 Ladies and gentlemen, with that we will be moving now to our next panel discussion, which will discuss regional media, a defining factor in future of communications and how it will become a game changer. So ladies and gentlemen, join me in welcoming our session chair, Mr. Anup Sharma, Senior Director PRCAI to join us on screen and introduce us to our panelists as well as take the discussion forward. Very warm welcome to you, Mr. Sharma. Hi, Cathy. From one Sharma to another, it's always a pleasure and it's so good. I think one of the key thing what Atul, the senior panelist before me, said that we need to get used to the new word, which is fiddle. So yesterday, I think, who better than us can say, yesterday we saw you on the stage and Atul on the backstage, I mean, of course, behind the stage there. And today I am so fortunate that I am sharing this space on a digital. And as Dr. Bhattra had mentioned that this is going to be the future. I mean, I think almost all the events are going to be in this format of half digital, half physical. So thank you very much, Cathy. And I think I would just like to take one is that first, it's a very good that we are working on an era where digital is playing a key role and very important that one of the sessions which we are taking is on regional communication, particularly when we see the power of region going high and a very interesting panel, I think we have got already. So if I can introduce and get some of the panelists back on the stage. Sheila K. Panickel, she is the founder of Enright PR. Welcome, Sheila. Hello. Hello. We have Salish Goyal, a founder and director of simulation. Welcome, Salish Bhai. And from my home state, Bihar, I have Khushid Ahmed, the founder and managing director of Advante Group. Welcome Khushid Bhai. We are here for. Mukesh Kharvanda, one of our key young, I would say the talent in the PR industry, playing a very important role in the regional PR but going all pan across. Welcome Mukesh. So nice to have you all here. Thank you. Good evening. Thank you. I think it's something which I would say is that when Karan was giving this topic, I said that we had a bit of a discussion that what do we say is regional media the future of communication. So I remember our discussion which we had with Mukesh, I think it was two years back when we say that regional is always a game changer. You don't have to actually put it. So then we said, okay, let's put it that it's defining factor in the future of without going into the game changer. And I think one of the key factor which has come is that in the lockdown period we have seen that how the power of regional media particularly came in the picture, we saw how the rural markets expanded and how some of the stuff which we saw was that how the market is changing from the perspective that now it is the regions which are going to be playing the key important role in terms of driving the consumption. I'll just take a step back in understanding that during the last one year we have seen I mean for this particularly if you see the covid era the consumption increased more or less very high. Primarily because one of the people were at home and they were consuming more or during the lockdown and in that the consumption started very high in terms of the regional communication or what we call the local communication which was happening. Also what happened was during this time we also saw a lot of changes in the media and this was changing very fast and people started wanting more and more of news but more of what is happening at their local level. All this actually started making us as PR professionals as communicators and earlier we heard that there is a time that it's no more just we need to reach about it. We also need to cool it. So I'm sorry Mr. Sharma. And in that we say whether it was then the Prime Minister called Art Mirbar and how we need to be more and more there. So from that the whole stuff became that are we more Art Mirbar, are we very reasonable? Mr. Sharma can I introduce you? I need to know better than the national team. I'm not sure if you can hear me. So can everybody else know me? Yes, yes. I'm trying to tell him just a little louder because the volume is really low. The audience can't hear him as well. How do you see growing relevance within these current times? Anup Khyati is telling you to be a little louder. Am I audible better? Yeah, you'll have to be a little louder Mr. Sharma. The volume is quite low. The world of fitters. Yes. So thank you Anup. Thank you so much. So we have seen in the recent times also and over the period of last decade we have seen that in the many many top English media houses or the international media houses, international publications all they were growing and expanding very fast have now disappeared from many city additions, many branches and many places. And also of course the pandemic has expedited this process and in our own city if we talk we saw we were having the practically bureau and the news crew, the camera crews of almost everybody beat the star news, Aasthak and everybody has worked. Now in the last couple of years if you see the regional media has taken over and all the national media, national publications, their bureaus have started disappearing, closing one by one actually. So what is this indication? This indication is about that the average person is not worried, not concerned much about what Barack Obama is saying or what Trump is doing. But