with some really interesting companies & brands as retainers,” said Prema Sagar, Principal & Founder, Genesis Burson-Marsteller, South Asia.

Retainer clients who came on board included Piaggio-Vespa, New Zealand Tourism, Safilo, Hindustan National Glass and Medium Healthcare Consulting.

The firm has also bagged significant project clients such as TNT, ArtDubai and India Design Forum. “We work hard in building truly winning campaigns and measuring what we achieve for our clients. Beyond retainers and projects, we have won significant work from existing accounts which is at the core of our business strategy – to retain and build long term relationships with our clients,” said Nikhil Dey, President, Public Relations, Genesis Burson-Marsteller, South Asia.

Pune-based Piaggio is the largest European manufacturer of two-wheeled motor vehicles and the world’s leader in this sector.

“It is a great delight and privilege for us to be engaged with their iconic ‘’Vespa” brand and we look forward to building an integrated lifestyle campaign for the timeless brand”. Those who visited Auto Expo or followed it on television would have seen the Italian-designed showstopper. Vespa was included in the Top Ten in NDTV’s Auto Expo’s best” Sagar added.

Safilo is the world’s second-largest eyewear company. They design, manufacture and distribute high-quality prescription frames, sunglasses under licensing agreements for leading luxury brands.

Brands such as Gucci Dior, Marc Jacobs, Girogio Armani, as well as their own brands Carrera, Blue Bay, Oxydo and Safilo form part of the portfolio.

Hindustan National Glass & Industries Ltd (Somany Group) based in Kolkatta is the largest glass packaging solution provider in India with a 65 per cent market share. The company was established in 1946 and produces customised glass containers and bottles. Genesis Burson-Marsteller’s mandate is to build brand awareness and corporate reputation in the B2B space for HNG in India.

Medium Healthcare Consulting, a Hyderabad-based boutique firm, is focused on markets in emerging economies and specialises in business strategy, integrated marketing, service quality and performance transformation. Ratan Jalan, who is widely acknowledged as a thought leader and a rare innovator in the healthcare industry, has set up medium Healthcare Consulting. The campaign plan focuses on positioning and building the brand for Medium Healthcare Consulting.

In a short-term campaigns, the agency was retained to conduct communication workshops for the express delivery service provider TNT to assist them in achieving their objective.

Other interesting campaigns include ArtDubai that will take place in Dubai in March. 2012 The largest and the most established contemporary art fair in the Middle East and Africa is held under the patronage of HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE, Ruler of Dubai, and is run as a joint venture between the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) and Middle East Fairs Ltd.

Genesis Burson-Marsteller has also bagged the India Design Forum – India’s very first international design gathering — which will take place in New Delhi in March.

The IDF is a first for India as it addresses all aspects of Design-industrial, urban, architecture, sustainability, education, innovation and application. Global design practitioners and thought leaders will assemble in New Delhi for a two-day event and be a part of a week of celebrating Design.

“We chose Genesis Burson-Marsteller as we share the same ideals of seamlessly integrating brands across the country, and working with the best minds in the business without compromising on the special needs of every individual client such as IDF!” said Rajshree Pathy, Co-Founder of Rajshree Sugars & Chemicals Ltd and IDF’s Organiser.

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The Business and Service Excellence Awards, instituted by Brands Academy, recognizes North India’s leading service organizations and professionals, who have displayed exemplary excellence in their respective fields.

Teamwork Managing Director Kamal Narayan Omer received the award from Dr. Shashi Tharoor, former Union Minister of State for External Affairs and renowned author, human rights activist and a Member of Parliament in the award ceremony recently held at Gurgaon.

“With its innovative campaigning modules and sound understanding of complicated healthcare issues, Teamwork has created a niche in the Healthcare communication in a short span of time,” Omer said accepting the prestigious award.

“The agency handles several communication campaigns covering almost all major issues related to health and wellness. We are really honored to get this recognition. This is the result of our sincere service commitment to our clients. This award will certainly motivate us to take our services to even greater levels,” he added.

The awards were based on a comprehensive market research study and opinion surveys conducted by BIG Brands Research, one of the top market research agencies in India.

