Public Relations has entered a bold new era. No longer just a back-office function, it has transformed into a strategic powerhouse shaping brand reputation and influence. Companies and leaders now see PR not as an afterthought, but as an essential force driving credibility, trust, and long-term success.
The industry has undergone a radical shift with the rise of social media, fundamentally transforming PR strategies. Influencers now play a crucial role in shaping consumer perceptions and engagement. PR is no longer confined to securing media visibility; it has expanded into a dynamic, results-driven discipline focused on meaningful interactions and measurable outcomes.
With a younger, more digitally savvy audience emerging, PR professionals face new challenges. Brands and practitioners must be more agile, data-driven, and proactive in crafting business solutions that resonate with their audience. The future of PR lies in adaptability, authenticity, and strategic storytelling that build lasting trust and impact.
In conversation with Adgully, Kuhu Rastogi, Marketing & Communications Head at Invenia–STL Networks, shares her insights on shaping impactful communication strategies in the rapidly evolving tech and network infrastructure space. With a strong background in brand marketing and corporate communications, Kuhu discusses how storytelling, innovation, and data-driven insights are redefining the role of PR in building trust and driving business transformation. She also talks about the importance of aligning brand purpose with communication strategy, the growing convergence of marketing and PR, and how agility and authenticity remain key to creating meaningful audience engagement in today’s digital-first world.
Marketing in the technology and IT sector has evolved rapidly over the past decade. How have you seen this transformation, and what are the priorities shaping Invenia’s marketing agenda today? Ans: In the past decade, marketing in technology has shifted from a product push to a value-driven pull. Buyers today are no longer impressed by technical specifications alone; they want partners who understand their business context, can solve complex problems, and can demonstrate outcomes with credibility. With buyers now hyper-informed, digital-first, and largely self-directed, marketing has become less about persuasion and more about enabling confident decisions. At Invenia–STL Networks, we see our role as shaping this new reality. Our priority is to position ourselves as a trusted partner of choice by combining domain expertise with insight-led storytelling. We are building engagement platforms that make our capabilities visible, accessible, and relevant, while ensuring our brand stands for credibility, foresight, and impact. The shift is being defined by three big forces: 1. The Autonomous Buyer – 60% of B2B customers base their decisions on digital content. This means credibility in the digital space is no longer optional; it is decisive 2. Buyer Enablement, Not Just Lead Gen – Marketing must simplify complex buying journeys by providing tools, insights, and proof points that help stakeholders align and decide with confidence 3. The Mandate for Proof of Value – Buyers expect validation, not claims. That’s why interactive content, ROI frameworks, and contextual storytelling are becoming core to marketing Our agenda at Invenia-STL Networks is built around operationalizing this transformation. We are doing this by:4. Elevating Domain Expertise to Insight-Led Storytelling: We leverage our successful execution in mission-critical projects to serve as definitive "proof of outcomes." This expertise is channeled into content that frames value for specialized industry needs 5. Investing in Digital Engagement Platforms: Our focus is on enabling confident buying by integrating tools that affirm value across the digital journey6. Reinforcing Brand Credibility: We ensure our brand communicates both credibility and a long-term vision, aligned with our purpose of 'Empowering next-generation innovation through cutting-edge digital infrastructure'Emerging technologies like AI and MarTech are redefining how B2B organisations engage customers. How is Invenia leveraging these tools to rethink traditional marketing approaches and deliver measurable impact?Ans: AI and MarTech are no longer just buzzwords but enablers of precision. They allow us to understand customer journeys more deeply, personalise engagement at scale, and track effectiveness in real time. We are rethinking traditional approaches by blending data-driven targeting with contextual storytelling, ensuring campaigns resonate both rationally and emotionally. These tools also enable us to test, refine, and optimise faster, so we can deliver outcomes that are measurable not just in terms of leads, but in stronger client relationships and improved retention. This shift is helping us move marketing from an enabling-function to a true driver of business impact. In a landscape focused on metrics and ROI, how do you balance the need for performance marketing with building a strong, enduring brand presence?Ans: We view performance and brand as fundamentally interdependent, not separate agendas. Performance marketing delivers immediate visibility and pipeline, while brand equity builds trust and recall that sustain relevance over the long term. In B2B, where decisions are complex and high-stakes, this balance is critical as brand credibility often becomes the decisive factor in winning large-scale engagements. Industry data reinforces this: 87% of B2B buyers say trust is essential in decision-making, and investment in the brand has proven to be a growth driver. However, every tactical performance campaign must ladder up to a consistent brand narrative. At Invenia-STL Networks, we integrate both seamlessly, ensuring that while performance campaigns deliver measurable ROI, they also reinforce our larger purpose of credibility, innovation, and long-term value creation.Looking ahead, which trends do you believe will define the next phase of B2B technology marketing in India?Ans: The next phase of B2B technology marketing in India will be defined by an acceleration of digital-first engagement, hyper-integration, stronger use of data to demonstrate business value, and a rising prominence of purpose-driven communication. Thought leadership will play an even bigger role as customers seek partners who understand industry challenges and demonstrate deep and actionable industry insights. Sustainability and purpose-driven communication will also grow in importance as enterprises increasingly look at technology providers through the lens of long-term impact, not just immediate cost efficiency. Additionally, India’s digital-first buyer behaviour will demand continuous innovation in channels and formats, with video, community-led platforms, and interactive experiences becoming central to how B2B brands build engagement. I also foresee a deep strategic integration of marketing and sales. This alignment through shared goals, unified data, and a focus on collaborative nurturing will increase ROI and shorten the sales cycle.Drawing from your experience in global marketing leadership, what lessons stand out in driving successful strategies, navigating change, and achieving results that matter? Ans: The lessons that consistently stand out are centered around agility, relentless customer focus, and operationalizing scalability.1. Put the Customer at the Heart of Growth: This is the foundational lesson. Successful strategies emphasize personalized experiences and value propositions that are solution-focused, demonstrating deep expertise rather than merely listing product or service features High-performing organizations utilize effective analytics and tailored content to co-create go-to-market strategies with sales and product teams, placing customer insights at the core of every decision 2. Master the Hybrid Operating Model: The concept of a single-channel strategy is obsolete. Success demands a fluid, hybrid operating model that seamlessly blends digital self-service with human interaction. The strategy must identify the right mix of digital tools and human guidance necessary to drive profitable, high-quality purchase decisions 3. Build a Scalable, Data-Driven Engine: For transformation to drive measurable results, successful practices must be repeatable. This requires establishing a scalable sales and marketing engine by rigorously leveraging data, advanced technology, and agile operating models 4. Rethink the Talent Strategy: A new world of selling requires new capabilities. As customers become hyper-informed and demand more, leaders must invest in developing the skills necessary to navigate complexity, provide expert guidance, and manage multi-stakeholder buying groups. The focus is on fostering the cultural and behavioral change required for the strategy to truly stick and deliver sustained impact.
