Postal Bank Logo Contest

Ravi Shankar Prasad ‏@rsprasad  20 hours ago

Share ur creativity & become a winner of logo & tagline design contest for @IndiaPostOffice Payment Bank.

#kickthatcancerstick

We at Concept PR launched this unique social communication campaign today on the even of the World No Smoking Day.

Request all to support it.

Ajai Agrawal bereaved

Mrs Madhu Agrawal, wife of  Ajai Agrawal - PRCI former national executive president and ex corpcom head of Central Bank of India - passed away yesterday.

PRCI extends its condolences to Ajai and his family members. May God give them strength to overcome the terrible shock.
- Editor

Prahlad Kakkar to speak at The Commune on June 2

PR and corpcom professionals cmmunity ‘The Commune’ is here with its 2nd edition. On this occasion, ‘Ad Guru’ Prahlad Kakar, will be live and in-conversation on our platform.

This meet is scheduled for Thursday, June 02nd at Tonic, inside Famous Studio Lane, Mahalakshmi (West). Entry starts at 7.30pm till 8.20pm.

Agenda:
o    Tete-a-tete with Mr.Kakar goes live by 8.20pm till 9.30pm including an engaging activity

o    Followed by socializing & party till 1am

Only 50 PR/Corp communication professionals will be permitted. Dress code is party wear/ semi casuals/formal, come as you will.

Entry fee is only Rs.200 per person.  Rest, you pay for what you consume directly to the club (Tonic). To ensure you are further incentivized while socializing, we have got great deals till 1am. (Check attached invite for details).

With reference to the above, please let us know if you will be able to attend this.

Also, feel free to share this with your colleagues and PR network.

One could call on 9833582474 or reply on this mail to book their slots.

Like our fanpage to get instant updates of our gatherings - https://www.facebook.com/thecommuneforpr

In April, our first meet was attended by over 30 PR professionals from corporates and agencies. To know more about it, click on the link - http://www.afaqs.com/news/company_briefs/index.html?id=59608_The-Commune---Mumbais-First-Ever-Community-for-PR--Corporate-Communications-Professionals-Launched

About 'The Commune'
‘The Commune’ is Mumbai’s first of its kind community dedicated to PR & Corporate Communications professionals, facilitating monthly gatherings in a social setup. Established by Deepak Kapoor, this initiative will ensure monthly gatherings of the PR fraternity in the city’s best lounges and clubs.
 ‘The Commune’ aims to achieve the following objectives:
·         Regular networking and engagement

·         Up-close access to influencers from PR, Journalism, Advertising, Media & Entertainment, Filmmaking and Radio among others, in a uniquely devised format of a chat show

·         Pocket friendly entry fee and give attendees the power of choice to pay basis their consumption

·         Incentivized socializing for the PR fraternity through great offers and discounts on Food & Beverages

·         Open access to individuals from across hierarchies & functions

·         Highlight achievements and talents of PR professionals

Social media can shake traditional media if…

• Rajdeep Sardesai Calls for tweets with responsibility
• Addresses launch event of unique knowledge platform PRact

MUMBAI, May 21, 2016: Battling hostile twitterati day in and out, veteran television journalist Rajdeep Sardesai has stressed that social media has the power to shake the traditional media out of its slumber.

File pic

Rajdeep lamented that the traditional media has been failing to focus on real issues impacting the society. “They need to go out into the streets and villages to find facts and report rather than confining themselves to their offices or studios,” he said launching PRact, a knowledge platform floated by Public Relations Council of India (PRCI) and Indian PR Forum (IPRF).

PRact, which stands for PR in Action held a debate on Disruption – How it impacts us, in association with Mumbai Press Club last night. Delegates came not only from Mumbai, but New Delhi and Hyderabad.

Taking time off from his election bulletins, Rajdeep addressed the delegates via telephone straight from his India Today TV studio in New Delhi.

