It was somewhere in the last week of March, just after the lockdown was announced, that I started getting calls, and emails from our clients to hold on to the retainer work, some asking to rework the retainer at a much-reduced amount. That day was not good, as a busy and hectic year had come to an abrupt end. Clients asking to stop work or work at reduced retainer were not a good indication of things to come. But there was not much negativity around then as it is today; people had started to engage digitally, sending inspiring thoughts, jokes, memes, and getting adjusted to the changed situation. At first most of us thought this might end in three to four months and India will get back to normal. But as days passed, things began to look grim, people started look beyond their adjusted ‘New Normal’ and started thinking way ahead and so did I. And while bigger agencies stared at dwindling revenues, regional and smaller PR agencies also started to face the heat, in fact now with almost more than five months since the pandemic started in India, it is a question of survival for many. Facing challenges on multiple levels, from managing the office expenses, salaries, trying to engage with the clients and the media, to searching for new business models and at the same time skilling in newer areas like the digital media, it is an unprecedented situation.
1. Good Old Days of Print Media PR, will they come back?
And when discussing over long phone conversations with my peers in this field working at a regional level , the first thing that came to mind that the business model focused around traditional media has to change, otherwise sustaining for a long time may be difficult. For years we have been servicing our clients with media strategies focused on the traditional media especially the print. With pages shrinking, journalists working from home, things have got much tougher. In smaller cities we prefer meeting in person over talking on phone. So a ‘media round’ was a regular part of the routine. Today the entire scenario has changed. With lesser and lesser results for every press release dissemination and drop in circulation of newspapers especially during the lockdown, engaging with the Clients has also become more challenging. Earlier before any media activity, we used to give our clients a clear picture of the possible results depending on the policies of different media houses. Today many clients are in no mood to listen to problems, they want results, solutions and then if we are unable to do so….what next?
2. Engaging with the clients and continuity of services key to future
Engaging with the clients on a regular basis during these challenging times will be a key to keep the work going. While nothing much is happening in the core PR services front, offering bundled services in content, design and digital services for SMEs or smaller companies / institutions will be a key. They would always want such value additions. And with press conferences, launches, interviews, events looking literally like a distant luxury,the next few months will be crucial to keep the Clients engaged!
3. Client Centric or Media Centric?
Frankly speaking, let me confess that smaller players like us have been more media centric than client centric and in fact that has been the strength of regional players who understand their markets very well and have established very good relations with the media, many of them become our friends for life. There is no denying the fact that we spent more time with the media than the clients. This approach worked very well for stringers or smaller agencies who worked as networking partners for bigger or National agencies. It also helped to bridge the gap and gave our clients a better understanding of how the media works. But it is time to even the balance by offering customized solutions to the Clients that go beyond the traditional media.
4. So how do we survive?
While bigger PR agencies will have more buffer, bandwidth and resources to survive the crisis, it is like a race against time for many smaller agencies. The battle is on multiple fronts, from upgrading to newer skills, to surviving amidst dwindling cash reserves to managing the clients at a time when results are worse than ever before. But the picture is not all of a dead end. While many sectors need perception management in India , there is huge amount of work to be done post the pandemic. Take for example medical sector especially hospitals; I am sure those agencies working for hospitals will be having anxious time currently. It has never been so hard. But things will eventually bounce back for better and they all will require Public Relation services more than ever before.
5. Time to look for smaller Clients?
It was about a decade back that my father who was one of the first Public Relations practitioners in Pune died. While many people tried to console me, there were a few seniors who paid their tributes in different ways. One of the senior journalists called me to his office. He said I would like to remember your father as somebody who always worked for the small companies. He understood their contribution and importance to the economy. Although such companies did not find much space in the leading papers, I liked the way you people have been apprising us of their work and issues. It is like a movement! I would want you to continue with this, he said. I was moved and for the first time got a glimpse of how senior people in the media may look at things,even though we may not be getting results initially. Ofcourse after that as I got an opportunity to work with many reputed clients, but the ‘movement’ did continue. Today, as I invoke the memories of that meeting, the same question comes to my mind again. Is it time to look for more smaller clients who need our services rather than going after those who have many options? Yes indeed it is the right time even if it means lesser service fees. While nobody knows when the pandemic will end and how will things pan out in near future, I have no doubts that if we survive this financial year and offer an expanded bouquet of services , the future only looks Good!
-By Sameer Ranade
PR Practitioner
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