‘Brand SRK’ just got bigger! (in case, you haven’t noticed!!)

Shah Rukh Khan has always maintained that he has never faced discrimination for being a Muslim. In fact, about two weeks ago, when Emran Hashmi went public with a complaint (which he strangely retracted a few days later) about discrimination by a housing society, citing communal reasons, Shah Rukh gave a statement to the media, saying that in the past 44 years, he had never felt any such discrimination. He also said that the Emran Hashmi case was a one-off incident and should not be seen with communal eyes.

Khant do that!

When SRK was frisked and detained for more than an hour by airport officials in US this week, every media carried his story. “They (the officials) said my name was common to some name that popped up on the computer," SRK stated, apparently referring to his Muslim name.

Following this, there have been debates over the possibility of him trying to milk this episode for the promotion of his forthcoming film ‘My Name Is Khan’ directed by his buddy Karan Johar and reportedly based on a similar subject of community discrimination.

‘OSO’ revisited !?!

Even as SRK vehemently denies the charge, there has been widespread speculation, especially among the youth on the internet that the Badshah of Bollywood is leaving no stone unturned to play up this episode for the sake of free international mileage worth crores that his film is receiving. People all over Facebook, Twitter, Orkut, as well as a lot of bloggers and websites, have been wondering aloud whether King Khan is flashing the community card to boost the pre-release hype for his movie.

PR is an intriguing mind game in a media minefield

I remember, when Shilpa Shetty faced racial discrimination in Celebrity Big Brother, the whole of UK rallied behind her.

I was her publicist then and was overwhelmed with UK journalists calling me in Mumbai just to ascertain facts, while Shilpa faced Jade Goody’s onslaughts in the CBB House. But when SRK has alleged community discrimination, even many Indians are calling it a ‘publicity stunt’. Not fair.

There is no such thing as bad publicity!

Let’s not forget that we are living in a market-driven world obsessed with spice and sensationalism and ruled by TRPs and tabloid journalism. If the public can lap up all the daily gossip with a mischievous smile, why are they questioning Shah Rukh’s genuine case so much?

SRK does not need gimmicks

The episode angered and troubled him, so he spoke to the media. Big deal! He’s a public figure, and a huge one at that. He has all the right to voice his opinion. What’s more! Shah Rukh Khan does not need gimmicks. Yes, I agree that with this community discrimination controversy, ‘Brand SRK’ has just got bigger the world over, but that’s by default. Though this event would undoubtedly prop up the hype for ‘My Name Is Khan’, it couldn’t be intentional. And even if it is, what’s the harm? At least, the incident exposes the continuous discrimination towards the Muslim community in America and gives hope to so many people around the world, seeking a life of respect. If people are hell bent on terming it a stunt; then they should call it a stunt with a cause!

PR is a perception game

Shah Rukh has raised a voice which so many throughout the world are identifying with. It’s only a matter of time (or maybe, with the right kind of PR) when his voice will be heard in the right perspective.

It’s never too late to be great

I remember each and every word of the opening sequence in the movie ‘Troy’ (it inspired me a lot). It goes – “Men are haunted by the vastness of eternity and so we ask ourselves, will our actions echo across the centuries? Will strangers hear our names long after we're gone and wonder who we were? How bravely we fought, how fiercely we loved…” So true! Just like the great Napoléon Bonaparte once stated, “Immortality is the recollection one leaves.” Last but not the least, a quote by Daniel J. Boorstin – “Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some hire public relations officers.”

Turn down the downturn

I’m often asked if good PR can really help in times of downturn. My answer is… when trading is difficult, advertising and marketing budgets are the first to be slashed. PR is the cheaper option to advertising. Moreover, getting attention is getting money. As they say, ‘Jo dikhta hai, woh bikta hai’. The clever ones could enhance visibility to tide over the recession.

Secure return on investment

So what kind of PR could actors and makers do that would add to their image and brand? The number one objective for your publicist is to plan and position you as a stronger brand than before. Whether you are big or on the verge of making it to the top – whether you are looking at a personal PR exercise or film branding – the right kind of planned media coverage is going to help. This, in turn, will be helpful in securing return on investment, which is invaluable.

PR is cost-effective

Many argue that advertising achieves similar results to a PR exercise. Yes, somewhat. But don’t forget that consumers have always relied and believed more in the written word, like articles and snippets, than on advertising. Also, advertising campaigns cost a lot more than PR campaigns.

Smart PR is the cost-effective way to get your message across to the relevant audience. And everyone needs to manage their reputation in front of their target audience. Realising all this, a lot of advertising and marketing agencies have now launched PR divisions. Yes, PR, advertising and marketing combined, do make a better impact, but for obvious monetary reasons, PR is taking the lead now.

And Bollywood is already taking the PR route to get their message across. We know of so many prominent actors who are strategizing to ‘consolidate’ their position in the industry, while their competitors are thinking of ‘survival’ during recession.

Consolidate your brand

The question is, does it make sense to wait for things to get better, or the market to improve? If you ask me, I’d say, it never makes sense to wait for anything. It’s better to get going, pump up your PR and actively market yourself. For those who do, the field will be relatively open at such a crucial time. I would say, this is ‘the’ time for some neat brand consolidation. So don’t wait for recession to end. Start stamping your brand.

‘Amitabh Bachchan ran away with Rekha!…’

Media has always been about great and shocking headlines. ‘Amitabh Bachchan ran away with Rekha!’ will always make a better headline than ‘Laloo Prasad ran away with a train!’

Let me tell you a PR secret of mine. When chalking out news angles, story ideas and planning gossip pegs for my clients, I always think in headlines. Then, the text just follows and fits into place. It’s simple logic. If the headline catches your reader’s attention (like this one caught yours), more than half your battle is won. The rest of it depends on how gripping the content and adjoining picture is.

