July 16, every year, has been dedicated for the recognition and celebration of public relations and communications as a profession, and building a unified global agenda towards making the world understand and utilize PR in an efficient and effective manner; PRCI too is celebrating the same. Last year, July 2022, was the second edition of World PR Day, this encompassed over 60 countries which was a straight jump from 15 to 60 countries. Keeping in view the geography of our country, India, the impact is entirely different and the status of PRCI through which it is being celebrated in India as a Pan-India organization is icing on the cake.
2023-World PR Day is themed on “Harnessing the Power of Public Relations”. Before coming to the theme, it is important to highlight that PR & Corporate Communications has attained honour and recognition among the media and other relevant platforms through the power of communication and syndicated efforts, in line with the respective organization's goals. It is thus very important that PR & CC officials shall always portray their corporate image in a manner that their PR & CC activities become the hallmark of the industry, thereby elevating the status of the team behind the PR & CC activities. Building the credibility of both the individuals as well as the organization is very important and here comes the role of WPRD; in the form of providing a Unified Global Agenda (UGA) for PR & CC practitioners to follow. Synergy comes out when we synchronize our efforts together in the direction of the UGA and this shall let the world know PR & CC practitioners better and will enhance their repute and recognition in the corporate level.
Coming to the theme of 2023-WPRD, ‘Harnessing the Power of Public Relations’; in the age of Artificial Intelligence, it has become more challenging, if not difficult. On the other hand, due to vast Social Media presence and pressure, PR & CC has become indispensable too. Stakeholders are looking for trustworthy PR Professionals! Perceptions are formed very fast and difficult to erase, hence PR personnels will have to be proactive and a step ahead of the situation that is going to happen. Does that mean that PR shall become the fortune-teller? No, but they must be intuitive to the evolving scenario in their respective industry, trade, and the organization and be ready to deal with the situation as spontaneously as possible. Resilience is essential and Resilient-Quotient will become a measure for PR&CC too. There is no dearth of content on Google for building effective reputation, relationships, networking, influencing people and opinion formation; but Crisis Communication Templates are unique to every organization and every situation and can not be borrowed from third-party sources. PR people will have to work on that themselves and that too they will have to work in advance. You cannot order fire extinguishers when the fire is On, you will have to source them in advance and place at the sources where they could be needed. Brands are very delicate and can slip out of our hands in a flip; so, PR must ensure consistency in raising awareness and shall draw inclusive and integrated communication strategies to build strong and compelling Brand Awareness on the Corporate Image and Ethics of the Company. Nowadays, there is a trend to use influencers which could be departmental or brand ambassadors from outside resources. The visibility of the brand shall be tangible and shall result in tangible benchmarks. It is possible to measure the impact of PR and that shall be deployed.
Sensitization of the masses towards environmental concerns is very high, as such corporate social responsibility is also, gradually being assigned to PR & CC professionals. Thus PR &CC professionals shall be befittingly sensitized towards the company’s responsibilities in that direction and shall foster a positive perception of the organization towards environmental concerns.
Summing Up; PR & CC professionals shall write their own narrative for the assigned duties and responsibilities and deliver that in a consistent and sustainable manner by balancing the corporate, social, and personal reputation and keeping that intact. I am sure the programs and events being organized on the coming Sunday, 16th July, 2023 will throw more light on such issues and we together will become more capable to handle the disruptions that we foresee on the canvas of PR&CC. Congratulations and Best Wishes to all on the upcoming ‘World PR Day.