Hanmermsl Social Konnect July 11

7/30/2019 Hanmermsl Social Konnect July 11

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THE NEWVALUE EQUATION

Six Stages of

Social Media MaturityThe framework is rooted in one important insight:when asked what their social media strategy is, lessmature marketers tend to talk about tools andtactics, whereas more mature marketers talk aboutintegrating platforms, ograms and processes.

8 9

New Age Views:Opportunities for theindustry

Volume 1 Issue 2 June 2011

Whats your favourite

game?A child today is growing up in a most exciting worldtoday and he knows it. Going out in the sun to play?What in heavens for sir and what really is the pointof playing a serious sport if you dont want to makea career of it, or if you dont happen to be very goodat it?


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CONTENTS

Volume 1 Issue 2June 2011

Editor, Sanjay Sharma, is responsible forthe selections of news article under PRBAct.

Entire content copyright 2011 byHanmer MSL Communication Pvt. Ltd.

All rights reserved throughout the world.Reproduction or translation in anylanguage in whole or in part withoutpermission is prohibited. All disputes aresubject to jurisdiction of competentcourts and forums in Mumbai.

Printed at Printwell Offset, Ahmedabad.

Printed and Published by Parveez Modak,on behalf of the Publisher - Hanmer MSLCommunications Pvt. Ltd.

June2

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6Cover Story

THE NEWVALUE EQUATION

0413

15

Social Awakening : C2CPR / Advertising sector fails to tap government as a market

In bed dreaming different dreams

Editor

Sanjay Sharma

Project Leader

Parveez Modak

Coordinator

Pankaj Desai

Sourcing and Compiling

Nilesh Kakade

Cyril KirianSudhir Garimalla

Chief of Design

Tushar Patel

Visualizer

Tapan Bhatt

Graphic Designer

Vipul Barot

Production

Dilip Patel

2 11TRENDS VIEWS

The changing relationship between PR and Marketing,

in the context of the social media turmoil, isundoubtedly the top question which all Boards areaddressing these days.

As a PR professional there is noother way but drive a campaignthat is omnipresent across allmediums. The most successfulcompanies, products, and brandshave figured out how to becomethe most of something - not just

adequate, but downrightamazing.

Those of us in the digitalinclusion/innovation space haveunderstood the crucial need fore-government. We're not alone,the government has realized ittoo and many states are making adirect play to turn dusty old files

into online folders.


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FOREWORD

Heres to the second issue of Social Konnect. I hope many of you

went through the earlier one to understand our objective for thisinitiative. We intend to become a sort of mouthpiece for the PR

and Digital Industry. To bring to the fore best practices and

catalyze knowledge of the industry.

Speaking of which, at least here in India, PR and particularly Public

Affairs has been under the regulatory lens and the law of the land,

a direct consequence of which is, no one asks me what I do

anymore. In fact, now people look at PR professionals with

fascination, imagining that we too would be part of some multi-

billion wheeling dealing. But jokes aside, I think the time has come

to start defining this part of the practice for what it really is, and

the value it adds to society.

Lobbying is an acknowledged legal way, in most developed countries, to raise

real issues with the elected representatives. The concern being how do the

constituents further their issues in a democratic process? Establishing a

defined path of course is what the Public Affairs practice helps catalyse. To

create a constructive dialogue regarding key issues between people and the

powers that be. And to arrive at a solution or a way to go about things.

Actually, in the day and age of civil societies, this role has become even moreimportant in the area of filtering out the real issues and creating a debate. The

conclusion or consensus thus arrived at, also needs to be transmitted to a

larger audience, and who can do that better than a PR agency? All this finally

results in better governance and more accountability. In a very concise

manner, this is what a Public Affairs practice is all about and this is precisely

the pledge we put forward for a transparent Public Affairs network like it exists

in most parts of the developed world. Food for thought, anyone?

Best wishes

Glenn Osaki

President

MSLGROUP Asia


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TRENDS

PR in the age of

Cont inuous Part ialAt tent ion (CPA)Consumers

W e are living in an age o f co nsu m ersw ho su f f er f ro m w hat I call a C o ntinu o u s P artial Attentio n a termthat describ es co nsu m ers w ho aresu rro u nded b y a w o rld o f screens o fvario u s siz es. They w atch televisio n,b u t are check ing em ail o r m essageso n their pho ne, have a lapto psw itched o n to chat w ith theirf riends .the m essenger is tak ingtim e to u plo ad the chat so q u ick lycheck w hat are the latest t w eets,

F aceb o o k statu s. S o , ho w do b randsengage w ith co nsu m ers in a C P A stateall the tim e? H o w do they get theirm essage acro ss in a w o rld su rro u ndedb y hash tags, 1 4 0 tw itter charactersand gib b erish F aceb o o k m essages?

As a P R pro f essio nal there is no o therw ay b u t drive a cam paign that iso m nipresent acro ss all m ediu m s. Them o st su ccessf u l co m panies, pro du cts,and b rands have f igu red o u t ho w tob eco m e the m o st o f s o m ething no t j u st adeq u ate, b u t do w nright

am az ing. B rands b eco m e am az ingw hen they catch the attentio n o f C P Aco nsu m ers acro ss m ediu m s. S o m ethu m b ru les

# 1 L au nch y o u r cam paign w ith aso cial o b j ect that peo ple can attachthem selves to o

# 2 U se several m ediu m s to create aco nversatio n aro u nd the so cial o b j ect

# 3 H aving estab lished y o u rpresence acro ss adeq u atem ediu m s m o ve to b eAMAZ IN G

# 4 L au nch y o u r

cam paignu sing pressand spreadthe m essageacro ssco m m u nitiesandco nversatio nsthat AMAZ E all

The recent lau ncho f the N o k ia D u alS im cam paign hasb een a great

ex am ple o fengaging w ith C P Aco nsu m ers. Thecam paign k ick ed o f fo ver radio , invitingtw ins to b e N o k iab rand am b assado rsf o r a day and f u rtherdirected them to signinto a F aceb o o k page.C o nversatio ns andco m petitio n go t k ickstarted acro ss tw ins o fseveral age gro u ps as

they cam e to gether o na F aceb o o k

page co m prising 5 00, 000 co nsu m ersdiscu ssing Y o u 2 w hack y tw insto ries. The co m m u nity o f 6 3 pair o ftw ins m et at a N o k ia Tw in C arnivalw here the du al sim w as lau nched andpress go t so m e


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As a PR professional there is no other way but

drive a campaign that is om nipresent across all

mediums. The most successful com panies,

products, and brands have figured out how to

become the most of something - not just

adequate, bu t dow nright amazing.

Auth ored by Amrit . She is a PR consultant wh o loves th e field of com m unicatio n and stor y telling. Passiona te about technolo gy, its im pact on society. VP at 20:20MSL. Also b logs on technolo gy on Techconverse

great pho to o ppo rtu nities and so u ndb y tes. R adio and televisio nex tensively co vered the cam paignand captu red so u ndb y tes f ro m thetw ins.

The o verw helm ing respo nse in D elhiis no w getting N o k ia to tak e thiscam paign acro ss o ther cities in India.W hat I learnt w as ho w a sim ple ideaco u ld resu lt in do w nright am az ingengagem ent w ith co nsu m ers. S o P Rpro f essio nals, do no t think co lu m ncentim eters b u t step b ack and thinkho w do I engage w ith C P Aco nsu m ers? W hat do I do to b epresent acro ss vario u s m ediu m s tocatch their ey eb alls? The to u ghesttask is to get y o u r clients to b elieveand b u y in ex plo ring diverse

m ediu m s and m o ve aw ay f ro m j u stco lu m n centim eters.

