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Priyanka Rohila
Senior Account Executive
Prana Public Relations
The hierarchy goes like this:
CEO
Group Managers
Account Managers – Handle individual accounts with the help of executives. Depending on their experience, executives can be Assistant Account Executives, Account Executives or Senior Account Executives.
Trainees and interns keep on coming, who want to see the work environment and learn things from us. My work profile is that along with being an Account Manager I handle various accounts, i.e., our clients. Ideally there are supposed to be verticals, i.e., brands, entertainment, finance. Here it’s a mixed group where we handle everything. Otherwise depending on expertise we have different groups for every type of clientele. With me, I have finance, entertainment, fitness, lifestyle, etc. We plan various activities with each client for a span of a couple of months, strategize depending upon the activities that the client is looking at for the next couple of years. For example they’re coming up with a product or want to build their brand in a certain way or if they’re coming up with a new brand itself, a new company. According to that we strategise how we want the brand to be seen in the media. Certain media which is more beneficial/fruitful for the client is also taken under consideration. Once we know what is going to happen when on the client’s part, we decide what activity we have to carry out when it comes to the media. Once planning is done, we start executive work. Like any sort of backgrounders for the company to be prepared, concept notes, press releases, and other types of announcements we plan to do in the media on behalf of our client. In executive work also there are further segregations. So if there are two press releases this month, we have 2 deadlines, and information has to be passed to the media on these two regards. Because only if inform the media will it know about our client and the brand. Once that is done we try to follow it up with meetings with the media and more elaborate ones for them to understand what we’re trying to communicate. Follow up calls, interaction over emails, and making the media interact with our client for familiarization, taking them to the facility to see what the actual product or service is. In case they have a query, they can interact directly with the client or with us. So once they get all the required information pertaining to the topic or product, they can go ahead and write about it. Facilitating all of that and communicating what we want to say in the media is our job. And the final product is the coverage that comes out in the electronic or print media, or wherever we’d planned to pitch it.
A few of our clients:
Lifestyle: True Fitness – Mumbai’s largest fitness and wellness brand
Finance – BNP Paribas Bank, Stockholding Corp of India
New Client – Primefocus, visual effects and computer graphics, 3D
We are in touch with the client on a daily basis. It can be either me or some other account manager. The CEO is not involved with the daily working activities. It is only when planning has to be done on a quarterly basis or half-yearly basis, in one of those meetings the CEO may or may not be involved. It’s not his concern to look into the executive activities.
Who approves which clients to deal with?
There’s no approval as such. We go and pitch for the clients ourselves sometimes, if I want to increase my kitty, and my company is on an expansion plan. I can hunt for clients from one particular field of area, like lifestyle, if I want my group to be specialized. We go and see if they need a PR, if they have a PR, and is it good enough, what is their branding. In that case we go and pitch – this is what we can do for you and this is how they will benefit from it. The other way is the clients themselves find out about a PR agency and come to us, and we again, after carefully evaluating their needs, carve a strategy for them.
What motivates to stay here even when there is no pay for when you overtime?
I can’t say that we don’t get paid overtime specially here because the entire sector works like this. This thing is the same across all PR agencies. So I don’t have an option. So we don’t even consider that. I’ll be concerned with work, what clients do I have. If I’m given a set of good clients to be put in my resume, I’ll be more than happy. Also something important is the work atmosphere we have. If the atmosphere is strict, if we’re not allowed to grow, and not allowed to give our individual thoughts to the project then it becomes difficult to work. But over here I have very good people to work with, we’re happy as a close-knit small team. We discuss things on a personal leve as well and so there has to be a balance between the personal and professional relationship.
Have you worked with a multinational or a bigger firm earlier? What is the difference between the two settings?
The hierarchy is similar there. Only difference is that you have multiple group managers there working under the CEO. So we wouldn’t be concerned with the other groups in any which way. The difference is that here we know everyone better because it’s a small company. We know the strengths of every employee. There, it’s always good to work with a bigger company because you have better resources, better infrastructure and offerings. But there are pros and cons. A lot of competition, back-biting, politics, etc. In a smaller company you have better chances of growing up, better exposure to the work that you’re doing, more options of work available. So that’s a good thing about a smaller company.
rana PR's nationwide reach of 9 branch offices enables us to offer national and international solutions in the truest sense. We are present at Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai, Bangalore, Kochi, Pune, Ahmedabad and Chandigarh.
