How a PR manipulates (A tip)

I remember an instance, when long ago I had messaged the editor of Mid-Day's film supplement Hit-List for a story on one of my PR clients, Pakistani actress Meera. When I followed up, the Ed curtly messaged back, "Mid-Day won't carry the story." I was irked by that statement, as the editor was only the editor of Hit-List... and not all of Mid-Day. To me, the statement also smacked of typical media arrogance, which once used to be a part-and-parcel of the attitude of old-school media persons. There and then I decided, this had to change, or at least, I had to be an exception.

That evening, I contacted an on-the-ball News Desk journo friend from Mid-Day and offered two separate scandalous scoops with exclusive pictures to support. These two scoops were an offer in return for pitching and pushing the Meera story for nothing less than 'Page 1' of Mid-Day. I had added a current affairs angle to it to suit the main paper and did not mention that I had pitched the same story to the Hit-List editor earlier in the day.

The journo loved the story and the carrot of two huge scoops. He asked me to be patient — as two days later, his senior had a weekly off — and on that day, maybe he could push the story. I was repeatedly assertive about it with the journo and then waited the wait. The story finally appeared on Page 1 with an elaborate continuation on an inside page.

That morning, I messaged the Hit-List editor about it, with a rejoinder: "Sher ke mooh mein haath daloge, toh sher kaatega toh sahi." (with a wink emoticon in the end). Though later, I felt a bit bad about that message (though not about the manipulation). Aisa laga, ke thoda zyaada ho gaya.

BTW: As a bonus, instead of the promised two scoops, I gave my journo friend three controversies to cover for the next fortnight. He was thrilled.

Moral of the story: Only media-fearing PRs can be put in place, not the ones who understand spin. After all, PRs aren't called 'spin doctors' for nothing.

Takeaway for PRs, budding PRs and BMM students: A publicist has a whole world of print, television, radio, internet media and even citizen journalism via social media in his/her scheme of things. If the PR really decides to play the game, there is no way any media person can stop a spin doctor from doing what he/she wants to do. Just decide to be unstoppable and the possibilities are endless.

Note of caution: PRs can create upheavals like nobody's business as they can plot, plug and plant stories or rumours in trade or any media. So they must always remember, that with great influence comes great responsibility. Stay nice. Be ethical.

About the Author:

Dale Bhagwagar is a PR specialist with branding, image consultancy, strategizing, media manipulation, crisis management and mentorship for media students. He has handled the publicity for more than 150 Bollywood actors and 30 movies, apart from being a spokesperson and publicist to 20 Bigg Boss contestants.

Thor going the James Bond way?

First, Hollywood screwed up with James Bond's characterization and made him brooding, serious and a punchy muscular fighter (traits he never had for decades).

Now it's screwing up Thor's characterization by making him caricaturish, taking away his famed hammer, giving him additional Superman-like superpowers and making major changes in his looks.

Bond movies lost the repeat-viewing value... which is still there with the old Sean Connery, Roger Moore and Pierce Brosnan flicks. And I have a feeling, the same might happen with the Thor franchise.

About the Author:

Dale Bhagwagar is a PR specialist with branding, image consultancy, strategizing, media manipulation, crisis management and mentorship for media students. He has handled the publicity for more than 150 Bollywood actors and 30 movies, apart from being a spokesperson and publicist to 20 Bigg Boss contestants.

Why Mobile Space is more powerful than Print and Television Media

As in other parts of the world, media consumption in India has shifted decisively online, with 375,000,000 Internet users in 2015, or 30% of the population. Meanwhile, more than 50% of the population owns a mobile phone and around a third of these own a smartphone. Newspaper and magazine print circulation has been declining steadily for over the last six years.

Image courtesy: Google

In the next 5-7 years, when mobiles will fully overtake laptops and desktops in the access of the internet, there will be a great shuffle in the media order. Mobile Space will be the No.1 media. Internet on desktops, tablets and laptops will come at No.2. Television will come at No.3. Print and Radio will compete with each other for Nos. 4 and 5.

