 Hello and welcome to IFRM PR and Communication Bridge webinar and just to start off, you know, though the date on the calendar is 8th March to celebrate Women's Day, but if we take a closer look at corporate India, we know that almost every day around the calendar is Women's Day with, you know, women leaders across board in every sector because from board meetings to sales pitch to, you know, engaging with clients, almost nothing is complete without the magic touch of the corporate leaders we have today in India. So without going much into all of that, I can't wait to introduce our eclectic mix of panelists, experts from the PR and Communication sector. We have Archana Jain, who's the founder and managing director at PR Pundit. We have Deep Shikha Dhammaraj, who's the CEO at Genesis BCW. We have with us Valeri Pinto, who is the CEO at Weber-Shanway. We have Rashmi Vashish, who's the former head of corporate communication and PR at Apple. We have Manisha Chaudhary, who's the founder and director at Value360. We have Pooja Patak, who is the MD at Media Mantra. We have Nandita Lakshmanan, who's the CEO at The Price and Shivani Gupta, who's the MD at SPAC. So we are discussing today about the innovations in times of crisis in the sector and how innovation and creativity can turn crisis into an opportunity. So we have a couple of questions that we're going to talk about. Basically, it's all going to be around innovation and creativity in the sector and how things are taking a new turn, given the new normal that we have all accepted. So I'll straight away go into the first question, which is, what agencies and communication experts are doing to bring innovation and creativity in communication at this time? And the second part of the same question is, how communication strategies have changed because our conditions have changed, work atmosphere has changed, and so has everything. I'm sure climate briefings must have changed. A lot of things have changed, given the pandemic and the lockdown that we are in. So what are the kind of strategic changes that have also happened in the sector? We'll start with you, Archana. Thank you, Tasme. Thank you, E for M. It's lovely to be sharing this panel with this power packed panel of women leaders. It feels nice to be out there and it feels like, yes, we are getting more power to all of us. But coming back to the question, yes, crisis times of this nature daily require us to be agile and adapt our communication strategy. I think there is a need for digital storytelling, and I think all of us have been adapting to that. For the kind of brands that we represent, it's been a lot of changes in the strategy in terms of saying, okay, it's no longer putting out a book with your fashion, merchandise, but it's more talking about how you can work from home with wardrobe suggestions. It's looking at maybe sharing a playlist, a curated playlist of enjoying working at home while staying at home. Considering that eating out is no longer an option, hotels and restaurants are all turning to saying, okay, how can we share cooking lessons with you? If you are, let's say Kaya, which is a skin clinic, then you no longer have customers wanting to come in. So you still people have problems of skincare that have to be resolved. And so giving them those sessions via Zoom's consulting sessions, or if a watch brand like IWC is launching a new watch, how is it that AR has come to rescue and saying, okay, so the media person can actually put it on their wrist and see, okay, how smart does this watch look apart from the innovations that are being introduced? Brands like Kingfisher, et cetera, what we've done is we've kind of introduced, they've introduced a new entertainment channel in this entire lockdown phase, in this phase of the pandemic where people are reticent about going out. And that has provided us reasons to go to press and galvanize media. Then contextual issues like domestic violence that have come into the fall, those have been embraced as part of the strategy. So our strategy has got to evolve with what is happening in the marketplace. So if you can't go to a hairdresser, then the hairdresser must come to you. So Dyson, hair care on how you can do your hair while at home, et cetera, is all techniques that we've embraced in this. Even brands like automobile brands like Lamborghini, their manufacturers being closed back in Italy, there is no way that, what new launches can we talk about? We really can't take anything. So we said, okay, let's get the marketing head to talk about what changes are happening globally. They've actually gone ahead and transformed their manufacturer to quickly produce personal protection equipment and respirators. That has been what we've grabbed headlines in times of India. So it's been a lot of nimble agile efforts to try and draw attention to efforts that make sense. If a gaming laptop brand like MSI decides to say, okay, we are going to extend the warranty, we have to employ our PR machinery behind that and to drive as much footfalls. Because this is not the time to be out of sight. We have to, all brands, all our clients need to be top of mind, because the opportunity for the PR industry is we can provide creative solutions, which will be low cost, which will also be sensitively addressed across all stakeholders through what has gained more, more power in this time of owned conversations. Yeah, that's it for me. Right. Thank you, Archana. Those were some very interesting insights into what the industry is prepping up for and is doing. Deep Sinha, tell us a little bit about your thoughts on innovations, your thoughts on opportunities and changing strategies with changing times. Yeah. Now, what Archana spoke about is very interesting and it's lovely to see all the others on this panel too of whom I actually worked with really at the start of my career. So it's wonderful to be here. Thank you. Creativity, I think, is about how do you change perceptions? How do you question the status quo and how do you transform your business? And this is actually a quote, which has been said by Mark Reid more recently, when WPP speaking, given the most creative global agency of the decade. And I think that rings very true with me because at the end of the day, when we talk of creativity, it's not about just having a, let's put an interesting idea out there and see what happens. The idea has to make a difference. And Archana cited a lot of examples about how you're changing perceptions and doing things in your business, which you've never done before. So can the creative communication then enable the brand to go out there and talk to its people? And I think we've been doing that very successfully. We were talking the other day with some of my other colleagues in the communication space and we were laughing and saying, the amount of work, creative, innovative work we've probably done in the last three months, we would have done in a three year time span where you think of the various things to do, you do a lot of research, you collect a whole lot of insights and then you ponder over it and you pontificate and then you take six months to decide. All that was out of the window. It was do or die. It was a point, question of survival actually for the communications business. So creativity, it wasn't a choice. Let me put it like that. I think it was had to do and it's wonderful to see how everybody is stepped up to it, whether it's been our clients, whether it's been our people. We've taken some very interesting ideas to our clients and clients have grabbed it and said, okay, let's try it. So I love the faith and the gumption that has been put behind all those thoughts and ideas and you can see so many of them which have come out. Whether it's been, let's say you're, let's do an online farewell for a colleague who's going away, who was supposed to have done a party, like an employee large farewell, let's turn it into online, let's have a music session online, whether it's about videos. I mean, audio visual content has become the biggest way to communicate today because unfortunately written content has taken a bit of a meeting with publications having to take a break from actually publishing a live newspaper. So audio visual content has become the key and everybody is today talking about how do you create a quick and dirty video, a one minute video, three minute video, and that's again lent itself beautifully to creativity. And so there's a whole lot of things that people have done. So what stands out for me is the speed at which our people have adapted to this change and given it their best in terms of agility and creativity. When we look at creativity, we always start with the most important thing. Are we meeting some unmet need of the consumer and are we creating some shared value? I think those are the two parts we always look at saying that whatever idea we take out there, are we going to make a difference? So for example, when I say unmet need, it could be pure simple awareness creation of what should you do as safety norms in the COVID space. And we put out a whole lot of content and material out there and that especially in the early parts of the whole lockdown phase on how do you need to be careful, social distancing, how do you take care of your senior citizens and so on and so forth. So there's a lot of content which went out on safety and security in every form. So it was a pure simple generate awareness unmet need. Then we went to a step further from there and said, okay, people are in lockdown sitting at home. This whole thing of feeling stressed out, whether it's with too much work, whether it's being distanced from your workplace or your family. So the whole space of mental awareness and taking care of the mental well-being space. And there was a lot of work which we did there. We were working with