Photographs speak for themselves. A good picture will get better placements, while an ordinary one could get the best of story ideas dropped. If your publicist gets this combo right, national mileage can be cakewalk for you or your movie. A good PR will always brainstorm and then guide you with smart headlines.

PRs are often labelled ‘spin doctors’ because of their ability to turn, twist, tweak and spin write-ups in a way which suits and benefits their clients. I do this all the time. Though, since I have a journalistic background (I was a scribe for eight years before I turned PR 12 years ago), my conscience makes sure I draw a line of correctness and ethics even while I deal with gossip, spice and sensationalism; elements that today’s market-driven media seeks in abundance.

I have handled PR for Priyanka Chopra in her initial days, when she was surrounded by controversies. Later, I took care of Shilpa Shetty’s publicity and endeavoured to brand her as ‘the diva in news 24/7’ during the most spectacular five years of her career. This was through the thick and thin of the Celebrity Big Brother controversy, followed by the Richard Gere pecks controversy and many many many more. I used media help to build and propel newbie Sherlyn Chopra into the bold, shocking and outrageous brand that she is now known to be. Some time ago, I was hired by The Man magazine to put out all the gossip about the now-famous Neetu Chandra male-fantasy photo-shoot. The news-hammering probably got Neetu more national media mileage than the pre-release hype of her films. Please note that I am not bragging here, but trying to make a point that I achieved all this, simply by making some striking and hard-hitting headlines for the press releases and articles about my clients.

Some time ago a popular website termed me the “King of Spin”. Around the same time, the Live India television channel alleged that I create Controversy Queens out of my actress clients. To tell you the truth, I am no king – I’m just a PR who has mastered the art of playing with headlines. And if that makes me a Controversy Queen-maker, I don’t really mind the tag. Cause I am just doing my job.

If you have your publicist think in headlines too, you can be bang-on with our gossip-hungry media. You too can achieve national headlines and Breaking News for yourself and your products.

Making dreams come true!

This week, there was an unusual mail I received. A reader asked me a strange question – ‘Why PR? Why is there a need for a thing like this and why do we need to know about it?’ Today’s piece explains just that. Why do you need to read up on PR, imaging, branding or crisis management? That might just be the question popping in your minds too.

We are living in a world where perception is reality. For better or for worse, not many are bothered about what the reality is. Most people believe in all the news and gossip they read in the papers or see on television. They CHOOSE to believe all of the written word. Though reality might be different. But most readers, viewers, surfers and listeners (and you are well aware that this figure runs into lakhs and crores) are not interested in reality as much as they are in glamour and spice.

Who is it that forms these perceptions and helps make opinions. Obviously, the papers, the TV channels, the various websites, social media and the FM stations. And who is it that influences the journalists, TV hosts and anchors, RJ’s and web writers the best? It is the publicists. It’s the daily job of a publicist to reach out, convince the media to cover his clients in a certain way and influence the perceptions of the fourth estate. He does this, so that the write-ups and reports reflect his client’s sentiments, requirements and needs.

For a good publicist, communication is a daily commitment, not a monthly ritual. He dedicates his life and times to communication and his clients. He helps make dreams come true. That’s why, I often say, from what a PR gets, he might make a living. But from what a PR gives, he might make a life.

Use Facebook as a powerful business tool

Though I am a very net-savvy person, I’ve been a latecomer on Facebook (FB). I’ve been neck-deep into Blogs, Wikipedia, IMDB, Google Videos, YouTube, G-chat and even into SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) for my clients. But I joined Facebook only four months ago, after my close friend and journalist Noyon Jyoti Parasara coaxed me into it.

After padding my account by inviting hundreds of ‘friends’ to join me, I realised that Facebook could be used as a powerful business tool, simply because almost 25-30 percent of Bollywood is on it… many hooked to it.

And then the magic happened for me. I casually chatted with an actress on the site, exchanged numbers, met her and turned her into a client within four days of the chat.

This meant EXTRA income for me… income which was added purely because of Facebook. From that day, I began taking the site seriously, updating regular posts and links, pics and videos, chatting and adding more and more ‘friends’ to my list.

Meanwhile, another of my closest journalist friends Pavithra Selvam put me on to a guy called Kiran Pillai who also specialised in Social Media. Kiran looked like a shy simpleton when he met me. He took a briefing from me, bounced off a couple of ideas to improve the look of my FB account and met me for a second meeting loaded with more ideas to improve my overall social media standing.

To my surprise, Kiran began discussing what he termed “Brand Dale”. Ah… now now!! I specialise in creating and building brands and influencing media and public opinion. And this guy was talking about building ‘my’ brand. He caught my interest. Since I felt he made a lot of sense, I took him on as my ‘Social Media Publicist’. My friends haven’t stopped pulling my leg since then. “A publicist for a publicist, eh?”, they joke.

Within no time, Kiran completely transformed my FB account into one of the well-packaged ones in media. Today, after just four months of being on Facebook, I have many nice people from Bollywood on my ‘friend list’ and I’m talking serious business with a few (some of them might be reading this too and smiling). My new-found ‘publicist’ (wink) even helped me design a section where he incorporated my entire PR Agency Blog on my Facebook account. So now, every time I update my PR clients’ Press Releases and images on the Blog, the additions automatically get updated on Facebook. Isn’t that cool?

My Facebook account has now turned into a full-fledged business tool for my PR agency Dale Bhagwagar Media Group and on an average, I receive 2-3 extra offers for work every day. Being ‘selective’ has a whole new meaning for me now. And the same could be for you too. Check me out on www.facebook.com/dalebhagwagar and let me know what you think of my account.