P R pu ndits are o f ten stru ggling w ith,w ill this cam paign get m e eno u ghm ileage and ho w w ill I m easu re if I amsu ccessf u l? w ell there is a dif f erenceb etw een engaging b rands and b eingengaged y o u rself in y o u r pro f essio n.F irst engage y o u rself in the pro f essio nand tak e pride in b eing a P Rpro f essio nal. V ery early in m y career Ihad a m ento r w ho grew u p aro u ndY iddish langu age and in Y iddish there

are ab o u t 1 000 w o rds that m ean f o o l.There' s o nly ne w rd that m eans anau thentic hu m an b eing: m ensch. Mym ento r w o u ld say , " Y o u ' ve go t to b e a

m ensch, " and that has to do w ithw hat w e call character. To b esu ccessf u l m eans to have develo pedcharacter. Y o u sho u ld b e lo o k ing f o rthe j o y , the stru ggle and thechallenge o f w o rk . W hat y o u b ring

f o rth f ro m y o u r o w n gu ts and heart.The happiness o f hard w rk , no

am o u nt o f ex perience can b u y that.Tho se are things o f the spirit." To eto tally engaged w ith all clients,b rands and co nsu m ers, f irst engagey o u rself and answ er a sim pleq u estio n Am I a m ensch w ho can

su cceed in engaging w ith C P Aco nsu m ers? !


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TRENDS

Social

Awakening : C2C

At 8 .27pm , o n S atu rday , April 23 rd, 2005s o m ething am az ing happened. At theS an D iego Z o o , a y o u ng gu y called J aw ed w as w atching so m e elephantsgo ab o u t their m u ndane cu d chew inglives and co m m enting langu idly ab o u t

ho w lo ng a tru nk w as.And the lives o f m illio ns changed.

O n N o v 4 th 2008 , the cradle o fdem o cracy w itnessed the m o st eventf u lp o l itical event in recent ti m es and m ayb e o f all tim es in Am erican histo ry .B arack O b am a b ecam e the f irst b lackpresident o f the U nited S tates.

And the lives o f m illio nschanged ..f o rever.

And in J anu ary , a y o u ng w o m an f r o mE gy pt vented her f ru stratio n o n the

Internet to her f riends I m go ing toTahrir S are

The f ru strated cry that reso nated inE gy pt w as an u pdate pu t u p o nF aceb o o k !

And the lives o f m illio ns liveschanged f o rever.

O n that langu id evening in S an D iego J aw ed sho t a sm all video o f theelephant b ehind him and po sted it o nthis new video sharing w eb s ite calledY O U TU B E . It w as the f irst video everu plo aded o n Y o u Tu b e, J aw ed had

things to say , and f o u nd peo ple w how anted to hear it.

B arack O b am a s C am paign w assignif icantly driven o n the Internet andespecially so o n S o cial Media. N o o therW o rld L eader had so ef f ectively do ne so

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b ef o re.

There s a spark at every co rner o f rw o rld. P eo ple have w anted to b reakf ree since the daw n o f civiliz atio n andno t b ecau se F reddy Mercu ry said so !W e ve sim ply lit that spark and it s araging f ire to day ! The f ire as I see it issim ply the ex plo sio n o f H u m an B eingsie. u s, w anting to ex press, share, engageand siez e the day w ith o ne and o ther.C arpe D iem . Indeed!

To day e have the m ediu m andenviro nm ent, sans geo graphicalb o u ndaries to say w hat w e w ant to say ,to b e heard and b e w hat w e w ant to b e.As is said in the f am o u s C lu e TrainManif esto P eo ple o f E arth ..A powerf ul glo bal conversation hasbegun. Thro u gh the Internet , peo pleare disco vering and inventing new w ay sto share relevant k no w ledge w ithb linding speed. As a direct resu lt,m ark ets are getting sm arter - andgetting sm arter than m o st co m panies.These Mark ets are co nversatio ns. Theirm em b ers co m m u nicate in a langu age

that is natu ral, o pen, ho nest, direct ,f u nny and o f ten sho ck ing. W hetherex plaining o r co m plaining, j o k ing o rserio u s, the hu m an vo ice isu nm istak ab ly genu ine.

It can t b e f ak ed !

A snapsho t o f y o u and y o u r f a m ilyenj o y ing a su m m er ho liday o n theb ank s o f an idy llic river and the video o fy o u r k ids splashing o n that river s b ank sf o r the f irst tim e in their lives, cau ght o ny o u r m o b ile pho ne. Threads o fex pressio n and co nversatio ns that m ak eu s sm ile, lau gh, em pathiz e and ex claim .Threads that w eave the netw rk calledS o cial Media have changed o u r lives .f o rever.

L et s get so m e perspective no w .

O ver 5 0% o f the w o rld s po pu latio n isu nder 3 0 Y rs and 9 4 % are o n F aceb o o k !The average F aceb k ser has 1 0f riends. P eo ple spend o ver 5 00 b illio nm inu tes per m o nth o n F aceb o o k .Y o u Tu b e receives m o re than 2 b illio nview ers per day .

B u sinesses to day are engaging w iththeir cu sto m ers and co nsu m ers.P ro m ising to m ak e their lives a b ettero ne and pro m ising to m ak e the w o rld a

b etter place. B u t w e as m o dern hu m ansare no t listening w e do n t care! lif e isto o sho rt and so cial interactio n to day iso nly spaw ning that idea that L if e is to osho rt and w e need to live it.

And in this idio m lies the H o ly G rail o f

C R V inay

W e didn t start thef ire It w as alw ay s

b u rning .S ince theW o rld s b een tu rning- B illy J o el S inger, S o ngw riter,

P ianist


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Forrester Research recentl y pu bli shed a paper o n t he hierarchy of t he Social Media calling it th eSocial Technog raph ics Ladder. Show n b elow :

G ro u ps inclu de

co nsu m ers

participating in

at least o ne o f

the indicated

activities at least

m o nthly

C reato rs

C ritics

C o llecto rs

J o iners

S pectato rs

Inactives

P u b lish a b lo g P u b lish y o u r o w n w eb pages U plo ad video y o u created U plo ad au dio / m u sic y o u created w rite articles o r sto ries and po st them

P o st ratings/ review s o f pro du cts o r services C o m m ent o n so m eo ne else' s b lo g C o ntrib u te to o nline f o ru m s C o ntrib u te to / edit articles in a w ik i

Maintain pro f ile o n a so cial netw o rk ing site V isit so cial netw o rk ing sites

R ead b lo gs L isten to po dcasts W atch video f r o m o ther u sers R ead o nline f o ru m s R ead cu sto m e ratings/ review s

N o ne o f the ab o ve

U se R S S f eeds " V o te" f o r w eb site o nline Add " tags" to w eb pages o r pho to s

B u sinesses to day areengaging w ith theircu sto m ers and co nsu m ers.P ro m ising to m ak e their livesa b etter o ne and pro m isingto m ak e the w o rld a b etterplace. B u t w e as m o dernhu m ans are no t

listening w e do n t care! L if eis to o sho rt and so cialinteractio n to day is o nlyspaw ning that idea that L if eis to o sho rt and w e need tolive it.

Auth ored by M r. C R Vinay. He is the Founder & MDof Custom er Centria a nd h as nearly 14 yearsexperience as an advert ising and m arketingprofessional. His penchan t for custom erma nagement coupled with his strongbackground of t echnology-driven marketinghelps him achieve his goal of developingCustomer Centria in to a globa l ly competentCustomer Managem ent company.

S o cial C R M. It s no t ab o u t B u siness toB u siness, Its N O T E V E N ab o u t B u sinessto C o nsu m er. It s all ab o u t C o nsu m er toC o nsu m er.

C u sto m ers are rapidly m o ving u p theTechn graphics ladder, and m ark eters

need to b e co gniz ant o f w hich part o fthe ladder, a b u lk o f their co nsu m ers lie,

and hence cu sto m iz e m ark etingstrategies to b u ild and nu rtu re theco m m u nity .

C u sto m ers to day are ex pressing activelyand w illingly acro ss to u ch po ints o f anenterprise. H o w can so m e o f o u renterprises leverage acro ss b u siness:

Produ ct Launches: A co m pany to dayu nveils and lau nches y o u r f avo u ritepro d u cts and services u sing a s o cial

w e b cast, create f an pages, integratingw ith so cial gam es and video virals. Thelatest pro du ct co m m ercials are o n Y o uTu e and co panies are even creatingco ntent specif ic t o the so cial channel.O n the o ther hand addressing cu sto m erq u eries & grievances regu larly b y b eingin the enviro nm ent w here they thrive isso m u ch easier and m o re ex citing f o r anE nterprise.

