Data Driven Will Be The Next Basic Requirement For PRs: Shobha Vasudevan

In our exclusive series, ‘PR Powerhouse,' we delved into the world of Public Relations and Corporate Communication with Shobha Vasudevan, Head - Enterprise Communications and PR at Dell.

Vasudevan shares insights into the world of corporate communication, the emerging trends in the profession, real-time engagement and storytelling among much more.

Excerpts: 

How has the role of PR and communications, corporate communications evolved in the age of digital media and social networks? 

Digital media and social networks are right now a new norm for us. PR is one of the many industries that has changed. It changed drastically when it started and it continues to evolve because, with technology, everything moves at such a fast pace. For example, in how we consume news, earlier newspapers used to be a standard form of consumption for almost every household, but now it's been replaced by digital news. 

News in long form is no longer consumed as rapidly as it used to be. People want to look at something which is able to give you the happenings of the day in the top five bullet points. It has also become very quick in terms of the exchange of information. News used to be proprietary of journalists and proprietary people who report on it. Now anyone with a smartphone is a content creator able to provide news, share news and be a citizen reporter. The quality and consumption of content has changed. 

What emerging trends would you say that you foresee coming in the PR industry, particularly in terms of crisis management and reputation repair? 

We've started seeing it already and we'll probably see a lot more data-driven, intelligence-based campaigns, which would mean that people are able to analyse data, collect data, infer from data, and then customise a campaign for the target audience. It's meant to reach whether you are from a brand or whether you are from an agency. I think a data-driven approach is in the works for all brands and works for everyone equally. That will continue with more technological advancements that come in with AI, ML, VR and AR. 

For example, you're able to give the experience of a real event with an augmented reality or virtual reality event to your consumers. 

Whether it's the quality of responses that you're giving on social media, crisis management particularly, is one of those events where, a data-driven approach or a tool-based or a technology-driven approach works very well because it's able to respond in real-time, it's able to aggregate all the social media sentiments, and it can deploy your standard statement on a fast basis. 

Even beyond that, it can do sentiment analysis. Like you're talking about reputation repair. If you have an algorithm-based website or a tool, it's able to aggregate all the emotions for a brand or a campaign and it's able to respond in real-time. 

How important do you think real-time engagement and storytelling are for effective corporate communication? 

Real-time engagement is important for every part of business, even more so for PR because it holds the image of the brand in its responsibility. For example, if there was a crisis, you would not take out a happy campaign just because you must be sensitive to the things that people are going through, you would have noticed it during Covid.  

If you try and put up a face which is not the real self of the brand, then consumers can see through it. I think it's an age when people are aware of the kind of campaigns that are reaching them, being authentic for a brand is important. 

From a storytelling perspective, I think storytelling has been relevant forever. It's a tool that's worked for us as a country and for PR as well. It works well for every brand. Storytelling has evolved too, earlier it was a story from a brand to a consumer. Then you started including influencers into the mix and had influencers telling your story to the brand. Now brands are using real-life storytellers. 

Storytelling is when a community of like-minded people talk about your brand with the same ethos, and they become your vocalists, advocates and storytellers. 

How would you measure the ROI of PR and corporate communication efforts in an increasingly data-driven marketing world? 

Data-driven is going to be the next basic requirement for any PR professional in the coming years. Earlier, it used to be your ability to write, influence, pitch, and more. In a data-driven world, measurement is going to be key, what you can measure, you can always repair. The traditional forms of PR measurement will continue. We still measure ourselves on the quantitative results of whether it's an interview or a press release. 

Now, with so many other mediums of communication, which not just is print and digital, it's also social, it's also influencer, it's also direct, and more. It doesn't give you a true picture. So maybe a healthy mix of qualitative plus quantitative to understand how much it has reached and then who it has reached. Those are things that will always remain the way that I believe communication should be measured.  

Could you provide some insights into the integration of PR and marketing to create cohesive and impactful brand narratives?  

PR and marketing are like two peas in the same pod. You must walk together because for consumers they are viewed as one brand. If the two voices from the same brand talk the same language, then it's better understood and it gets enhanced. For an in-person event, if you have a PR component or a social media component, then the reach goes beyond just the 500 people in that room. 

There are other ways you design a campaign now, it’s usually integrated marketing or integrated communication. These have elements in both traditional advertising and communication that go beyond just having business-led outcomes but also talk about image-led outcomes and together they become a voice for the entire organisation. 

As sustainability and corporate social responsibility gains prominence, how can PR executives effectively communicate a company's commitment to these values?  

There is a strong belief and research has shown that people have a stronger affinity to brands that have a social conscience. Social impact and social messaging are very important for the brand to have a soul. Otherwise, we are just talking about what we are selling. 

Like us, a lot of other brands also have a similar ethos and they're all talking about how we can make a difference to the world that we live in. How can we leave it in a better place? How can we contribute to the industry that we are a part of? Can we reduce our carbon footprint? Can we reduce our plastic consumption? Can we make ourselves greener? Can we make ourselves cleaner? These are various options for organisations that exist from a comms and a PR perspective that you use for sustainability. 

What challenges do you anticipate in managing PR for global brands with diverse cultural audiences and how do you address these challenges?  

A global brand offers both opportunities and of course, comes with a certain number of challenges that you must work across. The first of them is that if you are a multicultural brand, then there are cultural differences in each place that need to be taken care of, whether it is the words that you choose when you're communicating or the form of communication. 

Some are more receptive to print while some are more receptive to video. Some don't like video at all, some are more receptive to podcasts. Even within the Asia Pacific region, you will see that the growth of each of these mediums differs from country. 

What works in India may not be the same across the region or across the world. I think one of the most important considerations to keep in mind when designing a global campaign is to make sure that it allows for adaptability by each market and by each country, depending on their cultural sensitivities. 

With the rise of influencer partnerships with brands, how do PR effectively collaborate in the new realm of public relations? 

Influencers have become important because they give a voice to the campaign which goes beyond what the brand is talking about in its own voice. They can give you authenticity, a level of endorsement and the fact that the current set of generations really believes in following the people that they follow. 

If you have a celebrity who commands a fair amount of followers in a particular category, people will believe their word of mouth and recommendation. Now, the responsibility of the influencer is that they are authentic to the brand and their followers. They need to be careful about choosing what they endorse. They must believe in the brand, and that's what their followers are also following them for. 

From a brand perspective, having influencers who share the same vision or ethos is important because then you will have a voice which is able to extend beyond it. We are now moving from traditional celebrity influencers to more like community influencers, who are your end consumers, people who have experienced your brand and had a good experience, and then they can share it with their friends and family.