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Mavcomm, an integrated public relations and communications solutions provider, will be responsible for developing the communication strategy for Auto Expo as well as managing all media relations, content development and on-site media management during the upcoming Auto Expo. The company will be providing creative, dynamic and credible communication strategies to further disseminate information related to the Auto Expo to the media in the most coherent manner. Mavcomm will work closely with the organizers, acting as a hub to align the messages and disseminate across various media platforms across the country.

Siddhartha Upadhyay, Director, Mavcomm Consulting Pvt Ltd. said, ”We have the expertise of handling the Auto Expo in the past and this experience will help us immensely in implementing a favorable communication strategy for the upcoming Expo as well. We have set our own benchmarks and we hope that we will be able to take this season of the Auto Expo to a completely new level.”

“This time again, our biggest challenge will be to carry out an integrated approach for disseminating news across the country and globe as well. Mavcomm will also be responsible for registrations and information management pre, during and post the event,” Mr. Upadhyay added.

The 11th Auto Expo 2012 is Asia’s largest automotive show jointly organized by Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) and Automotive Component Manufacturers Association of India (ACMA). Like earlier editions, the forthcoming edition will showcase latest technological endeavors, products, components, vehicles and act as a launch pad for new and future vehicles besides being the platform for generating leads, one to one interactions and business enquiries. Auto Expo 2012 will also have special focus and emphasis on technological innovations in the areas of safety, environment and fuel efficiency.

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Hanmer MSL will provide strategic communications consultancy programmes to help these clients in the areas of brand building, corporate reputation management, corporate responsibility and crisis and issues management. Hanmer MSL will also draw on expertise and capabilities within MSLGROUP to support these national and multi-national companies expansion within India through its extensive India network of eight offices in eight key cities and an additional 29 network offices which focus on tier 1, tier 2 and tier 3 cities.

Commenting on the new business wins, Jaideep Shergill, CEO, Hanmer MSL, and member MSLGROUP India Management Board said, “As an agency we have always focused on enhancing and improving our capabilities, providing our clients the best of our services. As part of this commitment, we are thrilled to be working together with brands that are considered to be some of the industry’s most respected and successful professionals.”

Hanmer MSL’s media and entertainment portfolio expands further with the entry of HISTORY and NEO Sports. Hanmer MSL’s ability to execute holistic campaigns has positioned the agency at the forefront of media and entertainment speciality communications.

HISTORY™, the world’s leading factual entertainment channel, in its India edition is a part of a joint venture between TV18 and A+E Networks. Hanmer MSL has the responsibility of handling the strategic communications assignment of History in India. Hanmer MSL will leverage its expertise by providing strategic counsel to create maximum exposure for the brand amongst target audiences and key stakeholders. Hanmer MSL will also work with the channel towards expanding the genre and ensuring that it is not perceived as a niche channel contrary to popular misconceptions and thanks to its availability in five regional languages and English. The launch is a significant milestone in the Indian media space as it marks an alliance between TV18, India’s most dynamic television media conglomerate and A&E Networks, pioneers and world leaders in factual entertainment.

Neo Sports Broadcasting has appointed Hanmer MSL to support the premier programmes on its two channels, Neo Sports and Neo Cricket, and highlight popular and potentially popular sporting events and series to help the company achieve its key business priorities of growing viewership and market share. The broadcaster owns and operates two channels: NEO Cricket the number one sports channel for 2008, 2009 and 2010 in India by annual Gross rating points (Source- TAM 2008, 2009 & 2010) and NEO Sports, the premium all sports channel.

Established in 1978, Biocon is India’s first bio technology company. From its inception, Biocon has worked towards defining science, developing cost-effective drug development capabilities and significant manufacturing capacity to move ideas to market. Biocon has spearheaded the bio technology revolution, not just in India but also globally, becoming one of the first and few companies to receive worldwide recognition.

Hanmer MSL will join hands with Biocon to leverage and add media worth and value to their Diabetology campaign and help grow this campaign into a successful venture. Alongside this campaign, Hanmer will also handle the corporate mandate of Biocon as well as help Biocon launch and build on its online presence involving social media tools.
Since its inception from 1980, The Confederation of Real Estate Developers’ Associations of India (CREDAI) Bengaluru (earlier known as KOAPA) has safeguarded the interests of real estate developers and builders while protecting the rights of buyers and home owners around the state of Karnataka.

