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74. The magic mix for PR

Posted on by Neha Goyal

Today, we class of 2020 got an opportunity to meet Cornelia Kunze at School of Communication and Reputation (SCoRe) for a masterclass. She is a global communication consultant who has got work experience in different countries across the globe. She is the creative brand strategist, founder, and partner as i-sekai based in Germany. She started her session by sharing with us how PR is in different countries and the US and UK are the two countries that are most advanced out of all.

Ms. Kunze showed us some of the creative campaigns that have entered in Cannes Lion as she is one of the very few jury members there. She told us that we need to be creative to stand out and make people notice our message. To be able to stand out, she shared with us her personal seven ingredients which we can mix to create magic, standout in our campaigns:

  1. Dramatize a solution- Public relations professionals are storytellers and they should have the ability to create a story that gives the solution in a dramatical way. In this, they can dramatize a situation and give its solution more dramatically.
  2. Be bold- build in a controversy- Most of the time, PR professionals end up apologising when the brands are getting highlighted for a controversy. But here she says that professionals should be creative to leverage the controversy and give a bold answer.
  3. Address a societal tension- It is good to show concern and acknowledge on social issues by a brand. It connects with the audience more and they feel satisfied that someone is talking about it. 
  4. Humanise empathetic storytelling- Empathising and humanising with the audience through its story takes the brands a long way. It helps to connect with the audience in a more down to earth manner.
  5. Be truly local- While working on a campaign, brands should be more local in their language to connect with their audience easily. She stated that Indian and Chinese campaigns are the ones that always make local campaigns.
  6. Merge data and human truth- Data today plays a very important role. A campaign can be successful when it is data-driven which is merged with a real-life scenario.
  7. Create a product- She says that PR is not only a profession but a mindset.

She shared examples through campaigns while explaining her key ingredients in public relations. Ms. Kunze also says that just telling a story can be boring and one should believe in creating one.

73. Milkman of India

Posted on by Neha Goyal

India celebrates the birthday of the father of the White Revolution India, Dr. Verghese Kurien’s on 26th November as National Milk Day. India every year celebrates both World Milk Day on 1st June and National Milk Day on 26th November. In 2014, Indian Dairy Association (IDA) was the first to take this initiative of celebration.

His birth anniversary is celebrated to create awareness and promote benefits among the people about the importance of milk and its products. It also celebrates the efforts of the people of the milk industry who work hard to meet our dairy product needs. Milk is the first food of every child and plays an important part in every individual’s life. India is considered one of the leading producers of milk globally.

Dr. Kurien is a well known Indian-social entrepreneur who is famous for the world’s largest agricultural development program ‘Operation Flood’. This operation of milk changed the dynamics of the milk and ended India’s dependency on imported milk. It created a national milk grid linking producers throughout India with consumers in over 700 towns and cities. He helped India in exporting milk powder to many foreign nations.

Dr. Kurien played an important role in India’s biggest milk brand Amul (Anand Milk Union Limited). It was like an engine in the success of the white revolution. He solved the problem of farmers of Anand where later he decided to set up Amul.

He started to solve the problem of milk producers in the country and helped the government in replicating the Amul model across the country. He did the marketing of Amul across India in all possible ways. He started the movement of empowerment for the women and farmers in rural India by connecting them with cooperatives and freeing them from the exploitation of middlemen. It changed the price variations due to which the milk producers get the major share price. It gave employment to around 10million farmers through dairy farming.

The ‘Milkman of India’ saw and emerged India into the largest milk-producing country. In his journey of life, Dr. Kurien also won Padma Bhushan, Padma Shri, Wateler Peace Prize, World Food Prize, Padma Vibhushan and more.

Source: https://www.indiatoday.in/education-today/gk-current-affairs/story/national-milk-day-what-is-operation-flood-and-who-was-its-architect-1396505-2018-11-26

72. The sacrifice of joy to achieve my dreams

Posted on by Neha Goyal

Life in a city is full of opportunities and extremely fast-paced, exciting and overwhelming. I come from the city of joy- Kolkata, and have recently shifted to the city of dreams- Mumbai. It’s been four months since I shifted here. People say city life is like a life in a briefcase, a compact life. Even when we are staying in a big city we live a very scheduled life where we follow the same routine every day.

