The PRimer | Edition 01

Dear Reader,

Welcome to the first edition of PRimer, your bi-weekly gateway to the world of Public Relations and Communications. As PR professionals, we diligently track industry and monitor keywords for clients daily to stay updated. However, we seldom make a conscious effort to visit industry trade publications and read through the news. This might be due to fatigue or news portals filled with repetitive client wins and thought articles.

This newsletter is an attempt to bring you what really matters, pick your brains outside your client mandates, share some quick updates from our friends in the industry, and, of course, some hand-picked job opportunities.

Let’s get started…

We completed 2 years in business this June😍!! From figuring out what we want to do and why we want to do it, creating a niche for ourselves, and finding partners who share our vision and complement our team’s skill sets—what a ride it has been and what an exciting journey lies ahead. As we celebrate two successful years in business, we are thrilled to launch “Upstart,” our new initiative to support the unique communication needs of startups.

Since we started, WebX Integrated Communications has focused on creating innovative communication strategies that deliver real results. With Upstart, we aim to offer startups affordable and effective solutions to clearly communicate their value, stand out in the market, and grow sustainably. As we celebrate two successful years in business, this is our way of giving back to the community and empowering entrepreneurs.

To know more about Upstart or if you have any suggestions or would like to guide us on shaping our agency, drop a line to shashank@webxims.com. You don’t need a reason to say hello!

That’s about us for now. Let’s move on to other things.

June Month Highlights

June was memorable for those of us in Bangalore, not just because of the early monsoon rains and the beautiful weather but also because of PR & Comms Collaborative’s first Monthly Meetup. For those new to it, PR & Comms Collaborative is a volunteer-driven community of PR and Communications professionals passionate about what they do and empowering fellow professionals to grow.

The June meetup was a whirlwind of insightful discussions and networking. Over 45 communicators from PR agencies and in-house communications teams came together to learn, unwind, and connect with fellow professionals.

Aditya Kshirsagar, founder at Aditya Mitra Mandal, spoke on ‘Utilizing lede writing in day-to-day pitches’ while Dhruti Kapadia Krishnan, ex-FirstSource, shared insights on ‘Great communications begin with the right connections’. The final session was by Jayadevan P K (JPK), CoinSwitch – PeepalCo on ‘Building a narrative advantage: How to win the war for attention’.

Quick Catchups

• Is print still relevant? Indeed, at least in Tier 3 and 4 towns says a study by MSL India’s ‘Make Way for Bharat Z’ report. According to the study, 83% of respondents selected print media as their top source of daily media consumption for information, while 86% chose television as their main source of daily media consumption for entertainment. (PRmoment)
• What’s that one “Wow” factor that influences business wins in the PR world? Retainers! This from PRMoment article the current state of the industry: “PR retainers for D2C brands can go as low as INR 25,000 a month, while larger national brands can get away with pushing for a national PR retainer for about INR 60k to 80k a month. Even larger brands, with deep pockets, can easily close retainers at amounts like INR 3,00,000/- to INR 5,00,000 a month.” In a recent podcast hosted by PRMoment India, Nandita Lakshmanan ( founder and CEO- The PRactice ) talks about why larger PR firms must hold the price line with clients, and Archana Jain (CEO- of PR Pundit Havas Red ) shares a cheat sheet on how to differentiate oneself in the business.
• Brand Burson formally launched : In January this year, WPP announced the merger of its two largest communications agencies, Hill & Knowlton and BCW, to be named Burson after the legendary late Harold Burson, a pioneer and founding figure of modern public relations and strategic communications.

Pick Your Brains

Groww, a leading investment platform, was in the news last week for not-so-right reasons. Groww faced severe criticism on social media after an investor alleged that the fintech platform deducted money but did not invest it in a mutual fund scheme. In response, Groww said that it regretted the “error” and credited the amount to the investor “on a good faith basis”. However, this did not end the issue; instead, it created more crisis for the company.

Quick Timeline:

• June 19-23: A social media user on LinkedIn posted his grievance (now deleted). Social media users quickly screenshot the post and shared it on other platforms, tagging Groww.
• June 23, 2024: Groww quickly clarified on X that no transaction had taken place and the customer’s dashboard erroneously reflected a folio. However, by then the issue had gone viral, and the media was quick to follow the story.
• June 23, 2024: The same day, there was a follow-up post by the complainant on social media, stating that the issue had been resolved and Groww’s team had accepted their mistake and agreed to refund the amount in question “in good faith.” However, the user mentioned they were asked to delete the post as a condition.
• Just when social media started appreciating Groww’s promptness in addressing the issue transparently, the follow-up post went viral again, raising questions about the integrity of the platform and regulatory concerns.

While Groww maintained in all their public communication that no transaction had taken place and money was not deducted from the customer account, the follow-up post claimed otherwise. This incident was widely covered by all publications and became hot news of the week.

Your Turn: Assume you are the communications team/PR agency of Groww. What would you have done differently to manage the crisis and counsel the client? Let us know.

You can submit your response anonymously here. We will share them in the next edition, only if you are okay 🙂 .

(Note: This section is not intended to question or criticize the PR agency/communications team of the company or undermine their efforts, but rather to understand perspectives from fellow professionals.)

Reading Recommendations

• Founder Brand: Turn Your Story Into Your Competitive Advantage – Amazon
• Purple Cow: Transform Your Business by Being Remarkable – Amazon
• Titan – Amazon
• Pixar Storytelling – Amazon
• Out on the Wire – Amazon

These recommendations were shared by Jayadevan during the PR & Comms June Meetup.

Who’s Hiring for In-House Roles

• Public Relations Executive at Mudrex, Bangalore – Apply
• Renew is hiring a manager/senior manager for corporate communications role. Apply
• Content Marketing Specialist at Drip Capital, Mumbai – Apply
• Corporate Communication Executive at Aditya Birla Education Trust (ABET), Mumbai, India – Apply
• Corporate Communication Manager at Logo Infosoft (CaptainBiz), Mumbai – Apply
• Communications Manager at UTI Asset Management Company Limited, Mumbai – Apply
• DGM Corporate Communication at VFS Global, Mumbai – Apply
• Head of PR & Marketing Communication at ITC Maratha, Mumbai – Apply
• Corporate Communication at Carelon Global Solutions – Apply