Data can make our strategy more proactive, but do not treat data as gospel: Experts

‘Can PR ignore diagnostic any longer – The importance of data science in managing PR’ – this panel discussion at the first ever IMAGEXX 2021 Summit saw some leading names from the agency side as well from corporate communications come together to discuss this relevant topic.

Moderated by Ameer Ismail, President, Lintas Live, the panellists included:

Atul Raja, Executive Vice President - Global Marketing, Wadhwani Foundation

Pooja Pathak, Co-Founder, Media Mantra

Sandeep Ajgaonkar, Vice President, Adfactors PR

Pooja Thakran, Senior Director - Communications, Honeywell

Sonal Choithani, Chief Communications Officer, Vedanta Limited

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Subramaniam M (Subra), Practice Lead – Technology, Hill+Knowlton Strategies India

In his introduction, Ameer Ismail aptly summarised the crossroads that the PR industry finds itself with regards to data. He said, “If you look at the environment that we live in today, everything is powered by data to the point where it is almost scary how much we are dependent on it. From a consumer perspective, I saw a slide in the US that said, ‘we scroll through a football field of data daily’. I don’t think this is going to change in the future, in fact, it is only going to get more acute. The PR industry on average is growing at 6 per cent and holding companies are also struggling. At the same time, you have the top seven Big Tech companies increase their value by $3.6 trillion. The stark differential is when you understand how to navigate data as opposed to not knowing. Sometimes we are averse to change, even when it is upon us. We need to learn how to navigate this challenge and have the tools to make this happen.”

Atul Raja: Big Data has percolated across sectors and there is a need for PR to adopt and accelerate its use of Big Data. Awareness is past and the goalpost has shifted to engagement. There has been an explosion of media and many niche content platforms that have emerged that require laser sharp PR communications. The measurement criteria are archaic, and we need to move away from column centimetres and leverage data to improve our objectives.

Relevance of data to the corporate communications and PR function

Sonal Choithani: Data has helped us make tangible some of our outputs in relation to our outcomes. However, having said that, we are in a bit of a conundrum. PR has sleepwalked through this change and the tools we have used in the past have been clunky. If PR professionals were interested in data, we might have joined another profession, but somewhere we haven’t engaged with those early tools actively, which has held back the evolution of data in PR.

What can we do about it? We can work with data to make our strategy more proactive, to measure if we’re aligned to the business objectives that we’ve set out for ourselves, understand focus areas when there are crisis situations, and realise new market development opportunities. But do not treat data as gospel because metrics like reach, impressions, and target audience does not tell you whether the data translates into a shift in consumer behaviour.

Sandeep Ajgaonkar: I come from the corporate side, where data played an important role when any decision regarding sales or digital had to be taken. I’ve seen a distinct leap or paradigm shift when it comes to the adoption of data. When we talk about data analytics, we don’t just apply it to engage the client and provide insights, rather, we engage with data right from the get-go. We start the process of pitching with data itself. Depending on where the client lies, whether it is the B2B or B2C space, data plays a different role. In B2B space, data is leveraged to amplify client initiatives and measure those initiatives. In B2C space, data plays an even more critical role where we leverage it to measure the entire marketing funnel.

Pooja Thakran: PR needs to keep tabs on who is creating narratives about the organisation. In my experience working in a developed market, there are tools available to make sense of data. Data is of no use if you can’t derive value out of it. There is already a lot of volume. In India, we have not done enough in terms of value generation. Data should help you plan your inputs for a campaign and predict outcomes. Looking at input, output and impact side of PR, we’ve done fairly well when it comes to output, but when it comes to input – planning, predictive analysis – then we are as far ahead as compared to other markets. That’s where agencies can drive a lot of value.

Pooja Pathak: Measurement maturity has been rising and we are building measurement capability. While some clients are looking closely at the input metrics, others are more interested in outcomes and measurement capability. As an agency, we are building on both sides. Measurement has a tremendous positive impact, but it requires an upgrade in technology and up-skilling in talent which must begin from the top down.

Subra M: From a data perspective, when I started there was only one thing, which was media relations. You were strong if you knew media and that was your data. You leveraged your connections and what you thought was the right thing to do at that time. That has changed a lot. The kind of services being offered by PR agencies has expanded to stuff like behavioural science and data analytics. These are services unheard of in PR and corporate communications.

Watch the entire event here