he is concerned about what is happening in the next street next to him. You know as we popularly and jokingly say okay so that gives him and this is the same thing which has been realized by the marketeers, the brand communicators and everybody who has seen the seriousness of the reader and the viewer more deeply getting engaged in the regional media which is giving them more value for time, more value of money and ROI because the engagement levels are much better there. We have seen the OTT's growth, every OTT platform, any platform they have multiple languages now you see the same serial, same episode is available into the languages more than a dozen languages of south and north and I mean even Hindi which is the most popularly accepted also has its variant and you see the Bhoj Puri, we see the Punjabi versions, we see the even the Mithila versions also because they want to go deeper and deeper and connect with the audience which is residing in the village level and below that. So this growth is bound to happen and the proliferation of media which started giving the choices to the reader or the viewer is now is very clear and is now filtered. So that's how we see that the growth is coming from the so all the ETV, the TV9s and I mean all the Gujarati channels like we say or all the Bhoj Puri channels they have not only stayed, survived but grown while the other national channels have started closing their bureaus and depending largely on the news agencies and sites. So this is clear indications that the preferences shifted to regional media and it will continue and this is what I feel that regional media over a period of coming five years will become very dominant, very predominant and each market year brand or manufacturer or product or service will have to focus and strategize separately because as we say in India each state is like a country by itself, there is one Europe in Gujarat and there is one Australia in probably two states of us. So you cannot have the single strategy which is working across the country. Over to you Anoop. Well said, that is why in fact I mean you bring so much of power to the region. It reminds of one of our senior colleagues who spoke earlier, Mr. Madan Bahad. He leads one of the largest PR firm in this part of the world and I would say one of the biggest which is expanding the market. So one of the things which he said which is very pertinent to what reflects to what you said is that he said that the Indian PR industry is growing rapidly but it is still ministerial compared to what we are seeing in the larger market. In fact he gave the numbers that it is even smaller than some of the billing of some of the larger PR firms and consentancy across the world. Now if we take from that that it means that we have not yet explored our market and I tell you why what you said is pretty big. So Sheila I mean if I may come to you taking from there what Salish Bhai said and just taking the cue of what Madan Bahad we are told from a perspective that the Indian market is single. So do you see that the inclination of the brands particularly what we see as brands here are for more for regional media coverage and is it shifting just during the pandemic side or is the inclination going to be there as a friend now? Sheila if I can ask you. Sheila you are on mute. Hello everyone can you hear me? Yes we can. So I was saying that I take from Salish you know what he said is you know yes it's absolutely you know regional media and regional PR is very dominant now you know for a simple reason that many of them want to know you know what is happening in their own region one and number two you know if I have to say the media in particular you know taking from what he said you know in Hyderabad we have a couple of dailies which the English as well as Telugu the local language you know which get to more you know the local stories as well the national stories what the you know people want to read and coming to PR agency as such you know regional PR agency we have you know Hyderabad is happening Hyderabad and many big companies you know whether you know these from FinTech or HHR Tech or Pharmaceuticals many people sit here and most of them when we you know approach or you know when we talk the main brownie point we get is that you know being headquartered here you know they want someone who's headquartered here and then they can they who can you know know who knows the length and breadth of the region and who can you know go along with the media and you know who can cater to their need and take them along you know across the globe too you know so someone they want to sit here and help them to take them around you know that is one point number one and coming to the media point you know the regional media you know we have as Sailesh said you know ETV Bharat is an example where they have different different languages right and BBC the international one you know where they have BBC Telugu, BBC Tamil, BBC Malayalam so those kind of thing you know time and again proves that you know there are regional takers you know and more people want to know what is happening around them and you know also beyond you know and you know having said that you know people say for example Telugu you know the local language here you know we have readers across the globe so and you know we are all going digital too so we have it's not just a print edition right elsewhere who sits and you know reads the paper that is to be paper you