Back in my city, my life was not the way it is here. Mumbai is a city that never sleeps and people are always busy working. Like Kolkata, the city is filled with tall buildings, eye-catching lights, and people are always in a hurry. But one thing that cannot be ignored about this city is how crowded it is.

Whom should we blame for the traffic here, people or badly made roads? Even though Kolkata is a pretty busy city, I still see more hustle and competition here. Back at home, I had time to be with my family or friends and relax but here things are different. There are days when I don’t even get time to call my friends and catch up with them, every Monday, I go to college, come back with assignments and only catch my breath on Sundays and sometimes not even that.

The urge which I get here to stay ahead of others is sometimes really stressful but that’s how every day I am learning. I push my boundaries, learn new things, do things that I never thought I could. There is so much to do here every moment that there is no time to sleep or relax. Reading, writing, and learning is helping me grow every day.

The city comes with great career opportunities and exposure that one gets. Not everyone can survive and acquire everything that the city gives. To survive here, people need to work hard, be mentally strong and courageous to face new challenges every day.

71. Sneakers made from Recycled Plastic

Posted on by Neha Goyal

The earth is highly exploited due to the hazardous waste we create and the environment getting polluted. Carbon and dust particles, fossil fuels, pesticides, soil erosion, chemical discharge are the reasons for air, soil and water pollution happening across the globe. The environmental pollution affects human beings, animals and plants in high proportion.

A lot of industries generate the most amount of waste and a lot of organisations have started taking steps to minimise it from there end. They sign petitions or change the way of making their products to reduce pollution. Similarly, Adidas is also one of the brands which take steps to stop pollution.

We all are aware of how Adidas is and its products across the globe. Adidas makes more than 400million shoes a year which requires a lot of resources. Making so many products harms the environment badly.

A few years ago, Adidas stores stopped using plastic bags across the globe. To take one step further in saving the environment, Adidas had signed the Climate Protection Charter for the Fashion Industry at the UN Climate Change Conference in Katowice, Poland, and agreed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 30 percent by 2030. They as a brand are committed to using polyester in every product which is recyclable and sustainably produced cotton.

One of the initiatives by Adidas is working for the marine life. They are trying to work with the plastics in the ocean. They have tied up with Parley who collects waste from the coastal areas, sort it and send the recovered plastic to Adidas processing plant. They use the plastic bottle that contains polyethylene terephthalate. The plastic is made into yarn which becomes a key component to make Adidas footwear. The shoes are made of 75% trash from the ocean.

According to Business Insider, in 2018 they have prevented more than 2,8100tons of plastic and have created more than 5million pairs of sneakers with recycled plastic waste. This year, they plan to double the number to avoid environmental pollution.

It is one of the big steps taken by Adidas for a sustainable future. More brands are taking steps for the environment. The organizations that are not into saving the environment should start taking steps as well.

Source: https://www.adidas-group.com/en/media/news-archive/press-releases/2019/adidas-to-produce-more-shoes-using-recycled-plastic-waste/

70. Change in PR space

Posted on by Neha Goyal

Today, the rise of Internet and digital/social media is changing things around us. The way people are communicating is very different than what it was earlier. Public relations is becoming more important for the brands due to such changes in the communication culture of both organisations and consumers. 

Digital public relations help to create visibility of the brand in this digital world and most of them are making their online presence a priority. People are staying online for long duration and looking up for information there. Interacting online requires digital strategy as it has both, advantages and disadvantages. It is important to engage with consumers, listen and react to them, have good content and increase online presence to build a reputation.

Content is really important when it comes to digital PR campaigns. It helps to build a positive reputation by identifying right influencers, bloggers and online journalists creating a good rapport. Digital helps the audience to stay updated about the things related to brands. A good digital PR campaign can give good results only when one can identify their target audience and deliver their message through correct digital platforms. It can be done by researching about it and having proper data through different tools present online like Social Baker, Meltwater and so on.

Numerous brands are doing a lot of digital PR campaigns that help them to earn brand credibility and connect with their target audience. It creates brand awareness through different online posts. It enhances business reputation by delivering positive content to the audience. Through different online posts, one can create engagement and increase conversations among the target audience.

Brands have started evolving and thinking beyond press releases and media coverage. They are working more in crafting their messages for their social presence. The communication campaigns are happening more towards digital PR.

Brands are now understanding the importance of public relations and how digital PR is becoming a thing irrespective of the size of the business.

