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.