clients who launched help lines. We've provided access to support for people who want to have a conversation on her feeling depressed or feeling not okay. And to be able to say that it's okay to not be okay. I think that was a big, big one that we put out there together as a communications industry saying, let's pull out those conversations and it's okay not to be okay and let's talk about it. And then obviously more recently and even at a global level, we've seen this whole bit about equal opportunity, gender diversity, inclusion, whether it's been BAME or LGTPQ, we have been celebrating the Pride Month all of last week, the Pride Weeks or last week. So I think those are the other things that have come to fore. And here again, it's unleashed a whole space of creativity where people have been thinking of how do you get this message out? And then we have this larger environment, bits which we started out on global warming, how do you look at alternative fuels and so on. So at every level, whether it's been addressing personal consumer need, whether it's being overall at a society level, we've been actually addressing what are the issues that people are facing in this time. Yes, I think said to death unprecedented, but really it is. And how can we as communicators help mitigate some of those concerns and actually get people to adapt people to start not just surviving, but now it is a question of thriving. So the last three months were about how do you survive and how do you sort of keep it together and continue to grow and then continue to at least stay in existence. Now it is going to be about how do you get stronger? How do you grow faster from here? And therefore the whole communication focus and creativity innovation is now going to be in that space. So I believe at every stage communications has been there to help brands tell their story and tell it with creativity and innovation and it's going to be just more of that that we will need going forward. Right, I think, you know, adding a humanitarian touch to the communication and mixing it with creativity, those were some excellent points you made there. Over to you, Valeri, if you can tell us a little bit about your experiences and your thoughts on innovation and creativity and the kind of strategy changes that you have, you know, advised to your clients or you know, that clients have wanted to take up. Tell us a little bit about your thoughts on it, Valeri. I think the situation and it won't be very different from what the Chika or what Ajna has said. But I'd like to say that this sort of pandemic has pushed us to be creative in a very unique way, like the Chika mentioned, to catapult and to actually just ramp up and make decisions or look at how you can elicit an action quite quickly instead of procrastinating on whether this is going to work. So brand guys or customers have been far more riskier in these times. But I think there are four areas that as an industry we have, we need to look at ourselves and innovate. One is how do we, in everything that we do, whether it's creativity for a brand, whether it's looking at our organization, how are we solving, how are we engaging, and how are we opening minds with whatever that we're doing, right? That's what the environment is pushing us to unite around a common purpose in a sense. The second thing is that how do we see the system differently? The same thing that worked pre-COVID won't work post-COVID. So how do we see everything that's happening around us? How do brands see everything that's happening around them differently and adapt and vibe and absorb and see what they can do to change the way they will look at the environment as they move into post-COVID times? The third part is how do we unfreeze the way we've worked? So there are certain rigid ways in which we've been working for a while and I think this pandemic has forced us to unfreeze our organizations, move out of fixed structures and look at new ways of, so why Deep Shikha spoke about pushing digital content or video content. I mean, there are certain things which all, most of the talent, 80% of the talent were very rigid in the way they function, all these years. And I think the last three months, they've all had to come out of their comfort zones and unfreeze themselves and unlock a new hidden talent that we found in so many of the colleagues we work with and like, wow, okay, fine, let's go ahead and do this. The fourth one is I think every campaign or every action or every activity that we've done with our clients or internally has to have a strong bias towards action. It has to push you to be able to do something, demand a change, or pass in the pace of ideation or decision making on a certain aspect. So when you go with an idea, it goes quickly to the CEO and says, you know, do you think this is something that will work or not? And suddenly we're seeing that they're more engaged in the whole, you know, business of communications and they're fast-pacing a lot of ideation which have typically gone from a firm's person to the marketing person and then somewhere around the line to the CEO and then, you know, we get stuck somewhere in the middle. So I think that's what this pandemic has pushed us to do as an industry and as an organization and as the way we deal with our clients and our people internally as well. Right, Vellavi. So like you rightly mentioned and, you know, whatever worked before the pandemic took off will definitely not work through the lockdown and even post this crisis is over and, you know, that is where the role of innovation comes in. So, you know, Rashmi, we'd like to hear from you, you know, your thoughts on how things are changing, how communication is changing and how is innovation and creativity, you know, also making an opportunity for those in the sector, you know, and what are the change in strategies that you are suggesting that you think works best at this time when we are all in a crisis, when corporate India is in a crisis, when there is global crisis actually. So, you know, what are your suggestions on it? Okay, well, first of all, thank you for having me and I'm just really so glad to be a part of this fabulous panel. And of course, I agree with all my esteemed colleagues that, you know, communications is changing fundamentally at this time. I think one of the key questions brands are asking is how do we support the business with the creative communications to reach the key audience in new ways? And they're also asking, how do we give our audience a real-life experience of our brand, our product, you know, without the advantage of physical presence? So, this is where we're seeing a big upturn in usage of creative technologies, virtualized environments, for example, you know, live streaming of product launches. There are online 3D tours of destinations and experiences, cloud exhibitions. There's been very smart usage of artificial intelligence. I mean, social networking is definitely through the roof. We've seen the importance of Instagram, which has grown exponentially. And as, you know, Valerie and Archana have talked about this really a big focus on creative content and brands are turning to videos, shorter, smarter and more compelling videos. And these changes are here to stay. I think another focus is that the brand focus is, you know, we have to become more relevant to communities. We're there to help solve problems and on making a difference. So, storytelling has to change to align with this business goal where brands become purpose-driven, but they also become relevant. So, for example, instead, there's a big shift. Instead of telling a story about, you know, a product, it's USBs, there's a focus on building a narrative around its benefits or its values. I mean, is it sustainable? Is it environmentally friendly? Is it protecting your privacy? So, values that the brand product stands for, and I think most important how it can transform life. This, we've all seen this change in tonality because these are trying times and, you know, the approach is very compassionate, it's caring. So, the three words that actually come to my mind is this renewed focus. There is a focus on being authentic, being accurate, incredible, incredible. So, and my other thought, which I also wanted to talk about a little bit, is that, you know, in all innovation programs, whether it's internal or it's external, good things can happen only by listening and valuing other perspectives. So, we're letting data, insights and analytics be the guide more than ever before because many brands will have to go through a new cycle of listening to their consumers, understanding, you know, what has changed? What do consumers want now? And these insights have to inform communication strategies. And they also have to be used to understand how the innovations and the creativity in communication strategies are impacting the business overall. Right. Thank you so much, Rashmi, for your insights and, you know, moving over to the next set of questions that we have. Our webinar today is reflective of how most of corporate India is working at the moment. You know, work from home is the new normal that they all have accepted, companies have, and we are planning our schedules accordingly, planning our meetings accordingly. And, you know, the entire work pattern has changed, logging in, logging out patterns, timings, everything has changed. So, you know, what is interesting to learn from you today is that house productivity also changing during this work from home pattern. If at all it is getting hampered or, you know, if productivity has gone up. So, we'd love to know your views on that. And, you know, also communication, like most of you would agree, is about efficiency and effectiveness. Right. So, if that has seen any change at all in terms of, you know, the new normal that we are