For decades, the success of public relations was measured in headlines, column inches, and the scale of media visibility a campaign could generate. That metric is rapidly losing relevance.Today, brands are asking a far more pointed question: What did the communication actually achieve for the business?As companies increasingly link reputation management with growth, investor confidence, and stakeholder trust, PR agencies are being pushed to move beyond traditional press relations and position themselves as strategic partners in shaping business outcomes. The shift is quietly redefining how agencies structure their work, measure success, and participate in corporate decision-making.A structural shift in the client–agency relationshipAccording to Madhurima Bhatia, Head of PR & Partnerships at Ipsos India, the relationship between brands and their communication partners has already undergone a structural transformation.PR agencies are no longer expected to operate as external vendors executing predefined mandates. Instead, they are increasingly treated as strategic collaborators aligned with leadership priorities and broader organisational objectives. Agencies working on long-term retainers now spend significantly more time understanding a company’s business strategy, financial goals, and stakeholder landscape. Communication planning, Bhatia says, must reflect those priorities.“If the organisation’s focus is top-line growth, the narratives we build through earned media must create stakeholder momentum and support that objective,” she explains.Even project-based mandates are now evaluated through a similar lens. The key question, she notes, is whether communication efforts trigger meaningful action—whether that is stakeholder interest, customer enquiries, or measurable engagement with the brand.“Outcome decides the strength of the agency,” Bhatia says.<img src='https://erp.adgully.me/artical_image\7545ea61a0993dc6bc0d8e5b46686632.jpeg' class='content_image'>The expanding scope of modern communicationsAcross the broader communications industry, leaders say the definition of PR itself has expanded.Komal Lath, Founder of Tute Consult, believes the industry has moved well beyond its traditional association with media relations.“The communication landscape today looks very different from what it did a few years ago,” she says. While visibility remains important, clients are increasingly focused on long-term brand narratives, reputation architecture, and measurable outcomes rather than media outputs alone.This shift has forced agencies to adopt a more integrated communication approach. Modern campaigns often combine strategic storytelling, digital amplification, influencer engagement, experiential marketing, and partnerships to create impact across multiple touchpoints.In this environment, agencies are expected to understand a client’s market dynamics, expansion plans, and competitive positioning before crafting communication strategies.The role, Lath argues, increasingly resembles that of a strategic advisor rather than an execution partner.The perception gap within the industryDespite this evolution, she also sees a gap between how the industry talks about strategy and how it sometimes operates in practice.While many professionals position PR as a strategic function in industry discussions and thought leadership forums, some client mandates continue to prioritise traditional output metrics such as media coverage volume or impressions.For agencies attempting to reposition themselves as strategic advisors, this can create a dilemma.“Agencies need to assess whether certain mandates align with the strategic direction they want to pursue,” Lath says.<img src='https://erp.adgully.me/artical_image\af340a28fb5f84123ce2de13e2e3723d.jpeg' class='content_image'>The rise of data-driven PRFor Jagriti Motwani, CEO of Cha-Chi Communications, another defining element of PR’s transformation is the growing emphasis on data and audience insight.Public relations, she says, is gradually shifting from being perceived as a marketing expense to being recognised as a function capable of influencing business outcomes.“Businesses increasingly understand that reputation affects credibility, stakeholder trust, and market opportunities,” Motwani explains.As a result, communication strategies must be grounded in research, audience understanding, and clearly defined objectives rather than simply pursuing media placements.The agencies that stand out, she adds, are those that think beyond publicity and focus on how narratives influence perception, trust, and ultimately consumer behaviour.<img src='https://erp.adgully.me/artical_image\e40186955fc9a941498c35be104119e5.jpeg' class='content_image'>The future of PR: influence, not just visibilityIndustry leaders believe the real differentiator in the coming years will be an agency’s ability to influence decision-making rather than simply execute communication plans.Agencies that operate as trusted advisors are often involved in early-stage conversations—helping brands shape narratives during periods of expansion, navigate reputational risks, and build long-term credibility.Motwani notes that public relations has always had the potential to shape business outcomes through investor interest, stakeholder confidence, and market perception. The difference today is that companies increasingly expect those outcomes to be visible and measurable.For PR agencies, that expectation represents both an opportunity and a challenge.As communication becomes more tightly linked to commercial performance, the industry’s role is being recalibrated. Visibility may still matter—but the real test of PR is increasingly whether the stories it tells can move the business forward. 

