In Conversation with Komal Lath, Tute Consult

Komal Lath is the Chief Initiator at Tute Consult, a Marcom firm with PR and Digital at the heart of it!

Agency Reporter – Do you think Digital PR & Storytelling Go Hand In Hand? How important is to Use a Strategic Narrative to Improve PR Relevance and agility?

PR is telling stories – digital or otherwise! The foundation of any story telling and messaging is based on the strategy and not impulse carpet bombing of news or happenings. If storytelling is the key message, digital is one of the enablers and a medium. While storytelling is the key essence to drive a narrative, optics and persona, digital helps to make it more shareable, interactive and consumable. We have seen exponential growth in the adoption of digital means which would have otherwise taken years to otherwise happen.

Stories become relevant to the readers/listeners when s/he have something to take back home. This is gospel truth and won’t change for ages to come. What the advent of digital media has done is sliced and diced the larger audience into smaller segments basis their interests. As a Marcom expert, the job at hand is retelling the story in as many ways as possible to cater to different audience segments via digital media. Take for example the Jio – Facebook deal. While moneycontrol talks about RIL’s debt burden reduction, Vogue business talks about the same story from the lens “distance selling” for Reliance Fashion via Whatsapp. Digital agility is all about having a pulse of current affairs across sectors and how your client’s story can be told in ways more than one to stay relevant for long in current times of volatility

Brands had to completely shed their old skin to reimagine the way they communicated with their consumers. Without a strategy, you are taking shots in the dark and people won’t spend money on the action without ideation. 

AR – What exactly is the role of narrative in terms of communication and communication management and what makes it an important public relations strategy?

Narration is the art of storytelling. So, if I were to join the dots – a narrative is the soul of what a PR professional does. People love stories and this is true for consumers and reporters alike. A story well narrated evokes emotion and that’s what our client expects us to do. Emotional connect builds familiarity, familiarity leads to attraction (towards the brand). As rightly pointed out by Martin Lindstrom, one of the world’s foremost business and culture transformation experts in his book “Buyology”, consumers tend to recall brands or products which are woven into the narrative. They relate to those which play an integral role in the story.

The beauty of a narrative is that it’s not just a story. It conveys the crux of a company, what they stand for and what value addition they provide. It promulgates a sense of shared value and purpose and in a way that anthropomorphizes a company to better connect to its target audience.

We’re currently living in an age of information boom and the number of facts, stats, and figures thrown at us are leading to information fatigue. Our counterparts at publications and portals are no different and I can only empathize with them since they’re bombarded with information day in and day out. As PR professionals our job to bridge the gap between the brands and news reporters by telling compelling and relevant (to the reporter) stories time and again.

A well-crafted narrative has the power to break through the clutter and gain the confidence of all the stakeholders. E.g. you are not buying an India Circus mug, you are buying a piece of Indian art which you want to look and feel good at while taking that sip of tea…you are not buying a WOW Apple Cider Vinegar Shampoo, you are buying into a good quality hair care which nourishes your manes and can make you feel confident and looked after!

AR – At the moment the world is struggling to take control of the coronavirus outbreak and is not entirely focusing on the economy, which means PR is not the main priority. Do you think the way forward perhaps is a slightly elusive term for the PR industry post-COVID-19?

On the contrary, PR is of utmost relevance right now. Think of it, there are no live sports in India right now, there was no original programming on TV till the 13th of this month, print media has been struggling with distribution and audience on digital is extremely fragmented. Long story short, during the lockdown times, getting a bang-for-your-buck via traditional advertising could be challenging to say the least. With PR on the other hand, it about retelling the story in ways more than one to maximize footprint and stay relevant for longer durations. We are driving and are early adopters of the many Narratives of PR from pivoting whenever deemed necessary to being strategists across POEM’s (Paid, Owned, Earned Mediums). Add to it the layer of authenticity and you’ve got a shot of spinach for Popeye to weather the COVID storm!

AR -In the agency world how marketers will handle coronavirus will separate the pros from the amateurs. And so in what ways do adept PR communicators need to do things differently now in this era?

COVID-19 has thrown a spanner in the marketing wheel wherein every vertical within have been forced to self evaluate. PR as an industry is not different. Personally, I’m of the opinion that our industry should relook at the way our work’s impact is evaluated. The age-old method of measuring the monetary value of the coverage is outdated and archaic. I mean, as an industry we need to realize that it’s our work for our clients that invariably drives the SENSEX up and down daily, and its high-time that we start equating our efforts to impact and not sq.cm value.

