Thursday, August 6, 2009

Re: [prpoint] Why Indian PR bodies PRSI, PRCI, ABCI are not professional?

 

Hi there,

why Professional bodies are not professional ? A pertinent as well as topical question - needs indepth probing for a honest answer.

My first experience with a professional body and its annual bash (PRSI) was in Calcutta (then) in 1971 with very sr. PR professionals like Sanat Lahiri,Basu,Capt. Martin, Neelakandan, Raje , Nair and few others. It was some thingnew to me to observe and hear very sr. professionals expressing their views.

Later, I attended many such conferences and also theBombay chapter of PRSI was quite active. It was onlywhenanAll India body was formed, few at the top wanted to control everythingfor ever under their thumb - hence the PR chapters either became mute  spectators or crumbled for want ofactive local PR professionals supporting,as few sr.professionals had retired.

Same is the case with Advertising club - while theMumbai chapters is very active even to-day at other centers, I wonder they are or not, as I have retired from active association since 15 years, though continue to become a member, even after retirement.

With severe competion in every profession inculiding Advtg. or PR, how may canto-day spare time for activities relating to up-liftment of the profession ? Finding fault with some one is very easy. Has the person, who complain about cold response of ABCI paid the membershop fee so far ? Maybe, ther could flaws such as not up-dating the site or few mistakes in the info.provided.

Those sr. professionals, who not only were witness to the Annual awards function and also honoured, forget those organisations next day, which is really unfortunate.

I was an active office bearer of CAG (Commercial artists Guild nowknownas Communication Arts Guild) during early 60s and their Annual Awards function was better than PR or Ad-club in those days in Mumbai. Now things have changed so also the personsat helm of affairs.

Therefore, in an open forum, doing mud slinging to any organisation or professional body is really unfair.  I have no axe to grind for any - since I have seen the peak as well as lowest ebb of all these bodies - like the share index going up or down.

I wish all Professional bodies all the best - and urge younger professionals to take interest in running such organisations.

s.n.surkund






--- On Wed, 8/5/09, Rahul Varshneya <rahul.varshneya@gmail.com> wrote:

From: Rahul Varshneya <rahul.varshneya@gmail.com>
Subject: Re: [prpoint] Why Indian PR bodies PRSI, PRCI, ABCI are not professional?
To: prpoint@yahoogroups.com
Date: Wednesday, August 5, 2009, 10:19 AM

 

I do agree with Jagannathan' s point, although this string of
conversation was started on a different subject. This is a separate
topic altogether. However, if I were to add my two bits to what
Jagannathan has said, PR in India is only focused on getting immediate
coverage in the press. PR is much more than that. There is also no
focus on long-term strategies, most agencies are not capabale, or fail
to demonstrate that, specially with the servicing teams they put on
clients. PR strategies, at most times, are driven by the company
rather than the agency. There is a complete disconnect between what
top management of a PR agency, who is involved in the pitch process,
and the executives who service the account.

Having said that, clients also need to understand that their business
is not PR. You hire a PR agency because of their expertise in that
domain. Do not try to dictate terms and coverage unless justified. PR
agencies are at a lost most times when clients become unreasonable in
demanding coverage and not understanding the nuances of the business.

Though, this is a chicken and egg debate.

Meanwhile, it has been over a year, and I'm still awaiting a reply
from the secretary to my email asking details for membership of one
supposedly reputed Indian PR Association.

Regards,
Rahul Varshneya
Assistant Vice President - Branding & Communication
AEGON Religare Life Insurance

On Wed, Aug 5, 2009 at 10:33 PM, Shvetha.Sridhar<shgrd2002@yahoo. com> wrote:
>
>
> Well, I agree with Subha and Mr.Jagannathan on the fact that PR
> agencies/bodies are only concerned with the short term goals. I somehow
> strongly feel that a lot of people associated with this industry are not
> being very serious about it.
> PR industry is yet to go a long way in India. It has to be given the
> importance and credibility it needs, to become more organized. Who else but
> we need to bring about this change.
> Shvetha
> Michigan, US
>
>
> --- On Wed, 5/8/09, V Jagannathan <v_jagannathan@ yahoo.com> wrote:
>
> From: V Jagannathan <v_jagannathan@ yahoo.com>
> Subject: Re: [prpoint] Why Indian PR bodies PRSI, PRCI, ABCI are not
> professional?
> To: prpoint@yahoogroups .com
> Date: Wednesday, 5 August, 2009, 7:04 PM
>
>
>
> It only shows how web saavy PR bodies are. I wonder how they are advising
> their clients on online strategy. I know for sure, PR agencies themselves
> are not aware of the long term advantage of online strategy. They still work
> on the short term goal of seeing some news about their clients in the print
> media.
>
> Jagannathan
>
> --- On Wed, 8/5/09, Rashmi S <rsnbr@yahoo. com> wrote:
>
> From: Rashmi S <rsnbr@yahoo. com>
> Subject: [prpoint] Why Indian PR bodies PRSI, PRCI, ABCI are not
> professional?
> To: prpoint@yahoogroups .com
> Date: Wednesday, August 5, 2009, 5:06 PM
>
>
>
> Hi!
>
> From the day, humans learned the art of communicating; the word
> 'communication'� has been in the limelight always. Innumerous books on the
> ways of effective communication and the need for timely response for
> customer satisfaction are being published regularly. This word has been
> flashing and blinking everywhere.
>
> Being in the field of communication for just 2 years at Bangalore, I decided
> to join Association of Business Communicators of India (ABCI) to add one
> more feather to my cap and also to get a deeper insight about the
> profession. I was quite impressed by their online membership form
> (www.abci.in) . I duly filled the details and submitted it online and
> awaited response from them. Seeing no reply, I mailed them but got no
> response even after a week. All of us keep on reinforcing the significance
> of quick apt response for effective customer satisfaction and image
> management, which I found missing in an organization that has dedicated
> itself to the development of the communication industry and its
> professionals. The reason for joining such an association is to boost up my
> communication skills. Now I am skeptical about being a member here because
> their so called vision and mission do not match with their practices.
>
> Another key to effective communication is correct and up-to-date information
> which is missing in the ABCI website. Correct me if I am wrong.
>
> My findings from their website:
>
> Upcoming events still carry January 2009 information
> Under Membership FAQs, it has been indicated as four types of membership but
> only three have been listed and explained. So which one should I consider?
>
> Just to get a picture of the plight of other pr bodies, I visited the PRCI
> and PRSI websites. To my disappointment, in PRCI website most of the links
> show the same page and information. Similar situation with PRSI website
> also. Up-to-date information is missing in all the websites of PR bodies.
>
> I strongly feel that only interested people should take up the leadership
> and responsibility of managing such non profit professional organizations.
> Active involvement of young professional will also help in getting vibrant
> and fresh ideas. Or there should be one central governing authority that
> will constantly monitoring such associations or regional chapters and
> improve the overall image of this industry. After all its all about efficacy
> of communication.
>
> I will be happy if the young members of the group share the views, on this
> unfortunate situation. Please also share your views as to how the
> aspirations of young professionals like us can be met in India.
>
> Rashmi
> Bangalore
>
>
>
> ____________ _________ _________ __
> Yahoo! recommends that you upgrade to the new and safer Internet Explorer 8.
>
>

--
Regards,
Rahul Varshneya


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