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 conversation with Adgully, Priyanka Bhatt, Founder & CEO of Equations PR & Media, shares the inspiration behind launching the agency, its core mission, and what sets its integrated digital-first PR approach apart. She also discusses tailoring strategies across sectors like SaaS, healthcare, and alco-bev; talent cultivation across Mumbai and UAE; key hiring attributes; ROI-driven KPIs; future plans for new markets, sectors, and long-term vision. What inspired you to launch Equations PR & Media in 2014, and how did your early experiences at Canvas Entertainment shape the firm?ÇÖs DNA?In 2014, I sensed a missing gap in the PR industry, while most agencies chased top-tier retainers and only media relations, no one was focusing on building a ?Ç£safe space?Ç¥ for startups to grow with strategic storytelling. I was 24, surrounded by young entrepreneurs, and driven by a zeal to create impact for brands that didn?ÇÖt have massive budgets but had bold ideas. My early stint at Canvas Entertainment gave me a solid foundation in business acumen, leadership, team management, going out of my comfort zone, experimenting with bold ideas, redefining what new could be done in the PR industry but the constraints of corporate life made me crave freedom to create, innovate and execute without hierarchy. I had a strong risk-taking appetite and knew that stepping out of my comfort zone was necessary to build something meaningful and long-term.With Equations PR & Media, the goal was clear: deliver 5X results with budgets that clients could afford, backed by smart media strategies and authentic brand story-telling. Today, that vision has led us to partner with over 200 + brands, many of which were startups that trusted us in their 0 to 1 journey. Equations was born not just out of ambition but out of a need to redefine how early-stage storytelling could scale visibility, without burning out a founder?ÇÖs budget. How do you define Equations?ÇÖ core mission today, and what sets your integrated ?Ç£digital first?Ç¥ PR approach apart in a crowded market? At Equations, our core mission is to be a creative-led, results-driven communications hub that helps brands narrate their most authentic stories, with measurable business impact at the center. We pride ourselves on being an ideas-first agency, where strategy is born from insight and deep research, not just mere templates. Every pitch, campaign, and media narrative is rooted in deep research and relevance. With a digital-first approach, we don?ÇÖt just chase media coverage; we craft brand stories that are optimized for virality, SEO, and digital traction aligning perfectly with the current content consumption patterns. Our research-driven capabilities help us identify what will work best for your industry, audience, and platform ensuring sharper positioning, stronger messaging, and higher visibility. We operate with a hustler mindset, whether it?ÇÖs chasing tight deadlines, securing coverage in top-tier publications, or turning a small story into a powerful campaign, we believe in outworking the noise. Unlike traditional PR models, we deeply focus on measuring real business impact from audience engagement and lead generation to website traffic spikes and investor interest. What truly sets us apart is our strength as a creative + content powerhouse, where storytelling, brand voice, visual campaigns, and media relationships work in perfect synergy.We?ÇÖre not just a PR agency; we?ÇÖre a strategic partner for brands that want to scale and grow their business and use PR and strategic communications to stand out in the clutter. From press to podcasts, memes to thought leadership, we design multi-platform campaigns that start conversations. In a crowded market, we don?ÇÖt just push brands forward. We make them unmissable. Equations works across startups, SMEs and large enterprises in verticals from SaaS and healthcare to alcobev. How do you tailor your PR and digital marketing strategies to such diverse industries? We believe that no two industries or brands are the same. What works for a D2C skincare brand may not move the needle for a B2B SaaS product. That?ÇÖs why our approach starts with understanding the client?ÇÖs ecosystem inside-out. We invest heavily in in-depth research from decoding industry trends and mapping competition to understanding cultural nuances and media tone. This gives us a foundational layer to build positioning that?ÇÖs both relevant and timely. More so, it?ÇÖs about understanding what truly ticks with consumers and what?ÇÖs leading to the buying behaviour and purchase decision. PR in today?ÇÖs world is no longer just about press releases and media placements. It?ÇÖs a mind game. It?ÇÖs about understanding what keeps your audience awake at night and creating stories that comfort, inspire, connect, or challenge them. Our strategies are built by first mapping the pain points, desires, needs, desires, fantasies and decision-making patterns of our customers. We use that insight to design communication that triggers emotional connection and recall. Whether we?ÇÖre working with a fast-scaling startup or a legacy enterprise, we treat every brand story like a movement in the making. We focus on digital-first storytelling content that is platform-optimized, SEO-backed, and conversation-worthy. In an age of information overload, we build strategies that go beyond brand awareness, we engineer brand affinity. And that involves strategic partnerships, creator collaborations, and aligned community narratives. We also customize tone, format, and content cadence based on industry and audience behaviour from long-form explainers for SaaS to bold, edgy storytelling in alco-bev and lifestyle.Our goal isn?ÇÖt just to make noise. It?ÇÖs to make intentional, meaningful noise that moves your brand forward in the minds of your customers, stakeholders, and the media. You have built a strong reputation with VC backed ventures?Çöwhat are the biggest PR challenges early stage startups face, and how do Equations help them overcome these? One of the biggest pain points early-stage start-ups face is visibility, especially the kind that translates into investor attention. Most of them are busy building the product, and PR often takes a backseat until they realize that even the best products need storytelling to get funded. We?ÇÖve closely worked with seed to Series C+ start-ups, and we understand how critical it is for them to stand out in a sea of pitches. That?ÇÖs why we approach PR for start-ups as a reputation-building engine, not just as a promotional tool. We help them establish thought leadership early on, positioning founders as experts in their domains by getting them featured in industry stories, startup columns, ecosystem events, and podcasts, amongst others. Our team actively nurtures relationships with startup and VC-focused journalists across top-tier publications. We don?