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 our exclusive weekly column, PR Conversation, Adgully interacts with leading business leaders to gain their exclusive views and insights on various trends in the PR and communications industry. In an age where perception drives performance, Upasna Dash, Founder & CEO of Jajabor Brand Consultancy, is redefining how brands tell their stories. Started in 2017, with no capital and no formal PR training, Dash has built Jajabor into one of India?ÇÖs fastest-growing brand consultancies for startups and VCs?Çöpartnering with high-impact names across sectors from civic tech to D2C.Jajabor?ÇÖs approach goes beyond traditional PR, integrating strategic communication, content, and storytelling to deliver measurable business outcomes?Çöfrom market expansion to talent acquisition. Dash believes communication isn?ÇÖt a support function?Çöit?ÇÖs a growth strategy.She?ÇÖs also mentoring talent from Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities and championing a new generation of communicators. As AI reshapes storytelling, she remains firm that clarity, creativity, and context are the real differentiators.Bottom of FormYou launched Jajabor Brand Consultancy from a couch with zero capital and a one-person team. Looking back, what was the boldest decision you made in those early days that set the tone for JBC?ÇÖs growth?The boldest decision was simply deciding to start without a safety net, without prior business experience, and without knowing where it would lead. I had no legacy to build on, no capital to fall back on, and every data point said it was the wrong move. But I had conviction. That decision to trust my instinct over the odds set the tone for everything that followed. It taught me that clarity matters more than certainty. We built Jajabor Brand Consultancy with that mindset. We didn?ÇÖt take opportunities for granted. We worked harder, stayed nimble, and made room for bold thinking. Starting with nothing meant we had nothing to lose, which gave us the freedom to build a company that reflected what we truly believed in. That choice to begin, even when it felt irrational continues to define how we operate today.From working with Google and Coca-Cola without formal PR training to building one of the fastest-growing consultancies, what did the hustle teach you that textbooks never could?Everything I?ÇÖve learned about communication has come from doing the work, not reading about it. What textbooks don?ÇÖt teach you is that in this industry, outcomes matter. You can have the best intentions, but if you can?ÇÖt deliver impact, it doesn?ÇÖt count. I also learned to find joy in the work itself. I genuinely enjoy building brands, solving problems and helping businesses grow. That sense of purpose has kept me going through the hard days. And perhaps most importantly, I learned that nothing meaningful can be built alone. Building Jajabor Brand Consultancy has been about surrounding myself with people who challenge me, trust me and believe in the larger vision. That?ÇÖs something no course can teach you, you learn it by building from the ground up.You call JBC a growth hacker in the comms world. How exactly does communication drive measurable business outcomes like finding, hiring or market expansion?For us, communication is not a support function, it?ÇÖs core to business strategy. Whether it?ÇÖs entering a new market, attracting the right talent or building leadership visibility, everything we do starts with a clear business goal. From there, we build backwards. We don?ÇÖt measure success by how many stories we place or how much buzz we generate. We look at real-world results. Did it move the needle? Did it help the brand grow? That?ÇÖs the only metric that matters. Our approach is flexible in execution, but non-negotiable when it comes to impact. Communication done right should show up on the business dashboard. That?ÇÖs how we?ÇÖve always worked. It?ÇÖs why our clients don?ÇÖt just see us as PR partners, they see us as growth partners.In a world drowning in content, how do you help brands craft narratives that not only stand out but stay relevant over time?It starts with knowing what the brand truly stands for. We spend a lot of time helping brands define their core because if you don?ÇÖt know what your story is, no platform can fix that. Once the foundation is clear, it?ÇÖs about adapting the expression of that story to match where your audience is and how they?ÇÖre consuming content. Relevance isn?ÇÖt about chasing every trend. It?ÇÖs about being consistent in your values and responsive to the world around you. At Jajabor Brand Consultancy, we also look ahead. When things are going well, that?ÇÖs when we ask, what?ÇÖs coming next? What needs to evolve before the market changes again? That forward-thinking mindset allows us to keep brands not just visible, but culturally and commercially relevant over time.Your team has worked across 50+ industries ?