all settling in with. So, you know, Manisha, if you could start with those questions, if you can tell us a little bit about work from home and how everybody is adjusting to this new work pattern and about effectivity and innovation also happening at this time. So, thanks for having me here. I'm very excited to be part of this woman all panel. So, answering to your question, it's been more than 100 days of working from home. And to be very honest, I have not seen any issue with the productivity so far. Lot of initiatives have been taken from our level to ensure that team is comfortable working from home. For example, the moment it was announced, various measures were taken, we quickly introduced the available technology and integrated with our operations to ensure that there's smooth operation, smooth functioning of our operations. Lot of tech assistant was also given to people, those who were not equipped with their tools to work from home for a longer period. Along with that, we've also taken lot of initiatives to give proper leaves to our employees. We are pushing them to have one week leaves on rotational basis. Gaming is very popular in our organization. So, lot of gaming championships we keep organizing. So, all these efforts we are doing to ensure that the productivity level should not go down. However, it's been three months and I feel that the lines are blurring between personal and professional time and pandemic fatigue might set in and it can impact the productivity in near future. So, we are also guiding our team leaders to be supportive and sensitive towards their team. So, all these initiatives we are taking, we are forcing the productivity might go down. So, we are taking all these initiatives at our level. And for being effective and efficient as you mentioned, I think this is a very difficult situation. People are facing it in their own unique ways. So, and this is definitely has become a new normal for us. So, I would just like to add few points here to be effective in this point. Try to follow a routine which you would have done in a normal scenario. However, even if still you are not able to do it, don't be harsh on yourself. The work can be done anytime the other day. Be very engaged and it's very important to be engaged and supportive with each other at this point of time. And also, please don't stop taking your leaves, plan your vacations, use that time to unwind yourself. And the most important which we have always tell to our team members that it's very important to unplug multiple times during the day. It is not important for you to be available on the screen for 10 to 12 hours a day or to available on phone. So, this is from my end. Right, right. So, I think that we need more bosses like Manisha where you are introducing gaming for your employees. That's the kind of things that are happening to keep the morale up of the employees and that also increases your productivity, your faith in the organization that you're working on. I'm sure all that is reflected in the work that is coming up. And over to you, Pooja. What are your thoughts on work from home, the new normal and efficiency and effectiveness of communication at this time? Yeah, so thank you so much for having me at the panel. I think Manisha has rightly said about the pan-pick fatigue and how there are different ways of dealing with things. Yes, these are very empathetic times and it requires a humanitarian touch that is definitely there following discipline and following some pattern of professional and personal gap is very important. But at the same time, taking that mindful pause is equally important. So, when I talk about mindful pause, it means that after every say 45 minutes or maybe after every 60 minutes, if you take that 10 minute break, in that we encourage people to talk to each other, talk to each other and have that conversation thing going. And there are a lot of Friday virtual sessions in which we are just generally talking and maybe drinks have also gone a little virtual now. So, people are enjoying that phase of having virtual drink session. So, I think these are times that you need to talk a lot to your people. And once you are talking, then there is a sense of understanding that you get from how their sentiment is actually growing. So, I think these are some ways in which you have to create some kind of discipline. Once you do not start your day well, you of course get a little agitated entire day and there is no pattern of routine that you follow. So, having a discipline is equally important and you need to start early and of course end your schedule on the respective timelines. You cannot merge timelines and have your work schedules running into your personal routines as well. So, some kind of timelines need to be maintained. And yes, people are in that swing that they require a right kind of mindfulness activity and we do some sessions as well in the organization and have been asking like teams to come up with their own ideas also, how they are doing things differently. So, I think everybody is doing their own way of how they can creatively manage the situation. But yes, these are some of the things I think all of us are doing it and we have to continue doing that for sure. So, over to you Nandita and you are clearly in office and we know you are not working from home but I am sure you and your entire team have also been through several days of work from home and you must have noticed changes in patterns, changes in work-life balance and everything that ties along with the work from home situation. So, if you can tell us a little bit about the kind of changes that you have seen in your team, in your climb breeds and how has productivity been impacted during the long term, if at all it has been impacted in a negative way and your take on efficiency and effectiveness. Thanks, Tasmai. So yeah, it is just a Bangalore office that is open and it is completely voluntary for anyone who wants to come in and work. I have just chosen to come to office and work. I think about work-life balance in a very different way. I talk more about, I mean I have never known work-life balance but I have known as rhythm. And as long as I find my life in a rhythm, I am fine and sometimes that rhythm comes from just spending time at home, family, friends, etc. That rhythm comes with one foot at work and one foot at with the family or it could just be completely work. And I think right now it is a good rhythm with just I think almost 80% of my time devoted to work. And I think that I can say that of my colleagues as well. I have always said that if we try and find work-life balance in these times, we are always going to kill ourselves and say, what a terrible life we are living. But if we focus on the rhythm and we say that yes, this is going well, I think we are going to be a lot more positive about what we are going through. And I think when I talk of rhythm and you speak about productivity, Tasmai, I think somebody else mentioned it, was it Valerie or someone who said that we have never seen a more productive time than the last 100 days. If you look at where our clients are, the kind of acknowledgement from the client side on the great work that the team is doing, internal camaraderie, whether it is just everyone doing what they have to without anyone breathing down their necks. And I do find that a lot of our senior managers' times have been released because we're not checking on who's doing what. Work is just getting done. And isn't that beautiful? Like I say that we had three destinations, Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore. Today we have 85 destinations. We're working out of 85 places. And things have never been more seamless. Things have never been more coordinated. And I think that is what I say. I think productivity has been at an all-time high. But yes, we are tired. But I would like to say, and I hope I talk about everyone, I think we're happily tired because I know that the work that we're doing is really, really good. So this has made me actually pause and think about what you really need for productivity. You need clear objectives and very clear timelines to deliver. You need a supportive team. You need an encouraging client. You need agility and response. You need constant communication and feedback. You need a good working infrastructure. You need to have an environment and a mind space that is free of fear and anxiety. I think there are a lot more of these things. And I think every organization are doing these things better than ever. So, you know, and therefore I really feel when I look at productivity, I'm very happy. And I just hope that, but yes, you know, we always talk, you know, Manisha spoke about it. We just spoke about it. It's very important to keep in mind that burnout is, is, you know, is possible at any time. We need to watch out for that. But I think we're all doing that, right? Now coming to the next point on effectiveness and efficiency, I am a proponent for both. I don't think it can be one on a compromise for the other. Having said that, in the last 100 days, I have put effectiveness way ahead of efficiency. We're all living, I think we're all possibly putting in 10 or 12-hour days. And, you know, as, and I can speak for the women, you know, the women in the workforce. We're also primary caregivers at home, even now, despite our, you know, despite all that we do at work, we're still primary caregivers at home. So it's pretty much, I would say 20-hour work schedule, which is grueling, you know. We need to cut ourselves some slack when it comes to efficiencies. And I'm very glad here that I've also seen some clients cut us some slack for efficiency. You know, kind of forego some of the rigid systems and processes that need to be followed from a reporting perspective, etc. to focus as to what really brings