ÇÖt just pitch stories, we build narratives that align with the market pulse and investor appetite. We also understand the importance of creating a safe, founder-first PR ecosystem. In the last decade, we?ÇÖve supported 200+ start-ups, many of whom raised multiple rounds post their brand narrative hitting the media. Our ?Ç£less budget, more noise?Ç¥ mindset is what allows us to create maximum impact with lean resources, something every early-stage founder truly value. Beyond media coverage and social metrics, what KPIs or business outcomes do you track to demonstrate ROI to clients? One of the most complex yet essential aspects of PR is measurement. Unlike digital ads where ROI is numerically defined, PR has long battled the challenge of quantifying impact. However, in today?ÇÖs evolving landscape, technology and AI-powered tools have helped bridge that gap significantly. At Equations, we go beyond vanity metrics like social likes or shares and dive deep into qualitative and quantitative PR intelligence. We measure: Impressions & Reach: To evaluate how far our messaging has traveled across platforms, both traditional and digital. Share of Voice (SOV): We track how much of the market conversation a brand owns compared to competitors especially during campaigns, product launches, or funding announcements. Message Penetration: We analyze whether the key messages delivered during PR outreach are consistently represented in media articles and interviews. Tonality & Sentiment Analysis: This helps us assess if the brand is being positioned positively, negatively, or neutrally, and allows for quick pivots in communication if needed. Qualitative sentiment with media stakeholders: Regular perception audits with senior journalists, Editors, influencers help us gauge how effectively our PR is working and how the needle has moved in terms of recall. Visibility Index: A composite metric that factors in volume, quality of coverage, tier of publication, journalist credibility, and relevance to the brand?ÇÖs business goals. Backlink Quality: For digital PR, we also track how many high-authority backlinks we?ÇÖre able to generate from earned media feeding into SEO health. Influencer Integration Metrics: For campaigns involving influencers or content creators, we track engagement rates, saves, shares, reach, and conversions through tracked links. We also leverage AI and real-time analytics tools such as Meltwater, Wizikey, Trendkite, Brandwatch, and SEMrush, depending on the client and scope. These allow us to track sentiments and conversations globally, analyze competitor coverage, and even suggest optimized outreach windows. That said, PR is ultimately about volume and resonance. There?ÇÖs a saying ?Ç£Action speaks volumes,?Ç¥ and we believe PR?ÇÖs volume lies in how deeply people remember, repeat, and act upon your message. Over 10+ years, how have you cultivated and retained talent across your Mumbai and UAE offices, and what key attributes do you look for when hiring PR and digital specialists? Culture is our foundation. From day one, Equations has been built on the idea of creating a space that feels like a launchpad, not a cubicle. We?ÇÖve fostered an environment where creativity thrives, ideas are welcomed, and execution is non-negotiable. We believe in ?Ç£people-first, pressure-never.?Ç¥ Over the years, we?ÇÖve transitioned from a traditional media agency to a digital-first, integrated PR hub, especially with the rise of D2C brands who demand agility, visibility, and storytelling at scale. This transformation required not just new tools, but new talent mindsets. In both our Mumbai and UAE offices, we?ÇÖve focused on hiring talent that: Has a ?Ç£hustler mindset?Ç¥ with the ability to multitask across platforms. Thinks strategically and creatively someone who sees content, comms, and commerce as a cohesive funnel. Is digitally literate and understands how PR isn?ÇÖt just about media placements anymore, but also about influencer networks, SEO, and digital brand presence. Embraces AI tools and automation as enablers, not threats. We actively train and upskill our team in using AI-enabled platforms as they adapt with changes which improve productivity, but also allow us to stay ten steps ahead in understanding audience insights. We?ÇÖve cultivated talent through: Mentorship-led leadership over rigid hierarchies. Cross-industry exposure, giving team members a chance to work with everything from fintech to fashion to alco-bev to crypto making them multidimensional professionals. A strong learning loop, where we hold weekly internal huddles to break down case studies, new media trends, or AI integrations. Encouraging ownership and risk-taking from even our youngest hires. That?ÇÖs how we grew with startups. We mirror their spirit internally. As a firm working extensively with VC-backed startups and global D2C brands, we understand that speed, storytelling, and sustainability in strategy is what sets the new PR narrative apart. So, we hire people who think like builders, not just executors. Retention for us is not about perks; it?ÇÖs about purpose. We?ÇÖve seen our team members evolve from interns to leads because they?ÇÖve been trusted with meaningful work, had their voices heard, and been given space to grow. Looking ahead, what new markets, sectors or service lines are Equations PR & Media planning to explore in the next 2-3 years, and what?ÇÖs your long term vision for the company? Since our inception, Equations PR & Media has been deeply embedded in the startup and the SME ecosystem. Our early focus on tech-driven, VC-backed startups allowed us to shape and scale early-stage companies from scratch especially in domains like SaaS, fintech, edtech, healthtech, AR, and VR. As we evolve, we are actively steering our direction towards B2C / D2C consumer brands that are bold, disruptive, and brands who have a purpose. From D2C beauty to consumer gadgets, our aim is to craft mass resonance through relatable and real-time campaigns. With the rapid emergence of AI-led deep tech brands, our agency has already built domain expertise in telling complex innovation stories in simple, impactful ways. We aim to further specialize in PR for AI-first and deep-tech ventures to help them build trust, visibility, and public understanding. On the other side, there?ÇÖs a growing demand for brands that reflect emotional story-telling, values, and purpose. We?ÇÖre preparing to work with lifestyle, fashion, and sustainability-first labels those who are rewriting what culture means in 2025 and beyond.