Image courtesy: Google

This order with Mobile Space as No.1 may come as a surprise to many. But please understand that Print Media can converge on to the Net with their Online websites and E-papers. Television can converge on the Net with live broadcasts and YouTube video capsules. Radio can converge on the Net with broadband and podcast capsules. And finally the Net converges onto your Mobile phone, which makes the Mobile Space the most powerful media... even more powerful than Television, Print, Radio and regular Online media.

About the Author:

Dale Bhagwagar is a PR specialist with branding, image consultancy, strategizing, media manipulation, crisis management and mentorship for media students. He has handled the publicity for more than 150 Bollywood actors and 30 movies, apart from being a spokesperson and publicist to 20 Bigg Boss contestants.

Remembering naughty Freud and spin doctor Bernays

Last week was the birth anniversary of Sigmund Freud (1856-1939), the father of psychoanalysis. And Google rightly devoted a doodle to him.

Freud had a lot of controversial accomplishments, some of which are highly debated even today. But what people sometimes fail to acknowledge, is the indirect impact Freud has had on almost everything we as a people witness in today's times.

Now now! Doesn't that make him an extremely interesting man to study! And you may ask how he has influenced us so much. So let me take you back in history a bit and explain the phenomenon in the crispiest way possible.

Sigmund Freud's nephew Edward Bernays combined the ideas of 'crowd psychology' along with the psychoanalytical ideas of his uncle, to invent 'propaganda'. In contemporary times, we know 'propaganda' as 'Public Relations' (PR).

 Sigmund Freud (left) and Edward Bernays

As a publicist, I often say, we are living in a world where perception is reality. Think about it. Don't we all blindly believe in what we read and are told. Who has the time to research and investigate facts!

Earlier journalists used to do that as the torch-bearers of society. But in times of paid media, combined with research via the phone and Google (and less of field work), contemporary journalists are fast losing those traits. So let me take the liberty to repeat my favourite line: We are living in a world where perception is reality. A world driven by PR.

And who started the fire? Naughty Freud and spin doctor Bernays. ;-) #FoodForThought

About the Author:

Dale Bhagwagar is a PR specialist with branding, image consultancy, strategizing, media manipulation, crisis management and mentorship for media students. He has handled the publicity for more than 150 Bollywood actors and 30 movies, apart from being a spokesperson and publicist to 20 Bigg Boss contestants.

Raaj Kumar was something else only! ;-)

Jab main naya naya Mumbai mein aaya tha... being a journalist then, ek baar ek party mein I approached Raaj Kumar for a quote on something... he had one piercing look at me and said, "Jaani, tum abhi bachche ho. Jaao."

When I tried to rephrase my question, he again said, "Kaha na, tum bachche ho, side mein ho jaao." I felt intimidated and decided to move on. I could even make Amitabh Bachchan relent to persuasion, but not Raaj Kumar. ;-)

Kam se kam, I could pester and convince Big B into THIS.

Later in my career as a PR, I got to meet Mr Kumar's son Puru Raaj Kumar a couple of times. Must say, both father and son have been unique in their own ways. Charming and impressionable.

Celebrity PR clients need even better hand-holding and guiding

The PR spectrum is continually changing and expanding, but some entertainment publicists are not changing with the times. They seem to be ignoring the dictum: Evolve or perish.

Traditional PR tactics are phasing out, and making way for professional handling of crisis management on web and mobile space, even if it requires guerilla tactics.

Bollywood celebrity clients need even better hand-holding and guiding in this changing world of public relations.

Contemporary PRs need to understand this, adapt and adjust... and real quickly. It's a new mindset taking over the industry; demanding a paradigm shift from publicity professionals.

When Bollywood publicist Dale Bhagwagar applied the power of persuasion on Amitabh Bachchan

Whistling Woods International (WWI) featured my experiences with megastar Amitabh Bachchan in their newsletter called Stamp. While everyone else got half or one-page articles, two pages were devoted to mine. Feels nice... kinda leaving a king size stamp on time, eh! ;-) Gee!  Thanx WWI, Priyanka Pai, Alison Dcruz, Aditya Mandre, Karn Gupta, Saili Kocharekar, Niviya Augustine, Pooja Doke, Jaison Chacko, Sumedha KS & Team.

