We are in a new era of Public Relations. In the last few years, the importance of reputation management has taken 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 and obtains their exclusive views and insights on the various trends in the PR and communications industry.In conversation with Adgully, Deepak Jolly, Director & Founder, Consocia Advisory, speaks at length about what inspired him to transition from corporate roles to founding Consocia Advisory, as well as the vision behind it. He further emphasises on crisis management, specific crises he has managed, key elements of effective reputation management for multinational companies, emerging trends in public relations, corporate communications, sustainability, and more.With a career spanning over 30 years in top multinational companies, could you share some pivotal moments or turning points that have shaped your professional journey?My career has had several such turning points which helped me to shape myself into a professional manager, whose integrity and accountability was unquestionable. Nothing can be better than on-ground training. I still remember that my day in late 80s started from meetings in the office and putting up a list of tasks I needed to accomplish during the day.At Hindustan Unilever, I built a solid grounding in understanding policy issues for the company and putting together a narrative for the government and media. The most memorable incident was when the company put together a crack team to lift managers from Doomdooma Tea Estates to safety when their lives were threatened and putting together a plan to communicate it effectively.Differentiating a crisis from an issue was another important learning in life. Responding to crisis has to be immediate but responding to an ongoing issue needs a long-term strategy and stakeholder engagement to resolve it. For instance, I got the opportunity to defend a campaign pushed by right wing group on MNC’s negligible contribution to India. This was perhaps one of the best learning experiences I have had in my career.At Coca-Cola India, I realised the value of collaborating with stakeholders and built a campaign supported by UN Habitat, executed by NDTV and Coca-Cola India. This was called NDTV Coca-Cola Support My School campaign. We ran this campaign for over 5 years with a single-minded focus on providing water and toilets in schools, especially for the girl child. It was an honour that Sachin Tendulkar became our brand ambassador for this project.What inspired you to transition from corporate roles at Coca-Cola and Bharti Airtel to founding Consocia Advisory? What challenges did you face during this transition?After 33 years of rich experience, I felt the knowledge and learning could be translated for many sectors and companies. Therefore, I connected with likeminded founders who supported this idea and thus, Consocia Advisory was born. The vision was to create a firm that could provide strategic guidance on reputation management, public advocacy, government affairs, crisis management, and CSR, among other areas.There were many challenges which I faced as a leader during this transition - including moving from a plush corporate lifestyle to the one of a frugal entrepreneur – responsibility for constructing and maintaining the business laid solely on my shoulders as well as my Co-Founders’. There were a lot of doubting Thomases who would say that you are the nth person in this vertical so how will you be different from them.So, we set up a task on ourselves to set up a goal, vision and, values and we believed in ourselves which led to the clients trusting us over others. One huge advantage we had was that we knew very well what the client wants and that became our cutting edge, we had abundant knowledge and a varied experience of over 100+ years as founders.What was the vision behind founding Consocia Advisory, and how has the company evolved since its inception?The vision was always to be an able and reliable partner during a time of need. Therefore, we called ourselves Consocia Advisory, which means a dependable partner.In a very short period, Consocia Advisory has advanced by leaps and bound with consulting for more than a hundred businesses across segments of Fintech, Food technology, Sports technology, Defense technology, Ecommerce and more. Besides traditional service areas, our firm has offered new solutions like sustainability services and crisis management providing our clients with efficient solutions to numerous issues in the constantly changing business environment.Today, the company has 50 people who are spread across India and is a pan-India company which is handling startups, VCs, different industry sectors and perhaps, the only firm which is specialised in building 3 industry associations and is managing them too.Crisis management is a crucial part of corporate communications. Could you share a specific crisis you managed and the strategies you employed to mitigate it?Earlier, I would say that if the companies did everything right, where is the question of a crisis in the company. However, crisis does not come knocking at your door, it just barges in. For instance, airline industry faces a crisis due to weather on an everyday basis. It’s the response which you send to all the consumers that matters. The thought behind the response and the commitment you make as a responsible company.As we have specialised, in crisis management for all sectors, it’s important to learn that it should have a great mitigation plan. Therefore, we are now go-to-consultants for crisis management manuals, training and disruption management for several industry verticals.During your 12 years at The Coca-Cola Company, you held various roles. What were some of the key projects or campaigns you led, and how did they contribute to the company’s success?The company gives a lot of importance to the public affairs functions, and I am glad I was able to contribute to correcting the perception about the company in my 10 years tenure as the Public Affairs and Communications Head.While working in The Coca-Cola Company, I managed several projects that changed the framework and the culture of the organization for the better. Of the campaigns, one was the NDTV Coca-Cola Support My School where the objective was to offer water and sanitation solutions in more than 1000 schools in India. This project also helped in increasing the quality of education by offering facilities that are needed for proper education needs but also helped in the branding of Coca-Cola organization as a company that is willing to help society.After spending a month and a half at Wharton, I shifted gears from a service function to an operations function as the head of Venturing and Emerging Brands. My first love has always been sales and this 2 years stint was indeed very enjoyable and fruitful.In your experience, what are the key elements of effective reputation management for multinational companies?Effective reputation management for multinational companies involves several key elements:Transparency: Having stakeholders’ trust through transparency to the customers, employees, regulators, and often the media as well is very important. This establishes trust and credibility especially in the event of the occurrence of an unfortunate event.Proactive Engagement: Interacting with stakeholders and identifying their concerns and expectations can be useful for the prediction of certain future problems and their prevention.Crisis Preparedness: Thus, the crisis management plan means that the firm can deal with any Crises without time being wasted due to lack of clear plans on how to handle any eventuality that may arise. This entails operational communication guidelines and a specific crisis management unit.Corporate Social Responsibility: Paying attention to social and environmental issues in organizational policies and practices brings a positive image and increases the organization’s compliance with stakeholder values.Consistency in Messaging: It is crucial to ensure that the company’s message within the different stages of the communication process consistently reflects the organizational values and mission to foster a unified brand image.What emerging trends in public relations, corporate communications and sustainability do you foresee in the next few years?In the coming years, several emerging trends are likely to shape the fields of public relations, corporate communications, and sustainability:Increased Focus on Digital and Social Media: The rise of digital platforms and social media will continue to transform the way companies communicate with their audiences. There will be a greater emphasis on real time engagement, personalized content, and data driven strategies.Emphasis on Authenticity and Transparency: As consumers become more discerning, there will be a growing demand for authenticity and transparency from companies. This will require organizations to be more open about their practices, values, and impact.Sustainability as a Core Business Strategy: Sustainability will increasingly become a central component of business strategy, with companies integrating environmental, social, and governance (ESG) considerations into their operations and reporting.Focus on Data Privacy and Security: With the growing importance of data in decision-making, there will be a heightened focus on data privacy and security. Companies will need to adopt robust measures to protect consumer data and comply with regulatory requirements.Rise of Influencer Marketing and Brand Advocacy: Influencer marketing and brand advocacy will continue to grow as powerful tools for building brand credibility and reaching new audiences. Companies will increasingly collaborate with influencers and brand advocates to amplify their message and create authentic connections with consumers.
