Pr and its relevance in modern society

The key to acquiring great publicity lies in effective public relations. It is no longer just about making your business known to the public through accustomed channels such as advertisements, broadcasts and other avenues by spending a fortune to gain attention.

Acquiring the right exposure and winning your audience’s trust is achievable, but it can demand a great deal of preparation. In this PR can come much handy to garner more reach.

The Purpose Of Public Relations

PR is the process of communicating to the general public, establishing a connection by earning the audience’s trust and convincing them to support your business.

It refers to the actions that a company takes to create its image and foster relationships with consumers, business partners and other stakeholders. Strategies are put in place to communicate with the public in a more persuasive tone.

PR also can be a crucial part of responding to a crisis. When something bad happens, PR can help you mitigate the damage and turn the tide by formulating the best response.

It can be often viewed similarly to storytelling. People love listening to stories. When they hear a friend or family member recommend a product or a business, it often piques their interest and prompts them to want to know more. Word-of-mouth referrals from family and friends are a form of earned advertising, and according to research by Nielsen, they are the most trusted advertising format. Consumers tend to trust their peers' judgment and follow their recommendations.

Through such word-of-mouth, an establishment can successfully market itself through organic means.

Through PR, one can earn credibility with the aid of validation from external entities such as renowned publications, dependable journalists and other forms of third-party media. Advertising builds your company’s exposure, while PR builds trust and rapport with your audience.

In comparison to advertising, PR certainly has the upper hand when it comes to helping your business gain a foothold in your respective industry. Methods such as press releases, writing pitches to convince journalists to write a positive story or review of your business, creating events that promote your business’s ideas, and starting partnerships with other known labels are among the effective PR tactics.

Other strategies include hosting fundraisers, holding press conferences, publishing original research and creating pop-up shops to earn valuable media coverage. Every business requires a different approach, and no one strategy applies to all.

Examples

There are numerous PR tactics that business owners can apply to boost their market presence. While the emergence of Covid-19 made everything more challenging, this did not stop PR professionals from scouring their brains for new ideas to keep the publicity going.

Here are a some noteworthy few case studies that soared trp ratings and boosted sales of everyone ranging from business owners to political giants-

1. CRED ADS-

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j8KpV-4_mRg

One of the few successful ad campaigns was the recent commercial which was rolled out by CRED. In the recent advertisement of CRED, the former captain of the Indian Cricket Team was shown to become violent because of the Bengaluru, Indiranagar traffic. Indiranagar is one of the main places of Bengaluru city and it is widely known for its hours of traffic. It is also the place where the headquarters of CRED has been located as well as the neighbourhood where Rahul Dravid has spent his childhood.

In the advertisement, it can be seen that Rahul Dravid loses his cool personality and becomes violent. He takes his cricket bat and breaks the rear view mirror, acts like a maniac and throws coffee. He shouts saying that "Indiranagar ka Gunda" has caught the eyes of the audience.

But what specifically made the campaign go viral? Rahul Dravid is known for his cool nature and personality. The always laughable and cool person losing his temper, shouting, and breaking the rear view mirrors is a brilliant play for his personality. The commercial has left a shock amongst individuals wondering whether Rahul Dravid would lose his cool nature.

The commercial has amused a lot of people, certainly the ones who know Rahul Dravid ranging from biggest names like Virat Kohli and Dodda ganesh tweeting ROLF’s about the ad.

1. IPAC AND KHELA HOBE -

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=85rLtPWhCHs

Mr Kishor is India's best-known political consultant and strategist, though he dislikes the description. Since 2011, Mr Kishor and his political consultancy firm IPAC have struck success with eight of nine elections in which they have run campaigns for different parties.

The way Mr Kishor works offers a glimpse into the scope of political consultancy and pr in a country like India. His firm Indian Political Action Committee (IPAC) - which has up to 4,000 people working during campaigns - embeds itself in the party they are hired to work for.

In the recent Bengal elections, IPAC devised an astute political PR campaign under the election slogan- “ Khela Hobe” (The game is on): The jingle coined for Trinamool Congress suggested a sportsman-like spirit in connection with the poll.

For a state like West Bengal where elections have rarely been violence-free, the slogan represented playfulness rather than fear, threat and violence and resulted in TMC’s sensational third-term win in May against a resurgent BJP.The slogan shot up so much that it reverberated in neighbouring Assam as well. In the Bengali dominated areas of Assam, the slogan was being used by all parties.

1. Tokyo Olympics AD-

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sHXcWvZr-9c

Amidst the Olympic season the official Tokyo Olympics advert swept the hearts of millions of people awaiting to watch it. It considers the past year of uncertainty that saw the Games being postponed and the athletes faced with the dilemma of either to keep going or stopping for a while.

The advert enumerates the journey that the past year has been, one where everyone has been tested, athletes and non-athletes, and the Olympics are the opportunity for people all over the world, estranged by a virus, to come together again.

This, as many PR experts considered, was an intelligent humanistic tactic to garner reach and bring people together after a devastating year of apprehensions and animosity.

Also in recent times, successive governments have been reviewed for using the state machinery for propagating the achievements of the party in power. In times of crisis, the governments on both at state as well as central levels have used the PR machinery to reclaim their reputation.

● The candidates who have pursued a public relations certification understand clearly that India has a free and vibrant media that operates as a watchdog in the public interest and has repeatedly questioned the government on their different decisions and unearthed numerous scams.

Looking at the big picture, PR and advertising has found its place in a developing country like India so much so that the number of commercials has doubled in the media and built an astonishing awareness among the people in the past decade, growing into a massive industry.