What are your top 3 tips on how to plan a PR campaign in India?
To be effective in India, a PR campaign should have a central big idea, which is derived from key stakeholder insights.
It is also critical to identify potential advocates at the outset, engage them effectively, and make them co-owners of the campaign.
Depending on the nature of the campaign, it will need to integrate a variety of media. India is a diverse country with a multilingual population. Consequently, integrating the multitude of media channels spanning print, television, radio, and social media across languages can be a real challenge for people not familiar with the country.
What item of news recently caught your eye and why?
The Japan crisis involving the crippling of the Fukushima power plant and the resultant potential radioactive fallout is at the top of my mind. While being faced with the daunting task of containing damage at the nuclear plant, the Government of Japan has been measured in communicating with its citizens and with the international community, and I think this has helped prevent panic among the population at large.
If you could choose another profession, what would it be?
Filmmaking, as it is also a creative profession.
What quality or qualities do you most value in your business associates?
A desire to excel in every aspect of work.
What do you think is the worst bad habit to have at work?
Lack of proactivity and a pushback attitude.
As someone at the top of your profession, what keeps you inspired or makes you hit the ground running in the morning?
An opportunity to make a difference to the discipline of Public Relations.
About Atul Ahluwalia:
Atul Ahluwalia joined Corporate Voice | Weber Shandwick when the Delhi office was first set up in 1994. With an astute focus on client business outcomes and strong leadership, Ahluwalia rose to become head of North and East India operations for the agency, and was appointed president in 2009.
Ahluwalia's core strengths include corporate and industry-related strategic counseling, media, and crisis management. During his time at Corporate Voice | Weber Shandwick, Ahluwalia has successfully won a range of impressive clients spanning diverse industries and has led many challenging assignments. With over 20 years in public relations, Ahluwalia's industry experience includes hospitality, consumer electronics, aviation, FMCG, information technology, telecommunications, and banking, among others. Prior to joining Corporate Voice | Weber Shandwick, Ahluwalia spent five years in advertising.
Ahluwalia has been instrumental in making Corporate Voice | Weber Shandwick the most consistently awarded PR agency in India, winning such global awards as the IPRA Golden World Award, PR Week's Asia-Pacific Campaign of the Year, an Asia Pacific SABRE Award, the United Nations Grand Prize for PR Excellence, a Stevie in The International Business Awards, and a PR Silver Lion at Cannes.
Ahluwalia is an alumnus of St. Columba's High School and Shri Ram College of Commerce, Delhi University. He is a founder member of The Public Relations Consultancies Association of India (PRCAI), and is a regular guest speaker at advertising and PR institutes.
About Corporate Voice | Weber Shandwick:
Corporate Voice | Weber Shandwick (CVWS) is a joint venture company owned by Weber Shandwick, a unit of The Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE: IPG) headquartered in New York, and MAA Group Holdings headquartered in Bangalore. Founded in 1992, the firm has grown to become one of the largest and most-awarded consultancies in India, providing a suite of services in corporate reputation development, management, and public affairs.
