As brands navigate an increasingly fragmented communications landscape, the lines between public relations, digital marketing, search visibility and reputation management are rapidly blurring. Yet many agencies continue to treat these disciplines as separate functions, often missing the opportunity to build a more cohesive and effective brand narrative.In this email interaction with The PR Post, Lalit Sharma, Founder and CEO of PR Companion and Ethane Web Technologies, discusses the evolution of PR Companion from an in-house communications practice to a standalone agency, the growing convergence of PR and digital, the importance of proactive reputation management, and how an integrated communications model is helping brands build credibility, visibility and long-term trust in an increasingly competitive marketplace.PR Companion has been doing this work quietly within Ethane Web Technologies for 15 years before it became its own agency. What made 2025 the right moment to give it its own identity?When we laid the foundation of the communication business, we knew that we would have to adapt to the changing landscape of the industry over time. While we started as a digital marketing agency, we were managing media relations, disseminating press releases, and building reputations for our clients. It was a service we were offering our clients additionally. As India witnessed a boom in startup culture in recent years, and founders became more aware of brand building, reputation, and visibility, we started receiving a lot of PR inquiries as well.After multiple conversations with our team and existing clients, we realised we needed to position PR as a primary service for brands rather than just an add-on offering.There is a growing conversation about PR and digital converging. You have sat at that intersection for a long time. What does that actually look like in practice, and why do most agencies still treat them separately?I have always treated these two as inseparable entities. For me, you cannot function without either of them if you are building a brand that is here to stay. Think of a PR campaign that does not appear in Google searches, or a digital mandate that gives visibility but no credibility.When you see an article published in a credible publication that also appears among the top Google search results, that is when communication outreach has worked effectively.Most agencies still operate in a traditional way. They look for structure more than experimenting. PR agencies are built on the foundation of media relations, client servicing, and content. Digital agencies just focus on performance marketing and SEO. However, very few agencies think about the impact created when these two functions are integrated. We feel that PR and digital are and always have been connected. Crisis communication is something most brands prepare for only after they need it. From what you have seen, what separates the brands that come out of a difficult moment stronger from the ones that do not?This question reflects a large part of my professional journey. I keep asking every founder I meet, why do they only need to resort to PR or reputation management once something goes wrong? As an agency, we always recommend our clients prepare in advance so that they never have to panic when such a situation arises. Let me explain this with two examples. Think of a company that has spent years building its reputation and then faces a crisis, compared to a company with no media presence or public credibility. In both cases, crisis is a misunderstanding where the brands are not at fault. When a crisis hits the latter, journalists and consumers may struggle to trust the company again. On the other hand, for brands that have consistently built their presence online, addressing a crisis transparently becomes much easier.You recently expanded the PR Companion leadership team. What does that say about where the agency is headed, and what kind of practice are you trying to build?Creating PR Companion as an independent brand was a strategic step towards building a more focused and scalable communications practice. While communications and reputation management have been part of our work for over 15 years within Ethane Web Technologies, establishing a dedicated agency structure allows us to invest more deeply in talent, specialised expertise, and service capabilities.As client expectations evolve, agencies need to move beyond generic execution and offer strategic counsel tailored to different stages of business growth. Our focus is on building a team that combines strong media relations, digital understanding, and sector-specific expertise so that we can support clients ranging from early-stage founders seeking visibility to established brands navigating complex reputation and stakeholder challenges.The vision is to create a communications partner that remains accessible to growing businesses while also having the depth and experience required to manage high-impact mandates. By strengthening our team and expanding our capabilities, we are positioning PR Companion to deliver more meaningful and long-term value to clients across industries..Reputation management has become a much bigger conversation for businesses in India. What are brands still getting wrong about it, and what does good actually look like?The biggest mistake continues to be perceiving reputation management as an afterthought, only something done when a crisis arises. Many brands approach us after they have a bad review, a negative story floating online. Until that time, the situation becomes tricky, and it is a challenge to undo the damage caused.  Brands also tend to confuse visibility with reputation. A brand can receive extensive media coverage and still have a weak reputation if the messaging is not right or if it is not reaching the relevant audience. Reputation management is similar to maintaining a garden.Effective reputation management is akin to the task of a gardener. You plant your flowers, and gradually they blossom over time with regular watering, but even a single period of neglect can damage them. Or you put your reputation garden in good shape every now and then but then suddenly neglect it, and a slew of weeds and pests can ruin your work. Reputation is an intangible asset, and like other intangible assets, it is the result of sustained effort. Those efforts, of course, have to be done well to actually produce the kind of reputation that you want to have.You have built three distinct but connected practices under one group. Ethane Web Technologies, Ranking By SEO, and now PR Companion as a standalone. How do you think about the relationship between them, and what does that integrated model mean for the clients you work with?Each of these verticals works well independently, but bringing them together created a much stronger communications ecosystem. I wanted to create a full 360-degree marketing and communications agency for my clients, and by combining all three of them, I very much achieved that. While Ethane helps in managing the brands’ broader digital communications and marketing, Ranking By SEO boosts their search visibility and organic growth. And with PR Companion coming into the picture, our clients have access to earned media, reputation, and communications strategy. For clients, it is far easier to work with one integrated agency rather than coordinating with three separate partners at the same time. We make a strategy for them that serves all the aspects of communication for them.

