'Technology will help comms professionals showcase the value they bring to brands’

The year has drawn to a close as we say hello to the nonly to give way to a new dawn that will usher in 356 days to be filled with achievements, success stories, and thoughts and ideas. This is also the time to stop and reminisce about the year that was – rethink our learnings, be grateful for our triumphs, and imbibe wisdom from our mistakes, all the while preparing ourselves for the days ahead.  

As we pause to reflect on 2022 and reflect on what it is leaving us with, 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 Aman Gupta, managing partner, India Spag Finn Partners, shares his thoughts on the factors driving communications industry in 2022 and how technology will bring in a shift in the traditional ways of PR and corporate communications. 

Excerpts: 

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

The three big factors driving communications industry in 2022 and will continue to do the same are ‘3i’ – Insights, Integration and Impact  

Insights: Listening to data to map insights across the audience, personas, messaging and the channel is the cornerstone of any successful campaign and clients are focussing on the same. They help build campaigns that deliver value and impact that can be measured. At SPAG/FINN we have built a geographic agnostic ‘Insights and intelligence’ team that can help clients with the same.  

Integration: Channel agnostic approach, wherein the focus is on the audience first and where they are consuming content (and what kind of content – both in terms of storytelling and genre), is the ask of today’s environment. We cannot be developing campaigns as per traditional, social or digital channels, but start by understanding the audience profile and then create and place content on the channel where they are active. 

Impact: Biggest change is that budgets are now dependent on what impact are we delivering. It is not about ‘outputs’ but ‘outcomes and these outcomes need to be aligned with business goals. If as a communications partner we are able to showcase that we are delivering business impact, companies will be investing further in the efforts.  

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? 

One of the key trends that have yielded beyond optimum results is the focus on identifying and developing ‘audience personas’ and undertaking targeted campaigns to each of the personas that are aligned to the product/service that is an area of focus. These personas represent groups of similar people with attitudes, perceptions and needs that are aligned with a target audience. This classification can help figure out how to reach people on a more personal level while delivering the right messages, offers and products at the right time. 

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

Digital will continue to evolve and technology will take lead in enabling the ability for communications professionals to showcase the value they bring to the brands. Technology will bring in a shift in the traditional ways of PR and corporate communications as the ways our audience is engaging with its environment is undergoing a paradigm shift and which our industry needs to operate to remain ahead of the curve.

Investment in technology, looking at talent diversity (looking beyond traditional PR professionals) and investing in people with skill sets that are more applicable will be key to the success of the industry.