Asked about tablodisation of TV journalism that pioneer TV anchor and his mentor Dr Prannoy Roy attacked, Rajdeep said every news channel has its own way of reporting. But he admitted that the TRP-hungry electronic media failed to address real issues. It is in this context that he said social media can mirror real issues since traditional media does pick up cues from Tweets and Facebook postings.

Amit Tripathi holding the audience spell bound!

When a delegate pointedly asked his as to why TV channels report about drought only when farmers commit suicide, he said “Unfortunately it is true” and asked: “How many of us actually go into the villages and study facts?”

On the usefulness of social media for PR professionals, Rajdeep said: “Yes, it is a good tool. You can effectively use social media for spreading your message and molding opinions. You should think of ways to communicate your message other than merely depending on your press releases.”

Audience engrossed in CHANAKYA - April 2016 issue

Noted digital platform professional Amit Tripathi, managing director of Ideate Labs, said in his presentation that PR and media professionals should be ready for pleasant surprises and shocks as the Internet population is set to multiply by leaps and bounds. “The day is  not far off when each one of us will be connected to six to seven devices such as mobile phones, laptops, ipads and desk tops,” he said and pointed out “this offers a huge potential for communicators to engage their target groups.”

“Digital PR will acquire importance only when you go beyond posting press releases online,” Amit said.

Piyush Jain,  Head – Research and Analytics at Adfactors, presented an analysis of reporting trends of HR related issues. “It is a folly to believe that media does not report

Piyush Jain

much on HR. We identified 316 journalists who report on HR across media, across India,” Piyush said showing his startling study results.

PRCI national president B N Kumar, executive director of Concept PR, said PRact will strive to bridge the knowledge gap among upcoming PR professionals. Vikram Kharvi, Founder of Indian PR Forum, said “This is just a beginning. Between PRCI and IPRF and with the help of Mumbai Press Club we will hold many workshops.” Vikram asked delegates to come up with ideas that will help enhance knowledge levels of PR professionals.

Mumbai Press Club president Prakash Akolkar appreciated the event as a “fantastic one” and said “we all learnt a lot about technology that is overtaking us.”

Getting Rajdeep from his busy election duty is a coup, said veteran journalist Jatin Desai.

PRCI is the premier national body of PR, media, advertising, HR professionals with close to 30 chapters pan India and abroad, while IPRF is India’s largest online community with over 25,000 Public Relations and Corporate Communications professionals across all social platforms.

Stay tuned for the upcoming session by PRact…

For any queries, please reach out to: practindia@gmail.com

(Event pix by D Ramcandran, Solus Media)

Leveraging Ujjain Kumbh - Dainik Bhaskar Leads the Way

           

 World’s fourth largest newspaper creating OOH delight in Simhastha

A PRapport Special

UJJAIN: Thousands of saints (sadhus) clad in saffron robes with ashes smeared on their body and dreadlocked hair, few of them called ‘Naga Sadhus’ may not wear even any cloth – considered as a sign of separation from the materialistic world, the heavy smell of burning butter lamps, camphor  and incense sticks have started adding religious fervor to the much awaited month-long congregation – the Simhasta Kumbh.

After 12 years, Ujjain, one of the most sacred places in India located on the banks of the holy Kshipra river in the western region of Madhya Pradesh, has geared up gearing up for the largest spiritual gathering on earth-Kumbh.

Privacy Protected - Changing Rooms

Kumbh Mela is held at each of the four places namely Haridwar, Allahabad (Prayag), Nashik and Ujjain once in every 12 years. Kumbh in Ujjain is held when a rare configuration of planets takes place i.e. when the Sun is in the zodiac sign Aries and Jupiter in the zodiac Leo. The position of the Sun, Moon and Jupiter in different zodiac signs determines the location of the Kumbh in each of these places. This year Kumbh is scheduled from 22^nd Arpil-21^st May 2016 in Ujjain. Simhastha Kumbh-the largest spiritual gathering on earth is expected to attract more than 50 million people from across the globe.

