With inter-firm competition hotting up in the post liberalisation Indian economy, and India Inc under increasing pressure to exercise corporate social responsibility, there‚s growing demand for savvy public relations professionals, who can aid and advise companies on image management ‚ how to present their best face to the public to win friends and influence customers. As a result there‚s been a spurt in the promotion of independent public relations agencies and consultancies (around 1,000 of them countrywide), in addition to autonomous PR departments of frontline advertising agencies, and large PR divisions of private and public sector companies. The once somewhat suspect vocation that was public relations has suddenly become big business.While 70 percent of contemporary PR activity in India is still centred around media relations, public relations encompasses a wide swathe of services including event management, internal commu-nication, building relationships with shareholders, crisis management, government related work, product launches, exhibitions, corporate identity development, public affairs management, networking and helping turn products into brands. In short, an effective public relations professional is expected to build bridges between a company and other organisations, and earn public approval and approbation for it. While formal training is not essential for entering this profession, most large PR firms prefer to engage professionals with postgraduate qualifications in media, corporate communications, journalism or advertising. PR is closely linked to journalism; hence most colleges offering courses in journalism also offer PR study programmes and courses. Postgrad courses are usually of one year duration and admission is generally on the basis of merit in institutional entrance tests and interviews.Among the reputable institutes/universities offering postgrad programmes to aspiring PR professionals are: Indian Institute of Mass Communication, New Delhi; Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan centres in all major cities including Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai and Bangalore; School of Communication and Management Studies, Cochin; YMCA Institute of Mass Media Studies, New Delhi; Symbiosis Institute of Journalism and Communication, Pune; Xavier‚s Institute of Communication, Mumbai; Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies, Mumbai; Sophia College, Mumbai; Mudra Institute of Communication, Ahmedabad; Centre for Image Management Studies, Noida; the departments of communication and journalism of Calcutta, Delhi, Calicut, Nagpur and BHU universities and the Indian Foundation for PR Education & Research (IFPR), New Delhi. An MBA degree is also a good qualification for a career in public relations as business management courses tend to have PR course components built into them. Pay packages for PR professionals vary depending upon the size of organisations, volume of business turnover and the track record of professionals. Entry level pay packages for trained and certified PR professionals tend to be an attractive Rs.12,000-15,000 per month. “With industrial growth currently averaging 12 percent annually, India Inc is experiencing an acute shortage of PR professionals. Presently, there are an estimated 50,000 people practicing this vital profession countrywide, but we need three times the number. Unfortunately there isn‚t much awareness in smaller towns about this profession, which offers great career and personal development opportu-nities,” opines Amitabh Saksena, founder director of ActiMedia Private Ltd, a Mumbai-based PR firm which manages public relations activities of 30 blue-chip international and national corporates, including the likes of L‚Oreal of Paris, Maybelline of New York, Garnier, Tommy Hilfiger, Kingfisher Calendar and other lifestyle brands.An economics postgrad of Bombay University, Saksena pressed on to acquire an MBA from the Indian Institute of Planning and Management, Delhi in 1993. A chance perusal of a feature in the Delhi-based Business Today persuaded him to sign up as a PR executive with the Mumbai-based firm Shyam & Associates in 1994, where he acquired work experience on brands such as Lee Jeans, France Telecom, Arvind Denim etc. In 1996 Saksena moved to IPAN, the PR division of Hindustan Thompson & Associates (now J. Walter Thompson), where he launched and managed the PR portfolios of several brands including CNBC, NBC among others. “In 1998, along with Binita Bodani, a colleague in IPAN, I decided to launch ActiMedia Pvt Ltd. Since then we have grown by 300-400 percent per year and have established offices in Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore and associates across India,” says Saksena.With the concepts of brand management and valuation now commonplace in industry, Saksena believes that public relations is a well-established and attractive career with a great future. “Brand building is very exciting and challenging. Young people should seriously evaluate this career option,” he advises.

Indra Gidwani (Mumbai)