Extend the life of your very expensiveTV com mercial s : Also , w ith theco nvergence o f T V and the internet , andthe sk y ro ck eting rates o f televisio n

prim e tim e , increasingly the channel o fcho ice f o r all advertisers is b eco m ingthe internet the b u z z that thesu perb o w l co m m ercials created, w ereseen alm o st instantaneo u sly . The

V o lk sw agen co m m ercials af ter b eingu plo aded o nly 3 w eek s ago , havegarnered o ver 7 m illio n view s.

If mu sic be th e food o f lov e, Play on :20% o f all Y o u Tu b e u plo ads are m u sic,w hich is u niversal, k no w s no

b o u ndaries, is o ne o f the m o st po w erf u lhu m an ex pressio ns. The classic case o f

a co u ntr y singer, as a disgr u ntledcu sto m er w ho u sed Y o u Tu b e andTw itter to spread a m sic videodetailing U nited' s m ishandling o f his$ 3 , 5 00 gu itar and the co m pany ' ssu b seq u ent ref u sal to co m pensate him .

The so ng w as called " nited B reak sG u itars." W ithin o ne w eek it received 3m illio n view s and the reality w as hesang ab o u t it, rather than talk ab o u t it.

C u sto m ers are talk ing to each o ther and

advo cating ex periences em anatingf ro m pro du cts, b rands, activities etc.H e o r she is y o u r b est advo cate in theso cial m edia space. L et lo y al cu sto m ersspread m essages easily . And in do ing sothe y relate to u s intherently anddem o nstrate their lo y alty to u s. And inthis scenario w e need to ask o u rselves -D o w e really think they care ab o u t u s as

m u ch as w e care ab o u t them ?Ther answ er lies in the nex t q estio n - Are w e L o y al to o u r C u sto m ers andC o nsu m ers? ?

H ere s w hat it w ill tak e if w e w ant tos u cceed in the Mark etplace - the Mark etplace o f C o nversatio ns as so aptlypro p o gated in the C l u e Train Mani f esto- w e have to enter the w o rld o f o u rf ello w co nsu m ers and cu sto m ers and

b reathe the sam e air they re b reathing.W e have to L isten, E ngage, E nergiz e,Mo tivate, S hare, L au gh, E m pathise andS erve. W e have to tru st as m u ch as b etru sted. W e have to L o ve as m u ch as b elo ved. W e have to relate as m u ch as w eseek a relatio nship. There in lies thetru th.

W e have no cho ice b u t to ado pt theC 2C idio m o r b e lef t o u t f o rever


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COVER STORY

THE NEW VALUE

EQUATION

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The changing relat ionship

between PR and Market ing, inthe cont ext of t he social media

turm oil , is undoub tedly the top

quest ion wh ich all Boards are

add ressing these days. This is

wh at Paul Holmes, during a

recent ThinkTankLive we had

in Prague, calls "t he most

signif icant shif t in t he waypeop le communicate since the

invent ing of th e print ing press".

It sho u ld no w b e clear f o r every o ne

that so cial m edia is no t j u st " ano ther

channel" , b u t so m ething w hich has

co m pletely changed the w ay

o rganiz atio ns and peo ple interact and

co m m u nicate w ith each o ther."

Social Int elligen ce & Design

These are the new ndaries o f the

C o nversatio n Age, as Marc Z u ck erb erg

u nderlined it du ring the recent e- G 8

How b ig is the change, and whydoes it m atter so much tous, PR agen cies?

ascal B eu cler


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w e o rganiz ed in P aris: P eo ple b eing

em po w ered to share w hatever they

w ant is TH E trend f o r the nex t decade

: that s the co re so cial dy nam ics . W e

are in the age o f P eo ple and

C o m m u nities : R eal peo ple f ro m real

co m m u nities, engaging in a co llective

so cial disco very , as the f o u nder o f

F aceb o o k su m m ariz ed it. This is o u r

b u siness to o , as P R peo ple ( P R is

f o r u s P eo ple R elatio ns , no t

P u b lic R elatio ns , dead co ncept) :

helping o u r clients engage w ith real

peo ple & co m m u nities, t o spread

w o rd o f m o u th ab o u t the b rands and

issu es they care ab o u t. W e are the

ex perts o f the earned m edia : w o rd

o f m o u th, the m o st tru sted so u rce f o r

pu rchase decisio n, peer to peerco nversatio n and o pinio n b u ilding.

Trust i s in peers, not i n

organizations.

This clearly is a k ey issu e f r

every b o dy , in a w o rld w here 8 peo ple

o u t o f 1 0 say they o nly tru st their

peers, no t advertising. The distru st

eq u ally af f ects every f o rm o f t o p

do w n co m m u nicatio n.

O rganiz atio ns and b rands are no

lo nger determ ined b y w hat they say( peo ple do no t care ab o u t it that

m u ch) , b u t b y w hat peo ple say ab o u t

them in the o n- go ing co nversatio n

( and this is w hat o rganiz atio ns sho u ld

care ab o u t) . In o ther w o rds, it' s all

ab o u t au diences targeting y o u , no t

y o u targeting au diences.

Perfo rm ance wi th Purpo se is th e

new front ier.

H aving an articu lated ex pressio n o f

w hat y o u stand f o r as a b u siness isf ine, b u t it' s no t go ing to su f f ice.

A clear, stro ng AN D so cial pu rpo se is

to day m andato ry f o r all o rganiz atio ns

and b rands. And it is cr u cial f o r

co m panies and b rands, t o ( re) def ine

their pu rpo se in a highly " interactive"

o r " co - creative" w ay . It canno t " j u st"

co m e f ro m the B o ard, o r f ro m a gro u p

o f co nsu ltants: it has to co m e f ro m all

stak eho lders, it has to b e shared, it

m u st b e so cial sq u ared. N ew

co nsu m ers to u ch po ints evo lve veryf ast: valu es and sense o f pu rpo se

m atter to the m aj o rity o f them .

It shou ld now be clear for

everyone that social media is

not just "anot her channel",

bu t something which hascompletely changed t he way

organizat ions and people

int eract and communicate

w it h each o ther."

P u rpo se + P articipatio n + P ro f its: this

ex actly is w hat w e b elieve is

determ inant to day f o r o u r clients, at

MS L G R O U P .

Brands need to b e built fro m th e

inside out.

In o rder to m ak e b rand ( re) b u ilding a

su ccess in the C o nversatio n Age,

no thing is m o re im po rtant than to

engage w ith em plo y ees f irst. This is

the co rnersto ne o f every co m pany ' s

eco sy stem to day . S ee the new H P

po sitio ning and cam paign, w hich

w as f irst shared w ith all em plo y ees,

w ith 70% o f them engaged w ithin

tw o day s. It incredib ly helped spread-

o u t o u tside the co m pany thro u gh

F aceb o o k and o ther so cial m edia,

w ith o ver 1 0 m illio n ( y es, ten m illio n)

peo ple engaged in less than a w eek .

S o cial m edia f o rce co llab o ratio n in all

areas, and repu tatio n is clo sely

depending u po n it.

"It t akes two to tango".

Mark eting and P R MU S T w o rk hand in

hand, i f they w ant to m ax im iz e theex pected im pact. This is no t an o ptio n

if y o u w ant to reach the right level o f

co nsistency , co ntinu ity , creativity and

co m m itm ent accro ss the b o ard.

W hy are w e still talk ing ab o u t

channels, w hen peo ple sho u ld b e at

the centre o f o u r co nversatio n? B rand

and R epu tatio n are m o re and m o re tob e m anaged at the co rpo rate level,

w hich req u ests a f ar higher level o f

integrati o n , o n the client side, as w ell

as o n the agency side.

