ASSIGNMENT 1 PUBLIC RELATIONS & CORPORATE COMMUNICATION

DO TATAS, AIRTEL, HINDUSTAN UNILEVER

SPECIFICALLY NEED PR?

Submitted by

Swathi R

#187

Section D

Public Relations got many facets in today’s fierce competitive world. To touch upon a

few important areas to grasp the vitality of Public Relations – Communication with all

the stakeholders, Media relations and management, Sales Promotion and marketing

including Advertisements, Government relations – all form the core of Public Relations.

It would be better to analyze the importance of PR to the specific companies instead of

dwelling upon the concepts of Public Relations. The concepts may be subtly understood

while discussing the respective cases of the mentioned companies. In my view all these

companies specifically need PR to sustain, improve and lead the industry.

Tata are the business empire assiduously built over decades even in the pre-independent

India. One may feel that there is no need for any advertisements or marketing strategies

employed and that the brand name would take care of itself. But, it is essential for a

company like Tata to build and maintain the company’s brand and image on a consistent

basis. Also, there are many statutory compliance requirements, Tata have to meet, as

most of their group companies are not close-ended, instead they are all listed. The

companies thrived with the support of their investors. Also, The investors’ relation is part

of PR and this is equally applicable to Airtel and Hindustan Unilever.

Tata Group of Companies operating in various sectors – Tata Steel in Steel, Tata Motors

in Heavy and Light vehicles, Tata Chemicals in Chemicals, The Indian Hotels Company,

known as Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces in the hospitality industry, Rallis India in

agrochemicals including pesticides and formulations, Tata Consultancy Services and Tata

Elxsi in Information Technology, Voltas in Engineering, Tata Asset Management in

Mutual Funds and Tata AIG in both General and Life Insurance – the above are just one

quarter of the Tata Group of Companies only to illustrate the competition that they have

to face to survive and thrive in the respective industry as there are other players with core

strength.

Mere brand name, namely, Tata may not take care of its products and services. There are

several environmental factors that affect the whole Industry from time to time and the

player operating in the industry is no exception. In the late 1990s, when there was a

recession in the Automobile Industry, TELCO also had to bear brunt of the recession.

Tatas have very good forms of PR in place like Media room, Investor desk, customer

service teams and community initiatives through various trusts and institutions. They

also have Employees relations committee, Forum of Representatives’ of Group

Companies to inculcate the group culture in their group companies operating in various

spheres. All the above initiatives are part of the PR practice and these are the core

competencies for a company like Tata.

Bharti Airtel Limited is an Indian telecommunications Company, providing wide range of

services such as Mobile Services, 2G and 3G Services, Telemedia, Digital Television,

Broadband services, and blackberry services, Airtel Money Service through e-commerce

and end-to-end telecom solutions. Airtel got a worldwide presence and considered one of

the top 5 service providers in the telecommunication in the global level. As there are

many competitors in the various segments of the business, from country to country, Airtel

needs a sound Public Relations structure to retain its market share and to improve the

same.

Recently before two months, Airtel rebranded in the first phase of a global rebranding

strategy and as part of the strategy, unveiled a new logo with airtel written in lower case.

The new identity through new logo is to exhibit the willingness of the company to

embrace that is new. They also explained that it represents modern, vibrant and friendly

signals with the recognition for humility. Airtel operating in other countries across the

world also plan to implement the change in their logo in phased manner and in some

countries the change had already taken place. This shows that the company though

enjoying a very good brand value, seeks to enhance by rebranding which signifies the

significance of PR role.

As part of their marketing and advertisement efforts, they have entered into various

sponsorships – One with Manchester United Football Club and the other one with ESPN

Star Sports. All their marketing efforts, advertisements and sponsorships direct towards

increased market share and a wide customer base in the global presence.

They have Customer Service, Investor Relations and Media Centre, which represent

some of the PR forms. As a service provider in telecommunications, these PR forms must

be good enough to move forward. But the response time of the Customer Service Centres

should work on improvement all the time, as this is an Industry where a small complaint

will prompt the customer to switch the loyalty. Today, the mobile portability scheme is a

challenge for most of the service providers and Airtel is definitely in the race to give the

best service to its existing customers as well as their prospective customers. Their

marketing efforts combined with planned PR strategies may win them over more

customers; care must also be taken in the area of “Competitive Pricing” as the present

day customers look for Value for their money.

Hindustan Unilever known as HUL is a premier in the Fast Moving Consumer Goods

(FMCG) Industry. HUL is the first Company in the FMCG Industry to popularize many

brands in various segments like Food, Homecare, Personal Care and Water. To name

some brands – Modern and 3 roses in Food, Surf and Vim in Homecare, Ponds and

Lifebuoy in Personal Care, Pureit in Water. With policies for Nutrition for all the food

items and ensuring health and beauty through hygiene with their personal care products,

the HUL is the leader in the Industry and a survey indicates nearly 75% of the Indians

consume one or other products of HUL.

HUL has marketing approach outlined as policy for separate segments and sustainability

strategy. Being a leader in the FMCG, they take all efforts to sustain the market share and

all their PR activities are built to achieve the end. They have PR forms such as Media

Centre, Customer Care and Media Centre in place and conclude the present PR forms are

good enough to them as they focus on making a difference through their brands.

It will be appropriate to sum up that PR element is running through in all their activities,

as they are brand-conscious for every single product hitting the market. One PR form that

is reportedly lacking in its effectiveness in all the three companies is internal

communications – a very important PR form that is essential to keep the employees more

informed, knowledgeable and motivated all the time. As they have built huge empires, it

is important to constantly motivate the employees, as they are the pillars of growth and

sustainability. Next to money and incentives, it is the communications and sharing of

vital details and information that keep the employees morale high.

Hence, in my opinion, PR is definitely a need and sustained practice for companies like

Tatas, Airtel and Hindustan Unilever.