Richa Sharma, General Manager,Corporate Communications, ITC-Welcomgroup

PR has to make sure that the company’s voice is heard. Management has to take PR into confidence. They should share relevant information. We are not entertainers; PR is a serious business, and the PR practitioners themselves have to show the way. You have to break rules, you have to build a rapport with media and public, and it has to be done intelligently. The role of communication/PR is probably as important as that of marketing. It is becoming a high-activity job.

Q. Any event from your experience in ITC Hotels where PR played a key role?

Yes, very recently it was a privilege for ITC’s Welcome Hotel Marriot to host the Olympic Torch for the 2004 Olympic Games to be held in Athens. We were consistent in our endeavour to provide the right media coverage throughout the event. We organized a ‘Greek Food Festival’ where we had a cake in the shape of the Olympic Torch map. We had Olympic rings and flags all over the hotel to gain high visibility from the media. The entire live event was tight. It was a big PR opportunity for us.

Q. In your college days you were contributing to Radio Bharatvani, an ethnic radio network. Subsequently, you joined ANI and worked there for three years before moving to Zee News. A couple of years later you moved into a corporate communication role in Essel Group. Now you are in a high profile communications function with ITC hotels. Quite a journey!

It has been an asset to be a multi-skilled-person. Reporting was and will continue to be my first love. I never pay heed to what people say, though that can at times be a problem. Eventually, if your heart is in the right place, you will succeed. Journalism was a wonderful thing that happened to me. It instilled a bold instinct in me. I have been closely involved with reporting, anchoring and production. While I was at Zee, as a news anchor and reporter, the company was exploring the possibility of setting up a corporate communications department. I was given an option to move to Mumbai as Vice-President, Corporate Communications, and Executive Assistant to Subhash Chandra as his I took it up and was in Mumbai for two and a half years, after which I came back to Delhi and thereafter, I got an offer from ITC. I decided to take it up as it provided an opportunity for skill enhancement and to explore the hotel industry.

Q. How do you perceive the role of PR executive or a Communications Manager?

PR is misunderstood as a wining-and-dining profession in which a naive PR executive is a hapless victim. PR was traditionally perceived as a profession where the executives were expected to possess a magic wand to deal with crises or to get nicely written articles published. Public relations as an organized corporate activity was recognized earlier only by the Tatas, Birlas and Reliance who had in-house corporate communication departments. However, in the last few years, many PR agencies have sprung up with the entry of multinationals. Still, in many companies the PR department is looked upon as a secondary department. A synergy of the brand with the environment will only work when the PR person is given a free hand.

Q. Is the communication role in the hotel industry different from that in other sectors?

PR in the hotel industry is highlighting all the good things and the frequency of highlighting is much more than in any other industry. Hospitality is a high-activity segment. You have to make sure of a consistent presence in the media. One has to ensure that the package of a basic level of comfort, security and positive environment is always there to support damage control.

Q. In a top brand like ITC Hotels, what is the primary focus of PR activities? Is it more of brand building, image management or customer relationship?

Simply put, it is to ensure consistency of communication, and to maximize synergy across all properties. We have to also ensure the same level of activity in all our properties. The brand is at the core of all our activities.

Q. On a broader level do you think PR rates high as a career choice today?

I would say that it is starting to. There is so much of media hype that quite a few people are moving from journalism into PR. However, only the best will survive. To be a successful communications manager, first of all one has to have presence of mind. Second, he or she must be able to see and create opportunities. A PR manager should have very good knowledge about the product that he/she is representing. One has to understand the environment, be a good reader and an active listener.