know maybe in US or in UK so it is spread across so regional has no boundary as of now but you know it is a geography where you can really take things beyond that particular geography is what I feel well said I mean region has no boundary I can't hear you I know I can't hear you I'm sure if you would have attended the earlier session where we have like you mentioned with MNC so we had I think Mr Jayaraman Kishore Jayaraman from Rawls Royce where he spoke about two particular things like accessibility and be informed in a larger context I mean he said that pandemic has taught us that you need to be accessible and second is you need to be informed so like you mentioned that these the regional some of the regional publications are reported and if you see that currently the FMCG and Durable Brands with a mass market I mean they say that in their case the market is mass that's why they're and if we say let's say if it's a Mukesh like in your home state of Punjab where you primarily operate from I mean a Punjab based company the makers of Kremika their parent company Mrs Bektor they had an IPO which was oversubscribed during the pandemic time 198 times and if I get the numbers right it was around 40,000 crore so one size fits all or one size doesn't fit all so Mukesh tell me like I mean you operate from primarily one of the regions but like Sheila said your boundaries are beyond so what does a regional PR firm play a role in terms of the campaign planning for a national brand and at a local level how do you do it and what are the typical tools which we use Mukesh before you yeah Anu thank you first of all for hosting this panel and organizing this and it is always a pleasure to see a platform like exchange for media giving preference and time to regional communication which is a topic which is very dear to my heart and I've been working in it for 10 years to coming to your question Anu when we talk of regional PR or public relations on the large I think we do public relations only for two primary reasons one is image perception second is amplification and if I see the boundary of India 75% of population resides in regional India so I don't see the question arises about the importance and need of regional public relations in India if you are willing to leave out 75% of your tg then the role of regional communication or regional PR is nothing but if you are willing to take on that 75% of population then it is everything for your brand or for your servers on the tools that I talk about I think the only roadblock that regional PR agencies had was the strategic interface but it gives me pleasure to see Shailesh Bhai on the panel who's been working in the field for far many more years than me and we have Sheila from Hyderabad and Khursheed Bhai from Bihar more and more people we have who are taking responsibility or giving shining moments to regional PR in specific regions or pan India I think that will give importance or that kind of confidence to brands that regional PR people can also give you the strategic interface that is required it is not only about the amplification anymore I think once that is once that is done I think regional PR will only have places to go from here on the tools I think you rightly mentioned and open and take from what Shailesh Bhai also said it has just moved from dissemination of news to storytelling so be it traditional mediums or digital mediums or the regional digital influences that we have it is all about telling the story in the native language in the way that a person sitting in these regional areas can connect with it so that is the primary difference in tools or the usage of tools that I see which is which has happened more so in 2020 and will continue to happen in times to come thank you Mukesh I mean that's wonderfully put that and that you I love the way you staged in stuff so one of the key thing which we said is that earlier even this year we have seen it's all about like crisis and I think nothing better than E4M to put the panel one of the first panel which they had was on crisis management and here I will try and bring Kurshid Bhai if he is there if you can tell that particularly in a state like Bihar where region plays a very important role what are the two or three key challenges which you feel in terms of managing a PR campaign Kurshid Bhai for you thank you so different scales and the challenges there are not even opportunity there is fun to work there we have been there for 28 years and the PR campaign is the world's most important thing, like tobacco free Bihar, we have run the campaign, we have run our own Patna Sundar, so the regional media picks it up, everyone has told me that it does not mean that what is Trump doing, it means that what is going to happen in Bihar, every person talks about his own hit, so what will I get in the paper, I want the same reader to see if they are earning or their team sees what they want to read, so there is nothing like that and it has to be planned and we are experts there, so we run the campaign, but the major problem that comes is that a lot of events happen that can be nationalized, we have seen in the current situation that we are number one in health, the highest vaccine in Bihar is 76.6% but it should be in the news, if you press negative, there is something going on, crime is shown in every channel in India, so this is a problem in the media that whatever is happening in Bombay or Delhi, we show it more, like it has