BELOW: REPRODUCING THE ARTICLE VERBATIM FOR YOUR EASY READING... ALL GREEN LIGHTS, CHEERS...

The power of persuasion

(Applied on Amitabh Bachchan)

In the words of Bollywood’s only PR guru Dale Bhagwagar

Today, I am a leading publicist in Bollywood. But I was less than 25 and just out of college, when I first spoke to Amitabh Bachchan in 1995.

Back then, with great encouragement and support from my mentor grandpa, I had come down from my relatively quiet hometown, Nagpur, to the concrete jungle of Mumbai (then Bombay) as a journalist, and joined the Bollywood magazine Cine Blitz magazine as Chief Sub-Editor and Reporter, just a day before this incident.

Amitabh Bachchan was my screen idol and I’d grown up watching his films like Satte Pe Satta, Aakhree Raasta, Naseeb, Amar Akbar Anthony, Agneepath and my favourite Main Azaad Hoon; the one which dealt with the media.

It was my second day in office, when one of my seniors told me about an ABCL (Amitabh Bachchan Corporation Limited) Press Conference to take place same afternoon, for announcing a corporate tie-up of the company.

Since Cine Blitz is a gossip magazine and there is not much that corporate Press Conferences contribute to gossip, the interest levels amongst staffers to cover it were low. Moreover, they expected the CEO of ABCL to address it, and not the mega star himself. “Big B will not be there, but you can go and cover it anyway,” they told me almost sarcastically, while I enthusiastically jumped at the opportunity.

Of course, being new in Mumbai and just having joined the office a day ago, I wanted to take all the chances and explore every opportunity life threw towards me. Bachchan was too big a one to miss; in fact, the biggest, especially for a teen just out of college.

Happily and in hope, I reached the hotel where the event was to be conducted. Soon, it was announced, “Mr Bachchan is held up in traffic and would be about 25 minutes late.” What? Did I hear, “Mr Bachchan”? Oh yes! He was coming.

My joy knew no bounds when the mega star finally arrived, but I did not ask him a single question during the entire Conference. Instead, I was carefully noting my points and making a few exclusive questions which the 150-odd media men at the event seemed to have missed.

As soon as the Conference was over and we broke for tea, I waded my way through a sea of around 40 over-enthusiastic photographers, who’d rushed towards the stage, to click candid pictures of the biggest star our country has ever witnessed.

In those days, Amitabh Bachchan hardly gave exclusive interviews, neither was there any show like Kaun Banega Crorepati, or a blog, where you’d see or read him often. Then, it was terribly difficult for a journalist to get an exclusive interview with Big B, and next to impossible for a teen journo like me.

But where was I to give up!!

Finding my way through the photographers, I reached the stage just in time before he left. I looked small in front of the six-footer, but stood rock solid, refusing to move, till he noticed. Giving a look of amusement, as he glanced at me, I felt, as if I’d managed to win my first battle.

Having caught his attention (even if it was for a second), I immediately introduced myself and shot, “Sir, I need four minutes of your precious time.” Hearing this, Bachchan gave me a very surprised look! “Why didn’t you ask me your questions during the Conference?” he inquired in his baritone voice, which was almost unnerving for me then. “Sir, because I wanted an exclusive interview,” I replied as boldly as I could.

Now, anyone who is aware of journalism would know that exclusives are next to impossible at Press Conferences. But this was exactly where I was keen to score. So I pushed him again, stressing, “Sir, I won’t take more than four minutes.” At this time, Bachchan gave a strong look at me.

‘Does this kid think he can walk into a Press Conference with 150 scribes and walk out with an exclusive’, he might have thought. I repeated my plea, almost refusing to budge. “Speak to my secretary tomorrow and take an appointment,” he said, as if wanting to evade and pass through me. “Four minutes; only four minutes, sir,” I requested again with a smile this time.