C MO s w ant to sto p w asting tim e and

m o ney w ith to o m any su ppliers. It' s

b o th a q u estio n o f ef f iciency and

ef f ectiveness. It is even m o re o b vio u s,

given the f ragm entatio n o f au diences

and channels. This is the m ain to pic o f

co nversatio n f o r glo b al C MO s, and

they have started to reo rganiz e

aro u nd this. Agencies and netw o rk s

sho u ld b etter act q u ick ly to o ! Indeed,

sil o ed o riented appro aches and

m entalities m u st die, leaving the

place f o r V alu e C reatio n P artners.

Aut ho red b y Pascal Beucler. He is SVP & Chief

Stra teg y Of ficer, MSLGROUP. Pascal h as 25 yea rsof experience in strategic consulta ncy, im age &speech ana lysis, consum er marketin g, corpo ratecomm unications & PR, branding & design.


10/20

What s your favorite game? I asked my10 year old?Black Ops you say??F u nny , I tho u ght it w as crick et!

TRENDS

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w o rld. D id so m eo ne say gam ing w as

no t co m petitive?

Parallel wor lds are now r eal:P sy cho lo gists alw ay s to ld u s that

children live in parallel w o rlds, the

o riginal prem ise f o r the b irth o f su per

hero es and to y s. H ero f igu res that

children w o u ld m ak e f ly w ith their

hands. W ell, no w the m ak e b elieve is

f o r real, thank s to the k ind o f

im m ersive and alm o st real w o rlds that

gam ing creates.

New environment, old audience:

All recent data su ggests that the

m o m ent a child has access to gam ing,

his co nsu m ptio n o f TV dips

su b stantially . S ince lim ited tim e is

availab le he w o u ld rather play than

w atch . This has o pened new

channels f o r b rands to co m m u nicate

to this au dience. It s a very f o cu sed

m ediu m and a very attentive

au dience. O f co u rse, creating

co m pelling engagem ent b etw een

b rands and this au dience is m aterial

f o r ano ther article.

As y o u can im agine, catch them

y o u ng is easier said than do ne in the

new em erging age o f techno lo gy . The

great B o b D y lan sang a f ew y ears ago

the tim es, they are a changing . And

since this so ng is still o n to p o f the

charts , gu ess w hat the tim es, theyco ntinu e to change

y o u do n t w ant to m ak e a career o f it,

o r if y o u do n t happen to b e very

go o d at it? R em ark ed y et ano ther 1 2

y ear adu lt.

P lay ing per f o rm ance spo r ts as against

w hat I call recreatio n spo rts is at an

inf lectio n po int. B y play ing

perf o rm ance spo rt, I m ean spo rt

w hich can b e later play ed at a

pro f essio nal level w ith so m e f inancial

u pside. Mo re and m o re children ( and I

have spo k en to a f ew ) b elieve that

spo rt sho u ld b e play ed serio u sly , and

they m ean serio u sly , w ith a co ach,

classes, pr o per training, o r no t at all.

G iven this situ atio n so m e k ey trends

are em erging and m ark eters and

so cial m edia ex perts w o u ld do w ell to

stu dy them and u tiliz e them f o r

creating stro nger B rand E ngagem ent.

Gaming is moving t o playing:

W ith the revo lu tio nary W ii and the

gy ro sco pe in the ipho ne, gam ing is

no lo nger the static state w e u sed to

b elieve it w as. J u m ping, w aving,

m o ving in

im po ssib le

spaces is the

new co o l and

it has added

the m u ch

needed

phy sical in

gam ing and

no w o u r

children are

really play ing alb eit no t crick et in the

su n, lik e w e u sed to .

Friends are back:

Thank s to nline gam e play

techno lo gy evo lving, all y o u r f riends

are availab le to play w ith y o u in the

living ro o m virtu ally . W hy w aste tim e

travelling hu h? All gam es no w co m e

w ith IM b u ilt in. N o m o re lo nely

children y o u see, w hatever w e m ay

b elieve. And o f co u rse, they all share

play ing sco res w ith the rest o f the

S anj ay S harm a

The nex t tim e y u go lo ing f r y r

k ids w hen they are o u t play ing, y o u

need to lo o k no f u rther than perhaps

y o u r living ro o m . C hances are y o u w ill

f ind them there o r m ay b e in their o w n

pad. W elco m e to the new play gro u nd.

Y o u r o w n living ro o m . And the new

gam es, virtu al spo rts w hich tak e

vario u s f o rm s, m any a tim es vio lent,

and are delivered o u t o f a m u ltitu de

o f co nso les b o th, handheld and

statio nary . E no u gh to k eep children

o ccu pied f o r a f ew ho u rs if no t f o r the

entire day .

S o w hen did all that change?

R em em b er w hen w e w ere gro w ing

u p, w e u sed the f irst ex cu se to ru n o u t

o f the ho u se, get ho ld o f o u r f riends

and u sing w hatever prim itive spo r t

eq u ipm ent w e had availab le,

em b ark ed o n an enthralling f ew

ho u rs o f pu re spo rt w ith natu re as the

au dience. S u re w e do rem em b er. B u t

tho se w ere the go o d o ld day s , w ere

they no t?

W ell ask any ty pical child to day and

he w ill dism iss y o u r claim as pu re

hu m b u g. A child to day is gro w ing u p

in a m o st ex citing w o rld and he k no w s

it. G o ing o u t in the su n to play ? W hat

in heavens f o r S ir and w hat really is

the po int o f play ing a serio u s spo rt if

Auth ored by Sanjay Sharm a, Senior Strat egyCounsel, Hanm er MSL

Well ask any t ypical child tod ay and he wil l di smiss

your claim as pure hum bug. A child tod ay is grow ing

up in a most exciti ng wo rld and h e knows it. Going

out in t he sun to play? What in heavens for sir and

what really is the point of p laying a serious spor t ifyou dont want t o make a career of it, or if you dont

happen to be very good at it ?


11/20

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Six Stages of Social

Media Maturity

THE NEW WAY

G au rav Mishra

O ver the last six m o nths, I have led

m o re than 5 0 so cial m edia strategy

w o rk sho ps w ith m o re than 1 5 00

m ark eters acro ss six co u ntries in Asia.

These w rk sho ps are o ten

challenging b ecau se participants

have dif f erent levels o f e x perience

w ith so cial m edia. S o m e participantsw ish to k no w ho w they can start sm all

so cial m edia ex perim ents. O thers

w o u ld lik e to start u sing so cial m edia

m o re strategically . S till o thers w ant to

b enchm ark them selves against the

b est in the w o rld.

O ver tim e, I have f o u nd it u sef u l to

stru ctu re m y w o rk sho ps aro u nd the

six stages o f so cial m edia m atu rity

f ram ew o rk . The f ram ew o rk is ro o ted

in o ne im po rtant insight: w hen ask ed

w hat their so cial m edia strategy is,

less m atu re m ark eters tend to talk

ab o u t to o ls and tactics, w hereas m o re

m atu re m ark eters talk ab o u t

integrating platf o rm s, pro gram s and

pro cesses.

Stag e 1: Let s create a camp aign

microsite

This f ascinatio n w ith to ls can b e

traced b ack to the day s w hen

m ark eters created f lash- b ased

cam paign m icro sites to su ppo rt

advertising cam paigns. These

m icro sites w ere heavy o n ex perience

b u t light o n co ntent and had the

sam e shelf - lif e as the TV C ( ty pically

eight to tw elve w eek s) , a f ter w hich

they w ere either preserved f o r aw ardentries o r tak en o f f line. I m relieved to

see that m o st m ark eters have m o ved

b ey o nd the cam paign m icro site.

Stage 2: Let s create a Faceboo k /

Twit ter page

W hen F aceb o o k and Tw itter b eco m e

m ainstream , m ark eters ru shed to

create a F aceb o o k P age o r a Tw itter

P ro f ile, w itho u t really think ing ab o u t

w hat they w ill do w ith it. E ven w hen

m ark eters increased the f an co u nt o n

their F aceb o o k P age b y b u y ing ads,the f ans rarely engaged w ith the

b rand. E ven as the f irst w ave o f

m ark eters are seek ing w ay s to

increase engagem ent, the nex t w ave

o f m ark eters are still setting u p their

s o cial m edia presence.