in outcomes. And I think that's very important. Focus should be on outcome. You know, it's not about how many hours we are putting in or etc. It's about are we delivering what we have to at this time. So it's so important to look at what you're doing and just filter out all the unnecessary good to do things, right? And just focus on what is absolutely necessary. If you can be efficiently effective, nothing like it, but I think effective Trump's efficiency at this point in time. I think that's a very beautifully put, you know, we have like in all bullet points that what all drives efficiency and productivity during this time of the crisis. So over to you, Shivani, we have talked about seamlessness and coordination and everything that comes to our mind when we talk about, you know, walking from home. So how has it been different from you? How has working from home been different for you and your team? How has the productivity been both, you know, internally with your team and with clients? And if you can also tell us your thoughts on efficiency and effectiveness of communication at this time. Thank you. That's me. So yeah, I think when we talk about communication and we talk about creativity, so creativity is not just now in the campaigns and external communication. Now we are talking about at this point in time, creativity in internal communication, which is with the employees, how much can we kind of support them? How much is it that we can help them to kind of withstand this and, you know, fight it to know better way. So yeah, it's very important for all of us to understand that there has to be a right balance between the EQ and the IQ. So for everybody to understand the balance in terms of the emotional quotient and the intelligent quotient, you know, so there is the productive, there is a mental challenge which everybody is facing right now. I think at home, you know, there are issues in terms of people handling the work while handling the work, you know, at home as well with the large women population at PR. So I think that's something which everybody is facing. And some what we tend to do is what I feel is important is that communication in terms of has to be, you know, purpose driven. And there is a need for the trust, you know, in the organization to build the trust and the empathy and the timely communication is very critical. Right. What like I think Manishan, who also mentioned what we have been doing at SDAG is again a couple of things trying to be regular with our, you know, the teams and in terms of holding the town halls in terms of having the anonymous surveys, you know, they can come up with their questions or any concerns they had. So generally at times, you know, you've seen they might not open up like that. And if they have any concerns, so yeah, there was an anonymous survey that we did, which was a big hit. And I think the kind of concerns we saw and the issues people are facing, which might not be so much related to work, which could be something, you know, with the negativity around and which is kind of affecting their productivity, which with that kind of mindset, I think people are tend to lose a balance at times. So a lot of hand holding in terms of having containing their emotional balance and also hand holding in terms of how to upskill them is very important. You know, in today's time, it's not just that what you have learned is going to be going forward. So you might have to add a skill, you might have to, you know, understand deep dive into the campaigns or deep dive into the client's work or the industry, how it is going to be relevant in coming future. And again, talking about social media and digital is something which is the thing going forward along with PR. PR definitely is a pace which has picked up. I think all of us know that the pace which was which has always been there with PR, but now PR is kind of steering the campaigns, the communication campaigns, it's no longer a support role. So having said that, I think it is the added skill advantage that all of us need to have, you know, it's not just probably the workforce that we have, it's all of us, even the team leaders, all of us need to understand whether understanding having, adding the empathy value to our, you know, soft skill or adding a technical skill to our, you know, so that is something which will contain everyone and try, we need to try and keep that positive mind. Yeah, encouraging each other, keeping connected with the teams is very important, not just because of not just for the work, but I think even for in terms of the social engagement that we talk about, a lot of social distancing has kind of taken a toll on people's, I think, mind. So yeah, you know, staying at home, not meeting people. And then when you're talking to people, it's mostly work like 10 to 12 hours a day. You're just talking work, work, work, you don't have the water cooler chats, you don't have the gossip chats, those are being missed out, which were more like a vent out times for people. So I think that that is something we need to figure out, we need to be creative. How do we help our people to do that? Even if it's in a fun way, or even if it's in an anonymous way, let them vent out. Venting out is very critical. So that is from my end. Yeah. And when we talk about being effective, like I said, it is a challenging time. Yeah, everybody, all of us are facing that. But again, it is important to kind of keep that calm. Like most of my colleagues over here said, you know, having a routine is very important. And keeping calm is very important. I know it's easier said than done. But I think it's important to again, like I'm saying communicate with your peers, with your half faith in your organization, half faith in your team leaders. That's the time when everybody has to stay strong and, you know, want stronger. So that's from my end. Right, right. Thank you so much, Shivani. You almost summed up the entire discussion that we're talking about today. So, you know, a couple of interesting things that I jotted down during the conversation we had that a lot was said and discussed on the kind of change in messaging that has also happened, right? Changing communication that has happened. Maybe mediums have changed. There has been more importance given to digital, more importance being given to social media, etc. And Archana at the beginning of the session, you made a few couple of very interesting points there. You mentioned a few brands, you know, talking of brands and the kind of communication that you're helping them with. We have seen brands which are in the FMCG department or which are maybe, you know, have products in the health and sanitation department for them communication and messaging have been very obvious. They are saying what people need to hear at the moment but then there are other brands like you mentioned the luxury car brand, you know. What is the kind of communication that they are sending across, you know, what is it that they should be saying at the moment without sounding insensitive but then again staying in touch with their customers? Okay, this is a time at the moment we need to redefine the brand purpose. Every company needs to think about that. We need to infuse a lot more authenticity in humanness, you know. There is a need for empathy as people spoke internally but even externally, you know, people expect that. People want brands to contribute and help them ride this, you know, crisis, right? So, I mean, some of the trends that we are seeing in the marketplaces is something that we need to certainly embrace as part of our communication. In which one sits for what? You know, it looks at it. So, suppose you're in the, you know, your business is not e-commerce enabled. It's a time to do that, right? So, there's going to be a lot of communication that'll take place on that because there's going to be an accelerated shift towards digital shopping. The environment has become so much more relevant. People are so conscious about social consciousness purpose, you know. So, is there an element of social purpose that you can integrate into your organization, into your brand? Making it real. Remember, authenticity is absolutely core. You cannot work. It's also where ethics today are more important than ever aesthetics will be. So, please look at that. You know, when you're crafting your messages, when you're working on programs for your clients, that becomes very, that has to take center stage. Local pride. What are you doing? What are you contributing? How is it that you can, you know, is there some somewhere that we can demonstrate that? How is it that we can avoid inflaming local sensitivities? We've seen that in recent times, right? What's going on at the moment with the banning of so many of these Chinese sort of apps. It's all about local pride, right? These are things that are happening contextually around us beyond COVID and that's something that has to be recognized. You have to underplay what is not local and overplay whatever local is. So, how is your brand, your organization, your company contributing to growth in this market? Maybe it's time to do some local collaborations quickly and become more local. Put a local face to your company as opposed to a global face. Also, it's a time that we feel that is a need for inclusion. You know, it's very, you know, we are going to go through what is known, what I'd like to call is the minus one living, right? We're not going to be able to generally spend at the levels that we were accustomed to. And so, all companies, products will have to sort of look at it, okay, say, what is that particular product category or that offering that service that I can offer at the base level, which is inclusive, which can actually touch many more people. You know, those are some of the points that we need to you