Çô from civic tech to D2C. What?ÇÖs the secret sauce to customising comms strategies without falling into the template trap?We never walk into a brief with a formula. What we have instead is a strong strategic framework that we customise for every client. We start by understanding the business, how it makes money, what the customer journey looks like, where the trust gaps are. That depth allows us to craft communication that?ÇÖs relevant and precise. And because we work across such a wide range of sectors, we?ÇÖre constantly borrowing inspiration from one space to solve problems in another. A civic-tech platform can learn from a wellness brand. A fintech company might take cues from consumer goods. That cross-pollination keeps our thinking fresh. Most importantly, we never assume we know the answer on day one. We ask, we listen and then we build.Startups often want fast results while PR builds long-term credibility. How do you manage this tension between urgency and patience with founders?Both are valid, and both are needed. Founders often operate with tight timelines and high expectations. Our role is to bring structure and clarity to that urgency. We start by identifying which outcomes can be delivered quickly and which ones need to be built over time. For instance, we might launch a focused visibility campaign to address a short-term goal, while also working in parallel on a long-term narrative that builds credibility with investors or future hires. We don?ÇÖt try to slow things down, we just make sure the energy is going in the right direction. The best results come when we balance momentum with meaning. And when founders see communication driving real business outcomes, the relationship moves from transactional to strategic.With media shrinking and social bash-lag rising, how should modern brands prepare for real-time reputation management and crisis comms?Reputation today is shaped in real time, often on platforms brands don?ÇÖt control. That makes preparation even more important. What we tell our clients is simple, build trust before you need it. Engage with your audience consistently, not just when there?ÇÖs a campaign or announcement. When a crisis does happen, respond quickly but thoughtfully. Be honest, own what went wrong and clearly communicate what you?ÇÖre doing to fix it. People are more forgiving than we think, especially if they feel respected. At Jajabor Brand Consultancy, we rely on real-time data to shape our response. We?ÇÖre not guessing. We?ÇÖre listening closely to how people are reacting and adjusting the message accordingly. The best defence in a crisis is a brand that has already earned goodwill. That?ÇÖs what allows you to weather the noise.How is JBC reimagining PR?ÇÖs place within the larger marketing mix, especially when budgets favour performance over perception?PR and performance marketing are not competing disciplines, they solve entirely different problems. One drives conversion, the other builds conviction. We approach PR as a long-term business asset. It shapes how people perceive the brand, what they trust, and whether they choose to stay loyal when the ads stop running. You can buy attention through performance, but you have to earn belief through communication. That?ÇÖs where PR comes in. It creates narrative depth, cultural relevance and stakeholder confidence ?Çô outcomes that don?ÇÖt show up in click-through rates, but matter deeply to business growth. We align every campaign to measurable outcomes, but we also know that not all value is immediate. In today?ÇÖs ecosystem, brands need both: the precision of performance and the power of perception. PR isn?ÇÖt a nice-to-have. It?ÇÖs what makes everything else stick.You are mentoring talent from Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities and reshaping how young people see communications. What?ÇÖs your vision for the next generation of PR professionals in India? How do you see Gen AI reshaping the future of storytelling and PR?I?ÇÖm very optimistic about this generation. They come in with confidence, curiosity and the belief that their voice matters. That changes the energy of the room, and I find it incredibly inspiring. At Jajabor Brand Consultancy, we actively create space for young professionals from across the country to lead, question and contribute. We want to build a culture where experience and fresh thinking can coexist. As for AI, it will change how we work, but it won?ÇÖt change why we do what we do. The future of storytelling will rely on people who know how to think, not just how to prompt. AI can accelerate the process, but it cannot replace judgment, creativity or context. The real opportunity lies in using technology to scale our thinking, not outsource it. That?ÇÖs the mindset we?ÇÖre trying to cultivate.
