Retrofitting the models of the past into the present does not always work: Vikram Chandra

exchange4media group hosted the India Public Relations & Corporate Communications Conference & Awards (IPRCCA) on April 8, 2022. The event witnessed the virtual gathering of some of the brightest minds in the Public Relations and Corporate Communication domain. Among the many insightful sessions, the keynote address delivered by Vikram Chandra, Founder, Editorji, was also a part of the agenda.

Chandra started his session by talking about the importance of authentic media and the current scenarios of linear TV news. He said, “The importance and the need for the media to be able to tell the correct story and not mix up the news with views is critical. There is a sense of disappointment that we feel today because the Media is not behaving in that manner. Also, linear TV is being increasingly replaced by OTT. We might not have widely accepted video news solutions in place in 2022 but that’s not a good enough reason to stay on linear TV news. That process will move on.”

Chandra emphasised that change is inevitable and technology will drive that change. We are living in a time of a dramatic technological revolution. According to Chandra, we need to accept that the way we have been doing things till now is not necessarily going to be done in the same way going forward. He added, “We face problems because we try to retrofit the models of the past into the present and that’s not necessarily going to work.” 

He also explained the problems with TV news channels is there because of the model, he said, “TV news channels in India don’t get subscription fees, they are paying carriage fees and thus they have to get their money from the advertisers, therefore, they heavily rely on TRP.”

He further talked about the need for newer solutions by saying “In the long term, without a solution TV news is not the answer. Digital video news today is not the answer either because of the form factor. There is a sea of information and consumer needs to swim through it to be informed on a digital platform. Today, swamped with information, we feel more uninformed than we ever did earlier. Solutions are going to be found here when we leverage technology, data science, AI, new form factors and we try to find it.”

Chandra also spoke about possible solutions and shed some light on the work at Editorji, and said “The answer comes from the audio streaming platforms. We are trying to do something similar by having a pool of good quality content which is then strung together into playlists that can be disseminated through multiple formats. The core of Editorji is an AI-driven playlist that gives you a mix of stories that are important and also what you would like to see.” 

Concluding the session with a piece of advice for brands and PR agencies, Chandra added, “The pipeline between the content and the users could be controlled by media houses. The way most businesses have started to visualise things when it comes to content is, firstly, how do we structure this information in a way that maximizes the impact. Secondly, the form factor in which this message can be disseminated and thirdly, the distribution. Today, distribution does not need to control the pipeline anymore because the era of the pipeline has gone. Today, brands and PR agencies should work with people who sort out the first two issues, the third will solve itself, they do not need to depend on pipelines anymore.”