Stage 3: Lets do a Facebook cont est

/ Twi t t er i nf lu encer p ro gram

As m ark eters seek to increase

engagem ent o n so cial m edia

platf o rm s, they o f ten start w ith tacticsthat are specif ic to the platf o rm , lik e a

F aceb o o k co ntest o r a Tw itter

inf lu encer pro gram . W hile these

tactical pro gram s are su ccessf u l in

engaging f ans and f o llo w ers in the

sho rt- term , they f ail to ex plo it the f u ll

po tential o f so cial m edia. Mo stm ark eters are still in this stage, b u t

so m e are ready to m o ve b ey o nd.

Stage 4: Lets int egrate social int o

our web platforms

Af ter m u ch specu latio n that the

F aceb o o k P age m ight replace the

b rand w eb site, so phisticated

m ark eters are b eginning to view the

w eb site as their so cial hu b . Mark eters

are integrating s o cial into w e b

platf o rm s b y adding co ntent creatio nf eatu res lik e b lo gs, w ik is, pho to -

sharing and video - sharing; c o ntent-

cu ratio n f eatu res lik e co m m enting,

v o ting, review s and ratings; and

co nnectio n f eatu res lik e pro f iles,

gro u ps, activity stream s and

leaderb o ards. Mark eters are also

integrating w eb sites w ith F aceb o o k ,

Tw itter and L ink edIn b y adding so cial

sign- o n, sharing b u tto ns, pro f ile

b o x es and activity stream w idgets to

their w eb sites. S o m e m ark eters lik e

D o lce G ab b ana( http: / / do lcegab b ana.co m ) and the

C P + B G ro u p ( http: / / cpb gro u p.co m )

are even reim agining the w e b site as

an aggregatio n o f their so cial m edia

activit y stream s.

Stage 5: Lets int egrate social int o

our m arketing programs

S o m e so phisticated m ark eters are

b eginning to reali z e that their

m ark eting pro gram s are m o st

ef f ective w hen they do n t o nly u seso cial platf o rm s, b u t also b eco m e

s o cial at the co re. As a resu lt,

m ark eters are m o ving f ro m TV C -

centric 3 6 0 degree cam paigns t o


12/20

co m m u nity - centric 3 6 0 degree

cam paigns. P epsiC o is leading the

w ay shif ting the f o cu s o f its m ark eting

f ro m m o m ents to m o vem ents and

creating path- b reak ing m u lti- y ear

co m m u nity - centric m ark etingpro gram s lik e P epsi R ef resh P ro j ect

( http: / / ref reshevery thing.co m ) a nd

Mo u ntain D ew D ew m o cracy

( http: / / dew m o cracy .co m ) .

Stage 6: Lets int egrate social i nt o

ou r business processes

The m st so phisticated m ark eters

k no w that so cial m edia is m o st

ef f ective w hen they leverage it f o r

do ing the right things, instead o f

m erely say ing the right things.

C o m panies lik e D ell, S tarb u ck s and G Eare u sing so cial m edia as a to o l f o r

b u siness transf o rm atio n b y

integrating it w ith their sales, s u ppo rt

and inno vatio n pro cesses. E arly

ex perim ents to cro w d- so u rce

inno vatio n are particu larly pro m ising,

w ith D ell Ideasto rm

( http: / / ideasto rm .co m ) , My S tarb u ck s

Ideas ( http: / / m y starb u ck sidea.co m )

and G E E co m aginatio n C hallenge

( http: / / challenge.eco m aginatio n.co m )

b eing the m o st pro m inent ex am ples.

I have als o seen so m e interesting

trends acro ss geo graphies and

b u siness co ntex t. W hile co nsu m er

b rands tend to f o cu s o n F aceb o o k

pages and c o ntest apps, co rpo rate

and B 2B b rands tend to f o cu s o n

Tw itter pro iles and inf lu encer

pro gram s in the incu b atio n stage.

In specif ic m ark ets, the so cial

platf o rm s in the incu b atio n stage

m ight b e dif f erent, b u t the six stages

o f so cial m edia m atu rity still rem ain

the sam e. In C hina, f o r instance, b o th

co nsu m er b rands and co rpo rate

b rands tend to f o cu s o n creating S ina

W eib o pages and ru nning S ina W eib oK O L pro gram s in the incu b atio n

stages.

W hile m o st co m panies go thro u gh

the six stages o f so cial m edia

m atu rity , they realiz e m eaningf u l

resu lts o nly w hen they m o ve b ey o nd

tactical e x peri m ents in stage 1 , 2 , 3

and integrate so cial m edia into their

platf o rm s, pro gram s and pro cesses in

stages 4 , 5 , 6 .

O ver tim e, I have f o u nd it u sef u l to

stru ctu re m y w o rk sho ps aro u nd the six

stages o f so cial m edia m atu rity

f ram ew o rk . The f ram ew o rk is ro o ted in

o ne im po rtant insight: w hen ask ed w hat

their so cial m edia strategy is, less m atu re

m ark eters tend to talk ab o u t to o ls and

tactics, w hereas m o re m atu re m ark eters

talk ab o u t integrating platf o rm s,pro gram s and pro cesses.

I have f o u nd that this sim ple

f ram ew o rk helps m ark eters no t o nly

co ntex tu aliz e their o w n ex perience

w ith so cial m edia, b u t also plan f o r

strategies to ex tend their engagem ent.

B egin b y ask ing y o u rself w hich stage

o f so cial m edia m atu rity y o u are at,and plan f o r platf o rm s, p ro gram s and

pro cesses to m o ve to stages 4 , 5 , 6 .

While consumer br ands tend to focus on Facebook pages and contestapps, corporat e and B2B brand s tend to focus on Twi tt er prof iles andinfluencer programs in th e incubation stage.

SIX Stages of SocialMedia Maturit y for

corporates

Integration

Incubation

Inaction

L et s ru n aninf lu ences pro -gram o n Tw itter!

L et s create aco rpo rate pro f ileo n Tw itter!

L ets integrateso cial into o u rpro cesses!

L ets integrateso cial intoo u r platf o rm s!

L ets integrateso cial into o u rpro gram s!

L et s create acam paignm icro site

Plat form s Program s Processes

654

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TH E W AY Six Stages of Social Media M aturi ty

Authored by Gaurav M ishraDirector of Digital and Social Media,MSLGROUP Asia. Gaurav Mishra helps g lobalbrand s benefit from Social Squared, theintersection of social as in conn ecting people andsocial as in benefiting th e society, as Director,Dig ita l an d Social Media , MSLGROUP Asia. Readmo re articles from Gaurav onwww.gauravonomics.com.


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GOIs

Social Skills

VIEWS

There seems to be th ese waves of im aginat ion

and creati vit y passing t hroug h t he Indian

government , especially w hen it comes to th e

int ernet. But i t w ill have to tr ust i ts people,

and it w il l have to trust i ts own abil i t y to

respond t o t he people. Government s need t o

learn f rom private companies who have

employed social media to connect wi t h t heir

users and st rengt hen their brands. Otherw ise

this system is going to crash.

Tho se o f s in the digital

inclu sio n/ inno vatio n space have

u ndersto o d the cru cial need f o r e-

go vernm ent. W e' re no t alo ne, the

go vernm ent has realiz ed it to o and

m any states are m ak ing a direct play

to tu rn du sty o ld f iles into o nline

f o lders. This intentio n has b een

f u rther so lidif ied b y the f irst draf t o f

E lectro nic D elivery o f S ervices B ill,

201 1 , w hich has pro po sed that allm inistries and go vernm ent

departm ents w ill have to deliver

services electro nically , b e it thro u gh

the internet o r m o b ile pho nes.

D igitiz ing the internal pro cesses o f

go vernm ent departm ents, o r else,

digitiz ing the f r o nt- end delivery

sy stem have f o r the m o st part def ined

e - go vernm ent pro j ects. This is

ty pif ied b y pro j ects lik e B angalo re

O ne, MP O nline and so o n, w hich o f f er

citiz ens a w ay to pay f o r u tilities, b o o ktick ets, get certif icates and even

renew passpo rts f ro m o f f ices littered

acro ss the city .

