Evolution of PR in India & its Growth
Though Public Relation in India is as old as human civilization, this
sector has achieved an unparalleled growth since the 1990s as companies
realized the mounting need of communicating efficiently with their target
audience and enhancing their brand presence. Hence more and more companies
began to opt for Public Relations. So, we consider 90s as to be “PR Era”. It
was only during this time PR industry came to be known as a profession to
Indians.
Public Relations or PR is an art by which we communicate to the public
with a view to changing their mindset in a certain direction. Its
purpose is to create goodwill for the communicating organizations eventually leading
to support from the public. This support is a sine qua non for the success of
the given organization.
Sneak peek into its history
- In India, first PR industry came in 1990s
- Initial years were not easy
- In 2000s (growth period) companies emerged
- Focus was on specific areas like healthcare, technology, brands and finance
- Eventually demand for specialist in consumer communication increased
- World Economic regression, brought PR consultants to India and China
Crisis in PR
However, the Indian PR industry had faced certain crisis in past which
somewhere or the other had wobbled this industry, like that of 2008 one when
there was a global slowdown, it did hit India. The industry was hit in 2010 due
to what has come to be known as the 'Radiagate' scam. But these were for a
short duration. Soon the industry came over it.
It’s Growth
The growth of PR in the country has been an exceptional till date. PR in
its new avatar not just encompasses media relations and employee communication,
but is used increasingly for strategic communication, build brand, customer
relations and crisis management. From an executive function, PR is now becoming
a part of the high-level management job touching upon the core values of an
organization. There are scores of PR agencies in cities like Mumbai and Delhi,
which are known as the hub of this industry. The industry is expected to touch
Rs.2, 100 crore by fiscal 2020, according to a report by Public Relations Consultants
Association of India, which shows it has a bright future. The increasingly competitive agency landscape and mushrooming of
freelancers have increased the options for brands.
With more and more
multinational companies venturing towards Indian market the future of PR
professionals is brilliant and fast growing. The emergence of Online PR and
social media gave a new platform to the PR world reaching audience in smarter
way. In the Indian corporate sector, PR is well understood and accepted. More
companies are investing in PR as social media is in sync with any communication
in India and globally as well. In a fast-evolving market place, 2010 saw the
continued expansion of digital and social media with companies and government
agencies adopting new channels to communicate and engage with consumers, key influencers
and all brand stakeholders. The Public Relations Consultants Association of
India (PRCAI) released a comprehensive report on the PR industry titled ‘State
of Indian Public Relations Industry: 2016’. According to the research, the
industry has doubled in size between FY’08 and FY’16 from Rs 490 crore to Rs
1120 crore.
PR Education in India
The growing demand of PR has led to spurt in
education in India. Mass communication
education received a spurt in the 1990s in India after the economy was liberalized. The Indian Institute of Mass Communication
started its exclusive one year PGD in Advertising & Public Relations in
1981. A paper in Advertising & PR is also taught in its Journalism courses,
University like Makhan Lal Chaturvedi University of Journalism was set up to exclusively cater to mass
communication teaching and training.
The present scenario in the PR industry
coupled with the ongoing developments are likely to drive more and more
professionals towards it and the industry will be a boon to the Indian market.
Comments
Post a Comment