While that’s on the measurement side, on the “mediums” front PR agencies need to incorporate newer media in their services offered. At the crux of it, PR communicators shape opinion by telling brand stories.

Also experience over ticket size will take a big leap. Few years of blogging may not be equal to being a marketing specialist. One needs an extensive, indepth and nuanced experience of the marketing & communications aspect to be successful. Cautious messaging and long lasting relationships will be at the fore while a conscious effort has to be put into reputation & credibility building. PR communicators will need to look beyond media relations and crisis to include new age mediums and would constantly need to ferret out new ways to stay relevant. Advocacy, Innovations and intenrventions (e.g. OTT integrations to knowing how to leverage KOL’s and build communities) would be at the centre of everything.

Recently when we did our 10 year campaign #TuteTurns10, we lined up all our set of activities right from creatives on WhatsApp to the AI filter on Social Media and exclusive media pieces to commemorate our monumental 10 years in the Industry. We strategically planned all of the shenanigans and placed them into motion since as far as April!

Being a lean agency, our structure allows us to have the agility and utmost emotional involvement to our set of clients ensuring top notch service quality. With the originality, innovativeness & quick thinking running throughout the teams, we are poised to outsmart any tall hierarchies in our response.

AR – Since the TikTok ban in India, what are your predictions on the most impactful disruptions in Influencer Marketing technology for rest of the 2020?

To my mind, TikTok’s success in India can be largely attributed to 4 factors i.e. – Flexibility (TikTok videos could be shared on other platforms like WhatsApp), Virality (the platform algorithm made content discovery easier than others), Authenticity (there’s no pressure for content creators to put on their best clothes OR pose at the best places) and Ease of creation (the platform allowed creators to make engaging content with basic hardware like an affordable smartphone).

What TikTok has done is it has unearthed a plethora of content creators and a captive audience base for a specific genre of fun, short, snackable, and often low quality (in terms of shooting) content.

While we hear about indie platforms like Chingari & Firework taking the leap and Instagram trying to fill the void with “Reels” the key for these platforms is not only to build (and better) on the aforementioned 4 factors but also to have a relevant differentiator to avoid the “me too” trap. 

The pressing question will be what is the content rather than how many followers one has. One would also see experimentation with stylized content, more apps for creating interesting filters and also now wallpapers which become backdrops for your web meetings take a whole new meaning.

AR – With the coronavirus dominating the headlines, marketers needing to pivot in the face of canceled live events and social distancing norms, what communication possibilities may well impact upon the world of event management?

Live events are all about engagement, brand integrations, and delivering money-can’t-buy experiences. Due to the lockdown, big-ticket live events like IIFA had to be suspended indefinitely. While the industry is trying their hand at digital-only events, it’s fair to say that the attempt has been met with limited success. 

In the foreseeable future, I would like to place my bets on the following 3T’s with regards to the events industry:

• Technology: While event companies are toying with virtual events, the lockdown period will allow them with ample time to try and test technology solutions that can best deliver on engagement, integrations, and money-can’t-buy experiences for the consumer. This in-turn will rationalize the (over)supply of live events whence life resumes normalcy making the on-ground event experience “premium” 
  • Talent: This includes both ends: talent coming into the industry in the future would be necessitated to have a technological bent of the mind apart from the flair for creativity. On the other hand, talent contracts would be less skewed towards the celebrities as the number of events would get rationalized. 
  • Transactions: Once life resumes normalcy and the first two T’s take effect, it’s imperative that monetization for the event organizers will move from sponsors to subscribers (or ticket buyers) which in turn will make the events “premium” and then in cyclic fashion attract advertisers.  

So, if my guesses stand the test of time, it’s safe to assume that the events industry will bounce back post the pandemic in a new avatar which will be better poised to not only deliver value to marketers but also to consumers.

AR – One of the recurring themes right now is around how customer data will keep transforming marketing. Where do you see the evolution of the PR industry going over the next 5-10 years?

 “A good PR story is infinitely more effective than a front-page Ad.” – Richard Branson

The future of PR is certainly moving in this direction where brands are eager to get their stories out into the public to create a more personalized connection with their consumers.

Consumer data-led marketing is like fast food. It’s bound to grow and revolutionalize the industry in ways more than one. PR and the art of storytelling, on the other hand, is like grandma’s cooking. Slow and interspersed with anecdotes. While fast-food like data-led marketing will drive the brand world and control the lion’s share, there would be ample space and room for the slow-cooked, time-brewed brand stories in years to come.