S o , a t a co nf erence called " The P o w er

o f S o cial Media f o r G o vernance" in

N ew D elhi, M arch 201 0, a new

dy nam ic em erged. It w as called the

' G o v2.in' f o ru m . S o cial m edia, w e all

k no w , can b e em plo y ed to create

k no w ledge netw o rk s, dissem inate

inf o rm atio n and k eep track o f the

w o rld aro u nd y o u . Tw itter is a b etter

so u rce o f new s than any new spaper

ho m epage can ho pe to b e, andF aceb o o k is an interactive address

b o o k . S o cial m edia allo w s strangers to

co nnect o ver a decidedly neu tral

platf o rm and talk ab o u t issu es. S u re,

peo ple get nast y , b u t there is the

distance o f a co m pu ter screen

( m o b ile) to save y o u f ro m any

u nnecessary f acetim e.

The f irst tim e any go vernm ent o icial

really engaged w ith peo ple o nline

w as pro b ab ly S hashi Tharo o r' s tw itter

acco u nt. L K Advani' s ho m epage hadcreated a lo t o f b u z z du ring the last

electio ns b u t it w asn' t q u ite as chatty

as Tw itter can b e. In f act, I w as invited

to a B J P y o u th m eet w here Advani

w as speak ing, and to m y su rprise he

did no t answ er a single q u estio n

ask ed o f him o r even address the

t o pic at hand b u t gave a speech

ab o u t the f irst tim e he saw a cell

pho ne and then b asically said w hat

he w anted and lef t. C o ntrast that to

w hat w e see o nline to day , w ith

po liticians actu ally answ ering

individu al q u estio ns o nline, w ith thesaf ety net o f b eing m easu red if they

w ant, b ecau se they can ty pe, delete

and rety pe b e f o re pressing enter.

Tharo r, f co rse, ended u p o n

natio nal TV in ( f o r the m o st part)

retarded " scandal" af ter " scandal" and

so cial m edia w as perceived as

so m ething " serio u s" po liticians

sho u ld no t do . H o w ever, there w ere

signs o f po sitive inf lu ence as w ell. The

Ministry o f E x ternal Af f airs P u b lic

D iplo m acy D ivisio n set u p a Tw itterpage to let peo ple k no w ab o u t w hat

the m inistry and diplo m atic m issio ns

do . At the tim e they w ere f o cu sing o n

Mahim a Kaul


14/20

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pro m o ting India' s so f t po w er ( even

w ithin the co u ntry ) b y creatinggo o dw ill am o ng peo ple. The w ho le

theo r y t u rned o n its head in the light

o f events in E gy pt and L ib y a, w here

the ME A actu ally had a Tw itter

acco u nt set u p, w ith ME A o f f icials

m anning it, and they w ere ab le to

save lives thro u gh the techno lo gy .

ME A o f f icials them selves w ere tak en

ab ack as individu als u sers cam e to

their tw itter site and u pdated them

ab o u t their ( o r relatives) w hereab o u ts

and ask ed them to help them ex it theco u ntries. And the ME A had to give

real tim e respo nses. The entire

ex perience has changed, in a sense,

the f u nctio ning o f the ME A.

O ther go vernm ent departm ents w ere

ex perim enting to o : D elhi P o lice' s

F aceb o o k page w hich helped citiz ens

tu rn in pho to graphic co m plaints

ab o u t vio latio ns and give traf f ic

u pdates, the MC D s o nline F B page

that f o cu ses o n garb age dispo sal,

India P o st, w hich helps peo ple trackparcels thro u gh Tw itter etc. N o w

im agine b eing ab le to co nverse w ith

any and ever y departm ent, f inding

o u t ab o u t electricity issu es, passpo rt

issu es and having so m eo ne get b ack

to y o u the sam e day .

H o w ever, these ex perim ents are

perso nality driven and o nly a f ew

go vernm ent departm ents have

w arm ed to them . At the G o v2.in

co nf erence, K apil S ib al, Minister f o r

C o m m u nicatio ns and Inf o rm atio nTechno lo gy , gave the f irst speech.

I w as im m ediately stru ck b y the

relu ctance S ib al had in o pening u p

go vernm ent departm ents to so cial

m edia, b ecau se it seem ed, in his

m ind, it w o u ld go the w ay o f TV N ew s.

The w ay TV new s pick s u p a to pic and

w ages w ar against it has clearly lef t a

lo t o f po liticians b u rnt, and it seem sS ib al w as lo o k ing at F B and Tw itter

( and o ther so cial m edia w hich w e u se

nex t) as a device b y w hich cam paigns

against the go vernm ent w ill b e

w aged, and co m plaints m ade even

m o re pu b lic. H e cho se to , instead,

f o cu s o n sim ple delivery m echanism

e- go v sto ries, w hich k ept the

narrative sim ple. " I b u ild so f tw are, y o u

save tim e = less co rru ptio n" .

The panel that f llo ed, hich

inclu ded m any b u reau crats, w as m o reenco u raging. These w ere IAS o f f icers

w ho had tak en steps to engage w ith

the pu b lic, specif ically , u sing so cial

m edia to co m plem ent e- go vernm ent

w o rk .

The tak ew ay s w ere sim ple eno gh:

altho u gh there is criticism , ho w ever, if

y o u respo nd to it then so cial m edia

u sers w ill also co m e to y o u r def ense.

And even if the techno lo gy seem s

alien to y o u , if y o u k eep at it, y o u can

really b ring peo ple o ver to the side o fgo vernance. P erhaps the m o st

im po rtant w as: i f y o u do n' t have a

team in place to deal w ith all the

q u estio ns/ co m m ents/ co m plaints that

co m e y o u r w ay , peo ple b eco m e very

im patient and think y o u r departm ent

is laz y . S o , all in all, its no t easy to * j u st

b egin* b u t as so m eo ne no ted, if y o u

are no t in it, y o u are o u t it. S o u nds

sim plistic, b u t b eing o u t o f it w ill co st

a lo t.

H o w ever, there is also the IT po licy tok eep track o f . The draf t am endm ent

to the IT act places interm ediaries

respo nsib le f o r co ntent. F o r ex am ple,

no w that b lo ggers have b een called

interm ediaries, they w ill b e

respo nsib le f o r co m m ents o n

their b lo gs.

And b ecau se o f these changes,

the go vernm ent can then shu t

do w n b lo gs and sites b ecau se o f

co ncerns, n o ne o f w hich they

are really co ncerned ab o u t

spelling o u t.

D u ring the co nf erence this

q u estio n w as ask ed tw ice: is

there a list o f b anned b lo gs and

the reaso ns w hy the go vernm ent has

b anned them . The perso n ask ing

drew the co m pariso n to b o o k s and

said; w e all k no w w hich/ w hy b o o k s

are b anned. IT law y er P avan D u ggal

also po inted o u t that statego vernm ents have a lo t o f po w er in

b lo ck ing sites and in the case o f no n

natio nal interest reaso ns, they m u st

discl o se w hat the reas o ns are. ( There

has b een an indicatio n f ro m K apil

S i b al that he is o pen to revising these

ru les, b u t the statem ent cam e af ter

m u ch pro test f ro m internet activists) .

W hat all o f this is adding u p to is that

there is a divide b etw een the

go vernm ent 's instinctive reacti o n to

* no t* tru st peo ple w ith the k ind o f

f reedo m s the internet s intrinsic

natu re allo w s them , and harnessing

this po w er/ po tential go o dw ill to

b eco m e a b etter dem o cracy and a

m o re respo nsive go vernm ent. They

seem to say : w e w ant to ado pt e-

go vernm ent b ecau se techno lo gy is

here to stay , b u t w e are w ary o f

b lo gs/ so cial netw o rk s b ecau se

citiz ens can o f f er direct and pu b lic

o pinio ns, and the tide m ay go against

s.

There seem s to e these w aves o

i m aginati o n and creativit y passing

thro u gh the Indian go vernm ent,

especially w hen it co m es to the

internet. B u t it w ill have to tru st its

peo ple, and it w ill have to tru st its

o w n ab ility to respo nd to the peo ple.

