Pranav Kumar & his journey from a communications specialist to a notable business leader

Today’s e4m PR & Corp Comm Luminaries series features Pranav Kumar, Managing Director, India, Allison Worldwide. Pranav is a deep-rooted PR & Comms leader who entered the industry serendipitously with a spark of curiosity but because of his willingness to learn and love for his work, he transitioned from communications specialist to a notable business leader. Then, he successfully took Allison India from ground up to one of India’s leading agencies. Throughout his career, Pranav has managed campaigns and consulted with a mix of Fortune 500 companies and industry-leading brands.

In today’s series we will discuss Pranav Kumar’s journey:

• His inspiration and early days in the communications industry
• Inception story of Allison in India
• Challenges and successes while navigating Allison’s growth globally
• His notable campaigns
• His contributions through PRCA Asia Pacific and other social initiatives
• His Future plans, and other important aspects of his career

What inspired him to pursue a career in communications?

Like many industry leaders, Pranav’s entry into communications industry was purely serendipitous and in his words, if we say it was ‘happenstance’. He shares, “Impressionable and just out of college, I had a fortuitous meeting with an acquaintance who at that time worked at a leading, domestic public relations firm. Back in 1997/98, the PR industry was still in its infancy and a potential career path that I was not aware of. But talking to him and learning more about the role PR plays for companies, as a gatekeeper to a wider ecosystem of stakeholders intrigued me.” That one meeting changed the trajectory of his life and now more than two decades later, he’s pursuing it with the same love and passion.

Thanking the communications world for all the learnings and opportunities, Pranav acknowledges, “From working with remarkable people and teams in India and around the world, to the opportunity to call numerous storied and iconic brands as my clients. Having the chance to work across and consult with so many different industries and their unique challenges, to the chance to work with notable business leaders. The vibrancy of the agency business makes it all the more fun. I love what I do and as they say, I still tap dance to work every day!”

He briefs that in PR, every day is different and a new challenge or situation is always around the corner and concludes by saying that the quest to learn, evolve, and grow keeps him going.

Inception of Allison India

Talking about his transition from various agencies to establishing Allison in India, he mentions, “I was fortunate enough to get leadership opportunities at the agencies I worked at fairly early in my career and those primed me well for agency management roles. I think agency leadership roles are great because you get to balance being a communications practitioner as well as a business leader. I find both roles immensely satisfying. Founding, growing, or scaling agency businesses has been the trajectory of my career over the past decade and more, leading me to the opportunity to start Allison’s business in India in 2017.”

He further explains that the opportunity to lead Allison India came through two of his former bosses and mentors who referred his name to kick start a new agency operation from the ground up in India.

Talking about his journey with Allisson India, he briefs, “As Allison, we have had an incredible run since then, reaching 40 plus people in a relatively short span across New Delhi, Mumbai, and Bengaluru. Today, Allison’s an award-winning and integrated communications firm with a portfolio of industry leading brands. I am incredibly proud of our teams and what we have been able to build thus far. We definitely punch above our weight as an agency!”

His evolution from a communications specialist to a business leader

Narrating the special moments about his evolution from communications specialist to a business leader, he states, “I saw this as a challenge and an aspiration. Early on in my agency career, I instinctively knew that while great work, high-impact campaigns, and client servicing excellence was our raison d'être but to grow and excel in an agency career, one had to also transition to and master the business end of things as well.” However, by the time he turned thirty his vision about an agency career became clear after two brief segues into sports marketing ( at IMG) and a corporate marketing role (at Sapient), he realised that this is what he wanted to build over the longer term for himself.

He quotes, “If you never try, you will never learn” and shares, “With that mission, I forged on, getting out of my comfort zone and putting my hand up for things I had never done before. Whether that be leading a new business pitch when you have never done so, managing complex client or people issues or getting to understand and take accountability of an agency P&L.”

Pranav acknowledges that he was fortunate to receive leadership opportunities throughout his agency career, from Genesis Burson-Marsteller, to Gutenberg, and to eventually launching the India business of Next Fifteen agency, Bite Communications (which eventually merged with sister agency, Archetype, then known as Text 100). He believes that all of these experiences primed him well for launching Allison’s India business.