know, include in our strategy going forward. Nandita, you want to add something? Yes, I actually would. And you know, it's to your point, Asme, where you said, you know, healthcare, you know, it's a given, you know, they don't have a problem. But you know, we have an interesting situation where we work with a palliative care NGO and a very, very critical aspect of healthcare, but something that is just not getting attention, God attention and is not getting attention in these times. In addition to what Archana said, a very important element is that I think everyone is just all of us are clients, the entire business is understanding the importance of stakeholder engagement. And that goes beyond, you know, a large part of what we really are known to do, which is media relations or digital engagement, stakeholder engagement is now sitting at the heart of public relations now. And like, you know, I can tell that so many of us are now actually using the power of digital engagement or media relations to actually bring stakeholder engagement very, very close to what clients need to serve their business objectives. So we find ourselves, you know, if you're not able to break through the kind of the trend or the narrative that media is right now focusing when it comes to COVID, which is all about, you know, hospitals and beds and, you know, positive cases or deaths, et cetera, et cetera. And that occasional doctor's day or nurses day thrown into, you know, kind of talk about compassion and care, even to the medical fraternity. We are saying it does not matter if we don't get visibility, what we want is to be heard. And that heard may not necessarily translate into visibility, but we want our message to get to the right stakeholders. So are we engaging with the PHFIs of the world? Are we engaging with the WHOs of the world? Are we engaging with the ministries? Are we, you know, are we engaging with hospitals? Are we engaged? How are we engaging with society? You know, and so all our campaigns are driven. Yes, the tools that we use maybe, you know, or we may be directly interacting. But I think stakeholder engagement has been brought to the heart and center of public relations now and stakeholder engagement. I would agree with Nandita. I think the challenges, how networked are you and how can you bring that to your client? And how can you make that transition for them from the little things that they were doing in their small isolated pockets to being able to actually network enough to make sure you present them in the right, in front of the right stakeholders. So I think I support a lot what Nandita is saying and direct outreach. It's not just using media or digital or, you know, videos or whatever. It's about how, how can you bring that or make that additional effort to be able to bring that network or bring that relationship to the brand and grow their own networks and relationships to be more successful at the processes that they do. So I think that's really what is at the heart of a lot of the PR work that we are seeing. And it's not just from one person in the organization. I think there's an expectation for every senior person, every team head, every, you know, a practice lead or whoever we have to have that access to have that understanding to reach out and be able to understand the business needs to be able to survive and give them to be able to be more relevant to their business at this point in time. So networks, influencers access is very critical, more so than just pure play media and digital, which is secondary actually to a lot of things. Manisha, if you would want to add into that. Yeah, so in continuation to what Arjuna mentioned that, you know, brands need to show support to the community. So I would like to share one example of a WhatsApp that I had received two days back. I'm not going to name a brand. So this is a shirt company that basically advertised, so they circulated a WhatsApp group or WhatsApp message that if you wear, if you're going to buy their shirt, definitely you're not 99% you will be COVID free. So it is very important for the brands to understand that it is not the time for selling. This is time to showcase the support to the community as well as your stakeholders, your answer able to all of your internal and internal internal and external stakeholders. So right now it is very important to have positive, purpose-based, honest and transparent approach to all our communication strategy. So, you know, in our organization also we are putting a lot of emphasis on the right usage of language and appropriate tone because we don't want to want to be sensitive towards consumer sentiment because everyone is going through a very tough phase in their life. So yeah, so it's very important to keep showing your support towards community and stakeholders. If you are there with your consumers at this point of time, you're definitely going to be remembered for a very long, you know, period. So yeah, this is just I wanted to add. I want to add picking up from what Manisha spoke about, you know, the other big responsibility we have as communicator than if I may say custodians of the reputation of our clients and our brands is actually to advise them when not to say something. I think that's becoming another very important role that we have to take on as advisors. And sometimes I have to say it could be at the cost of, you know, saying telling the client, no, this is the wrong thing to do. And we have to have, I keep telling my teams the courage to push back and of course, do it with the right kind of rationale and all that. But fake news, wrong kind of, you know, making sort of saying that the example that Manisha took, I mean, it does would not hold up to any kind of scrutiny. So those are again the additional responsibilities as we as communicators and senior advisors have to brands. And I think in the last three months, I've seen a lot more of that and we call it under the space of, you know, issues and crisis communication. And a lot of work has also happened in that space, almost I can say 60 to 70% of our clients have come to us in that space invariably saying, okay, this kind of issue is growing. So whether it's an employee issue, whether it's a policy issue, whether it's a partner distribution chain issue, it could be in any one of these areas. So even what Nandita was saying for the multi stakeholder program, and because we help the organization address all these stakeholders, looking at each one of these areas and seeing where could the next possible issue arise has become another very important part of our role with our clients. So we call it the scenario mapping, because as much as possible, while nobody can predict what's going to happen in the next one month, and where we are going with COVID, but it's important for us to at least start looking at the various scenarios that could hit our business. And then how do we as communicators help our clients deal with those and be prepared in the best manner possible. So somebody was, Shivani, yes, please. Sorry. Yeah. So in fact, the couple of points, you know, of course, the whole thing comes to like being purpose driven, you know, how the organizations and the brands need to be purpose driven and understand the sentiment of the customer or the inclined. So which is again, a very interesting example that I came across yesterday was this nutritionist, celebrity nutritionist, he's Lou Quotino. And he just released his book on immunity, you know, immunity pill with Chilpajati. Apparently, he's not selling it, and it's free to download. So see, somebody like him could just easily sell the book and make money out of it. This is the time he wanted to win the, you know, his customers and his clients. So I think this is something very interesting. And it was a very good PR that he did for himself, you know. Right. So that's something I think what the empathy and building trust is what is critical now. Right. Right. Right. So we have a lot of questions coming in from everybody who's tuned into the several platforms from where we are live. But before that, I would just ask one conclusive question and I'll go to each one of you to answer that for us, which is, you know, your message to the community out there. And we'll start in the order that we started the entire discussion. Archana, if you can have your take on, you know, your message to the community out there. I think it's time that I'm going to pluck the leaf out of something. My colleague Shreya spoke at the PRCI conference, a PRCI sort of platform for, you know, the program that they're running support each other. And she said, you know, remember the acronym, Cope. So this is a time that we must communicate even at the risk of over communicating with people, clients, loved ones, don't elderly, everybody. We must remain optimistic. Let's not lose hope. We shall, this too shall pass. Right. Absolutely. Let's not overlook productivity. Because, like we both, somebody was speaking about work-life balance, right? Nandita, you did, right? I believe it's work-life harmony. It's, you know, we are what we are. We have a life because we work. So yes, productivity cannot slack in at this point and empathy. Let's be empathetic towards others. If somebody else is not feeling the way that you are, let's be kind. So for me, it's about where creativity has to solve a problem always. And the second part is whatever messages we are putting out there, please be genuine about them. And I think a lot of my colleagues have talked and echoed that. So, genuineness in your messaging. And the third one is similar to what Artuna talked about, empathy. Empathy for each other as human beings first. It's not just our people, but our clients, people we talk to, the media, whoever. We must have empathy towards them and see that, you know, everybody's going