According to Hindu mythology, the churning of ocean by the Gods and demons yielded a jar (Kumbh) full of nectar (Amrit). Gods did not wish to share it with demons. At the instance of Lord Indra(the King of Gods), his son Jayanta tried to run away with the jar, but he was followed by some of the demons. During the struggle for its possession, few nectar drops dropped at the holy rivers of these four places-Haridwar, Allahabad (Prayag), Ujjain and Nasik on earth.

Unique opportunity: As India’s largest and world’s fourth largest circulated daily with 44 million readers and a direct reach of more than 3,000 towns, Dainik Bhaskar decided to capitalize on this once-in-12-years opportunity. Planning has started more than a year ago. After several rounds of discussions with the external stakeholders like the municipal corporation, mela authorities and the local population, the plan was frozen and divided into three legs to ensure optimal reach:

Build-up to Kumbh(Oct’15- Jan’16)
Hoardings on all the four major roads to the city, Banners, Beautification drive with colorful wall paintings and overhead water tank paintings, T-Gates, Community Connect meetings and release of special cover.
Activation Support to Local administration(Feb’16-Mar ‘ 16)
‘Maha Arti, Installation of RO plant at the Mahakal Complex and a Kavi Sammelan on and dedicated to  sacred shipra river.
During the Kumbh(Apr’16-May’16)

Changing Room for the ladies at bathing ghats, information booklets and brochures for the pilgrims, newspaper stands at major hotels and garden umbrellas

Mr. Vikas Singh, Associate Vice President-Brand Marketing-Dainik Bhaskar says “While Madhya Pradesh Government is leaving no stone unturned to deliver a great experience for the devotees, we are happy to have partnered on this”.

As part of this partnership, we organized a ‘Maha Yatra’ and a ‘Maha Arti’ on 20^th March 2016. ‘Maha Yatra’ started from Shirsagar, one of the seven sacred lakes of Ujjain and ended up at R  amghat, the main Ghat. During the Maha Yatra, people had glimpses of the popular tra dition of Nagar praveshi of major akhadas. More than 10,000 people participated in this four kilometer long yatra. The Yatra, then culminated at Ram Ghat where Grand Arti at Shipra river by more than 200 priests was performed. Free bells and cymbals were distributed to more than 20,000 people at the ghat. The local administration also pitched in with OOH creatives that asked people to come out and witness the spectacular turnaround of the city.

The enthusiasm and participation shown by the locals of Ujjain during Maha-Aarti organized by Dainik Bhaskar culminated into Golden Book of World Records comprising most people participating in this auspicious event.

To provide clean and cold drinking water in the scorching hot months of Apr-May, Dainik Bhaskar has installed drinking-cum-RO plant at the main Mahakal complex. A large LED screen too has been installed inside the complex where people can see live visuals of the Mahakal Garbha Griha.

Dainik Bhaskar is also coming up with a 500 pager Coffee table book- lavishly interspersed with pictures some of which will be in public domain for the first time. This will basically be a rich visual depiction of all facets of Ujjain with reference to Kumbh. The book will borrow references from various religious texts like Skanda Purana and Bhag­wat Purana, classical literature like Kalidas’s Meghdoot and Raguvansham, historical documents like Govt gazettes and various others contemporary publications.

Talking about this build up, Mr. Vinay Maheshwari, Senior Vice President-Sales and Market Development and Brand Marketing, Dainik Bhaskar Group said “Being India’s largest and World’s fourth largest newspaper, we are driven by one of the core values of being connected with our stakeholders. Kumbh is an incredible platform to demonstrate that we care and hence, concentrated our efforts towards achieving this”

This Simhastha Kumbh offers a great opportunity for brand activation. With more than 50 million expected in a month, it offers any brand low cost per contact. Brands like Dainik Bhaskar are leveraging this opportunity to the fullest.

PRact Knowledge Platform formed

PRCI and Indian PR Forum (IPRF) a fast growing  networking body, have joined hands to float a unique knowledge platform called PRact.

The inaugural event will be held at Mumbai Press Club on May 20, 2016.

The event, which has already created buzz among PR circles, promises to be a big hit.

