‘External partners can be a sounding board for internal comms teams’

At e4m PR and Corp Comm PR Dialogue, the insightful debate on ‘PR Agencies vs. Brands Communication Teams: Who Manages the Narrative and Perception’ highlighted the unique roles played by the internal comms team and external partners, and the need for them to work together in sync for success. 

The debate was moderated by Mamta Dhingra, Founder, Lateral Sutraa. The Brand Communications Team included Nandini Chatterjee, Chief - Corporate Communications, Shree Cement, Sameer Bajaj, Head of Corporate Communications and Corporate Affairs, MakeMyTrip, and Pradeep Wadhwa, Founder, Kritical Edge. On the other side, the advocates of PR Agencies included Pranav Kumar, Managing Director, Allison, Dilip Yadav, Co-Founder, First Partners, and Deepak Jolly, Founder & Director, Concosia Advisory.

Dhingra kickstarted the conversation by asking Chatterjee a foundational question: Is there even a debate? Chatterjee replied, stating that the comms team sets the narrative. “When the comms team doesn’t have the skills the dependency is on the PR agencies.”

Yadav furthered the debate by adding, “What if the comms team doesn’t know the narrative?” He explained how it depends on the level of the organisation. “When McDonald’s entered the Indian market, they didn’t have a comms team for the first 5-6 years. This was when they were entering a volatile market with resistance to multinationals. However, they had hired a PR agency 2 years before they opened the first outlet,” he shared.

Jolly added to the discussion from his decades of client-side experience, “40 years ago, there were no PR agencies. The first step in the evolution was the recognition of the PR function. Then, when people didn’t want the headcount to go up, they started outsourcing.” He asserts the importance and place of everyone involved and the skills they bring to the table. 

Kumar joined the conversation highlighting the heavy lifting done by the agencies. “Sometimes, clients tell us to write a messaging document without context or background because they need it for internal alignment. Agencies work in the shadows for the clients a lot of times.”

Bajaj added a nuanced understanding of comms and PR to the conversation. “Comms is not science, it’s art. There is no definitive answer. It depends on the maturity of the comms individual, the organisation and the market you are playing in.”

He further explained, “One of the key traits I look for in my PR partner is someone who will challenge me. Someone who will say you are wrong, let’s debate it out. I will happily vacate my place if the basis is logic. The only difference is that because you are in the system, you understand the nuances better. The comms person has to play the critical role of passing on the important knowledge inventory to the partner so they can think with the same nuance.”

Wadhwa then listed the crucial aspects that the comms team and agencies/partners are best at. He explained how the comms team usually have great media relations, can do internal alignment, possesses deep knowledge about the business, has access to information and leadership, and is skilled at putting everything together and extracting the best from their agencies/partners. The partners bring creativity, innovation, reach, an external perspective, a diverse skill set, and public relations in media across categories. 

Both sides then deliberated about the importance of understanding that one is dealing with humans and that comes with great interpersonal skills as well as deep insecurities and varied personalities. Teams need to work together to bring out the best in each other.

Sometimes, the top leadership doesn’t have as much trust in their comms leader and team. Yadav added that that’s where the external partners are asked to step in and second their opinions. Jolly took the conversation further by stating that external partners need knowledge and understanding to prove valuable rather than simply executing a brief. Chatterjee added her perspective from her experience working with partners who would get the information from the client and then include the same points in their presentation (to the client).

Dhingra pivoted the conversation to trust with: Why should company leaders trust their comms team? Chatterjee replied stating that it takes a lot of time. “Once you start delivering results, trust starts building. Every time you are re-inventing the wheel, you have to build the trust and it takes time” she said. Dhingra countered this with another question: If it takes so long for this internal alignment, where does the partner stand a chance? Wadhwa answered it with an example of how their team won over a client by going the extra mile and bringing unique insights to the first initiation meeting.

Bajaj then furthered the conversation by listing the crucial skill sets partners bring. He said, “If you hire an agency, you get the advisory and experience of the founder.  And, the second layer of the servicing team. Both varied sets are critical and add value.”

He added, “The comms role has become more complex now because you are not just communicating what has been done but also shaping the narrative internally — on how to behave outside. It’s very distinct from marketing. Very clear KPIs. It helps to have a seasoned professional who can help as a sounding board. That’s where the partner comes in.”

Both sides then weighed in on who could handle a crisis better. The session concluded with the importance of an external partner in such a situation as it looks at the issue from the outside in and has likely dealt with similar situations before (unlike the client who is probably dealing with it for the first time). It helps reduce stress and helps the brand deal with the crisis better.