through a tough time. Absolutely. There will be mistakes made, forgive and look at it as a learning. Valeri, your message. I think this is the time when you can just be very innovative. You have the opportunity to bring your hidden talents and skills to the forefront. You have the opportunity to revamp yourself. I think it's given us a great opportunity to, you know, look at things very differently. So take the risk. Do things differently. Because like everybody else said, because there's a little bit more empathy in the market. So you make a mistake and you're okay. At least you've taken the risk to do something different. And don't lose that hope. I think everyone's feeling very hopeless where they are right now and feeling, you know, really bogged down with being locked down and having all these home, you know, suddenly you're having home issues at the same time merged with your work issues. Not many people are like Nandita and Arjuna and some of us who merge all of that together. Some of them like to keep it separate. So don't lose hope. We're getting there. It's only at the end of the corner. I think and by December we'll be there. So don't lose hope. Stay positive and take your chances. Don't, okay. Another thing is don't lose this time because you have a lot of opportunity or time to learn something new. Like you would spend one and a half, I mean, at least in Bombay, we spend one and a half hour going to work and coming back. And you know, that's three hours in the day. And I think that gives you some amount of time to learn a new skill or open your mind to doing something a little bit different because the future is going to be a bit different. And we are all seeing it. It's right there in front of every one of us. And if you don't use this time to open your eyes, see new things, learn and revamp yourself, then you're wasting this precious time where you've got to be with yourself at home. So yeah, that's that's all from my side. Rashmi, your message to the community out there? Well, I think we've all seen a lot of change and very rapidly. So, you know, and we've seen, you know, we've talked a lot about it today about employee first engagements, we've talked about executive communications, we've talked about crisis, purposeful leadership, purposeful communications, reaching consumers in new ways. So everyone I think has been working very hard. And I think over the past months, we have been working with a lot of rapid fireways, especially with the crisis response. But my message is that is now evolving into, you know, future readiness. So we have to now start focusing on reinventing, you know, on recovery. And we can do this, you know, with more relatable, more respectful, more empathetic communications. And, and I think the one thing that this lockdown has taught us all is the value of work-life balance. So as we, you know, are moving forward and hopefully into the recovery phase, let's not lose that. That's all from me. Right, right. Manisha, please add it to that. My message to community is that please take care of your family. Follow government orders. If government wants you to wear a mask, then please wear a mask. Don't step out without your mask. As Valeri said, stay positive and do take care of your health. If you are healthy, you will be able to do many other things, which, and you will remain strong, which is needed during this time. And keep saying to yourself, all is well, 2020 is going to end soon. Yeah, right, right, right. So, you know, I was reading a WhatsApp message yesterday, which said that, you know, there's a good news and there's a bad news. The good news being that half of 2020 is over and the bad news also being that half of 2020 is over. So, you know, that's a very valid thing to say. Pooja, what is your message to the community out there? I think the first thing is that, you know, people should be grateful. I think practice and gratitude is the most important thing. At least we are in a far, far better position than many others out there. So I think we invoke that feeling of being grateful. I think this is what we can at least pass it on to many others that at least you are in a much, much better position as compared to whoever others are. And second thing is that people also need to build up on the AQ. AQ is adversity quotient. So adversity quotient is that if you are in today's, if you're able to pass on this rough patch without losing your mind, I think you are, you have safely crossed this bridge. So I think these are small things that I think if we are small, small things by doing positive affirmations, if we are able to tell ourselves and I think tell many others, then create that positive sentiment. I think people need positive sentiment more than anything else today. And I think if Dodians can bring it out for people and our colleagues. And I think this is how the sentiment building can be done. So build up on your AQ and be grateful. That's the message from my side. Nandita, what is the message from your side? We learned about the rhythm, tell us more. I love what you said, Pooja, the AQ, really, really like that. I think crisis is a big level of, you know, I mean, today we like, who cares whether you have three decades of experience or just one, right? I mean, we're all looking for the same solutions. We're all seeking solutions in a time like this. I spoke about the rhythm. So there is, there is a rhythm in all of us. Just spend that little time in acknowledging that and then building on that rhythm. And, you know, gratitude. I think in all this noise about what we've lost, I think we still have plenty with us. So and I think it's important to accept, acknowledge, accept and stop resisting what we're going through. Shivani, your message? I think I would just like to add to all of, everybody's almost covered everything, but yeah, it's one important thing is that it's okay not to be okay. You know, at times, I think all of us get too harsh on ourselves, you know, why this has not happened, why that is not happening, why the other person, so I think it's important to understand that for ourselves and for the others as well, it is okay, that fine, it's not happened and it's going to take some time to happen. It is very important to be sensitive towards each other. And yes, to the youngsters out there, you know, I keep hearing that people have started to venture out too fast and to, you know, explore things too soon. So I think it's important to stay safe and stay at home. That's why work from home thing is still on that you should not venture out and, you know, put yourself at risk. It's important to take care of yourself. One point, since we're all assuming that there are lots of women watching, don't forget to take your D3 and your B12s, our drumming string at home, so all of us have to do that. Add some zinc and some vitamin D. Don't forget all of that, it has to be all your own. I keep hearing from younger lot, we don't get time to work out, we don't get time to do this. I think planning and structuring your days in your hand, if you cannot manage it during the day, get up at 5, 5, 15 in the morning and do. I think it's all up to you how and what you want for yourself and for your, from your life. So it's nobody who can guide you for that. And if you can't manage now, then when will you manage 24 hours? Right, right. So, you know, we have someone here in the audience, Anup Sharma from the Storytellers is saying that there's a lot of men watching this panel discussion too. And he asks us that, you know, what is the secret and how do you keep smiling like all of us in the panel? So any of you want to take that question? There's a question to be answered, you can please answer it. Yeah, we'll just, next time you'll learn it. I think Anup knows everyone in terms of, and he's the one probably who like a Storyteller. So he creates stories and he builds stories and we understand and we keep smiling. Yeah, I think we're just living in the moment. We're just enjoying the company of all our colleagues and we've got one hour and we're just focused on this one hour. So, this is more again, like, I think an interaction like this is more like a stress buster for all of us. And, you know, more like, since we are again, like non-meeting and social distancing, this seems like a chit-chat women chit-chat session. Absolutely. So I'll go to the questions we have here. Someone says, hello, what is the skill that the new entrance should inculcate as they enter the industry now in the post COVID one? It's open to any of you, any of you can take it up. Well, I think that telling a story is very key to PR. You have to and to tell the story in a way, not just with the facts, the facts have to be right. So there's a lot of emphasis and factual accuracy, but how are you going to tell that story to emotionally connect? Because ultimately people don't remember, the one thing that people remember the most is how did you make them feel. So it's, and storytelling is an art, it's also a science. So if you can bring that together, you're set up for success. And if I can add to Rashmi's, so storytelling has, of course, been a very, very important skill for us as communicators always. In terms of adding a new twist to it would be tell that story digitally now. Figure out, don't wait for somebody to make that film for you. You have to know how to do it, do the script, shoot the damn video, edit it, and put it out there all within some 48 hours or something. So yeah. So a new entrance, they have to really learn the craft of storytelling. And unfortunately, or unfortunately, when we started out, it was all about reading, writing, and sending it in print. Even if it was broadcast, it was really channeling it through a great pitch note. But I think now the times have changed. So as a new entrance, if you don't know Adobe, you don't