‘The Commune’ takes off

 Mumbai’s First of its Kind Community for PR Professionals

Mumbai witnessed the launch of ‘The Commune’, the city’s first of its kind community for PR & Brand/Corporate Communications professionals, facilitating face to face interactions thereby providing increased opportunities for networking and knowledge sharing. This initiative will drive monthly gatherings of the PR fraternity in a social setup, i.e. city’s best lounges and clubs. As a part of this launch, an inaugural meet was organized on April 27th, 2016 at Tonic, a prominent lounge located in Central Mumbai.

PRCI Mumbai Chapter Chairman Ajay Sharma,
national president B N Kumar and
Deepak Kapoor, founder of The Commune

This meet was attended by communications professionals from companies such as Mahindra & Mahindra, Huntsman International, Vermillion Capital Advisors and The Shaimak Davar Group. Individuals from PR agencies such as Concept PR, Adfactors, MSL Group, Perfect Relations, Genesis Burson-Marsteller, Integral PR, Gutenberg Communications, Seven Communications & Beyond and Prime Communique, were present for this gathering.

Commenting on this initiative, Deepak Kapoor, Founder – The Commune, said, “I always believed a platform is required in Mumbai that lets PR professionals to socialize and build connections on a regular basis. Moreover, engagement with influencers from PR and allied industries such as advertising, media & entertainment, journalism and filmmaking among others, is something that needed more work. At ‘The Commune’, our efforts will be to keep providing such opportunities which doesn’t take a toll on the young professionals wallet as well.”

Popular standup comedians Siddharth Dudeja and Gaurav Kapoor also graced the evening with an engaging standup performance, enthralling the communications professionals. For the next edition of ‘The Commune’, a key influencer from PR, Journalism, Advertising, Media & Entertainment, Filmmaking and Radio among others, will be invited and profiled, supported by activities building engagement with the attendees.

About 'The Commune’:

Harsh Sheth of MSL Group, Tanni Mandal of PR Hub,
Deepak Kapoor, Founder, The Commune and
Hemchandra Shetty of Genesis Burson-Marsteller

‘The Commune’ is Mumbai’s first of its kind community dedicated to PR and Brand/ Corporate Communications professionals, facilitating face to face connections in a social setup. This community is established by Deepak Kapoor, a communications specialist and contributor for industry portals on trends pertaining to the PR business. ‘The Commune’ will ensure monthly gathering of the PR fraternity in the city’s best lounges and clubs and achieve the following objectives:

·         Regular networking and social engagement

·         Up-close access to influencers from PR, Journalism, Advertising, Media & Entertainment, Filmmaking and Radio among others, as we'll call them for a session devised in a chat show format

·         Incentivized socializing for the PR fraternity through great discounts on F&B

·         Open access to individuals from across hierarchies & functions

·         Highlight achievements and talents of PR professionals

An Essay Contest Not-so-Easy!

BHOPAL :  Public Relations Council of India (PRCI) and PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry organised an essay competition for undergraduate and postgraduate students on: ‘Responsibility of youth in India becoming an economic superpower’.

As many as 30 UG/PG students from Makhanlal Chaturvedi University and 7 Colleges of Bhopal participated in the keen contest.

Prizes were given away to the winners by Dr. Ashish Dongre, director, technical education at a well-attended workshop on ‘Innovation and Creativity’ here on Friday. A large number of industrialists, academicians, policy-makers and students were present.

Anamika Thakur and Rimjhim Jain — both students of Sant Hirdaram Girls College, Bairagarh — bagged first prize in English and Hindi.  Second prize winners were Mithila Krishnadas (Sathyasai College),  Arpita Pandey (Makhanlal Chaturvedi University), Soniya Tanwani (IEHE), Anurag Goswami (Radharaman College), Suraj Prakash Kashyap (VNS) and Poonam Bagul (TIT Group).

Media was generous to give good coverage to the essay competition.