The IMAGEXX Summit and Awards 2024, a premier event in the public relations industry organised by Adgully, concluded successfully yesterday (July 18) at the Holiday Inn, Aerocity, Gurgaon. This year marked a remarkable increase of over 35% in entries, highlighting the growing recognition of PR excellence across agencies and corporates nationwide.The event celebrated outstanding achievements with Adfactors PR being honored as the PR Agency Of The Year. Kaizzen took home the PR Agency Of The Year (Jury?ÇÖs Choice) award, while PR Professionals received the accolade for PR Agency Of The Year (Adgully?ÇÖs Choice).Media Mantra was recognized as the Best Independent PR Agency Of The Year, and The Right PR was named Emerging PR Agency Of The Year. Candour Communications secured the Specialist Consultancy/Firm Of The Year award, with Teamwork Communications Group and Genesis BCW winning the Jury?ÇÖs and Adgully?ÇÖs Choice awards respectively in the same category.Delivering his keynote address, Rahul Shivshankar, Consulting Editor at Network18, emphasized why mainstream news maintains an edge over independent media. He noted the rise of opinionated independent outlets, like YouTubers, challenging traditional media's viewership. Shivshankar questioned the true independence of these platforms, suggesting their freedom might exclude obligations for accuracy and factual reporting. He highlighted the potential hidden funding influences on independent media and acknowledged their role in diversifying news perspectives. However, he asserted that mainstream media, bound by rigorous standards, offers verified content and faces stricter accountability, which ultimately serves the audience better.A highlight of the event was a dynamic panel discussion on ?ÇÿThe Future of Public Relations in the Age of AI,?ÇÖ chaired by Bhaskar Majumdar of CommsAdda. Panelists, including industry leaders like Dr. Navneet Anand, Dr. Samir Kapur, and Manu Kumar, explored how AI is reshaping the PR landscape. They emphasized that AI enhances creativity and efficiency while maintaining the irreplaceable human touch in communication.Another engaging session focused on ?ÇÿNew Paradigms in PR Metrics,?ÇÖ led by Madhurima Bhatia from Ipsos. The panelists, including experts from Amazon India and Shell, discussed innovative ways to measure PR success, moving beyond traditional metrics to more impactful measures like Share of Influence and Media Impact Scores.The IMAGEXX Summit and Awards 2024 underscored the evolving dynamics of the PR industry, offering insights into leveraging technology for enhanced communication strategies. The event concluded with a commitment to foster innovation and excellence in public relations.?Ç£IMAGEXX Awards 2024 has once again proven to be a cornerstone event for the PR industry, celebrating the remarkable achievements and innovative strides made by our peers. The increased participation this year underscores the dynamic growth and evolving nature of public relations. As we continue to embrace new technologies and methodologies, our commitment remains steadfast?Çöto elevate the standards of communication and to inspire excellence across the industry. Congratulations to all the winners and nominees for their outstanding contributions. Together, we are shaping the future of PR,?Ç¥ said Bijoya Ghosh, founder and CEO, Adgully.

Industry leaders from the country?ÇÖs media, marketing and communications converged for the 4th edition of IMAGEXX Summit and Awards 2024, Adgully?ÇÖs premier PR industry event, which was held on July 18, 2024 at the Holiday Inn, Aerocity, Gurgaon. In a short span of time, IMAGEXX Summit and Awards has been recognized as the PR industry?ÇÖs go-to event.A key highlight of the Summit this year was a panel discussion on ?ÇÿNew Paradigms in PR Metrics?ÇÖ. The panel was chaired by Madhurima Bhatia, Head of PR, Media Engagement & Partnerships, India & APEC (Asia Pacific excluding China), Ipsos. The esteemed panellists included:Abhi Mahapatra, Director - PR, Amazon IndiaDr Rajiv Chhibber, Vice President - External Affairs (Policy, Government Relations & Outreach), Sahajanand Medical TechnologiesHimanshu Raj, Head - Reputation and Policy, Pristyn CareNatasha Wadhwa, Head - Strategic Communications and Brand, Shell IndiaRohit Dubey, Vice President, Reliance JioSunita Patnaik, Director of Corporate Affairs, Mars Wrigley IndiaUdita Dutta, Founder, Artsmith Concepts & Visions (Artsmith.in)Commencing the discussions, Madhurima Bhatia remarked, ?Ç£The importance of PR cannot be overemphasized. It builds reputations. It gives you visibility for the great work the company does. It makes you engage with your stakeholders. And these days, companies have their goals defined at the beginning of the year. And PR professionals and custodians, they are entrusted with the task to ensure that we achieve those goals.?Ç¥ She then asked the panelists how they measure the efficacy and effectiveness of the work in public relations.Abhi Mahapatra replied, " We obsess in inputs over outputs. While we track goals and metrics, including , SoV, earned exposures impressions, reach ?