Wonder if it was my smile or the power of persuasion that worked. Cause Bachchan gave me the last of those stern looks that fine day, as he gave up and said, “Ok son, your time starts now”. One after the other, I quickly shot my questions, while all the photographers circled us, clicking away.

Thoroughly engrossed in the interview, Bachchan answered each and every query in his characteristic style. When all my questions were over, he looked at his watch, then at me, and smiled. “You took fifteen minutes,” he remarked. Thanking him, I smiled back, knowing well that he ‘gave’ them to me.

I went back to my office and proclaimed, “I’ve managed an exclusive interview of Amitabh Bachchan”. Everyone laughed! I knew they wouldn’t believe me, so I took out my tape recorder and made them hear the conversation. Their jaws dropped.

Our footnote: Two years after this incident Dale Bhagwagar quit journalism and moved to Public Relations. A few years later, he handled PR for two of Bachchan’s movies namely Boom and Aetbaar and had various interactions with the megastar.

-- Article, as appeared in
the Stamp newsletter

of Whistling Woods International

Best Bollywood PR

Public Relations on a roll

From what a PR gets, he might make a living. But from what a PR gives, he might make a life.

PR's have been media kings from quite some time. Almost from the time I gave this interview three years ago.

I entered PR sixteen years ago after being a journalist for eleven years prior to that (since my school days). Then, I shifted from journalism to PR mostly because PRs are better paid than journalists.

Journalism v/s PR

This is because journalism is a profession, while PR is a business. But mind you, not all PRs are able to make good monies. Many who are not able to adjust and adapt to changing times also fade away. There are also many journalists and editors who have entered PR from time to time, but haven't been able to sustain.

This is simply because the profession is extremely demanding. It takes a lot of passion to stay put. Some think PR is a lot of stress and builds anxiety like no one’s business. True to an extent! But a great PR also learns how to handle that and treat his work with media like a game. Once that feeling sets in, PR is cakewalk and the passion for delivering impacting service, peaks. And then, he plays.

What it takes to be a great PR

To be a successful PR, one has to have a combination of at least the following -- intelligence, knowledge of market, intellect, street-smartness, contacts, connections, shrewdness, manipulation abilities, writing abilities, scheming techniques and tact and flamboyance to spin. And these are only the basics.

There's lot more to PR including spokesmanship, legal knowledge and mass perception management, psychology and even basic knowledge of psychiatry! Yes, you read it right! There are times, a PR has to double up almost like a psychiatrist; advising and guiding some clients who could be jittery about controversies and scandals that crop up in our gossip-hungry media.

So basically, a great PR is like a magician; building, promoting and protecting celebrities.

Embrace the winds of change

Change is not about revolution, as much as it is about evolution. In recent times, technology, gadgetry and internet have taken over our world by storm. Gone are the days when your publicist could make friends with a couple of journalists from select publications and channels and run his business. Now, PR is about a mass communication network. Change is writ all over the place.

Networking is a daily commitment…

For a PR specialist, networking is a daily commitment, not a monthly ritual. There are loads of newspapers, channels, websites and radio stations to cater to. I have a total mailing list of 2,500 journalists across India and abroad, and though it’s probably the largest mailing list amongst my fraternity, I still feel, I will double it soon.

It’s all about control

I’m often asked how much control a publicist exercises in what the journalists and public hear. Let me tell you point blank, if you are co-operative with your PR, it’s almost ninety percent control. Today, PRs decide where to break exclusive stories, what angles and news pegs to highlight, what pictures to give out and who they want to patronise for exclusive news breaks.

A PR trick

On so many occasions, I have broken huge stories on foreign websites catering to NRIs and created extensive impact by spreading the web links, and also through newswire services on the net. Then, I have got the same story picked up by our national television channels, who have given it more importance, just because of its international web presence. This is only one little PR trick. But three years ago, this strategy would have been considered professional harakiri, as then, not many valued the impact of the internet, or trusted its content’s credibility.