Hanmer MSL will work towards developing CREDAI as a thought leader and help in ensuring quality media mileage for all their ventures, events and business developments. Hanmer MSL will be working with specific focus on creating the right image of the real estate sector and using media to highlight the reality that exists in the industry and the changes that CREDAI proposes to bring forth.

BOC India Limited (BOCI), a member of The Linde Group, is the leader in gases business in India since 1935. BOCI provides a one-stop solution to all businesses for gas supply and related equipment and services. The company manufactures cryogenic and non-cryogenic vessels and also designs and commission projects. Be it for food processing, medical, domestic or industrial use, BOCI provides tailor-made solutions for customers, conforming to the strictest international standards of production and safety in the process.

Hanmer MSL has been entrusted with the mandate to communicate the brand transition and change management process and establish and elevate the profile of Linde Group in Kolkata, Mumbai, Delhi and Chennai.

HTC Corporation (HTC) is one of the fastest growing companies in the mobile phone industry. By putting people at the center of everything it does, HTC creates innovative devices that better serve the lives and needs of individuals. The company is listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange under ticker 2498. Hanmer MSL will have the responsibility of executing corporate as well as product PR for this company.

For SBI General Insurance Company Limited, Hanmer MSL will be in charge of corporate PR and product PR including product launches. The company is a joint venture between the State Bank of India and Insurance Australia Group (IAG), Australia’s leading general insurance provider. It serves three key customer segments i.e. retail segment that caters to individual and families, the corporate segment including mid to large size companies and the SME segment. Currently, SBI General covers motor and home insurance for individuals; fire, marine, package, construction and engineering, group health and miscellaneous insurance for businesses.

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Nikhil Jain, CEO, Ramprastha Group said, “India is presently one of the fastest-growing economies in the world and real estate sector is the largest employer and the largest wealth creator, thus it has played a vital role in the country’s overall economic development. Ramprastha Group, with our five decade legacy have set inimitable benchmarks in the Realty Sector with our innovative techniques and unique craftsmanship. We have to our exclusive credit as the pioneer in building of self-sufficient colonies.

We are happy to have assign our PR mandate to Blue Lotus Communications, a public relations leader. Blue Lotus has a very successful track record of building and managing reputation of corporates across the India. Their focus on Strategic Thought & focused implementation was the reason why they were chosen from among a host of other agencies.

Elaborating on the scope of the new partnership N. Chandramouli, Founder & CEO, Blue Lotus Communications said, “The intangibles of reputation and brand play a very significant role in creating choice – for employees, customers, partners among others. We will be taking a strategic communication approach to reach out to Ramprashtha’s stakeholders to force-multiply the good work they have already been doing. We are proud to have been chosen by Ramprastha Group as their communication partners as they chart their next phase of growth.”

Sulakshana Mehrotra, Branch Head, Blue Lotus Communications, New Delhi, said, “The Delhi and NCR region has a sustained high-growth in real estate when compared to any other city. Though several players exist in this segment, few have the fifty year credibility that Ramprashtha enjoys, and the partnership will help unlock enormous communications value for Ramprashtha.”

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Commenting on the new branding and its approach, N. Chandramouli, CEO, Comniscient Group said, “Driving communications with knowledge as a strategic tool, and businesses with an entrepreneurial spirit has helped several of our group companies attain global recognition. In creating an umbrella branding the name that that best represented our character was the word Comniscient, which is essentially the word ‘Omniscient’ with a ‘C’ prefixed. The name reflects the group’s scientific and knowledge based approach, and it also shows our intense focus on the all-important communication vertical. The new group branding in a way is serendipitous because it is the way we naturally think in our group.”

“The Comniscient Group logo is made of parts of three circles which intersect in a non-standard form reflective of the philosophy of the group. On the whole, the form shows a dancing spirit reflective of conviviality with which we go about our business. The use of three non-standard colors shows the unique and effective approach of the Comniscient Group, and the intersections of the circles display a continuous and eternal movement indicative of progress. And, the forms which are created by the lack of forms shows how intangible of communications creates everything that is tangible.”