His seven years of excellence at Allison India

Sharing the remarkable journey of the company since its inception in India, Pranav expresses pride in how the firm has embraced its core values of thinking differently, being entrepreneurial, and bold. “Staying true to our credo, ‘it’s all about the work and to getting it done, no matter what it takes, we have been able to quickly make a mark as a differentiated communications firm in India,” Kumar says.

In the seven years since its founding, Allison India has grown into a trusted partner for a diverse portfolio of industry-leading brands. “We work with a portfolio of industry leading brands across a client portfolio that straddles retail, travel, technology, BFSI, gaming, to media and entertainment (and more), handling both, corporate and consumer briefs,” Kumar highlights.

Pranav mentions that the firm's success lies in its comprehensive capabilities, which include integrated communications, thought leadership, executive positioning campaigns, and deploying a range of tools and platforms such as immersive, software-led media and crisis trainings, to our newest advanced issues monitoring platform to analyse emerging threat vectors for brands. This ensures that the firm remains as an always-on agency, ready to meet the dynamic needs of clients in today’s modern-day communications era. “India is a vital part of Allison’s growing Asia-Pacific network, contributing to its capabilities across the board, from awards, to people, and clients,” he adds.

His most notable campaigns

One of Kumar’s standout campaigns was TikTok’s #EduTok initiative, where his team positioned the popular platform as more than just a source of entertainment.
“We positioned TikTok the short-form video leader not just as an entertainment platform but also as a platform for learning and education based on influencer and consumption trends we saw over time. An increasing number of ‘teacher’ and ‘learning’ influencers were taking to TikTok to spread knowledge and at the apex of the pandemic, students and just about everyone interested in a subject, were lapping up educational content like never before.” The success of #EduTok in India was so significant that it inspired similar campaigns in other Asian markets where TikTok operates.

Kumar also spoke about Booking.com’s campaign for the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023, which won multiple awards over the past year. The campaign seamlessly blended the nation’s love for cricket with travel, positioning Booking.com as the preferred partner for exploring destinations and experiences during the World Cup.
Sharing the uniqueness and the successful strategies of this campaigns, he explains, “We used the power of cricketing super stars such as Rohit Sharma, Jos Buttler, and Glen Maxwell to talk about their love for the sport and their favourite destinations, staged some mock batting and bowling media experiential and campaign kick-off event, with Zaheer Khan and Bollywood actor, Varun Dhawan.”

His contributions through PRCA Asia Pacific

When asked about his inspiration to join the  PRCA Asia Pacific and his contributions to the industry, Kumar reveals his strong desire to give back to the field that has shaped his career.

“Being in the industry for over two decades made me want to contribute and give back and help shape the next generation of communications practitioners," asserts Pranav. However, he candidly admitted that his demanding day-to-day responsibilities often limit his ability to make a larger impact. "I do wish to make a greater contribution in the coming years and at the moment my contributions have been more at a broader level, working within the industry peer group to support the growth and development of the communications industry," he adds.

His contributions to society and industry professionals

When asked about his involvement in social initiatives, Kumar expresses his love for animal welfare. “I am a big advocate for animal rights and do take the time out to support a variety of causes, especially for street dogs,” he unveils.

His biggest inspirations or mentors throughout his career

On the subject of his inspirations and mentors, Kumar emphasizes the wealth of guidance and learning he has absorbed throughout his career. “I love reading autobiographies and seek inspiration from books and podcasts,” he mentions. He went on to acknowledge key figures who have shaped his professional life. "Just naming a few of my mentors over the years: Prema Sagar, Ashwani Singla, Atul Ahluwalia, Sunayna Malik, among many notables in the industry," he briefs.

His views on mentoring the next generation of leaders

Pranav expresses immense gratitude for the opportunity to guide and nurture talented individuals over the years.

Highlighting the mentoring moments from his over fifteen years’ career, Kumar describes mentoring as one of his greatest honours and sources of pride. “It has been my greatest honour and pride to mentor colleagues, many of whom were just starting out their agency careers and are now at leadership positions (internally and within the industry),” he believes.

He firmly believes in the responsibility of leaders to mentor and help their teams achieve their full potential and shares, “There is no greater joy when you meet people who are eager to learn, grow, and are ambitious.”

His plans for the next chapter of your career

Highlighting his future plans, he envisions, “Founding and growing agency businesses has been pretty much par for the course for me for the past fifteen years or more and I don’t see that changing. For the moment though, I have my work cut out as I scale our India presence even further.”