'Public Relations – Shifting Paradigms'

by Arjita 

Indian Institute of Mass Communication (I.I.M.C.) faculty, Prof. J. Jethwani delivered a workshop on ‘Public Relations – Shifting Paradigms’ at the C.U.H.P. on February 19-20, 2014. Here is what she shared with us, in a nutshell - 

Prof. Jethwaney (centre) receives bouquet from
Pro-VC Y. S. Verma. Dr. Rabindranath (right) looks on

What is Public Relations (PR)? 
The DNA of journalism is objectivity, of the legal system is justice, of medicine is health. The DNA of PR is not objectivity or manipulation. It is not ‘relation with the public’. Its DNA is advocacy (of the client). PR is the art and science of managing an image professionally. It aims to occupy a share of the mind. It is a source of information for the media, and is technology driven. “What is hidden is news, the rest is PR.” 

"Walter Lippman says that news is not the truth or the mirror of society; at best it spotlights certain facets of reality or life."

+ Johnson & Johnson’s management of the Tylenol Crisis was good and timely – the incident also led to the birth of new packaging of tablets - the ‘strip’.

+ Congress’s advertising teaches that PR should be pro-active rather than reactive.

A paradigm shift - how? 

‘War bonds’ started after the WWI and never stopped since then – truth is an easy casualty. Period between WWI and WWII saw emergence of the talkies, radio, television, aircrafts, and tele-press. It marked the end of fascism (white/black/grey propaganda – German radio stations hidden inside America). Leaders like Mahatma Gandhi, the greatest strategist, united the entire Indian nation with one common thread of culture. Albert Einstein spoke of Gandhi as ‘a person who walked in flesh and blood’. The United Nations league was formed in 1945. All these incidents contributed to changes in the field of communication and PR.

Which came first – PR, CSR, or Corporate Communications? 
An organization (corporation) is a web of confusion and contradictions. Communication within an organization used to be horizontal or vertical, now it is also diagonal. The idea of Corporate Social Responsibility (C.S.R.) was in earlier days referred to as ‘Community Relations’. It is hard to tell if PR emerged first or Corporate Communication, but both are a part of Marketing Communications.

"A Roman saying Vox-pop vox-God – means ‘voice of the people is the voice of God."

PR can repair damages done to an image, true? 
Certain damages are irreparable. In such cases PR cannot white-wash an image.

+ Nixon administration loses face in the Watergate Scandal.

+ Song ‘United breaks guitars’ damaged United Airlines’ image.

How can PR mend a broken image? 
Benoit’s Image Repair Theory states five steps – (1) Denial (2) Evade responsibility (3) Reduce offensiveness (4) Corrective action (5) Mortification (apologize)

+ Starbucks was criticized for charging 9/11 rescue workers - it made up by later giving away water and coffee for free.

What is a crisis? 
Communication is affected by ‘noise’ which can be – technical or deliberate. The mind takes a flight and is never 100% present – that may be abnormal too. But noise is different from crisis. Crisis is irreversible; depending on its timing and intensity, it can be of four kinds (1) exploding (2) immediate (3) building (4) continuing.

+ During Maruti’s crisis in Manesar, it’s ad about strengthening bonds with the customers was misplaced for the time, as the crisis existed between Maruti’s management and employees.

+ A gap of 20 minutes between the two airplanes striking Twin Towers in America was left – for the media to capture the event – an immediate crisis (for the press).

What is the use of Crisis Communication? 
To (1) stop the crisis (2) maintain image, and (3) empathize.  

+ Post-crisis management of 2004 Tsunami was good – a checklist was prepared – detailing civilizations around rivers, pucca houses, and highlighting emerging cases of domestic violence, re-marriage and child marriage.

+Tata Nano project ouster from West Bengal and Mamta Bannerjee’s election win teaches that business and politics shouldn’t mix.

+ Greenpeace activists dumped 5 tonnes of coal in front of France's Elysée presidential palace – a protest to call for Europe to convert to renewable energy sources more rapidly.

When does Crisis Communication take place? 
(1) Pre-crisis (2) During (3) Post-crisis.

+ Bhopal Gas Tragedy highlights poor post-crisis management by the Indian government.

+ Hurricane Sandy (exploding crisis) was devastating despite good pre-crisis preparations - there was no electricity, hence no communication – Man proposes God disposes.

+ CCD’s image was damaged after a boy criticized it on Twitter (#CCDsucks) for ‘asking him to order’ – something against the relaxed norm found in CCD. In response, CCD offered a number for complitants.

"Always speak the truth – you don’t have to remember it."

+ Certain post-crisis media news can disturb – such as TOI’s report on 39 bridges on the Delhi-Howrah railroad after one of them collapsed and caused Rajdhani accident.

+ Seeing is believing - Maharashtra F.D.A allowed Dairy Milk to continue production after seeing the wrapping process.

+ Phalain disaster was well-managed by the government – over 10 lakh people were rescued.

+ Only 8-10% of the Indian population watches TV, so what does Arnab Goswami mean when he asks, “The whole nation wants to know?” But he manages to keep the interviewees on their toes.

Now for the nth time, what are the 4Ps of Marketing? 
Product, People, Price, and Promotion.

How does marketing satisfy human needs? 
Human needs are of two kinds - basic and aspirational. Aspiration is when Prof. Shivaji Sarkar after eating at McDonalds for 2-3 days while in America, asks,  “When will we have food?”

+ Offering brinjal in pizza to suit Indian taste is to satisfy aspirational needs.

+ Coke tastes different region-wise - sweeter in India, Arab, bitter in UK.

The steps involved in Social Marketing? 
(1) Planning (a) Formative research - state of the problem  (b) Audience segmentation - Primary (target) & Secondary (facilitator) (c) Strategy development (5W +1H) (2) Message development (3) Pre-test (4) Implementation (5) Evaluation & Feedback

+ Arial ad failed in South, North-East India due to showing a typecast mother-daughter-in-law relationship prevalent in the North.

+ Family Planning campaign didn’t work – and was never touched by politicians again. ‘Apne haath jagnaath’ and ‘more the merrier’ was the idea amongst people then, but now companies offer maternity + paternity leaves.

+ “Impact lao” – said a Congress politician to the PR team a day after the Bharat Nirman campaign was launched - communicator doesn’t have patience. Social Advertising takes time to show results.

+ Controversy over Amitabh Bachchan calling Pepsi, a brand endorsed by him for 20 years, ‘poison’ – highlights the difference between using and endorsing a brand.

+ Each one, teach one – was a good campaign that failed due to poor implementation of the program – unexpected demand led to shortage in supply of the teaching kit material.

How can PR change the behavior of people? 
Behavior Change is brought about by (1) Pre-contemplation (2) Contemplation (3) Preparation (4) Action (5) Maintenance

+ CRY ad is good for mentioning Rs. 300 – as it makes people compare the value of money and contemplate.

+ Polio campaign success was delayed by 14 years – its target was 2000, India was polio-free by 2014.

+ The Mental Health campaign aimed to understand depression, and other symptoms and delay the act of suicide – the moment. Joke: Man tells wife, “I am going to kill myself under the train. Pack my lunch-box in case the train is late.”

+‘Har ek friend’ and ‘Jo tera hai wo mera hai’ – marketing objective of these ads is to make users talk more.

(The ideas shared here are expressed by a single student who participated in the workshop. It need not actually reciprocate the views of the workshop resource person.)