At the Exchange 4media PR & Corp Comm 30 Under 30 Summit, industry leaders deliberated on the challenges of overcoming creative differences and crisis mitigation.
The 2nd edition of the Exchange 4media PR & Corp Comm 30 Under 30 Summit and Awards brought together some of the most seasoned names in the industry to deliberate on building a future leader and honored 30 next-generation leaders in communication under the age of 30.
Of the numerous keynote sessions and panel discussions held during the day-long event, one of the most engaging was the last panel session that discussed the subject of ‘Fostering brand and PR agency relationships. The panelists for the session, moderated by Shrabasti Mallik from e4m, were some of the most seasoned communications professionals from both brands and agencies – Sunanda Rao, Founder, and CEO, Seraphim Communications; Suvir Paul, Executive VP, RF Thunder; Rahul Nag, Head of Communications, Pocket FM; and Sourav Das, VP Corp Comm, Sembcorp Energy Limited.
Mallik kicked off the session by pointing out that the success of a campaign rests largely on effective teamwork and partnership between brands and agencies. The better the communication, the more successful the campaign. In light of this undeniable fact arises the question of the number of disagreements, creative differences, and brainstorming that goes into doling out a campaign. What, then, are the challenges a brand and a PR agency face during communication while discussing a campaign for a certain product or a service?
Speaking from the perspective of an agency, Rao said, “When you talk about an established relationship between a brand and an agency, trust is the most important thing. But the main question is, how do you get to that stage? There are a lot of processes involved in actually choosing the right agency for a brand and vice-versa. Starting also right from the pitching phase and getting to know each other and then evolving that relationship is the first step, which is, of course, based on a lot of credibility, hard work, and research on the part of both the agency and the brand.”
Das lent his opinion from a brand’s standpoint. He pointed out, “The challenge that is being referred to – whether it is who is to be blamed and who is not, and who is to take the credit and who not – is as eternal as the popular egg-chicken theory of which came first. And I can tell you as I sat on both sides of the table. The pandemic has made a significant shift in our lives, in the way we see things and that is not the breaking news. The good or the bad part is that we both realize, whether it is the brand or the agency, that we need to survive and thrive together. And, I think that realization has set in. What has also happened during the last 24 months is that brands have become ubiquitous because the customer is now on every possible medium. If I look at the challenge, it is about the dharma of coalition. The agency and the brand cannot be sitting on two poles, they have to find a middle ground– whether it is the in-house team or with the external agency or the agency and the in-house brand guys – as each brings its strengths and comes with its weaknesses. The faster we are able to identify that, the faster we are able to realize each other’s strengths and build on the weaknesses.”
vice-versa and expectation management. “When we go in and make a pitch to a particular client, it is built on certain premises – a premise of a need or wants that is outlined by the client. It is important for us who are on the agency side to understand what is the need of the brand and what are the wants that are being articulated. When you go building a campaign or are going in for a pitch, it is about giving them a sense of the thought process, and how are you going to approach that problem-solving that has been articulated by the client. If you get that right, that is the first step to winning anything in the market space today. I also believe that trust is earned and not given,” he explained.
Taking a cue from Paul’s views, Nag shared his thoughts on the subject, “I think there are a few aspects that we need to be a little careful or cautious about. The first is expectation management, which does not happen from day one, but from a continuous flow of trust and credibility that one builds over a period of time. And unless and until these two factors come into the picture, there is always going to be a mismatch in expectations. The second is that I have always noticed a thin line between agencies and brands when it comes to the strategic focus in terms of driving any campaign vis-a-vis the tactical part that comes as a byproduct of the campaign. When you look at a campaign, you will see that the corporate side of the conversation is coming from a strategic approach with a strategic outlook. But unless and until the other side, which I call advisors or consultants, gets the strategic aspect of the campaign, it is very difficult to marry both the agency’s aspect and the