Authored by Lalit Sharma, Founder, and CEO, PR Companion and Ethane Web TechnologiesIn India, we often connect online reputation management (ORM) with crisis management. As soon as a brand undergoes a crisis and negative news surfaces online, the panic sets in almost immediately. It becomes more visible once the news starts ranking on the first page of Google. Social media picks it up, the phones start ringing, and the first response in most boardrooms is, "We need an ORM agency."While the panic is understandable, the approach is wrong. And this confusion between online reputation management and crisis communication is something the Indian business ecosystem needs to correct immediately to drive better brand visibility.Yes, ORM is very important in crisis communication, but it is not just restricted to the times when we have to “fix” the brand’s reputation. What most people often miss is that if used well, it can accelerate recovery, push down damaging content, and help rebuild a brand's digital presence faster. To put it in context, using ORM only as a crisis response is like only oiling a machine after it breaks down. It works, but it costs more, takes longer, and the damage is already done.What happens when ORM is a regular practiceWhen a brand uses ORM as a regular brand management practice rather than an emergency measure, you build a system that can conquer in the times when you face a downturn. Positive content gets built and indexed consistently. Credible third-party mentions start ranking. Reviews are monitored and managed. The brand's digital presence, across search results, news coverage, forums, and social platforms, reflects a reliable and trustworthy identity.With this approach, when a crisis hits a brand that has this foundation in place, the entire situation plays out differently.The negative content does not occupy the entire first page because there is already a body of strong, credible content competing for that space. When someone searches the brand, even in the times it is undergoing crisis, they find context, history, and credibility alongside the negative story. At this point, you don’t have to put all the efforts in “proving” your brand. Recovery is faster, the damage is more contained, and the communication team is not building from zero under pressure.ORM does not prevent a crisis. But it determines how much damage a crisis can actually do.The difference between support and a crutchEven in an active crisis, ORM plays a useful supporting role. Content can be pushed out strategically. Search results can be managed. The brand's narrative can be reinforced across platforms. But this works significantly better when there is already a foundation to build on.A brand with no prior ORM investment reaching out to an agency in the middle of a crisis is asking that agency to build a house during a storm. It is possible, but it is slow and expensive, and the results take time to show.A brand that has been practicing ORM consistently is asking that agency to repair and reinforce a structure that already exists. The outcome is different. The timeline is different. The cost is different.Why Indian brands delay this investmentORM does not show overnight results. There is no campaign report that says, "Today your reputation improved by 20 percent." For growing businesses managing tight budgets, it is easy to push this to the backburner in favour of activities that show faster, more measurable returns.But reputation is what every stakeholder finds before they make a decision about a brand. A potential customer researching a product. An investor doing background checks. A senior hire evaluating whether to join. None of these moments announce themselves. They happen quietly, and the brand either shows up well or it does not.ORM belongs in the boardroom, not the incident reportThe brands that come out of reputational challenges stronger are not necessarily the ones with the best crisis communication teams. They are the ones that never let their digital reputation become an afterthought to begin with.ORM can support crisis management. Used well, it can accelerate recovery. But its real value is not what it does when things go wrong. It is the solid, quiet foundation it builds over time so that when things do go wrong, the brand is not starting from scratch.Start before the crisis. The system will thank you when you need it most.