Çô are.some of the parameters that we use for measurement, both on social and traditional. But we are very obsessed about what our input mechanisms are because we believe that if the inputs are right, the outputs will find a way.?Ç¥He further added, ?Ç£We are moving away from SOVs (Share of voice) to SOI, which is Share of Influence, because we believe that voice share is probably important to measure competition benchmarking but not impactful for other tracks."Speaking about the regulated industry such as the implants industry, which is actually governed by the Drugs and the Cosmetics Act, Dr Rajiv Chhibber said, ?Ç£Because our kols are largely doctors, hospitals, and the Government of India as well ?Çô be it the Ayushman Bharat setup we are looking at, or the CGHS or the healthcare schemes ?Çô one thing that we define as a communications policy is an acronym ?Çô SMART, which stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time bound. Doctors can give us a maximum of 10-15 minutes?ÇÖ attention, and after that it?ÇÖs gone. So, our strategy becomes very different. And the methodologies to gauge what we?ÇÖve achieved are very different too.?Ç¥Sharing the perspective of the start-up industry, Himanshu Raj said, ?Ç£Being a start-up, there?ÇÖs no scope for qualitative analysis. ?ÇÿDhanda kitna hua?ÇÖ (How much business has been done) is everything. Vanity metrics don?ÇÖt add anything to your business. We now measure something called Share of Headline. How many times we are in the headline, because it gives you a very clear picture. We also do Google Analytics. For any time we give out a press release, we see how much brand searches have increased. Lastly, every time a patient comes to us, they fill a form. There is a segment we have added. Have you read about Pristyn Care in the media? That gives us an idea of what our patients are reading about, and I can directly correlate it to our business.?Ç¥Speaking about the challenges of upholding the brand and reputation of a company like Shell and policy and regulatory goals, Natasha Wadhwa said, ?Ç£Shell has defined a global strategy, which is called ?ÇÿPowering Progress?ÇÖ, which has four pillars. One is about shareholder value. One focuses on net zero emissions, one focuses on powering lives, the impact that we make on communities around us, and lastly, on respecting nature. We have defined a measurement which we call ?ÇÿMedia Impact Score?ÇÖ, which you can call like an index, which has multiple touch points feeding into it, like sentiment, tonality, prominence. We arrive at a media impact score and then we measure it against all these four pillars. It?ÇÖs a quarterly cadence.?Ç¥Speaking on owned media, Rohit Dubey said, ?Ç£Jio was born as a digital-first company. Whatever we did, digital was on the top of our mind. When we were starting the PR way back in 2016, the first thing we did was get an ORM tool. And that ORM tool was then acquired and internally is now being used for so many years, and it has undergone many changes with the advent of technologies all over. And that is what gives us the first set of feedback. But much earlier in our lives, we realized that you can?ÇÖt just depend on online and social media, you also have to move to the conventional of print and television. He further added, ?Ç£The challenge we initially came across was that you have to make PR relevant. It is not the conventional measurement which is going to work for us. You have to work with a set of measurement tools by which not only the impact is measured, but that impact is converted into a measurable matrix for sales, for management and for your finance, how the sales is looking at what PR is doing. And over a period of time we have been able to do it. The dependence of Jio on PR is very high compared to advertising. So, you won?ÇÖt see Jio?ÇÖs advertising except during IPL.?Ç¥Emphasizing on the importance of reputation, Sunita Patnaik said, ?Ç£Mars Wrigley India is obsessed with how we are perceived by our stakeholders, by our shareholders. We are obsessed with how we recruit our consumers. We firmly believe that reputation is not just getting a few stories in the media, but across the value chain. How are our shareholders or our stakeholders perceiving us? And it also helps us in recruiting talent. We are guided by something called the ?ÇÿCompass?ÇÖ. It gives us a good visibility of how our share and our stakeholders are thinking, feeling and what are they doing about it.?Ç¥Speaking from a sports and esports industry standpoint, Udita Dutta said, ?Ç£I belong to the sports and esports industry, which itself is a very happening industry. But when it comes to the aspect of matrix and measuring, we still are a work in progress, because for us, when it comes to live sports, it?ÇÖs all about engagement. So, sharing a voice is something we?ÇÖve been pushing all our clients to move away from. One size definitely doesn?ÇÖt fit all. For sports, I think education, credibility, engagement, and understanding are important. We prefer it if it is a live sport, including IPL. Input is very important for us.