Employees, more than celebrities, are emerging as brand ambassadors: Pooja Garg Khan

As part of the build up to Adgully’s first PR summit – IMAGEXX 2021 – we present the valuable insights provided by our esteemed jury panel comprising the leading names from the country’s PR and Corporate Communications field.

In the last 10 years, PR has taken a different dimension, especially after the entry of social media and the rapid shift to digital, especially in the pandemic period. However, at the same time the industry has been facing stiff challenges, moreover client expectations has also increased, with more emphasis being given to digital and online reputation management. The industry has undergone a radical shift and the current times have pushed the industry to change gears.

In conversation with Adgully, Pooja Garg Khan, Head - Corporate Communications, Panasonic India, speaks about ho digital is transforming the PR industry as well as media relations. She also talks about the science behind PR, which has the potential to change conversations.

PR has evolved a lot in the last 10 years and is still evolving. How does the road ahead look like and what are some of the new trends that we will notice in the PR industry in the next 5 years?

Let’s rewind to the last two decades, which have been quite dynamic for the PR industry. Just like the media industry, PR has evolved in every sense. I still remember, when I started out, we did media rounds for press releases. Cut to date, press conferences are also virtual today. While the process had already started, COVID-19 accelerated the digital transformation.

Digital has taken the world by storm in the last 10 years and PR industry is no different. From analytics to story pitches, all can be done online. There are platforms today which help you identify the right set of journalists for a story and send them pitches. All automated. Press releases can simply be uploaded on a platform, target group defined and you can reach out to a journalist in any country at the click of a button. Earlier, we relied on those many meetings to profile a journalist for the spokesperson, today you can get their profiles from LinkedIn and Twitter.

The rapid digitisation of the PR industry, though accelerated by the pandemic, is the future. Some key trends that I see emerging and which will be here to stay include:

• Phygital engagement with the media – now, we don’t need to travel to another city to meet a journalist, Zoom and Team meetings have become an accepted norm. Though there will continue to be outliers who prefer to meet in person
• Lines will continue to blur between Digital Marketing and Digital PR. PR folks will need to drive a distinct value in terms of engaging KOLs, amplifying news reports, drive the culture story, engage employees
• Press conferences will continue to evolve and take a phygital shape, with journalists joining through online platforms from across the world and engage with the spokespeople
• Content will gain even more significance as this is what will drive engagement and conversations for the brand
• Owned platforms on social are increasingly becoming the company’s voice to the external world
• Employees, more than celebrities, are emerging as brand ambassadors

AI and technology will be the game changer in the coming years, especially in the area of data. What are your views on this and how are agencies and brands gearing up to face this new challenge?

I have always maintained that there is a science behind PR. It is not just an article in a paper or online channel, but has the potential to change conversations. To build a strong PR campaign, data analytics takes precedence as it helps us garner insights from all the external and internal chatter, consumer research to review our key messages and overall PR strategy. Our Key Message Framework is an example of good data analytics from online, offline brand conversations, consumer and partner insights. Every product launch at Panasonic is preceded by a consumer research, the data is analysed to draw insights, which help us craft our launch stories. From Miraie – Connected Living Solution to our nanoe-X AC range which helps inhibit COVID-19, all successful campaigns were backed by strong data. If I look at social media, LinkedIn and Twitter analytics help identify and target the relevant network/ community, analyse our content better to engage and time the launch. So, it is pretty much in our DNA.

Coming to AI, I think this still needs to evolve in how it can help the PR industry. There are pockets of conversations and projects, which help track the right journalists for a pitch, but I don’t think its fool proof as yet. I am exploring this space.