PR is no longer restricted to securing media impressions: Udit Pathak

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, Udit Pathak, Director, Media Mantra, speaks at length about the nine-year journey of the agency that he co-founded, the emerging trends in PR and communications, digital transformation in the communications industry and more.

Tell us more about Media Mantra’s successful nine-year journey in the PR and communications world. As an entrepreneur, how did you dive into the communications business and what is your secret for success?

When we started Media Mantra in 2012, it was a major shift from the well-settled corporate job to initiating our entrepreneurial stint. I had worked with key media houses and reputed PR firms, but I always envisioned having my PR firm. When I became a father and was blessed with a baby boy, that was the turning point of my life. That was when I realised that it was a ‘now or never’ kind of situation. I finally gathered the courage to take the leap of faith and finally launched the PR firm with my partner, Pooja.

Nine years later, now that I look back, I feel that the journey has been successful and quite fulfilling. Taking the entrepreneurial leap was indeed the appropriate move back then and I am glad that my instincts guided me on the right path!

All this while I was determined to keep moving forward and I never lost hope. To stay focused and achieve my goals, I had to push myself out of my comfort zone at every step.

I would like to add here that Pooja has been a great support. Along with her, it is due to my hardworking team that our firm fought all odds and nine years later, Media Mantra is now recognised as one of the leading independent and communications firm in the industry. We are known for our exponential growth from the grassroot level and are now the 9^th fastest growing PR firm across the globe and the 2^nd fastest growing PR firm in Asia.

If I had to describe Media Mantra’s journey, I would say that it has been a progressive ride so far. This phase has made me gather various experiences and it is these learnings that have made the firm a success in just nine years. What I would also like to mention is that hard work and consistent efforts, coupled with cohesive working and effective communication, are the magic ingredients for our success.

What are some of the thinking processes that you follow to deliver great value to your clients? How do you set and manage the expectations of your clients?

We believe that transparency is the key to service clients effectively. We are honest in our communication and present the right picture to our clients. We openly discuss the feasible campaign ideas and the challenges we face to ensure seamless functioning. Our ideology of being transparent and patient helps deliver great value to our clients and manage their expectations effectively. Along with this, our approach of meticulously understanding the clients’ requirements and expectations first and then proposing the viable communication strategies works in our favour.

I also feel that robust weekly and monthly evaluations need to be conducted so that we can track and measure performance against the shared scope of work. We believe this strategy is essential to ensure that our efforts are diverted in the right direction.

The pandemic has shifted behaviours and trends across the industry. What kind of shifts have you noticed in the PR industry? Any key learnings in the last one year?

The Indian communications landscape has changed drastically over the years. The industry now boasts of having both established firms as well as various independent PR firms that have grown significantly over the period of time and have been performing well.

PR is no longer restricted to securing media impressions or managing media relations anymore. It has evolved exponentially and treads on the path of innovation by extending beyond conventional practices.

COVID specifically has accelerated the process of digital transformation in the communications industry. The sector is now embracing the power of technology and digital adoption will play a crucial role in the industry’s growth in the coming times. Be it influencer engagement, measuring the impact of the PR campaigns, or handling media relations, every aspect of Public Relations will adopt the digital route.

There is a rapid change in the way digital is approached today. How is your company helping clients to manage and handle this digital transformation?

As mentioned above, the pandemic has played a pivotal role in accelerating the pace of digital adoption in the communications industry. This trend is here to stay for long. Digital revolution will not only revamp the landscape of the sector in the times to come, but will also help bridge the gaps that exist in the industry presently.

Recognising the scope of growth and leveraging the opportunities, we at Media Mantra recently launched a tech venture, Influsurf Communications Pvt Ltd. With this firm, we are ready to pioneer the MediaTech era. We are aiming at devising innovative tech-savvy solutions that will digitally disrupt the communications industry.

As of now, we are already in the process of developing a tool that we intend to launch by next year. This platform will enable digital empowerment of the sector and will emerge to be a one-stop solution for all challenges faced by industry professionals, leaders as well as freelancers. Via this platform, PR professionals will be able to manage media relations easily and seamlessly! It will also enable them to modify their campaign planning and communication strategies in real-time.

Where will growth come for Media Mantra in the next 3 to 5 years? What’s going to be the growth strategy? Is there any foreign collaboration on the cards?

Media Mantra has grown significantly over the years. Our revenue growing exponentially ever since March 2021 and our aggressive hiring strategy is indeed a testimony of the fact that we have had a successful run so far. We are now hopeful of climbing the growth graph in the future as well. Adopting the digital approach and carving the dedicated practices will primarily boost our growth in the next 3 to 5 years.

Ever since 2015, we started working on our growth strategy and developing dedicated practices was an essential element of the same. Taking forward this approach, we set up our startup division, Startup Mantra in 2015.

We were already in the process of conceptualising the gaming practice since 2019, but due to the pandemic outbreak, we had to hit the pause button on our plans. However, now that situation has been turning better, we recently launched the Gaming Mantra practice for our gaming clientele.Both the verticals have been performing well and we plan to form all the more dedicated divisions in the times to come.

As shared above, we are keen to embrace the digital route and wanted to establish a robust digital foundation. Hence, we launched Influsurf Communications with the sole aim to digitise the communications industry. As of now, we are conceptualising the tech-based platform that will digitally disrupt the sector.

As we inch towards 2022, we are also focusing on expanding our global presence and we intend to reach the international markets across different countries. As far as the foreign collaborations are concerned, there are none on the cards as we feel associations shouldn’t be done just for the sake of growth. Rather they should be to offer value to the clients.