In a world flooded with information, shaped by AI-led discovery, and defined by shrinking attention spans, Public Relations is undergoing a profound transformation. What was once largely about securing the right headline in the right publication has evolved into something far more complex and consequential—shaping reputation not just for audiences, but for algorithms too. On National PR Day, industry leaders reflect on how PR is no longer a support function, but a strategic driver of trust, influence, and long-term business impact.At a time when stakeholders—from consumers to investors—are scrutinising whether brands truly live their values, the role of PR has expanded into building credibility across every touchpoint. The discipline today sits at the intersection of storytelling, strategy, and societal responsibility, making it more relevant than ever before.Girish Bala, Founder, ON PURPOSE"On National PR Day, I'd like to recognise and celebrate the positive change PR enables in society. Whether its raising awareness of causes that matter or bringing more dignity to the lives of the under-represented, we must bring the power of our craft to tell stories of individuals and organisations driving real change on the ground."Abhi Mahapatra, Senior Strategic Communications & Marketing Advisor"On National PR Day, it’s a good moment to recognise that while many aspects of Public Relations in India have changed, the core of earning trust hasn’t. In a culturally diverse and highly opinionated market, PR professionals are no longer just storytellers; they are custodians of reputation, expected to respond with both speed and sensitivity. The real value of PR today lies in staying authentic while being agile, and consistently translating tha into tangible business and societal impact."Nandini Chatterjee, former Chief Marketing and Communications Officer, PwC"PR has never been more critical, as consumers, employees, investors and communities closely scrutinise whether organisations’ words align with their actions, placing PR at the heart of shaping consistent narratives and corporate reputation.In an AI-driven discovery environment, where search increasingly draws from credible earned and owned sources, the value of well-crafted narratives in trusted publications is only growing.PR and Communications is moving beyond a support role to become a strategic imperative, demanding sharp judgement on what to say, when to say it, and how to navigate crises."Rishi Seth, Founder and CEO, Evoc"National PR Day is an occasion to remind us all that in this age shaped by AI-slop, misinformation, information overload and shrinking attention spans, public relations is one of the most strategic and effective disciplines for organisations and leaders. PR has always had a fundamental role in building trust, credibility, and shaping public understanding, but today this role is more critical than ever. In fact, few disciplines can match the strategic value of a well-run PR program in helping organisations engage with stakeholders with clarity and conviction.”Lovina Gujral, COO, Candour Communications"It's a very interesting time to be in the PR industry in India, and I mean that in the best way. For most of the last two decades, our job was to earn a client a mention in the right publication, in front of the right reader, on the right day. While that hasn't gone away, what is changing is that there's now a second audience reading everything we put out but they don't buy newspapers. A new layer of truth has emerged. When someone asks an AI model about a category or a brand, the model answers from whatever the open web has decided is true about that company. That's the real reputation layer forming right now. PR has always been about shaping what's said about you when you're not in the room. That room just got a lot bigger. PR agencies that will matter over the next ten years are the ones that stop thinking of themselves as media relations shops and start thinking of themselves as credibility engineers for humans and machines alike. On this National PR Day, that's the bet we are making."Madhvendra Das, Co-Founder, The Good Edge"I believe PR's sweet spot lies in becoming a strategic tool for managements and leaders from all walks. National PR Day during this year of amazing global newsflows is a timely reminder for us PR practitioners to become a lot more strategic in client interactions and to harness AI effectively as an enabler. We also need to attract a lot more top talent to our industry."Chetan Mahajan, CEO and Founder, Maverick“PR is transforming, not fading. The craft of earning influence now plays out across media, policy, digital, and AI ecosystems, but the core of the discipline has not changed. It remains about earning trust, not chasing attention. At The Mavericks, we choose fewer, deeper partnerships, measuring success in business impact rather than noise, and treating reputation as the most strategic form of capital a brand owns: the one asset that compounds over time.”Aman Dhall, Founder, CommsCredible"PR has evolved from a relationship-led function to an intelligence-driven one. Today, it’s not about moments of visibility, but about building a narrative that is consistently discoverable across media, search, social, and AI. If your story isn’t structured, it simply won’t show up where decisions are made.The biggest misconception is that one headline or viral campaign can shift perception overnight. It may create attention, but trust is built through consistency. Perception doesn’t change in spikes—it compounds when messaging is clear and aligned across touchpoints.PR now sits at the core of how businesses are evaluated. Stakeholders form opinions before any interaction, based on what they discover and validate online. This makes narrative clarity and credibility critical.Going forward, PR will bridge online intelligence with offline confidence. Companies that invest in structured storytelling won’t just be more visible—they’ll be more trusted. Because today, it’s not just visibility that matters—actual intelligence does.”

