Rewind 2022: No real demarcation between traditional and digital PR - Pooja Chaudhri

It’s time to review the most significant industry developments as 2022 draws to a close. Adgully is reviewing the year 2022 for the M&E, advertising, digital, marketing, PR and communications, along with leading names in the industry as part of our annual Rewind series.

Recapping the year 2022, Pooja Chaudhri, Executive Director, Concept PR, speaks about the focus on delivering messages that enhance a brand’s image, the move towards integrated communication encompassing digital and traditional, and more.

The year 2022 for PR & marketing communications

From the Public Relations perspective, the year 2022 has been good. It was during the pandemic that PR showed good growth, as it was a time when people wanted to spend their budgets prudently. PR offered an option that was easier to track and course-correct. In our case, the measures and processes that were set up during the pandemic paid rich dividends in 2022. Though not really hands-on in marketing and advertising, we have seen similar trends in our digital marketing and advertising offerings. People are demanding better returns on what they spend. They are also conscious about the messaging that reaches their targets. The focus is on delivering messages that enhance a brand’s image.

Key trends and developments in PR

One of the biggest trends that we have noticed is that there is no real demarcation between traditional and digital PR. We believe the communication strategy going ahead will be integrated, that is, comprising traditional and digital PR together. Integrated communication encompassing digital and traditional to reach out to targeted customers will be the key to success.

Another development that is increasingly growing is that clients are getting more ROI conscious, they want to get the maximum from their communications investments. They are more willing to experiment in terms of reaching out to their targets, but this also leads to shorter-duration campaigns and forces consultants to keep thinking of newer ways to engage with their targets. I believe that these and similar trends will continue to grow.

Overall performance of Concept PR

This year, our performance has been good on all fronts. The two major steps that we took to boost our growth were:

• Sharpened focus on client expectations - All our teams have stepped up efforts to meet and then exceed clients’ expectations. Once delivery standards are set for clients, then the teams work on meeting them. If any course correction or revision is needed, the team actions it. Our client satisfaction has improved a great deal.
• More emphasis on research and data - We already use research and data to plan our PR strategies. We have access to diverse data through ConceptBIU, which has an unmatched data archive, and we have added greater value to our service offerings.