been raining in Bombay, so that is what is being shown in the whole channel, while a lot of good things are happening in Bihar, you show it, so these are the challenges and this is not good, so we feel that the media should pay attention to the same thing, whatever is happening is good, now we have Lalohi sir here, he was a magician for the media, he was putting it on any channel, so it is like they say that no news is good news, if there is no news then it is very good, so you have to see this media from the center, that all the good things happening in the media are happening in Bombay, and if negative things are happening then it should not be explained, now you will remember when we were in covid, there was only one thing happening in the channel, that Shushan, Shushan, Shushan, people were closing that channel, other things were happening, you should talk about health, you should talk about sports, that is not good news, how will you take it away from us, we have a message that all the other people should also watch it, and when you are in a bad place, you should show it to everyone, thank you Anubhai. Thank you Mr. Prasheed, the other thing is that if there is not only bad news, good news should also be happening, and on this one, our Prime Minister said a lot of things, let's go to Kencho, our Prime Minister is coming from there, so let me tell you that one thing about them, it was in the time of covid, that the fire has to be extinguished, and it has to be local, so there was a panel discussion earlier, Dr. Bhatra was talking about it, an Indian home brand, one of the biggest home brand, consumer brand which has come up is Boat, it is like a name, Boat which is now coming up, I think Boat brand, so Aman Gupta was the co-founder, I mean when he said that you know it is, if you are to be pertinent to the consumers, it is very important that you listen to the consumer, and as you said or Mr. Kursheep said that it is very important to listen to the local, it will be integrated on it, so if we talk about Gujarat, if Mr. Kursheep, if I want to ask you one minute, there was a Waag Bakri brand which was local, and there was a have-more brand which was there, and the Prime Minister is saying that it is going to vocal for local, so how do you think regional media will play a role in bringing a regional brand national, I mean very quickly if you can just tell sir, let's go. So the initial flip which is required for a regional brand to grow, the regional media helps them in gaining the critical mass, and once the critical mass comes, I mean one of the biggest example we have is Amul, the very own brand Amul which is not only grown nationally from a small town called Anand, and now it is international level and exporting to many other countries as well. So what do you think, this has come out of the regional media's presence and regional media support and regional media's strength. So the highlight of the programs, highlight of the brand came from the success stories, the positive stories, the aspects which were unknown to the public, and how good and benefitted for the beneficiaries, for the farmer producers and for the ladies. So once that is highlighted, it is started getting amplified to the national level and international level, and the effect, the impact came on the brand also. So like the examples you said, Vagbakri or Hemur or the Vadi Lal, all these regional brands have grown, grown and grown beyond the state of Gujarat and now they are national level players actually. So impact has come from what has been contributed by the regional media, the support which they gave, the marketing, the branding support which has got it from the regional media, in communicating the good and the benefits about it. Now local for as you are saying, the Prime Minister has given, it has two aspects. One is yes, think the things global. Okay, so we have we have just seen the examples and there are many more examples which are going across the world, the product one of the popular example is the Hindu and Khakrawala now this has become a sim which is being released by the people across the world actually. And how it came, how it became a brand and in the cottage industry. So all that supported it actually. And the other aspect is the hyperlocalism. So hyperlocalism is the thing which is now, it's not a buzz word, it is the word which is important for every marketing person. You see, we give examples of McDonnell, we give examples of the KFC, we give examples of all the multinational brands who have entered, who are not only entered in this area but they were forced to adopt, to adapt the preferences of the regional area. Now again, another popular example is that they all have had to convert into Jane Pizzas. Now have you heard it ever in Paris or in New York, never. But today this has become a brand in the menu of the KFC or the McDonnell so the regionalism has its own charm its own sense and the connected offers with the masses within the geography is beyond comprehension and it's a market nobody can ignore actually. Quickly, so one of the things which in the fidgetle world is also about the time and digital has played a very key role. So Tila, I would like just like in a very gris format and these days it's all about snackable content and earlier panel before us were discussing about how digital has played a key role in bringing the influencer marketing. So one of the things which we have seen is that even in digital, it