Thursday, August 03, 2006

Text 100 forays into non-tech PR

Sumita Patra reports in exchange4media:

Technology PR consultancy, Text 100, has set up a wholly owned generalist PR consultancy, Vox PR. The new entity commenced operations on August 1, 2006.

Giving the reason for setting up Vox, Zacharia James, Managing Director, Vox Public Relations, and President, Text 100 Group-India, said, “The PR industry in India is witnessing a phase of rapid growth, and is steadily maturing… Text 100 is in its 10th year of operations, and witnessing strong growth. We felt that the time was just right to explore additional avenues for growth, and invest in a brand that would allow us to offer our services to companies outside the technology sector.”

Headquartered in Delhi, the new PR firm also has offices in Mumbai and Bangalore.

Wednesday, August 02, 2006

PR and India’s entrepreneurs in Dubai

AME Info reports:

In this ever-more competitive age, when events anywhere have an impact everywhere, building lasting, trusted brands has never been more challenging.
That was the message last week, in a series of addresses to a gathering of Dubai-based Indian entrepreneurs.

Members of The Indus Entrepreneurs (TiE), a non-profit organization that promotes entrepreneurship and wealth creation, attended the event. The theme of the evening was 'The value of PR in today's competitive world'.

The core of the evening's activities included presentations by Sunil John, Partner and Managing Director at ASDA'A Public Relations, and Samit Bhatta, General Manager, Sales and Marketing, Damas Jewellery. The two presentations were followed by a Q&A session, in which TiE members posed questions about the value of PR and the best means to communicate with customers and clients in an age characterized by what John called 'continuous partial attention'.

“The world has changed,” said John. “Globalization, including technological change and corporate and government scandals, has brought with it an erosion of public trust in traditional institutions. Openness, dialogue, credibility and transparency are, therefore, now all keys to effective communication. In the new global village, building trust is what matters most to any brand. Building bonds of trust is what PR is all about.”

Damas's Bhatta examined how the global diamond industry has used PR, rather than advertising, to connect with consumers on a personal, emotional level. From Marilyn Monroe cooing that 'Diamonds are a girl's best friend’, to James Bond saving the world in ‘Diamonds are Forever’, to Nancy Ajram flaunting a dazzling diamond anklet in the region's fashion pages, Bhatta revealed how his industry has driven its core brand values -- and corporate profits.