My First Encounter With Public Relations

My First Encounter with Public Relations

‘P R is an attempt by information, persuasion, and adjustment to engineer public support for an activity, cause, movement or institution’.

-Edward Louis Bernays, Father of modern PR (1891-1995)

I think PR is 90 percent Press Relations or Press release management and 10 percent Reputation or Perception management. Holding a media event i.e. Press conference is a great thing to do if there is something important to announce. A media event gives an opportunity to the journalists to ask questions in a way that a press release can’t. Press conference enables the journalists to build a story around the needs of the publication they represent or work for. They try to investigate the areas that the organisation may or may not want to bring to light. This case study will help the PR professionals in organising a successful Media event.

The Encounter

May’ 1995 - During third week of May’95 I, along with my family were at Mata Vaishno Devi shrine (Oriental Bank also has a branch near the shrine). As it was very much in the knowledge of my colleagues at Oriental Bank of Commerce , Head Office, New Delhi that I would be visiting the shrine on certain dates and might also visit the branch, to my utter surprise a message for me from one of the senior executives of the bank was with the branch manager that if I visit the branch I should be asked to call that executive at Head Office of the bank immediately. From the branch itself I telephoned the senior executive who asked me to meet him in his office as soon as I return to Delhi.

When I came back I met the senior executive. He told me that they are  looking for a person having good contacts in the media as the bank is planning to hold its firstever press conference in June’95 to declare its annual results for FY 1994-95. Oriental Bank had brought its IPO in October 1994. 

The senior executive  was informed by some of my colleagues that I have good contacts in the media as I am a casual drama artist of All India Radio and Doordarshan and had been a journalist also in the past. He told me that Sh. S K soni the then Chairman and Managing Director of the bank would like to meet me in this regard. Without any delay I was taken to C&MD’s chamber. Mr. Soni asked me just two questions…

Do you have any contacts in the media?

Do you think that you would be able to organise press conference of the Bank?

I told him that I am  a drama artist with AIR and DD and also actively engaged  in Theatre. I also informed him about my experience of working with the Delhi Press during my college days as University Reporter. I assured him with confidence that I would be able to manage the press conference and shall come upto his expectations.

Step by Step Execution of the Task

Press conference was to be held in third week of June and venue finalised  was Club Room, Hotel Le Meridien, Janpath, New Delhi.

First Step

I had around two weeks to execute the work. I decided to visit INS Building to gather info about the journalists handling Banking portfolio and business editors of various news papers, magazines  and news agencies and also purchased INS members directory. After arranging necessary information I personally visited each news media office and created a list of  Journalists and Editors handling Banking beat. 

During the course of action I came to know about Press Information Bureau at Shastri Bhawan, New Delhi which houses  Press Information Officers of every GOI ministry. One day I also went there and managed to meet the Press Information Officer handling Ministry of Finance. He was a young IIS officer who happily shared an exhaustive list of Journalists handling Finance, Banking, Business and Economy beats. 

The list was having the following information;

1.    Names of the journalists

2.    Names of photo journalists

3.    Names of News cameramen

4.    Name of the newspapers, magazines, television channels, newswires,

5.    Office addresses

6.    Phone numbers

7.    Fax numbers

8.    Residence addresses and phone numbers of the journalists

On the basis of that list I prepared my own list of journalists covering banking beat (to be more focussed) and showed it to the senior executive and C&MD so that they can decide which all journalists are to be invited to the event. C&MD shortlisted 25 names to be invited to the bank’s maiden media event.

Second Step

After getting the names of 25 journalists, I started meeting each of them personally. During one of those  meetings I was advised  by one the journalists that I should also meet the Editor In-charge of the Business desk and Resident Editor. His advice came as a boon to me which helped me a lot in due course of time. My first meeting with all the journalists and the respective editors was the stepping stone in building media relations.

Third Step

Third step was…………

1.    Finalising the matter of press invite, its printing and distribution

2.    Preparation and approval of pre-event press release and its distribution as an annexure to press invite.

3.    Preparation and approval of press release for distribution during the media event.

4.    Preparation of press kit for the journalists.

Those were the days when Google was not there to help us, still all the above tasks were successfully completed within given time and well before the date of the event with the guidance of friends in media. And again I met each and every journalist and their editor In-charge to deliver the press invite and pre event press release. The second meeting further strengthened my relations with the journalists.

Fourth Step

Two days before the event I personally telephoned each and every journalist invited to the event to enquire whether they require pick up and drop facility, as the event was to be held in the evening followed by dinner, to which most of the journalists very politely said NO. 

At the Press Conference

Myself, Senior Executive, General Manager, Executive Director, and C&MD of the bank reached the venue well before the event time. I remember that my C&MD asked me – Suresh how many journalists you feel would come to the event. As I was sure that all the invited one would turn up, I answered with confidence –Sir all those whom you have invited will attend the event. The press conference was to start at 7.30pm.

By 7.30pm most of the invited journos reached the venue and took their seats and I started distributing press kits to them. I noticed that there were 24 journos instead of invited 25 and the one who was not present was from HT. I requested the GM, ED and C&MD of the bank to take their seats on the head table and requested the senior executive, who was also the Emcee of the event, to start the press conference and I went to the adj. room, which was being used as camp office. I made a phone call on his direct office number.  He picked up the phone and told me that he is in a mid of finalising the cover page story for tomorrows newspaper and will surely come to the event, though a bit late. When the press conference was about to end, the HT journo also walked in and asked few closing questions. I was very happy that all the 25 journos attended the maiden press conference organised by the bank, executed by me.

After the dinner, when all the journos left the venue, Sh. S K Soni C&MD came to me and patted my shoulder and said ‘well done Suresh, I am proud of you and left the venue. Also the ED and GM praised great outcome of my hard work. This was the biggest ever prize for a naïve person like me for successfully executing bank’s maiden press conference, that too single handedly.

Outcome of the Press Conference

Over 200 english, hindi and vernacular newspapers published the news about bank’s financial results with great headlines. Some of the main newspapers and magazines also carried interviews of Sh. S K Soni, C&MD. The bank received ample coverage and exposure in the media.  The press conference helped me in becoming first ever most successful Public Relations officer of the bank and an expert in financial PR.

Suresh Gaur

P R Guru

Founder & CEO

P R 4 You and Public Relations @ Online

Authored:  Public Relations 4 You & P R 4 Everyone

Email. Sureshgaur56@gmail.com  

Mobile No.- +919999761727

LinkedIn handle : Suresh Gaur P R Guru

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