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Banking on relations

India comes to terms with the potential of public relations and global branding

photo : R.V. Moorthy

BiG Gains Harjiv Singh photo : R.V. Moorthy

For long an industry in an “embryonic state” in this country, the public relations segment seems to be finally coming of age. Or that’s what the Chief Executive Officer (International) of Gutenberg Communications Harjiv Singh would like to believe.

With brand building breaking free of shackles here, IT giants testing waters oversees and international firms willing to see India as more than a speck on the map, it is an “interesting time” to be in PR, says Harjiv. “India represents a market with a lot of untapped potential,” says Harjiv. “Television reaches about 70 per cent of the population and literacy in India is about 60 and 65 per cent. It means a huge market,” he adds. With a trickling number of IT firms seeking to make their presence felt on new shores, Harjiv says PR companies, especially like his, assumes new roles “in helping bridge the barriers through communication.”

Times are changing as “Indian companies are getting more ambitious and going global,” Harjiv says confidently. The CEO says PR firms too are going global as they can play an effective role in helping the entities having international aspirations “reach the right targets”.

With offices in the U.S. and U.K. and in New Delhi and Bangalore in India, “Gutenberg Communications can use our knowledge and map for the firms their desired targets,” he adds.

Though we are still learning the ropes when it comes to “brand building”, Harjiv believes there is talent and the need is merely to conceptualise it. “We are pretty sophisticated when it comes to branding locally. Our advertisements especially are really good. We have the creative talent,” says Harjiv. “But we need to step out of the box,” he says on what makes us late bloomers. Though IT, financial services, real estate and even the media takes up the mammoth share of the PR activities of late, Harjiv says areas like human development too find a place on the radar. “We are working for some non-profit organisation especially in the field of education,” says Harjiv.

P. ANIMA

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