G o vernm ents need to learn f ro m

private co m panies w ho have

em plo y ed so cial m edia to co nnect

w ith their u sers and strengthen their

b rands. O therw ise this sy stem is

go ing to crash.

V I E W S GOIs Social Skill s

Authored by Mah ima Kaul. Mahim a is a ICT4D

professional and a consultant w ith t he Digital

Empow erment Foundation, New Delhi.


15/20

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VIEWS

It is surp rising to note that top PR and advert isingfirms of t he count ry have failed t o t reat

government as a market , though enterpr ising

ministers and of ficers are will ing to explore t ie-

ups wit h PR fi rm s and advert ising agencies.

The K arnatak a go vernm ent o rgani es

a cu ltu ral f estival, H am pi U tsava, every

y ear in the ru ins o f H am pi, N o rth

K arnatak a, w ith a b u dget o f R s 1 0

cro re; sim ilar events are held in o ther

im po rtant places o f to u rism interest

lik e D harw ad, D avanagere, and

My so re, w ith b u dget o f each event

b eing no t less than R s. 1 .5 cro re.

H o w ever, a glaring o m issio n at su ch

high pro f ile events is o rganiz ed P R

activit y and advertisem ents- b ased

pro m o tio ns, w hich resu lt in po o r

respo nse f ro m the sectio ns o f

au diences / b u siness co m m u nities

co ncerned.

The g vernm ent P R achinery

Inf o rm atio n D epartm ent is task ed

w ith the j o b o f handling P R and

advertisem ents relating to su ch events

and pro gram s. The go vernm ent

o f f icers, w ho have lim ited ex po su re toP R , m edia and the advertising w o rld,

invariab l y end u p disappo inting the

event o rganiz ers.

It is su rprising to no te that to p P R and

advertising f irm s o f the co u ntry have

f ailed to treat go vernm ent as a m ark et,

tho u gh enterprising m inisters and

o f f icers are w illing to ex plo re tie- u ps

w ith P R f irm s and advertising agencies.

The o nly go vernm ent- related event

that has generated co nsiderab le

interest am o ng the P R agencies is the

annu al B angalo reit.co m , aim ed at

attracting investm ents in the IT secto r.

Major Opport unities

B angalo re can b e the m ain m ark et f o r

P R f irm s lo o k ing f o r b u siness w ith

go vernm ent departm ents o r agencies.

A nu m b er o f departm ents are in the

m o derniz atio n m o de and ref o rm s are

in place. F o r instance, u tilities lik e

B angalo re E lectricity S u pply C o m pany

( B esco m ) ; B angalo re W ater S u pply and

S ew erage B o ard ( B W S S ) ; B angalo re

Metro R ail ( N am m a B angalo re) and

B angalo re Metro po litan Transpo rtC o rpo ratio n ( B MTC ) , w hich have

b o rro w ed f ro m leading f inancial

institu tio ns o r W o rld B ank , as a ru le,

have to u ndertak e ref o rm s.

These ref rm s are no t j st restricted to

citiz en- centric services o f the

go vernm ent agencies, b u t the entire

adm inistrative m achiner y and the

allied f u nctio ns. The ref o rm s m andate

the go vernm ent o rganiz atio ns to

ado pt the latest and b est practices /

co m m u nicatio n to o ls in reaching o u t

to the intended au diences.

Many o f these o rganiz atio ns have tried

the ex ternal P R m o del b y hiring

B angalo re- b ased agencies. H o w ever,

w ide gap b etw een the ex pectatio ns o f

these o rganiz atio ns and tho se

delivered b y the P R agencies, pro ved a

m aj o r hindrance f o r P R agencies to

pu rsu e su ch co ntracts.

B esco m and B angalo re Metro R ail had

hired lo cal P R agencies in the past;

ho w ever, the co ntracts w ere no t

renew ed b ecau se o f lack o f ex pertise

am o ng the P R agencies to handle su chclients. E ven no w , B esco m and B W S S B

seek ex ternal P R su ppo rt f o r specif ic

events. In 2008 , the W o rld B ank

im plem ented a special pro gram

PR / Advert ising

sector fails to tapgovernment as a market

B y Aravind G S hivk am al ( C o lu m nist)


16/20

IA

T

thro u gh the B W S S B o n creating

aw areness o n w ater- related health

issu es. S ho ck ingly , the f u nds allo cated

f o r P R activity , R s 1 0 lak h, w ent

u nu tiliz ed b ecau se o f f law ed ru les.

Paradigm Shif t Requ ired

The P R agencies need to eep a regu lartab o n vario u s go vernm ent

departm ents and o rganiz atio ns,

particu larly tho se that regu larly

interf ace w ith the peo ple ( cu sto m ers) .

O nly ex perts can u nderstand the

pro cesses and pro cedu res o f

go vernm ent o rganiz atio ns as they are

co m plex in natu re. The P R agencies

need a paradigm shi f t if they have to

em erge su ccessf u l in b agging

im po rtant co ntracts f ro m the

go vernm ent.The g vernm ent secto r ru les deviate

f ro m tho se f o llo w ed b y the co rpo rate

w o rld. The go vernm ent agencies and

departm ents f o llo w a ty pical ru le to

partner w ith ex ternal P R agencies.

U nlik e the private secto r, the f o cu s is

no t o n series o f m eetings, P P T

presentatio ns o r ex am ining pro po sals.

The g vernm ent o rganiz atio ns f llo

the archaic tender- b ased m o del to

invite participatio n f ro m the P R

agencies. It is no t that they delib erately

pu rsu e this m o del, b u t go vernm ent

ru les co m pel the o rganiz atio ns to

f o llo w it in view o f transparency and

acco u ntab ility . The

go vernm ent departm ents ro u tinely

place advertisem ents in new spapers,

especiall y lingu istic dailies, seek ing P R

su ppo rt du ring the b eginning o f f iscal

y ear.

These tenders appear to e

cu m b erso m e. F o r, the P R agencies

interested in apply ing thro u gh the

tender m o del sho u ld q u o te their

pricing; specif y m edia plan and predict

the o u tco m e.

U nf o rtu nately , su ch advertisem ents go

u nno ticed b y leading P R f irm s, as they

appear m o re in the lingu istic

new spapers. C o nseq u ently , P R

agencies that neither q u ali f ies to

service the clients no r have the

req u isite ex pertise b ag co ntracts f o r alim ited perio d. In the pro cess, po o r

servicing o f the clients leads to early

term inatio n o f co ntracts.

Creatin g Aw areness

The a areness ab t ex ternal

su ppo rt o r the u nderstanding o f the

P R w o rld is pathetic in the co rrido rs o f

po w er. Many to p o f f icials in the

go vernm ent are o f the im pressio n that

P R ex ercise m eans j u st generating

o ptim u m m edia co verage f o r the

departm ents o r the cam paigns they

lead.

The IAS / IP S icers, the k ey decisi n

Authored by Aravind Gowda. With m ore than 13

years of experience in d iverse segm ents of t he

media, Aravind Gowda is a columnist, who w rites

for repu ted n ewspapers on Current issues. He has

wo rked for prem ier media h ouses like The Times

of India; Business Stan dard; The Ind ia Today

Group;and Deccan Herald. He has also

contributed to international p ubl ications, such as,

The Khaleej Times (West Asia); Glob al Sources(Hon g Kong ); and EE Times (Euro pe). He is a

Com mun ications & Content Consultant for

various MNCs. He has also featu red in aw ard-

winning TV documentaries.

m ak ers, w hen it co m es to f inaliz ing P R

co ntracts, alw ay s f ace pau city o f tim e.

It is f o r the P R agencies to co nvince

o f f icers, particu larly tho se o pen to

ideas, to try the ex ternal P R m o del.

S o m e o f these o f f icers in k ey agencies,su ch as go vernm ent- o w ned

B o ards and C o rpo ratio ns

( P S U s) are em po w ered

to tak e decisio ns

independently even

w itho u t seek ing the

co nsent o f the

go vernm ent. The state

P S U s, b y them selves,

co nstitu te o ne hu ge chu nk o f

m ark et w ithin the go vernm ent.

