What ails regional PR?

Amid the first wave of the pandemic, it was the Tier 2, 3 and rural market that led the revival as India unlocked. For some time now, regional markets have been the focal point for brands and marketers. The huge base of aspirational consumers is what every marketer wants to target. While the metros and bigger cities have a well-oiled public relations and media network to keep consumers informed, the smaller regional markets pose several challenges for the public relations industry.

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So far, PR and brands in small towns have been depending on pushing press releases in the local media to gain mileage. Beyond that, there have hardly been any innovative coverage initiatives undertaken. However, time has now come for PR consultants and brand custodians to think beyond the traditional press releases to explore the smaller markets and engage closely with the audience there.

Social media, which is making great inroads into these markets, is proving to be a great a leveller, can be tapped further in vernacular languages. Studies have show how there is a growing usage of one’s mother tongue when it comes to content consumption and also communicating within one’s own circle. Rather than trying to replicate the strategies for the bigger markets, PR and brand custodians need to delve deeper into the local markets and customise the communication for these markets.

Thus, it is important to stay connected with the local historian or the local ombudsman to get a good mileage for one’s brands. The stories need to be woven around the region one is reaching out to. Storytelling can prove to be an important way to deliver messages and engage with the local target audience. Digital transformation is facilitating this in a major way.

Moreover, regional PR outfits should seriously look at collaborating with Public Relations bodies to understand the drawback and pain points in smaller towns and draw up a structured training program for the smaller towns which can bring in improvements in managing PR in smaller towns. Brands are seriously looking at PR in smaller towns in a big way, provided there is value addition and accountability by the regional PR consultants that will benefit the brand.

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Speaking about the challenges in smaller towns, Shailesh Goyal, Director, Simulations Public Affairs Management Services, pointed out, “The key challenge for PR agencies and brands in smaller towns is the language and story of the message. Its relevance to the regional market is the other challenge. Most of the messaging is focused on audiences in the metros or other big cities. Lack of awareness about what exactly PR does to a firm or brand is another challenge. PR is either seen as an extension of advertising or as something that businesses do not need as a disciplined, structured support to organisations or individuals. In smaller towns, where the market is growing, it is essential for brands to suitably modify their messaging.”

"Lack of awareness about what exactly PR does to a firm or brand is another challenge. PR is either seen as an extension of advertising or as something that businesses do not need as a disciplined, structured support to organisations or individuals"

Goyal further said, “Digital transformation has changed the way we consume media, do shopping, or eat out. This is the case even in smaller towns and villages, but in my opinion, there has been little change in the perception of PR as an industry or business in smaller markets. However, it has taken a long time for PR to be adequately understood even in large markets outside the metros, so I feel it will take some more time before a perceptible change in the way PR is viewed in smaller towns. Many people in smaller towns think posting highlights on social media is doing good PR.”

According to Atul Malikram, Founder, PR 24x7, “Most players in small towns need to have a better and in-depth understanding of PR and how it is a job of patience and perseverance. Only if the brand image management is done correctly with intact messaging will brands get a better platform to present themselves and grow. Quality messaging and precise representation is the key to brand yourself best through PR.”

"But with these changing dynamics, there is one more truth that the traditional media is neither dying nor fading totally. “It may have taken a backseat, but it will still remain the most trusted mode of communication"

Adding further, he said agreed that digital transformation has changed the way how brands perceive themselves to be in the eyes of the audience. But with these changing dynamics, there is one more truth that the traditional media is neither dying nor fading totally. “It may have taken a backseat, but it will still remain the most trusted mode of communication. So, for businesses in smaller towns, it is not important to change the way PR is looked at, but a reconsideration towards traditional media is extremely crucial,” Malikram opined.

Shishir Somani, CEO and Entrepreneur, Archer Public Relations, Indore, noted that PR is ever evolving and hence, the profession has varying challenges. “In my opinion, the regional agencies and regional media, both are undermined. There is a lot of potential that can be explored and good work can be done in smaller towns. No investments are being made to impart training to people by the regional agencies. There is enough bandwidth and intent to develop regional PR to greater heights, but the pressure to chase targets in numbers has partially hampered in bringing quality work in smaller towns. Besides that, no effort is being made to identify the need gaps in the regional media. Moreover, the low levels of engagement with the media is the other reason that affect the final outcome,” he added.

"In my opinion, the regional agencies and regional media, both are undermined. There is a lot of potential that can be explored and good work can be done in smaller towns. No investments are being made to impart training to people by the regional agencies"

On the digital front, Somani said that it is a work in progress. Technology is on the top, automation to reorganise progression is happening, AI is evolving and getting closer to augmenting decisions in the smaller towns as well, but the required ‘agility’ is missing because of many factors particularly the internal barriers. There are skills gaps, upskilling is inexpensive, less rewarding and the sum of all this discourage entrepreneurial mindsets.

“Last but not the least, risk taking in smaller towns is still difficult and most of the people want security. All the processes are risk assessed and security is a priority,” he added.

Swati Jalan, Founder and owner, Communications 2.0, commented, “Companies globally face challenges when trying to get customers to discover their brands in small towns, while they think global, they need to act local to deliver the right message. Every geography, especially the smaller markets, has its own way of functioning and with the local nuances, so the messaging needs to be local in nature.” 

Jalan further said, “If you need to win over your customers, then vernacular content is the mantra for success. Educating customers and thinking about their well-being (what’s in it for them) will only make brands move up the ladder and go that extra mile. Today, brands are aggressively focusing on Tier 2 and 3 markets. Every other brand – be it FMCG or consumer durables – is tapping the smaller markets and are using brand ambassadors to give a positive appeal and catch the consumers’ attention.”

"If you need to win over your customers, then vernacular content is the mantra for success. Educating customers and thinking about their well-being (what’s in it for them) will only make brands move up the ladder and go that extra mile"

While digital has made some progress, it is yet to seep in deep in small towns. It’s still on the surface level as of now. The practice of PR, like most aspects of modern society, has been deeply impacted and irrevocably transformed by the digital revolution. Social media is a great leveller across age, category, and location, and people from Tier 2 are seen to be spending hours on these platforms, so the learning curve is pretty much moving up the graph.

(Edited and additional inputs by Shanta Saikia.)