We are in a new era of Public Relations. In the last few years, the importance of reputation management has undergone a sea change. More brands and clients, especially from the leadership teams, are viewing Public Relations from a close range. The industry has undergone a radical change with the advent of social media, which has to a large extent changed the approach to Public Relations. We have a relatively new and young audience that we need to face in the coming years so there are bigger challenges for brands and PR practitioners, who have to be more agile and proactive in their thinking to draw up business solutions for clients.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 exclusive conversation with Adgully, Madhvendra Das, Co-Founder & Director, The Good Edge, discusses the communication and CSR gap that led to the firm?ÇÖs inception. Having worked with global financial giants like Deutsche Bank and Citibank, Das shares insights on the differences between handling communications in-house versus as an agency partner. He also explores how CSR has evolved from philanthropy to purpose-driven branding, key industry trends, the pillars of an effective crisis response strategy in the digital age, and more.What was the gap in the communications and CSR space that led you to start The Good Edge?As corporate communications lead, I felt we could never find an agency that can handle everything that a robust corporate communications function needs. We felt there was a niche to be filled there ?Çô to provide advisory to company leadership, to set narratives and execute plans, to devise communications for various stakeholders including external and internal, to ensure CSR programmes are aligned with company strategy and executed in such a way that it is beneficial to both community and company and to ensure all this is backed up with very good content and creative capabilities. And to have a culture where we did not look at these diverse capabilities as silos, but as a wholesome unit. In short, we felt there was a need for a corporate communications agency, not just a PR, or Content or Creative or an Event agency, and that is what we have set out to build at The Good Edge.How has The Good Edge evolved over the years, and what sets it apart from other agencies in space?Our twin core objectives ?Çô to provide CEO advisory and integrated communications ?Çô have informed the way we have evolved over the last nine years. First, we are housed with a lot more senior advisory talent, very different from the way new agencies evolve. Second, we have a lot more in-house content, design and creative abilities. Third, we are doing it in an integrated culture with cross-functional teams, inter-se learning and growth, which I think is also a bit different from other agencies. Some of our differentiated approaches are becoming visible in the kind of clients and the kind of work we are doing for them.You?ÇÖve worked with global financial giants like Deutsche Bank and Citibank, leading their communications and CSR efforts. Now, with The Good Edge, you have BFSI clients of your own. How does handling communications for a financial institution as an in-house leader differ from managing it as an agency partner?The corporate communications experience builds within us a few things more strongly. There is immense conviction that my company is intrinsically right and that as the senior communications leader, I am responsible for communicating that to the public. And that the buck stops with me. I am happy we have been able to bring that DNA within our agency. It fills us with a great sense of ownership and commitment to the client, as if it is our own company. On the flipside, we then feel a bit disappointed when a client treats us as a vendor rather than a team member.I and a few of my other senior colleagues are fortunate to have worked with leading BFSI companies and that corp comm experience has been quite useful as an agency now. For instance, I think we have a better understanding of the increasing role of compliance in BFSI communications. We also have an intuitive understanding of the need of any communication strategy to not only be relevant for India, but also the headquarters of some of our MNC clients.CSR has moved beyond philanthropy to purpose-led branding. What are some key trends that you see in this space?What is relevant is the impact a CSR program creates for the beneficiary community on the ground and the social dividend or goodwill it generates for the company. Eventually a lot of our work at agencies is about building what we at The Good Edge call ?Ç£Enduring Goodwill?ÇÖ for the client. CSR plays a strong role over here. It goes towards fulfilling the unwritten social contract that an organization has with its key stakeholders and the society. Our society is progressively more concerned about a company?ÇÖs social conduct and a purposeful CSR program and a calibrated communication strategy around it can really work wonders for companies in building that elusive Enduring Goodwill which provides both a ?Çÿhalo?ÇÖ and an ?Çÿarmor?ÇÖ for their brand. We are seeing this kind of demand increasing from our large clients.The communications landscape has evolved significantly over the years. What are some key shifts you?ÇÖve observed in corporate storytelling, and how do you ensure The Good Edge stays ahead of these trends?The Art remains the same, the Tools have changed tremendously. In short, it is a lot more about credible storytelling today and by using multiple platforms using both earned and owned means.Our leaders and our people should be the first line of storytellers, then come the credible media platforms. The good thing is the credible media platforms have expanded to new formats also and that I feel is a good development. We are tracking these trends very closely and building capabilities flexibly. For instance, we have focused a lot on building good thought leadership content capabilities in the last couple of years.Crisis management is a critical aspect of corporate communications. Based on your experience across global financial institutions and now with The Good Edge, what are the key pillars of an effective crisis response strategy, and how has it evolved in the digital age?Crisis proofing before crisis management ?Çô it is important to have mechanisms for tracking, alerting and response in place. We should try to get to a ?ÇÿNo-Surprise?ÇÖ situation. Crisis will come, but have we built capabilities so that we are not caught by surprise? That is important. And our response should always be in ?ÇÿOne-Voice?ÇÖ.Each crisis or near-crisis situation must be documented even if the issue has been managed. Finally, with the digital age, crisis can emanate from many more sources ?Çô we have to train to contain and isolate as far as possible. Don?ÇÖt let the fire spread. If we have these elements in place, we will be left with fewer unmanageable issues. Some fires will spread, but if we have contained the intensity through preparedness and planned responses, we will be able to handle crisis much better.