know how to make that video, you don't know how to craft that story. Like Rashmi said, how do you make people feel emotively through that visual connection? You'll be lost. So that's your skill that you have to have. And I think everyone of us will be looking for those when we hire the next round of people coming in. I think it's content creation through, you know, digital content creation. Absolutely. How are you able to tell a story? That's important. The next question is asked that what have been the key learnings for agencies in the last 100 days? I think we've covered that more or less through the panel. But if anybody still wants to sum it up for our viewers. I think the use of data and tools have really ramped up. I mean, a lot of people used to never use digital tools or tools to listen and craft their stories. And in the last 100 days, more so than ever, everyone's been saying, oh my god, the school has been a lifesaver. I've been able to monitor match conversations and be part of the new cycle. So I think that's something that has really, you know, clients are also looking at it from a very different way who would not invest in such tools are suddenly looking at, hey, what do I need to do to invest? Because again, like I said, the CEO's attention is on what you're doing from a cons perspective, how you're making that difference. And they're saying, show it to me in data numbers and not just column centimeter, share of voice. I need to know trends. I need to understand stories. I need to understand what we're doing to be part of that new cycle. So I think we've actually ramped up that quite effectively to use data and tools to effectively look at predictive creative and story done. Also, you know, just to add to what Valerie was saying, the other thing, you know, we talked a lot about internal communications, but just, you know, a few months ago, our focus was on e-newsletters and internet and intranet posts. And, you know, things have changed with town halls and fireside chats, which were bringing everyone together in person in large crowds are now things of the past. So by the same time, we need to create more personalized messaging. And, you know, we need to communicate with more frequently with a greater transparency with the employees. In fact, I was talking to one of my colleagues just a few days ago, and she was saying, you know, one of the biggest changes in strategies and channels has actually happened in internal communications, because that is where the big opportunities are. So I was like, well, you know, give me an example. And, you know, she said, for example, employee podcasts. We've always looked at podcasts as external messaging tools, but now they've been used more and more frequently internally because employees can, you know, feel like they're talking to their executives. They're talking to the executives more often, they're aware of their anxieties. And also, you know, being able to relate in a more informal and conversational way. So internal comms is, again, a big area of change and innovation. Nandita, I think you wanted to add something. I think the biggest learning really has been the unraveling of public relations as a discipline. And it goes beyond media relations or digital engagement now. It is all about, as Valerie put it, database insights and strategy. It's about messaging and therefore, good story, good effective storytelling. It's about stakeholder engagement. It's about, you know, community management. I think, you know, and if I think, and this is this is a message to, if I could be, you know, a bit about it to all our common marketing people listening out there. If you're getting your PR firm to do only media relations and focusing on AVE and the like, dig a little deeper. Because I think the power of public relations goes a lot, lot deeper. And the last few months or 100 days has really shown that. Right. Next question is from Ruhay. He asks, how do you see role of women entrepreneurs in the PR sector in the next couple of years? Any of you can take that question? Well, I mean, I hope to see it grow and have a lot more gender parity. And I would like to see more and more women leaders in boardrooms. And hopefully that's coming soon. Right. Anyone wants to add into that? While his question may have been specific for women entrepreneurs, but I think like Rashmi said, it's a bigger broader base of more women in leadership overall, not just in communication, but also in business. And I think all of us over here are probably already doing, and if not, we should be doing much more to bring up, bring in women who can deal with leadership. And, you know, we've some things we've talked about here in terms of the work life harmony. And these are typically the challenges the young women in our industry have. And I have to tell you anecdotally of some stories from very young women in my organization struggling to keep up with work and home and actually saying that I don't think I can continue working because the pressures at home are so much more right now. I can't cope with it. But I think that's where us as women leaders have to understand that and step in and enable them to understand how do you balance it out? How can we give you the kind of space you require? How do you manage your time to counsel them? Because the easiest or the saddest thing would be for them to just give up and say, forget it, I'm out of the workforce. Let me see what else I can do in the meanwhile. So yes, for more women leaders and for us to mentor the next generation to continue. There is another question that says that since business continuity and communication planning are interlinked, what long term and short term implications will this pandemic have on the corporates and agencies? Anyone? Archana, you want to take this question? I don't understand the question. So I'm finding it very difficult to respond. Anybody else wants to take the question? Could you repeat the question? Yes, sure, sure. The question goes since business continuity and communication planning are interlinked, what long term and short term implications will the pandemic have on corporates and agencies? Well, I mean, I can try and take a stab at this and I'm not sure if I understand the question correctly. But so from the corporate perspective, this is the time to really reprioritize because we're coming out of a very challenging, a very challenging situation. And it's going to be a tough market. This, you know, we saw so much content just around focused on one issue, the pandemic. So businesses have to figure out, but how are we going to cut through all of this and, you know, and, and get to our audience to get them to, to hear what we have to say now. And I would imagine that, you know, big PR agencies and businesses are equal partners in this. So when the businesses are setting the PR, the business priorities, the key priorities, one would, it would directly impact the agency because they are supporting the communications for these, for these priorities. So I hope that answers the question. Right, right. Then there's another question that says that how long will the agents, for how long will the agencies have virtual offices? Yeah, anybody wants to know? Moving forward, I think I hope we can have virtual offices. But, you know, as long as we have, we look at the safety of our people, we look at it being okay for them to come and interact with one another, it being okay, I think till that time, most of us would not want to allow or put our people at risk. So I think it will be sometimes since we will be working remotely. And why not? I mean, it's been, we've been very efficient working remotely. It saves us on some rent. It saves us on some, you know, overhead costs at the moment. So let's go for it. But eventually, yes, we all like that personal interaction and we all want to be together. So it will come, but it will, it will come when it's absolutely safe for our people to come together. I personally think we're going to reach some kind of a middle path of this virtual and in office space. Because I think I doubt if we will go back to the completely all in office options. Because like Valerie said, I think everybody knows, you also realize the benefits of the remote managed working and there are cost elements and so on. So we're clearly looking at some kind of middle road on this one. And that's going to be the new normal. And I also think we've been shying away from this because of the responsibility. We were always worried that the people would be more responsible at, you know, doing stuff from where they are. And we offered work from home, but we would always be very like hesitant about, is that person really doing what they're supposed to do? But now I think it's a proven model, right? People are more responsible. You're seeing that you're seeing people like Nandita mentioned, I think earlier people are coming ahead to be more, you know, engaged and it's forming some sort of a rhythm, which all of us will continue to follow through. And if we do continue to follow through, I don't see us moving out of this, you know, fully. The clients are happy with the virtual meetings now. I hope so, you know, otherwise you stop your time on an aircraft with your bag running on from the other side. I'm so glad they're so happy. Also bring back a lot of women back into the workforce across the globe. Yes, because they have to look after family. I think a lot of organizations don't welcome that, don't welcome the fact that, you know, give them the flexibility to sort of work from home. And I think to answer that earlier question, you will see a lot more women therefore then climb up the corporate ladder and much more senior positions, which they have otherwise had to sort of take a vaccine. Yeah. You know, one of our clients, an automotive client, did a