69. The Pink City relocated for a day

Posted on by Neha Goyal

Recently there was a historic moment for Indian cricket with the debut of the SG pink ball. It is made in the SG ball factory in the Meerut city. The first time it was tested in the Eden Garden of Kolkata, in India vs Bangladesh test match on 21st November 2019.

In this historic moment for the country, the city of joy Kolkata was suffering from pink fever as the pink ball was going to launch in the city, in my city. A ball-shaped pink blimp was hoisted to grab the attention of people from a distance above Eden Gardens. It created a curiosity even amongst the people who were less interested in cricket. The test match had its mascots- ‘Pinku-Tinku’- dressed in purple and teal. They are there to entertain the spectators throughout a 5day match.  

The landmarks of the city illuminated in pink to make this historic occasion more special and show their craze. Places like the Howrah Bridge in Kolkata were shinning bright in pink colour after the sunset. Not only the iconic bridge of Kolkata but even the ferries taking passengers across the Hoogly River were decked up with pink lights.

Other landmarks of the city like the famous building – The 42, Shahid Minar, Netaji Shubas Chandra Bose Airport, a replica of Big Ben watch, popular shopping markets, hospital buildings, official buildings were also glowing in pink colour.

Not only the important landmarks but municipal parks and Maidan tents were also glowing in pink colour. The buses were decorated with the pink ball theme to publicize the gala event. Dozens of hoardings were installed at Kolkata’s several important crossings to mark one of the historic moments of Indian cricket. Kolkata’s newspaper Pratidan had its masthead turned into pink.

On every big occasion, we Indians prefer having sweets. When the city which is famous for its ‘Sandesh’, ‘Roshugulla’ and others was glowing in pink; how would the sweets not turn to pink? The special sweets were made for the special occasion like pink bon bon sandesh, sweet mimicking the pink ball to embark the moment. One of the famous cricket players, Sourav Ganguly, shared the pictures through his social media posts.

I would say that it was a great PR campaign as it created such a buzz in the city where a lot of people participated. For a day, the city of joy usurped Jaipur’s status of Pink City. People were uploading pictures and talking about it on social media and were stating it as a ‘Pink test’.

References: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kolkata/from-landmarks-to-maidan-tents-kolkata-glows-in-pink/articleshow/72179096.cms

68. Is PR space dominated by women?

Posted on by Neha Goyal

In almost every session, when a new professor walks in our class at SCoRe, the first thing they notice is there are 2 boys and 18 girls in our class. Some say it’s good to see boys in the class, some say that there are more women out in the public relations space.

Globally, it is said that the Public Relations space is dominated by women.

Public Relations is a field where empathy plays an important role and women with higher emotional quotient naturally do good in this profession. They know when to be empathetic as compare to men. It enables them to understand their clients more properly and is more sincere in delivering their needs. Storytelling plays an important role in public relations. Be it pitching to a client, making a campaign or writing; all have to be done in a story format for people to connect.  This makes women more competent for the profession because of their compassionate nature.  

Public relations require networking with people and socializing. Women are considered to be more active and social as compared to men. They are more comfortable in making connections and meeting strangers than men which can be helpful in getting clients or be it building contacts. They are good connectors and aren’t afraid to speak about stress or issues.

Women are capable of multi-tasking as they also do several roles like being a wife, daughter, and mother in their personal life. It is a skill that is highly required in this field which makes them more of the better choice for this profession. Women are considered as a solution giver and that makes them suitable to handle crises that the firms face across the globe.

Despite the qualities and women dominating this space, we find fewer women leaders in our country. The scenario has started changing slowly and space is becoming brighter for women as women have started taking charge.

The world of public relations is incomplete without the presence of women and they are the ones leading the change.

67. Power of saying NO

Posted on by Neha Goyal

‘Yes or no is a central dilemma.’

Is it only me or is it with a lot of people out there who feel awkward in saying “No” to others?

“No” is a highly powerful word, which can be offensive and can also be simply, stating what you feel.

I always think that saying ‘No’ to others is kind of like disrespecting them and find difficulty in doing so. It is one of the setbacks I have. One day, my elder brother told me that sometimes I should say ‘no’ when required. As sometimes not saying it can be unfair to ourselves as well as to the other person. He told me, how telling ‘yes’ all the time cannot be easy. Since then, I am trying to work on it.

To work on it, I would say that I have been doing certain things which are helping me to learn the art of saying “no” at the correct time.