Understanding the ‘person’ behind the ‘actor’

As Bollywood goes global, I foresee the ascent of international PR firms in our market. But like that of star secretaries (Rikku Rakesh Nath continues to be a success, inspite of several so-called ‘celeb-management’ firms having cropped up); PR too is a personalised job. A ‘client servicing’ rep from a corporate agency cannot understand the moods, ambitions, insecurities and temperaments of our Bollywood stars. But a personal and dedicated independent PR or agency can. So the independent (read indigenous) PRs and the relatively smaller agencies are going to have a better grip on the industry’s propaganda needs, as they also bring in the element of trust, faith and secrecy in their dealings and day to day workings. Any celebrity definitely needs this kind of security and discretion, which the big agencies mostly lack in.

Ram Gopal Varma is a wise man

Talking about changing times, one can’t ignore the trend of blogging. I feel, blogging is a good and creative habit for many, BUT NOT FOR BIG STARS. For them, it could turn a PR blunder in the long run. See, in today’s times, there is already an overflow of information and news from all quarters. If you are not a celebrity, not many are interested to read what you update on a daily basis. If you are Amitabh Bachchan, you end up making your daily comments and feelings ‘commonplace’, and can even face the risk of diluting the all-important ‘aura’ because of it. Celebrity blogging will be the in thing for a few more years, and then its shine will begin to diminish. Though, it will continue to have a lot of scope for film promotion, for consolidating the branding of film-makers (Ram Gopal Varma is a wise man to have understood this soon), product or company promotion, and for teaching. As of now, these areas haven’t been properly explored by bloggers.

‘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.

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.

Media is being unfair to Yash Raj… but the fault lies within

Yash Raj Films (YRF) is no longer a banner – it’s an empire. Mentioning some of its films here would almost be belittling the force that YRF has been since 1970. So it pains me to see the media play games with a super-reputed brand like this. Sorry to say, Yash Raj doesn’t play the media anymore, at least not like it used to. Now, YRF is being ‘viewed’ to try too hard to sustain its reputation.

So review after review, write-up after write-up, why is the media being ruthless to a brand which has given us mega-hits since four decades? Isn’t this critical onslaught unfair to a success story that has been legendary? Let’s go right to the roots.

From my little 23 years of experience in media, first as a journalist for 11 years (since my school days) and later as a PR for 12 years, as I see it, there are various factors. But I’ll tackle the most noteworthy ones here. To start with, I should mention a line which a prominent journalist wrote in Mumbai Mirror the other day… “Success breeds respect, success breeds love.”

These words hold true for almost every product, organisation and celebrity today, when brands are being stamped with ‘success’ and ‘failure’ by the over-enthusiastic media, waiting to pronounce ‘judgement’ all the time. And we all know that YRF’s hit-parade has slowed down off late.

There’s another side to it, which Yash Raj doesn’t seem to have realised yet. And that is the PR side of things. We are living in a world where perception is reality. Smart PRs are great perception builders. They mould, make, break and remake images. They play with minds in the fourth estate, shape opinions, influence write-ups… with focus and an octopus approach… things that ultimately result in changing the outlook of society. Today, YRF needs that kind of PR.

As much as the empire needs to strike back with hits, it needs that ‘correct’ PR push and re-imaging… which many in my profession term a ‘makeover’. And all this with subtle manipulation… cause no man ever likes to be manipulated when it is obvious.

What I’m going to say next might sound a bit bitter, but the fact is, that the empire has mismanaged its PR in the last 4 years. Apparently, some of the people who worked in their internal PR department are said to have given so much attitude to the media in the last few years, that even after they have left the company, the ‘attitude’ tag is unshakeable. One simple way to break this impression and break it hard, would be to shift the control and outsource PR for some time, before reverting to an internal PR department again.

Yash Raj is Yash Raj, a pioneer among pioneers in Bollywood. I guess, we all know from within, that this is just a temporary low, till the empire strikes back with a huge hit, and success starts breeding love and respect once again. But yes, this time round, it will matter more than any other time, how YRF handles the media; the PR side of things. At the cost of repetition, I reiterate one of my favourite lines… we are living in a world where perception is reality.