'Campaigns with human experiences and storytelling at their hearts are often memorable'

As we enter into the new year, it's time to reflect on our learnings, triumphs and mistakes of the year gone by. With this in mind, we present 'Epilogue 2022', a year-ender series from e4m PR & Corp Comm that will feature stalwarts from the Indian PR fraternity.

Today, we have Shashikant Someshwar, MD, Current Global, The Weber Shandwick Collective. In a career spanning around two decades, Someshwar has led many successful, high-profile communications campaigns across a diverse blue-chip client set. He was previously vice president at Perfect Relations and has deep experience of developing and managing high-growth operations.

Excerpts:

What are the changes you have seen in the industry this year (2022)?

I’ve noticed three significant shifts in the space this year.

Since podcasts are engaging, versatile, and very convenient for the audience to follow, it is no surprise that their popularity has seen a steadfast rise. With easily curated content formats like reels entering the space, targeting niche audiences and developing deeper connections with them has been the way to go when it comes to building brand affinity and loyalty.

Secondly, influencer marketing is coming of age, as content creators are becoming more creative with their expressions, and the kind of influence they enjoy regarding their followers is the real pot of gold for brands. Influencer marketing aids brands in expanding their target group and reaching a wider audience while growing their social media presence, following, as well as traffic on their site, at the same time converting leads and driving sales.

Lastly, there has been a major transformation in how corporates are embracing and promoting Diversity Equality and Inclusion (DEI) and exuding empathy in the workplace. The changing policies have made for many interesting storylines. The routinisation of remote work and the career shuffle set off by the Great Resignation have intensified DEI issues, as employees now survey their career options and evaluate softer factors alongside location and compensation.

What are the trends that have yielded optimum results this year? Are there any global trend practices that you would like the Indian PR/ Corp Comm fraternity to adopt?

Campaigns that put human experiences and storytelling at the heart of their messaging are often memorable ones. As data-driven as we are, we also realise that the secret is to look deeper when planning your next campaign. After all, campaign results rely on human cognition and the countless micro-decisions people often make without even realising it, and that’s the aspect that the human element of a campaign can influence. Creating that magic is possible only when all marketing departments collaborate in the creation of the campaign. These collaborative campaigns, equipped with the perfect balance of a data-driven and human-centric approach, are emerging more often in global markets and are an aspect that homegrown PR space should consider embodying.

We are rapidly moving ahead in the area of digital communications and will do more of it in the new year. Do you feel that new technology can co-exist harmoniously with the traditional ways of PR and corporate communications?

Technology is already playing a significant role in driving the evolution of PR and corporate communications. With the rapid digitisation of the world triggered by the pandemic, a substantial part of our audience exists on digital platforms, and it is only by leveraging technology that communicators can reach those audiences.

From a communicator’s point of view, it’s made us more productive with our time, which is a scarce commodity given our 24X7 jobs. Communicators have benefited immensely in areas such as monitoring, discovery, measurement, and tackling crises with the enablement that comes with technological advancements. Tracking results of work done, as well as foreseeing the probable outcomes of work to be done, has been made possible through technological advancements; and as a bonus, it helps justify and quantify the return on investments for our clients as well.

As we reach full-time normalcy, there has been a fresh revival in talent acquisition and salary restoration. What are the other areas that you are expecting a full revival in?

I reckon in-person events will make a comeback. In many aspects, in-person events are irreplaceable, and attendees are eager to return to face-to-face interactions. Over the past three years, event organisers have found innovative ways to utilise virtual events. And, to begin with, it was never a question of replacing live events per se. In-person events have been on the rise with the ending of the pandemic and will grow further in the coming year. However, with that, we will also need to rethink our story-pitching strategy. Customisation will win over mass pitches and embargos.