People Structure
Prana PR's professionals offer expertise in a wide range of practice areas.
We live and express our values through our most important asset, our people, for whom we provide the best professional development, work environment and career opportunities available in the global public relations industry.
Our team of over 55 people has strong institutional knowledge of issues, trends and opportunities across industries and domains. Our experience helps in enhancing client's credibility and trust. The core team is supported by a Group backbone of our network of 10 offices across all major markets of the country. Some of the key members of our team are as follows:
Sushil Bahal - Managing Director
Sushil Bahal has been in the business of communications for the past 25 years. A 360o communications practitioner, Sushil has been hands-on in advertising, public relations, direct marketing, sales promotions and direct sales. In each of these practices, he has managed complex tasks as individual assignments and also as integrated solutions provider.
In the BFSI segments, Sushil has managed communications for six banks, three brokerage houses, three mutual funds, over 100 IPOs and debt mandates, dozens of M&A transactions, stock/commodity exchanges, primary dealers, investment banks, insurance products, asset management companies, Private Equity invested firms, etc.
Besides working successfully on brands in financial services sector, Sushil has been associated with corporate reputation management assignments and well known brands from health sciences, manufacturing, hospitality and ITeS etc. domains. Through our associate firm Raka Advertising & Marketing Pvt. Ltd., Sushil is well represented in Advertising Agencies Association of India, Indian Broadcasting Foundation (IBF), etc.
Suresh Shah - Group Account Director
Suresh Shah has over 35 years of experience in business journalism and public relations and was Business Editor at The Economic Times before he moved in to public relations about five years back. He is one of the most respected names in the journalist beats covering corporate, business, markets and financial coverage. In PR, he has been associated with some of the most complex assignments in recent times.
Senior Account Executive
Prana Public Relations
The hierarchy goes like this:
CEO
Group Managers
Account Managers – Handle individual accounts with the help of executives. Depending on their experience, executives can be Assistant Account Executives, Account Executives or Senior Account Executives.
Trainees and interns keep on coming, who want to see the work environment and learn things from us. My work profile is that along with being an Account Manager I handle various accounts, i.e., our clients. Ideally there are supposed to be verticals, i.e., brands, entertainment, finance. Here it’s a mixed group where we handle everything. Otherwise depending on expertise we have different groups for every type of clientele. With me, I have finance, entertainment, fitness, lifestyle, etc. We plan various activities with each client for a span of a couple of months, strategize depending upon the activities that the client is looking at for the next couple of years. For example they’re coming up with a product or want to build their brand in a certain way or if they’re coming up with a new brand itself, a new company. According to that we strategise how we want the brand to be seen in the media. Certain media which is more beneficial/fruitful for the client is also taken under consideration. Once we know what is going to happen when on the client’s part, we decide what activity we have to carry out when it comes to the media. Once planning is done, we start executive work. Like any sort of backgrounders for the company to be prepared, concept notes, press releases, and other types of announcements we plan to do in the media on behalf of our client. In executive work also there are further segregations. So if there are two press releases this month, we have 2 deadlines, and information has to be passed to the media on these two regards. Because only if inform the media will it know about our client and the brand. Once that is done we try to follow it up with meetings with the media and more elaborate ones for them to understand what we’re trying to communicate. Follow up calls, interaction over emails, and making the media interact with our client for familiarization, taking them to the facility to see what the actual product or service is. In case they have a query, they can interact directly with the client or with us. So once they get all the required information pertaining to the topic or product, they can go ahead and write about it. Facilitating all of that and communicating what we want to say in the media is our job. And the final product is the coverage that comes out in the electronic or print media, or wherever we’d planned to pitch it.