study and said, let's look at the employees on what they'd expect and what would be hindrances for them to come back to work. And the one big thing is, since until schools start, people are going to be very hesitant because their kids are at home, they're no maids to come look after them, they care, it's not going to be the same any longer. So I think there's going to be even your male colleagues, it's not just women colleagues, they will have to be home and support either or to be able to look after the kids and have that education from schools. So that's a big area of concern. And a lot of young couples who are in nuclear families not having help of your in-laws or parents or whatever. I think that's going to be a big concern. And they said that that was the biggest hindrance for people to actually come back to work. It's not about the public transportation, it was not about, you know, it's about, you know, how am I going to manage my kids if they're not going to go to school? I think even with the, I've seen a lot of joint families, I think expectations from a woman to kind of take care while she's sitting at home to take care of the home, you know, and yeah, so it's just what you know, a lot of people are facing right now. So while they have to be at the calls and they are expected to kind of take care of the household thing as well. So yeah, those challenges are there. But yeah, like all of us are saying this too shall pass and people are going to come back with a bang once they overcome all of this AQ. Absolutely. So this is one of the last questions that we have. We have just two more questions left. This is from Mukesh Kharbandar, his question. He says that any of the panelists can take this question. How much time before we start pushing the paddle on sales slash hardcore product promotion again, since most brands are bleeding revenues? Yeah. So I'll start. I want to add here that economy is slowly opening up. So it's not right time, you know, for to actively start, you know, having this sale directly sale campaigns for brands, you have to be a little patient. Absolutely. We have to continue with our purpose based and, you know, positive and interactive, positive and, you know, transparent communication approach. I think consumers are not looking for any sales, you know, selling sales, you know, advertisement right now. If you're spreading the message of show and if you're spreading the message of care and support to the consumers, that's enough. I have a bit of a different view. I think the point is, do you have a relevant sales point? Do you have a relevant sales message? If you're going to be relevant in the current time and space and you're genuine about what the benefits of your product are and how it can help the person, you should be doing that communication. I think there are many and more whether you take IT products, whether you take FMCG food products, whether you take personal care products, all of them are very much required today. So I don't think you should shy away from saying, Oh, am I going to put a sales message? Even in a non COVID time, nobody wants to be sold a product, they need to know why should I buy the product? What's in it for me? What is the unmet need that this product is going to fulfill for me? So it has to be relevant and it has to be genuine. You should be out there. At the end of the day, business needs to start, it needs to continue for us to go on. I think he's asking for a genuine sales start again. I think if you see most of your clients and some of you may handle some sort of IT businesses, most of the businesses are going through a digital transformation and they've also said, you know, there's this joke floating around who's helped you, you know, transition your business to a digital transformation of business. Was it your CEO or your CTO, but it was actually COVID moved businesses to actually transition their ways of which they're looking at go to customer and even, you know, automotive brands are now transitioning to sell online and move from purely dealerships to actually an online mode. People are offering direct to home test drives and things like that. So business is transforming with the time and with that transformation, you'll see sales pick up as well. So if you're able to be more relevant from like Deep Shikha said, from a business standpoint to transform your business to meet that gap or that purpose of what you as a brand stand for, then sure, why not. And we're seeing that happen. So a lot of brands are really looking at now, if you do look at transformation, we'll use the next six months for transformation, what is 2021 looking like? How are we going to leverage the opportunity that 2021 2021 is sitting? And in fact, a lot of our clients are looking at, Hey, let's look at what we're planning for 2021 from a strategy standpoint, but 2020 is like almost, let's let's try the flow and see where this takes us. It's a skip year 2020, the skip year. I'm refusing. I'm not celebrating my birthday this year. They are lost except for this elevation. So we will take just one last question. And this is my request to all of our listeners and viewers who joined us on this panel that you know, the conversation doesn't stop here. We've just discussed that how work doesn't stop at any particular given hours. So you know, conversation and the chatter doesn't stop with this webinar. You can take your questions on our Twitter, Facebook pages, and you can ask our speakers, whatever you have to ask them. So this is just one last question that I will take. It is from Madhavini Sareen. She says, thank you so much for such an informative session. My question is to Arjuna ma'am. In these COVID times, a global traveler is now a local shopper. Travelling was earlier associated with buying for products in their country of origin, making them authentic. Travel restrictions have changed that now, impacting the luxury industry. What, according to you, is an immediate priority for the luxury industry to cater to a situation like this? Quite a question, Arjuna. This is good. Actually, I did reply back to her privately. I did think this we had time because I don't know. I was under the conception that it was only till four o'clock. So essentially, see what's happening with luxury brands and what we are with all the brands that we represent also. We all read about the revenge buying that China witnessed with illness and all that. Now, we won't see it. In India, we'll never experience it like to that scale, but there certainly is a desire. There's a latent demand that is sitting already. There's a pent-up demand to just indulge yourself, where you haven't had a holiday this year, all of summer's gone, and you haven't had a time that I think every one of us take a short break. We've got that money. You're feeling down and out, what do you do? You ladies go and shop, men go and shop. So weddings are taking place, etc., taking place. So luxury buying is definitely going to hold. The only thing that'll happen is probably it won't be people will be hesitant in buying the tens of lakhs of a sort of product. They will probably be happier buying something which is slightly more economical. So brands will have to stock up at the lower end, stack up at that level as opposed to at the top end. A lot of luxury brands are not E-enabled. So they have to quickly get their businesses E-enabled. Personal shopping which is a trend that is very popular amongst luxury brands, well the watches and the clothes and your bags come to your home. That bit will is also something that people are reticent about, but if you could see it online, it'll just enable the business. So I think it's because you cannot travel overseas, there's a great market for luxury in this market. Now all the brands that you would otherwise have said okay, even from you know like my Nexpresso coffee pods, I can't go, where can I buy them? I have to look for them here. Right, otherwise that was your first port of call when you went in anywhere. Please tell me where you found a place to get Nexpresso. So there's a place for luxury. Soon we are going to be traveling within the country. Goa has just opened up. So I mean the point is fatigue hotels etc. All of that will happen. People will go away. People will take a short drive once borders start opening between states and so local luxury products will definitely flourish. But international brands make yourself available across the board on e-commerce. You'll find enough shoppers. All of them have moved to making masks as well right now, sanitizer masks. Sanitization stuff in your kit. So they've all revamped to make themselves relevant right now. So yeah absolutely. I'm contributing to the welfare of people you know at large. They've all done their bit. Even the biggest brands have contributed. Absolutely. Not just in mass making but actual physical fundraising. Absolutely, absolutely. So I guess that is it and it was a very very interesting session and fantastic to have all the women leaders on board. Thank you everyone. Kanu couldn't have us chatting out for any longer. He's here. He had to budge. That's when we knew the time was up. Thank you so much everyone for taking out time and enlightening our audience. We have a wonderful session. I wish you could have continued for a longer time but unfortunately this is it. So we will continue the momentum. We are doing a boom and achievers summit and awards on 29th of July. I'm going to reach out to you individually. Look forward to see your engagement there. So thank you once again. I hope you like the session. If you have any suggestions, feedback, please do feel free to write into me or anybody in the exchange for media team. Thank you everyone. Thank you guys. Thank you. Thanks to us. Thank you so much. Thank you guys. Thank you. Bye everyone. Bye. Bye everyone.