LEAD STORY
CONVERSATIONS AND DELEBERATIONS
Marcom – Today & Tomorrow
D
eveloping a personal brand is essential for career
advancement, and development as a leader.
Unfortunately, personal branding has become a
“commoditized” term that has lost its intention as people
have used social media as a platform to build their personal
brand and increase their relevancy. They believe social
media can immediately increase their market value for
their personal brand rather than recognizing that the
process of developing their personal brand is a much bigger
responsibility, a never-ending journey that extends well
beyond social media.
As a public relation or MARCOM professional, most
of the job involves getting clients in the right place and
at the right time, to garner the best and most appropriate
attention possible. “Most appropriate” because there are
those who still refuse to accept the fact that not all press
is good press.
We have seen Fortune 500 businesses, CEO’s, community
organizers, political representatives and others fall prey to
the woes of inappropriate and poor media coverage. With
that said, it is also the PR Agency or MARCOM’s job to
create, protect, and preserve their internal & external
client’s brand guidelines at all times.
People and Management organized a conversation &
deliberation with MARCOM & PR professionals to arrive at
what are the common challenges of these professionals and
how their job entails building their internal stakeholders
brand and aligning it to the Organization’s brand and what
this means and the way ahead.
organizations participated and shared their perspectives
on the topic: MARCOM - Today & tomorrow.
Mr. Deepak Behl Director HR, The Park Hotel, chaired
the roundtable.
The following points are necessary for protecting
BRANDS:
Never be afraid to say no
All press is not good press. Likewise, all collaborations
are not great collaborations. Be sure to consider which
media outlets you are aligning your clients brand with,
before pitching or accepting a story or feature. In addition,
pay attention to brands you associate with your represented
brand. Do they share similar goals and visions? Is there a
sound, useful reason for connecting a “different” brand?
If you cannot answer these questions when considering
a press source or collaboration, you should most likely
consider saying no to the opportunity.
Surveys are your friend
To know how the represented brand is perceived,
We must ask around. Surveys can help secure an
understanding of just how the brand is communicated and
perceived by all audiences.
Ask everyone who matters: customers and clients,
press, employees and never be afraid to ask competitors.
Compare the feedback to an internal understanding of
brand messaging. Do u fi nd any disconnect?
Keep it simple
Regardless of whether you are representing a company
or an individual, a huge brand with commercial history or
one in the making, there are steps that every MARCOM
& PR professional must take in order to maintain the
integrity of the brand image.
Over-sharing online is the fastest way to ruin the brand
image. Keep it simple. Stick to key messages and carefully
constructed associations. Social platforms can be a great
outlet when used correctly.
If at fi rst you do succeed, repeat again
Marketing & Communication professionals from
Holisol Logistics, DXC technology, Ufl ex, Jaipuia Group,
entrepreneurs, authors, startup professionals from various
10
| Vol. 10 Issue 2 • FEBRUARY 2019, Delhi NCR
If Few good press features for the brand and social
media efforts seem to be going well then continue to stick
to the key messaging. Find creative ways to tell the story to