Importance of restoring human connections in a digital world

At the 6th edition of e4m PR & Corp Comm 40 Under 40 Summit 2024, the panellists Shivalika Malik, Associate Director- Brand Communications, PepsiCo AMESA, PepsiCo, Akanksha Jain, Swiggy, and Ranjini Chalam, Head - Corporate Communications and CSR, Indus Towers Limited, moderated by Sunanda Rao Erdem, Founder and CEO, Seraphim Communications LLP had a powerful discussion on the importance of restoring human connections in a digital world. 

Shivalika started by sharing her views on the importance of human connections in communications, “Today, we are talking about things like empathy, purpose, etc., human centricity. But I think, given the fact that with the digital world, we are somewhere talking about it but not really implementing it as much. It's not the technology that controls us, it's the humans that control technology.”

Akanksha explained, “No matter whether you're a digital company or you are a traditional company, it's important to connect with, to build that human connection with your customers, with your stakeholders, with your partners, all of them. So it's important to build that human connection and continue to build it, because consumer behavior is changing faster than we know.”

Next, Ranjini expressed her thoughts by stating, “Nothing can replace a face to face conversation but digital can enhance it. You need digital to continue. Everyone says digital enablement happened during covid. However, the reality is that you understood digital enablement when covid happened. Digital was always there.”

Moving ahead, Malik illustrated the strategies that helped them ensure PepsiCo’s entire brand storytelling that still connects with the people at an emotional level. “At PepsiCo, I think what we do understand is brand connections go beyond our products. It is all about authentic storytelling, where we are looking at cultural nuances, aspirations. We're looking at the rich diversity this country has, and then trying to work around to create a meaningful connection.” She also mentioned that in terms of digital, data and insights are great enablers that help them connect with their audience at a broader level.

Then, Swiggy’s AVP-PR & Comms, Jain elaborated on how they manage brand reputation while balancing the humour and reliability component of the brand, “Establishing clear brand guidelines, defining purpose, messaging, and boundaries is essential for maintaining consistency across teams. In a brand as large as Swiggy or even bigger, where countless individuals contribute, alignment ensures a unified voice. Additionally, humor can be a powerful tool, but we balance it with empathy to create content that resonates meaningfully with the audience.”

After the round of questions, Sunanda did a rapid fire round with the panelists and asked Shivalika to answer on what steps should individuals or communicators take to create a balance between digital interactions and human connections. To this, she answered that communicators should humanize digital storytelling by ensuring that they're not just putting the finished product out, but also showing what's going on behind the scenes. 

Akanksha talked about the power of genuine human connection behind the data and the digital world, stating, “In my last stint at BharatPe, when we were going through the crisis, the trust in the brand was a little questioned by merchants in general. However, when the crisis hit is when we realized that human connection is extremely important. We actually went out and got the merchants to rally behind us. We actually brought their stories to life through a campaign called Transforming Bharat. We shared the real stories in terms of how they had a certain ambition or dream to start their own business and how the company enabled them, how UPI enabled them, how digital payments enabled them. These stories really helped us to build a larger community of these people who really trusted the brand.”

Lastly, Ranjini explained the role real-world social engagement plays in restoring the human connection. “No company should do CSR for visibility, because a genuine connection matters. So, let’s wholeheartedly just want to serve the community rather than focus on getting visibility from it,” she beautifully answered.

Talking about how Indus Towers is enabling the restoring human connection through digital enablement, she mentioned, “25,000 villages in India today still do not have enough connectivity. So, to enable that, we are going to the smallest of villages and teaching them how to use a mobile phone, and how to ensure cyber security.”