is going local and a lot of language is being there. And some say that there are three V's which have come. I mean there are four V's where they are marketing now in the current context of content. They say there are three V's whether it be video, voice and vernacular. So if I ask you that how much do you think has digital played a key role in regional media campaigns? Tila, if you may faster. Yeah, so the fulcrum of business has changed. It's totally different now. You just imagine 2020 without internet and being digital. So we are not sure we are not even thought about it. And coming to your point I am not sure whether you have seen a recent ad of TVS QT PEP which got launched. It went viral. It was a small clip on digital platform. This exactly showed how a big brand like TVS is going regional. So it was nothing but on top of where they put the logo they put first loud in Tamil and then TVS QT PEP down. So the logo just had the first loud on top and then the logo down in Tamil and they beautifully made a video saying that how they changed it, how the whole culture of Tamil Nadu is shown in that and how the you see basically the PEP is for you. So how those set of people we are not talking about elderly people wanting to read Tamil newspaper or Telugu newspaper or Malayalam newspaper or a regional newspaper for that matter. So the brand itself showed that the younger generation is also wanting to consume the news which is coming through their own language. And it could reach or patch the code well. That's why they did an ad like that. And it went viral and it was fantastic. Very interesting. So I mean one of the thing which you said is how brands are transforming their messaging and Mukesh I'm sure that you heard just before us even our Kunal Sinha from Valu 360 and also the PRCA vice president. He was talking that how when he was talking about the PR industry size that he brought from what Madan Balaji's told about the national perspective and then in India how we are expanding and he said the market is not even touched what it is they are going to do and it's going to be exploding. And one thing which Kunal said was that is the regional PR which is going to become a major player. So you are a young talented guy yourself and you work primarily in the region but have family work. Your clients are looking at very strategic input. So what kind of challenges do you feel if I ask from a talent perspective because there is a myth that we don't have talent at the regional level. So Mukesh my question to you is that do you think that the industry is relying on people talent but at the regional level we are not getting hit up talent. Mukesh just make it short and if you can answer this. Yeah I understand Anup. If for this question if you allow me to be absolutely blunt and honest. I think it's a challenge when it comes to regional talent and will remain so. But I don't think there is any outside factor because of which this is happening. It is only because of the regional PR players not doing the kind of stuff we should be doing and myself also in it. When I see the talent transition in the past five years it has been great. Right now in regional PR space also we have people who can give strategic inputs and also take care of the media part as well across the country. We operate we have our own offices in 13 cities and I can say almost all the places we have a client servicing executive and the media executive to find the match between a person who can handle media and who can understand how the PR part of it works and be a client servicing executive remains a challenge still primarily because of three reasons Anup. One I feel exposure. Regional PR firms most of them I say 90% of them are not able to provide the kind of exposure one gets in a national PR firm and that is primarily because we are working. Most of the regional PR firms are working with national PR firms and not working with direct clients. Second would be the pay scales. If we really want talent to be retained in regional cities we really have to put our might put our pocket behind what we are saying and raise our pay scales to a level of a national good national agency. Third which is the which I think is the most important. Right now if I talk of national PR like Prima Sagar, Deep Shikha, Nitin Mantri, Madan Vihal, you mentioned Atul Sharma, Ashwani Singla, Nikhil Dey, Valerie Pinto, so many of them which people look up to and want to work with and learn from. Those are your national PR role models. If I talk of a regional PR space I can hardly think of 4-5 people and beyond that there is a lull. So more role models we have and more we put our might behind what we are saying by increasing pay scales by giving them exposure and the kind of amenities and learning that they get at a national agency by investing into their learning. I think this is a challenge that we need to sail through. Nobody else can do it for us. Wonderful. Mr. Sharma, I am sorry to interrupt again but my role to be here is a time keeper as well. Thank you very much everybody. I really enjoyed interacting with you all and it's I think the kind of inputs we got. Thank you Sheila, Mukesh, Sailesh, Bai and Koshid, Bai and of course thank you Raheel for the group there. So before we end just let's pray that we all stay safe and let's keep the mask on. Wonderful. Thank you. Thank you so much all our panelists. Thank you Kiyati. Thank you Anub. Thank you everyone. Thank you Kavya.