A few of our clients:
Lifestyle: True Fitness – Mumbai’s largest fitness and wellness brand
Finance – BNP Paribas Bank, Stockholding Corp of India
New Client – Primefocus, visual effects and computer graphics, 3D
We are in touch with the client on a daily basis. It can be either me or some other account manager. The CEO is not involved with the daily working activities. It is only when planning has to be done on a quarterly basis or half-yearly basis, in one of those meetings the CEO may or may not be involved. It’s not his concern to look into the executive activities.
Who approves which clients to deal with?
There’s no approval as such. We go and pitch for the clients ourselves sometimes, if I want to increase my kitty, and my company is on an expansion plan. I can hunt for clients from one particular field of area, like lifestyle, if I want my group to be specialized. We go and see if they need a PR, if they have a PR, and is it good enough, what is their branding. In that case we go and pitch – this is what we can do for you and this is how they will benefit from it. The other way is the clients themselves find out about a PR agency and come to us, and we again, after carefully evaluating their needs, carve a strategy for them.
What motivates to stay here even when there is no pay for when you overtime?
I can’t say that we don’t get paid overtime specially here because the entire sector works like this. This thing is the same across all PR agencies. So I don’t have an option. So we don’t even consider that. I’ll be concerned with work, what clients do I have. If I’m given a set of good clients to be put in my resume, I’ll be more than happy. Also something important is the work atmosphere we have. If the atmosphere is strict, if we’re not allowed to grow, and not allowed to give our individual thoughts to the project then it becomes difficult to work. But over here I have very good people to work with, we’re happy as a close-knit small team. We discuss things on a personal leve as well and so there has to be a balance between the personal and professional relationship.
Have you worked with a multinational or a bigger firm earlier? What is the difference between the two settings?
The hierarchy is similar there. Only difference is that you have multiple group managers there working under the CEO. So we wouldn’t be concerned with the other groups in any which way. The difference is that here we know everyone better because it’s a small company. We know the strengths of every employee. There, it’s always good to work with a bigger company because you have better resources, better infrastructure and offerings. But there are pros and cons. A lot of competition, back-biting, politics, etc. In a smaller company you have better chances of growing up, better exposure to the work that you’re doing, more options of work available. So that’s a good thing about a smaller company.
rana PR's nationwide reach of 9 branch offices enables us to offer national and international solutions in the truest sense. We are present at Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai, Bangalore, Kochi, Pune, Ahmedabad and Chandigarh.
People Structure
Prana PR's professionals offer expertise in a wide range of practice areas.
We live and express our values through our most important asset, our people, for whom we provide the best professional development, work environment and career opportunities available in the global public relations industry.
Our team of over 55 people has strong institutional knowledge of issues, trends and opportunities across industries and domains. Our experience helps in enhancing client's credibility and trust. The core team is supported by a Group backbone of our network of 10 offices across all major markets of the country. Some of the key members of our team are as follows:
Sushil Bahal - Managing Director
Sushil Bahal has been in the business of communications for the past 25 years. A 360o communications practitioner, Sushil has been hands-on in advertising, public relations, direct marketing, sales promotions and direct sales. In each of these practices, he has managed complex tasks as individual assignments and also as integrated solutions provider.
In the BFSI segments, Sushil has managed communications for six banks, three brokerage houses, three mutual funds, over 100 IPOs and debt mandates, dozens of M&A transactions, stock/commodity exchanges, primary dealers, investment banks, insurance products, asset management companies, Private Equity invested firms, etc.
Besides working successfully on brands in financial services sector, Sushil has been associated with corporate reputation management assignments and well known brands from health sciences, manufacturing, hospitality and ITeS etc. domains. Through our associate firm Raka Advertising & Marketing Pvt. Ltd., Sushil is well represented in Advertising Agencies Association of India, Indian Broadcasting Foundation (IBF), etc.
Suresh Shah - Group Account Director
Suresh Shah has over 35 years of experience in business journalism and public relations and was Business Editor at The Economic Times before he moved in to public relations about five years back. He is one of the most respected names in the journalist beats covering corporate, business, markets and financial coverage. In PR, he has been associated with some of the most complex assignments in recent times.