Think PR, Think ME - BNK in Brands Illustrated

Conversation with B N Kumar, National President - PRCI and Executive Director- Concept PR. (Reproduced with permission from Brands Illustrated - 100 MOST VALUABLE CONSUMER BRANDS 2016(

Innovation drives me - Ashish Jalan in Brands Illustrated

Conversation with Ashish Jalan, CEO & Director, Concept PR
(Reproduced with permission from Brands Illustrated - 100 MOST VALUABLE CONSUMER BRANDS 2016)

EXCLUSIVE! PR has to be creative, Ad Guru Piyush Pandey tells CHANAKYA

"Constantly finding more creative ways to convey a message is the role of any communication professional. We are always seeking unique ways of getting the consumer’s attention, wherever he or she is. Without sounding like a promotional activity, PR material can also have headlines that hit you. Achhe Din is an example of a headline that ultimately became a poll slogan."


Presenting CHANAKYA April 2016 issue featuring Exclusive Interview with Ad Guru Piyush Pandey, 30 years to Ad Agency-PR Arm and Focus on Orchestration/Teamwork.
Happy Reading!

Ravish Kumar, Ninan get RedInk Awards

27 journalists win Mumbai Press Club's National Media Awards

MUMBAI: The Governor of Maharashtra C H Vidyasagar Rao complimented the Mumbai Press Club for awarding a coveted RedInk Award for bravery in Journalism to Jagendra Singh ofShahjahanpur Samachar. He said Jagendra died in the quest for truth, and his sacrifice should never be forgotten. Likening the sacrifice of Jagendra Singh, who was set on fire and died on 8 June last year, the Governor drew a parallel to the fearless and famous journalist, Shoebullah Khan, who had to pay with his life on August 22, 1948 for demanding the merger of Hyderabad state with the Indian Union and for writing against the Nizam in his daily ‘Imroze’.

NDTV's Ravish Kumar receiving the Mumbai Press Club RedInk award last night from Maha Governor Vidya Sagar Rao and Union Power minister Piyush Goyal

Before he was killed Shoebullah’s hand was cut off by Razakars, Governor Rao said. “We have forgotten such journalists who have contributed to the freedom struggle,” he added. 

Jagendra Singh was conferred the ‘RedInk Veer Patrakar Puraskar’ posthumously by the governor who handed over a trophy and a scroll of honour to Jagendra Singh’s 18-year old daughter, Diksha Singh.

Jagendra ran a Facebook page called Shahjahanpur Samachar, wherein he exposed the local MLA and UP minister for Dairy Development, Ram Murti Verma for his links with illegal sand mining. He was killed allegedly at the behest of the minister by setting him on fire on 1 June 2015. His dying declaration was recorded as an FIR. He died on 8 June 2015 from burn injuries. A writ petition filed by journalist Mudit Mathur from Lucknow is pending before the Supreme Court.

The Governor of Maharashtra also called for strong legislation to protect journalists from attacks and violence. “I think the response from the government and law enforcement agencies to acts of intimidation must be strong”, he told a large gathering of nearly 1,000 journalists assembled for the RedInk Awards for Excellence in Journalism in Mumbai on Tuesday night.

Calling for introspection, the Governor added: “New media can afford to lose its credibility, but the old and trusted print media which has a reputation of ages behind it must not lose credibility.”

The much-awaited event in the personal calendar of journalists – the Mumbai Press Club’s RedInk Award for Excellence in Indian Journalism – 2016 were presented on Tuesday evening at a glittering awards night here with veteran business journalist T N Ninan being conferred with the Lifetime Achievement Award and Ravish Kumar the Journalist of the Year Award.

T.N. Ninan, Chairman & Editorial Director of Business Standard, was chosen for the RedInk Lifetime Achievement Award for his extensive contribution to business journalism through good editorial leadership he provided over the years to a host of publications. Receiving the award, Ninan said there were serious challenges today for running a viable media business. "The minute one wants to charge on the website, your traffic goes to free media. If you raise the cover price of a newspaper - we are the cheapest in the world - you are seen to have a fundamental disadvantage in the market."

For the journalist, his words of advice were: "We (the media) need to raise the profile of what we do, raise the credibility of what we do so that we are proud of what we do."