  • Communicate properly: One can say no in the right manner by giving the context properly so that it isn’t considered as negative.
  • Clarity of thoughts: One can communicate and deny well when they are clear about what they want to say or do in a particular situation.
  • Prioritise properly: One needs to learn how to prioritise their things and take decisions accordingly. This helps to do what one exactly wanna do without feeling guilty when they say a no.
  • Be confident: One should be confident of their decision that helps them to say no to people regardless of whoever it is. They can communicate with confidence and also give respect to that person.
  • Use of correct words: When a person is unsure of what they should do in a particular situation they can use ‘maybe’ or ‘will let you know’. It helps to have time to figure out and decide properly in certain situations.   

In the end, we should remember that saying ‘no’ is our right. It doesn’t mean you are being rude to a person. Saying no can be important in certain situations. What matters is how you convey your message without disrespecting anyone. As you are saying no because it either doesn’t go with your belief or your schedule.  

66. Be Courageous

Posted on by Neha Goyal

“A person of courage is also full of faith.”

A courageous person is a person who is willing to fight regardless of whatever consequences or limitations they have to face. They are the people who face their fear, tackle difficult challenges head-on to achieve their goals. It doesn’t come naturally to everyone. It needs to be developed in people by having their goals set and work on it. One can enhance their abilities, break their barriers and be courageous by working on certain things.

  • Be opinionated– One should always stand up for themselves and share their point of view. They should have the courage to give their own opinion in front of people.
  • Try new things– One should always be open to do things which they haven’t done before and be courageous to do it alone. One should have the ability to expand their horizon.
  • Strength in adversity– One shouldn’t be afraid to go against the challenges and should face by having strength and being courageous.
  • Meet new people– One should have the courage to go up to people, talk to them and network with them. It not only helps you to be courageous but also to build contacts.
  • Focus on being positive– Courageous people should be positive and avoid all negative vibes coming in between their goals.
  • Do something that fears you– One should try things which they fear to do. It helps one to overcome their fear and be more courageous in life.
  • Stand up for things– When required one should have the courage to stand up for things which they think are happening and speak up against them.
  • Follow your heart– Passion is what helps to do certain things in life which we are not able to do in general. One should follow their heart which will help to do courageous things and achieve their goals.

As people start working on some of these points, they start getting the qualities that a courageous person should have. People start having self-confidence, get compassionate, have integrity, and won’t be scared to be a leader, follow their intuition and start stepping outside their comfort zone.

I am a public relations postgraduate student, at SCoRe where one of the core values taught to us is to be “Courageous”. The core value taught to us says that we should be ‘Courageous for a rough ride, take initiative, and tackle difficult challenges.’ With each passing day, we chose to act even when we are afraid to do anything new.

65. Skills for Generation Y

Posted on by Neha Goyal

In today’s digitalized world, globally millennials have started to nurture new skills and knowledge to succeed and be a better version of them. They are the people who are comfortable with the change in technology and innovations happening. But to be a successful person in life and avail great opportunities, there are certain skills that today’s Gen Y should go through to reach the marked goal in their life.

The skills required for millennials can be divided into three categories- Learning, Literary, and Life. These categories enhance one’s aspect which can be a vital point to grow in life.

Each category has a different per se and can be used in different aspects of the career as and when required. These qualities make them stand out in the crowd by knowing what they are doing than staying clueless in life.

The learning skills focus mainly on four C’s which are- Critical thinking, Creativity, Collaboration, and Communication. The use of the skills depends on the virtue of an individual’s career options and for the business model. In every field, millennials must excel in these qualities to think differently and have ideas that are out-of-box by working and communicating with various kinds of people coming from different backgrounds.

The literary skills can be divided into three different skills set: Information literacy, Media literacy & Technology literacy. These involve understanding facts, figures, and statistics, how to get your articles published and understanding the mechanisms which make the derivations of information possible.

The final category, the life set is the ones that help to build our personalities. Since the time of school, it is taught that one should be productive, flexible, proactive, social skills, an initiator, and to be confident. These qualities help to blend in the professional environment and helps to work as a leader.

Business model requires how we as an individual can deviate from one plan to another smoothly is what matters. We should learn how to increase our efficiency by motivating ourselves, initiating things with different methods and network with people to grow as an individual.   

With these fundamental sets of skills, one can ensure effective outcome and develop foundational outcomes into various sectors and also empower to succeed in life.