Senior Consultant,
Percept Profile India

How are you feeling being part of the 25th year of Percept?
Percept is a well-established brand in the industry today and 25 years is a great feat to achieve. It’s like being at the right place at the right time.

How has your stint in Percept Profile been?
It’s been a short and sweet journey so far.

What factors do you take into account before deciding on the communication strategy for a client?
According to me the 2 key factors that determine the communication strategy for any client are:
- The industry in which it operates
- The current status of the company / brand in that space

is a Homoeopathy Doctor by profession. I am the least qualified member in the family
and the first to venture into this field of communication in the entire khandan!

What, according to you, are the challenges that the PR industry faces today?
PR in India is still considered a second option in the line of communication. Unfortunately, when there is a budget crunch, the first department in any company that feels the pinch is the Marketing & Communications division and subsequently the PR activities. It will still take some time before the true potential or PR is realized.

With the growing use of the Internet, PR has also evolved considerably in the recent years. Online PR is gaining grounds, as, not only is it more cost effective, but it also has a global reach. It places your brand on the global stage in one go. However, how this dynamic platform is utilized to its optimum is a great challenge for PR professionals especially in India.

Like any other industry, slowdown has impacted the PR industry to an extent. I would say that there are still a lot of opportunities in the market and new business pitches are being invited, but probably, the closing of deals is taking a little longer than before, as clients are weighing the pros and cons a lot more in detail than they used to before.

Which domains have you worked with in your career span?
I have serviced clients from various sectors in my short stint of about 6 years in PR, including Percept. These have been from real estate, infrastructure, travel, telecom, a auto, pharma and energy, amongst others. My best experience was in servicing clients in the telecom and auto space.

If you won Rs. 1 million in a lottery, what would you do with the money?
Make a Fixed Deposit and enjoy the interest : )

Which fictional / movie character would you like to be?
Sherlock Homes or D.O.N. (Detective Omkar Nath) – I love solving mystery cases because they teach you the importance of the smallest things / clues in life.

Any parting shot for our readers?
Life is short. Live it the way you want, but with discretion.