B angalo re m ay b e the m aj o r m ark et

f o r P R agencies to tap b u siness

o ppo rtu nities, b u t b ey o nd

B angalo re, there are greater deals.

In My so re, every y ear, o n the

o ccasio n o f D asara f estival

celeb ratio ns, the go vernm ent

o rganiz es vario u s cu ltu ral, spo rts and

literar y events, ru nning into m o re than

R s. 25 cro re. S im ilarly , in the no rthern

to u rist to w n o f B agalk o te, the To u rism

D epartm ent o rganiz es a cu ltu ralex po , w hich is attended b y cu ltu ral

cz ars and B o lly w o o d celeb rities.

H o w ever, these events hardly receive

any im po rtance, b o th in term s o f

m edia attentio n and co m m erce.

The average siz e o f the m ark et f ro

the go vernm ent secto r alo ne

co nstitu tes m o re than R s. 1 0 cro re

each y ear in K arnatak a, tak ing into

acco u nt the b u dgetary

anno u ncem ents. If the private P R

secto r is su ccessf u l in taping j u st 1 0

per cent o f this m ark et thro u gh

appro priate strategies, the retu rns are

im m ense.

V I E W S PR / Advert ising sector fails to tap governm ent as a market


17/20

TRENDS

In bed dreaming

different dreams

J o hn Tho m as

The o ther day I m ade a co rtesy call

at the edito rial o f a pro m inent E nglish

daily in B angalo re w here I had

co m m ended a m edia stu dent f ro m a

reno w ned city co llege f o r su m m er

internship: t o thank the edit o r u nder

w ho m she d b e w o rk ing and to check

o n ho w things w ere. W hat I heard to

m y dism ay w as the edito r co ncerned

telling m e ho w u nprepared this k id

w as f o r the practical ex perience and

m edia indu stry ex po su re the co llege

in its w isdo m had m ade m andato ry

f o r her to acq u ire du ring the vacatio n.

W hat w as w o rse w as to hear the

edito r reco u nting w hat she said o n

b eing given so m e repo rting w o rk ,

B u t m a am , I can t w rite.

H aving b een in the ro le o f m ento ring

trainees in m y j o u rnalist y ears and

having since tau ght in co lleges,

inclu ding the o ne this stu dent is f ro m ,

it didn t sho ck m e to hear w hat I

heard. ( A little em b arrassm ent, w hich

is eased b y k ind edito rs o f the day

w ho w ere m y o nce m y j u nio rs.) B u t ita f f ir m ed y et again the trend I have

b een no ticing: t he vast m aj o rity o f

stu dents in gradu ate and po st

gradu ate co u rses u nder the u niversit y

schem e o f m edia stu dies are no t

dream ing to b e j o u rnalists. They

w o u ld m u ch rather b e in pu b lic

relatio ns. F ro m w hat I dedu ced

talk ing to her,

this k id w ho is do ing a B A w ith an

alleged m edia o rientatio n, w o u ld lik e

to b e a m ark eting co m m u nicatio npro f essio nal. C an she? Y es, if she is

trained right. ( S he has the perso nality

and the b ack gro u nd, go ing b y w hat I

k no w o f her f am ily and scho o ling.)

Theref re, at issu e is the

catch- all m edia stu dies

co u rses into w hich all k inds o f

tinsel ingredients are to ssed

to attract all k inds o f co nf u sed

children at ino rdinately high

f ees co m pared to o ther

b achelo r s and m aster sdegrees in these co lleges w ith

dim inishing glam o u r valu e.

C learly , there is a dem and f o r

m edia co u rses. B u t to do w hat,

is the q u estio n.

O ne can po int to lack o f su itab le

career gu idance and aptitu de

assessm ent. B u t peer pressu re

w hich parents and children f ace,

negates any sensib le advice.

Q u estio ns ab o u t the

academ ic o r pro f essio nalco m petence o f the teachers

t o teach w hat s b landished in the

cu rricu lu m o r the availab ility o f

appro priate inf rastru ctu re to teach all

these s u b j ects, are co nvenientl y

o verlo o k ed w hen the m ad ru sh f o radm issio n in a go o d co llege and in a

co u rse w ith go o d pro spects is driven

b y ex tra- m u ral co nsideratio ns o n all

sides.

This is largely hy any ind o f edia

practitio ner the f anc y co lleges at

least try t o have g u est lectu res and

send stu dents to intern w ill f ind

varied levels o f disinterest in his/ her

area o f w o rk in a classro o m and is

f lu m m o x ed b y the co ntradictio ns in

aspiratio ns w hich he/ she dared to as k

as a w ay to f atho m w hat and ho w

m u ch to teach an apparently b right

lo t o f stu dents. Y et so m e determ ined

o nes f ro m this co ho rt w ill m anage to

m ak e co ntact and get into the P R

indu stry ( as also to J o u rnalism and

Advertising) and ho w w ell they do o r

have do ne is the b u rden o f m y thesis:

W hat if they had b een given the

req u isite gro u nding and training

b ef o re they cam e seek ing a j o b ?

H o w co m f o rtab le the w o ndery ears ( f o r b o th sides) w o u ld

have b een and ho w b etter and

higher the y o u ng o nes w o u ld

have gro w n!

P ro f essio nals ( indu stry

practitio ners) s u ggesting

a cu sto m isatio n o f the

sy llab u s

handed do w n f ro m

the u niversit y s inner

sancto ru m isab ho rrent to

academ icians w ho

place greater

IA

T


18/20

IA

T

valu e o n academ ics than o n

em plo y ab ility o f their w ards. B u t

there is no reaso n w hy the P R

indu stry sho u ld no t f ind vo lu nteers

w ith the aptitu de f o r teaching to try

getting a f o o t in the do o r o f co llegesf ro m w here there has b een a su pply

o f talent. Alu m ni pro vide the b est

access f o r this ef f o rt. It s a w ay o f

talent spo tting and talent- gro o m ing.

The P I and P I can cam paign to

create trainers f o r this o u treach w o rk

to su stain the gro w th o f the indu stry .

E ven training tho se in em plo y m ent is

essential f o r the health o f the indu str y

to f ace the challenges o f q u ality and

standards that co m e w ith ex pansio n

thro u gh glo b alisatio n. S o m e P R

co m panies can also ventu re intotraining as a C S R activity f o r the go o d

Theref re, at issu e is the catch- all m edia

stu dies co u rses into w hich all k inds o f

tinsel ingredients are to ssed to attract

all k inds o f co nf u sed children at

ino rdinately high f ees co m pared to

o ther b achelo r s and m aster s degrees

in these co lleges w ith dim inishing

glam o u r valu e. C learly , there is a

dem and f o r m edia co u rses. B u t to dow hat, is the q u estio n.

o f the pro f essio n.

There m ay e m re ex am ples o

individu al and co llective training

ventu res in j o u rnalism b ecau se new s

o peratio ns have b een aro u nd f ar

lo nger and staf f dem ands are m any

tim es m o re than pu b lic relatio ns. B u tw hat sto ps the P R indu stry f ro m

stepping u p? It s a cho ice b etw een

m ak ing do w ith stragglers into the

pro f essio n w ho m ay o r m ay no t tu rn

o u t to b e geniu ses ( as o u r dif f ident

and co nf u sed pro tago nist m entio ned

earlier m ay w ell tu rn o u t to b e) and

ensu ring a steady su pply o f talented

and q u alif ied pro f essio nals to stay

co m m itted to ex cellence.

Auth ored by John Thom as. He has wo rkexperience tha t spreads over 34 years and six

newspapers in India and t wo top n ews agencies

abroad. He currently holds the po sition of Dean atteam.i - a media insti tute focusing on event

man agement, publ ic relations and advertising.

TR In bed dreaming different dreams


19/20


20/20

F o r edito rial q u eries, f eedb ack , su ggestio ns, advertisem ent

and o ther q u eries, w rite to [email protected]

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Hanmermsl Social Konnect July 11