PR should learn the art of story-telling to emerge as the winner: Geetika Bangia

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, Geetika Bangia, Head - Corporate Communications, Stryker India, speaks about how PR has transformed 360 degrees in the last two decades, the importance of engaging content, developing good organic PR, and more.

You have spent considerable time at the client’s end in corporate communication. How has PR evolved in the last 10 to 15 years, and what are some of the significant changes that you have noticed?

In my nearly 2 decades of experience in this PR, communications and marketing industry and having played different roles in this journey, I would say that this industry has transformed 360 degrees. The old rules have become redundant, and new ones are being formed each day, owing to the dynamic nature of this sector. From once being print-heavy and newspapers and magazines being considered the undisputed champions, it has now become equally important to have a presence in the online space. In addition, story-telling that was earlier in the form of articles, blogs, and infographics, is now told creatively through videos, captions, and memes. This change took place in the last decade, not long ago. In my view, PR is any type of marketing communication that positively influences stakeholders, including customers, partners and even employees.

However, one thing that has not changed and will stay constant in this industry is content. The success of every campaign has been and will always depend on engaging content and the novelty it offers. 

What are some of the challenges you face heading a corporate communication team when working with your PR partners? How do you set expectations to get the best out of your PR partner?

As integral as the corporate communications role is to an organisation, making PR partners understand its importance is still very challenging. Their line of business has tuned them to measure success tangibly, which is not possible in the case of PR and comms. This specialisation is about brand building, both for the company and the executives leading it. Moreover, developing good organic PR takes time and effort as it involves relationship building and nurturing it over a period. Thus, despite being a part of the marketing function, there is still apprehension about setting the budget, and the role of PR to some extent, is still perceived as a tool to get coverage in the newspapers or magazines.

Hence, to set expectations, I follow the strategy of being open to hearing but, at the same time, being honest in making them understand the pros and cons, as every action taken is a step towards building a brand. Furthermore, if a stakeholder wants their message, product, or service to be highlighted in every piece of PR content, then I make them comprehend that PR is unlike advertising or sales materials. Here, the content needs to inform, engage, or issue a call to action through a story rather than feel promotional or commercial. However, things are a bit more positive, and the partners are receptive to the fact that not everything is about coverage. It is about the brand story-telling approach, which will bring in more tangible results.

Building your brand through PR needs patience and time. What would be your advice to start-ups on brand building through PR as they are all in a hurry to see quick results?

Based on my experience leading PR for organisations, a piece of advice for start-ups is that you have come this far with your belief and faith. However, as it is said, the game at the top only gets more challenging. So, to stay in the game, where many new competitors will keep joining, it is time to take a break from the sprint and walk the marathon for a while. In the world of marketing, PR is that long-distance race that will keep you building credibility, increase brand awareness and backlinks to your website, and garner the interest of investors. 

For this, developing consistent and effective PR campaigns becomes vital as they can help engage and build strong relationships with the media. Though time-consuming, this process will undoubtedly ensure your company’s name is constantly in the press and online publications. The more the target audience hears and sees you in a credible publication or online portal, the more they’ll trust your brand. Many firms consider PR the last part of a journey, but make it a priority and start investing in it now. It will help project a favourable image to a start-up’s target audience. 

Will the role of digital increase in PR going forward? Has India adapted to the changes in digital as compared to other countries around the globe?

According to the global statistics.com report, in India, nearly 658 million people, that is, 47% of the total population, use the Internet. Moreover, the country’s people spend about 2.36 hours on social media daily. Going by the stats, it is hard to ignore the presence of the digital world, especially with a substantial part of the population active in it. 

Hence, in public relations, which is a dynamic industry, this medium has indeed emerged as a reliable tool for building and promoting a brand. This is done when marketers combine SEO and marketing techniques with PR strategies to increase a brand’s online presence. In addition, being a measurable tool, it enables driving brand awareness, traffic to a website, and links, which boost organic rankings, sales, social following, and engagement.

Moreover, with the entire motive of digital being to connect the world, India is adapting well to the changes in the digital when compared to other countries around the globe. Marketers are capitalising on every existing and new technology entering the domain, whether it is artificial intelligence or the metaverse.

There is still a strong belief that PR in India still works on strong media relations. What’s your view on the same, and don’t you think we now need to think beyond media relations with more focus on strategic thinking? 

The traditional form of public relations has always been media-heavy as the route to building a brand is through media relations, which in today’s time has taken the form of both offline and online. However, I can’t entirely agree with the notion that a strong media relationship can get you the desired coverage. My belief has always been that the story is the true winner, and how that story is narrated, presented, or delivered is what wins coverage, and all of this can only happen through strategic thinking. A campaign is created after analysing the various aspects of all online platforms and its feasibility in print. Thus, the perception of people that the role is to garner newspaper coverage is incorrect. So, learn the art of story-telling to emerge as the winner.