“Personalisation & User-Generated Content will majorly influence buying decisions”

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. At the same time the industry has been facing stiff challenges, moreover client expectations have 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, Meenakshi Oberoi, Head - Corporate Communications, Somany Impresa Group (Hindware), speaks about how communications today has become more agile, innovative, and inclusive.

You have been both on the agency and client sides of Public Relations. How has the journey been and how has PR evolved in the last 10 years?

Prior to working with Perfect Relations, I explored numerous careers from acting to being a flight attendant, to organizing events. But my stint with Perfect Relations convinced me that I was meant to be in the communications space. This led me on a journey that spanned working with 20:20MSL, Weber Shandwick, and two successful stints at Somany Impresa Group. And what an incredible journey it has been.

When I started out, traditional media was the only tool PR agencies and communications teams were focusing on. Whilst traditional aspects of PR are still relevant, owned and paid media has gained prominence. Social media platforms have revolutionized how we communicate with our audiences. There are now multiple tools available -Instagram, Snapchat, YouTube, Facebook, LinkedIn, and others to reach specific audiences. With that comes the overarching challenge of deciding which channels are important to the audiences we need to reach. Communications today have become more agile, more innovative, and inclusive. 

In your current role as head of corporate communications for Somany Impresa Group, what’s the role of PR for the brand and what’s your mandate?

The communications strategy at Somany Impresa Group is aligned to the business goals of the companies and brand under the purview of the Group. I work closely with the CEOs and marketing heads to develop specific media strategies for each business to maximize impact and coverage across multiple channels. We have multiple PR agencies on board with whom we collaborate to enhance Corporate Reputation Management and Brand Communications. Additionally, I also work with Investor relations agencies to create the communications strategy and build the profile of our two listed companies amongst the investor, media, and financial analysts community. 

Covid has disrupted every other industry. How have you navigated during these times and what are some of the learnings as a PR professional?

2021 was a year that played havoc with expectations and all decisions demanded agility. Nobody has come out of the last two years without feeling the pain of the pandemic. We did personalized pitching to connect with the journalists as we had to discover ways to cut through the noise. Increasing sensitivity in communications was done for businesses and advising them to follow the same, has been key in ensuring brand visibility during the pandemic. As PR professionals, we should now understand the importance of work-life balance and increasingly work to ensure we help our people to increase productivity and reduce creative burnout.

Honestly, I think the only way to move forward will be to embrace the uncertainty and be agile.

Being a niche product and a niche target audience what kind of PR strategy works in this building products category? What kind of media strategy have you planned and how important is digital in the overall media strategy?

It is so interesting to work with the Group. With diversified business across Packaging, Building and Consumer products, and retail, the strategy for all companies are separate. Every business requires a different approach, and no one strategy applies to all. We have created a 360 degree integrated communications plan to reach out to all our stakeholders i.e. customers, investors, business partners, and employees. For our B2B businesses, our institutional clients are important, and thus traditional media continue to play a big part and we are focused on driving our narrative through them. For our consumer centric businesses and brands, we have an integrated communications approach that is linked to the content strategy. 

Digital is an integral part of the overall media strategy and we have created an effective digital experience, messaging, and quality content to fuel the digital strategy. Last but not the least, we listen to our audiences. With leverage listening tools, analytic and data mining options that are available to tailor & modify content to meet evolving consumption trends of the consumers.

How do you set your expectations with your PR partner and what kind of matrix you apply to evaluate their performance for the various PR activities?

KPIs have been the “Eternal Question” that has plagued us for decades now. It is inherently more difficult to establish benchmarks for Public Relations compared to other marketing tactics. Together with the agency, I work on key message penetration, sentiment, earned Traffic to our social media platforms and websites. In addition to measuring performance on tangible factors, we are also moving towards evaluating intangible factors during the review process. As summed up by Mark Twain – Facts are a stubborn thing, but statistics are pliable. Especially in our industry where engaging end-users involves crafting and dealing with sentiments and emotions, intangible variables are of utmost importance. 

Where is the PR industry heading 5 years from now? What are some of changes one can expect as the dynamics of media has changed with the rapid digital transformation? 

An effective strategy today and in the future will include both traditional media (print, television, radio) and new media (digital, social, podcasts) in order to reach varied audiences. Regional media will continue to grow as a large number of our audiences still read regional newspapers, and this will be especially true for FMCG, E-Commerce, and Consumer Appliances brands. Moving forward, the brands will need to look at how to tell real stories rather than pushing products at the audience. We will enter The Age of Personalization and User-Generated Content as they will majorly influence the buying decision of customers.