On August 29, 2024, Adgully hosted the latest edition of #GullyChat, focusing on the topic ‘Mapping the Future of PR: Globalization and Cultural Diversity’. The discussion explored how the PR industry is navigating the challenges and opportunities of a globalized world while embracing cultural diversity in its strategies and communications.The esteemed participants included:Sonali Sokhal, CEO and Founder, IntelliquoTarunjeet Rattan, Managing Partner, Nucleus PRSiddhartha Mukherjee, Founder, Brand BalanceVikram Kharvi, Chief Executive Officer, Bloomingdale Public RelationsAkanksha Jain, Head of Public Relations & Corporate Communications, BharatPeThe panellists discussed cultural competence and how PR professionals must understand diverse cultural nuances to effectively communicate with global audiences.Tarunjeet Rattan emphasized, “Understanding how to communicate across geographies, age groups, and diverse cultural groups is a basic requirement for anyone in PR. If you aren’t doing that, then you’re in the wrong profession and will always be wondering how to get things done.”Siddhartha Mukherjee added here, “The future of PR will depend on its ability to take charge and showcase business outcomes. PR machinery will need to have full command and control of the Input-Output-Outcome framework. Building cultural competence is part of the input ERPs (efforts, resources, processes). CXOs of business brands rely on the PR machinery to ensure that all stakeholders in both local and global target markets build and sustain long-term relationships with the business. Data-wise, recall and admiration scores need to be the strongest. A lot of initiatives are being taken to understand the culture and extract the mood of the markets in terms of expectations, fears, and aspirations.”Vikram Kharvi also shared his thoughts on the importance of cultural competence in PR, saying, “Cultural competence is a vital skill for PR professionals, especially as they engage with diverse global audiences. This encompasses the ability to understand, communicate with, and effectively interact with people across various nations. Investing in training programs that enhance cultural competence among PR professionals is crucial. Workshops and seminars can help teams understand cultural differences and develop skills for effective cross-cultural communication.”The chat further touched upon on digital literacy, highlighting how digital tools, data analytics, and social media platforms are crucial for successful PR campaigns.Akanksha Jain noted, “In today’s times, it is important to have a good understanding of digital tools to ensure better reach, more impact, and better assessment of results. Leveraging social media platforms for building brand reputation is key. It is important to follow an always-on strategy and listen to what the customer is saying on social media. Social sentiment is a great indicator of the reputation of brands. Data analytics plays an important role in understanding audience behavior and refining PR strategies.”Sonali Sokhal added, “Social media is also a vital ‘listen in’ tool for brands, which is unfortunately not utilized as well as it should be. Digital literacy is vital for measurement. In today’s fractal world, social and digital platforms allow us to get a tangible count of impact.”Vikram Kharvi noted, “PR professionals with a diverse digital toolkit, including media databases, news monitoring, and email automation, can deliver integrated campaigns that drive business outcomes. Digital literacy helps PR teams respond quickly and strategically to crises, using social listening to gauge sentiment and proactively manage brand reputation. Proficiency in SEO, influencer marketing, and link building sets digitally literate PR pros apart, enabling them to drive online visibility and engagement.”The conversation also highlighted the importance of collaboration and effective teamwork in PR, essential for leveraging expertise and resources.Sonali Sokhal remarked, “It takes a village to make a brand; it takes a team to win the game! Trust and respect are the foundation of good teamwork. Communications today is multidisciplinary and needs varying skill sets only a team can bring to the table. We are living in the era of collaborations for brands and organizations across verticals, so communications teams need to collaborate internally and externally.”Akanksha Jain emphasized, “Effective collaboration within PR involves working closely with cross-functional teams, including business, marketing, sales, product development, tech, and legal departments. By leveraging the expertise of these teams, PR professionals can ensure that messaging is consistent, accurate, and aligned with broader business objectives. PR professionals must cultivate and maintain strong relationships with external partners, such as media outlets, influencers, industry experts, KOLs, and community leaders. These partnerships provide valuable insights, amplify messaging, and extend the reach of PR campaigns.”Tarunjeet Rattan observed, “Acing how to work with different generations, nationalities, and genders across all internal departments and external partners will be the mark of your success as a ‘communicator’. Be worthy of the designation you carry. A good ‘PR leader’ has the ability to unite stakeholders and get behind a single strategy with empathy and camaraderie. Apart from all the jargon on tech, reports, analysis, etc., people management is your true self.”Lastly, Siddhartha Mukherjee shared, “The efficiency and efficacy of PR are founded on collaborations. The term can have different dimensions – with internal and external partners. Internal collaborations would be with CXOs, on-ground operation departments, an organization’s central MiS, and intelligence and research desks. External collaborations could be with communications agencies, ERP management and advisory consultancies, pure play research services, audit and quality assurance services, measurement and data analytics, influencer groups, communities, etc. Both internal and external collaborations need to happen across markets and geographies. Collaborations will be effective only when the framework is visualized, designed, and implemented well, all supported by measurement and data-led ERPs (efforts, resources, and processes).”