The coveted RedInk Journalist of the Year Award was given to TV anchor and NDTV India’s senior Executive Editor, Ravish Kumar, for his consistent and down to earth reporting on politics and issues that concern the common man.

Piyush Goyal, Guest of Honour at the event and Minister of state (Independent charge) for power, coal, new and renewable energy, said that it is important for the journalist community to see that credible data is being reported after this had undergone verification. "Correctly sanitized data and information are very important... correct data points are the main stay of a report," the minister pointed out adding that at every level of media "data crunching" and "accuracy of that data" is important. 

Goyal said constructive journalism had helped his ministry to a great extent. For example, the power ministry discovered that a number of villages were uninhabited only from a newspaper report. When government officials investigated, it found that there were at least 400 villages that had been abandoned.

The RedInk Start-up of the Year Award was given to TheWire.in, a news and public affairs website that has experimented with various forms of Citizen Journalism with telling effect.

Apart from these four, awards were also given in the 10 various categories.  This makes the RedInk awards the biggest in the country where journalists are awarded by the peers. “This year the RedInk team received more than 1,500 entries across categories – a significant jump from the previous year that shows the popularity, reach and credibility of the awards among the fraternity. The curators and jury members had gone through a tedious but thrilling exercise before arriving at the final list,” said Gurbir Singh, Chairman of Mumbai Press Club.

The Principal Media Partner of the Redink Awards is STAR India, and is supported by the Aditya Birla Group, Glenmark Pharmaceuticals, Zee Entertainment, Eros International, Indiabulls Housing Finance, Dr Reddy’s Laboratories, 63 Moons and JSW Group.

In a period when journalists and journalism are under severe threat and pressures from violence, vested interest and hashtag writing, the theme for the Redink Awards-2016 is: ‘TO RISE ABOVE IT ALL’.

It was also an evening where much introspection was done in respect of the profession. In a fast-paced panel discussion: ‘WHO SHOT THE MESSENGER’,  veteran journalist and columnist Shobhaa De, Ravish Kumar of NDTV, SiddharthVaradarajan, Founding Editor, The Wire, SuchetaDalal, managing editor of Moneylife and Minhaz Merchant of Business Barons debated the burning issue.

For further details, contact: Rajesh Mascarenhas on 9594088999 or Mrityunjay Bose on 9892541019.

List of Winners of RedInk Awards – 2016

                       

Lifetime Achievement : T N Ninan, Business Standard

Journalist of the Year : Ravish Kumar, NDTV

Start-up of the Year : The Wire      

Posthumous Award for Brave Reporting: Jagendra Singh         

                       

Science & Innovation                    

Print                Gunjan Sharma, The Week

TV                   Pallava Bagla, NDTV

                       

Human Rights                     

Print                Meher Ali, The Wire

TV                   Rana Yashwant, India News

                       

Crime            

Print                Gunjan Sharma, The Week

Print                Pavithra S Rangan, Outlook

TV                   Mukesh Singh Sengar, NDTV

                       

Politics                      

Print                Vivekananda Nemana & Suresh Ghattamaneni, Grist Media

TV                   Seemi Pasha, India Today

                       

The Big Picture                   

Winner            B Muralikrishnan, Mathurbhumi Daily

Runner-Up     Sibu K B, Malayala Manorama Daily

Runner-Up     Kamal Kishore Kamboj, The Press Trust of India

                       

Business                   

Print                Madhavankutty Pillai, Open Magazine

Environment                        

Print                Anirudha Ghoshal & Pritha Chatterjee, The Indian Express

                       

Sports            

Print                Jonathan Selvaraj, The Indian Express

TV                   Aamir Rafiq Peerzada, NDTV

                       

Health & Wellness              

Print                Lhendup Gyatso Bhutia, Open Magazine

TV                   India News Team, India News

TV                   Sunetra Choudhury, NDTV

                       

Lifestyle & Entertainment             

Print                Sumana Ramanan, The Caravan

TV                   Ezaz Ahmed, India News