MAM
Effective communication imperative during crisis
Till as early as February, businesses across India were aggressively planning long-term strategies for expansion, growth and diversification. Others were looking at ways to find newer consumer bases abroad and making active hiring decisions. However, in a matter of weeks, the situation has changed dramatically with uncertainty and anxiety clouding the economy in the wake of the global COVID-19 crisis. The sudden shift and the need for an absolute lockdown and shutting of most manufacturing operations have resulted in a crisis that needs to be tackled using innovative strategies and effective communication. Yes, effective communication is a critical component for organisations manoeuvring through this crisis as a gap in communication often leads to an information lag and anxiety among stakeholders.
It is imperative therefore that organisations and businesses adopt an effective communication strategy at this hour of crisis to provide timely updates, keep the stakeholders informed and build yourself as a thought leader with a humane touch. Communications and PR agencies are playing active roles as active communication strategy providers for organisations in this situation.
Reassuring stakeholders
This is a key element of any communication that goes out from an organisation at a time of crisis – whether an internal crisis or an external one impacting the business. Stakeholders include consumers of your products and services, investors and shareholders as well as employees. As all these stakeholders face an uncertain future, timely information, updates and a transparent approach from the organisation’s end can go a long way in reassuring them. This is the right time to communicate regularly about how you are planning to stay afloat during this crisis, what your contingency plans are and how you plan to keep the strategies you are adopting to keep the business running during this extraordinary situation. A number of organisations have already come forward to announce their contingency plans; others have assured their employees that they will receive advance salaries to keep their households running at this difficult time in history.
Address misinformation
Misinformation and fake news is a major nuisance of our times. Be it health-related information or a government directive, it takes just a fake WhatsApp forward to spread a piece of false information disseminate like wildfire. To cite an instance, the COVID-19 crisis has impacted sales of newspaper publications due to fear about their potential in spreading the virus. Such was the impact that even the minister of information & broadcasting Prakash Javdekar had to tweet and clarify that touching newspapers will not spread the infection and that newspapers were critical to getting the right information at this period of time.
For organisations dealing with this crisis, it is therefore important to use their communication channels to effectively dispel any misleading information. The teams in charge of our communication strategy must keep themselves abreast of such developments and religiously follow authentic sources of information such as WHO, ministry of health and other public health organisations. For hospitals and organisations in the healthcare domain, dispelling false narratives is all the more important. Addressing misinformation with alacrity is critical to any communication strategy at this hour.
Build thought leadership
A series of communications by Lifebuoy educating people about the importance of washing hands in this crisis has earned much praise in India. The communications published on bought space refrain from promoting Lifebuoy but clearly ask people to wash hands with whichever soap they have to prevent the infection.
A global crisis is a difficult time for businesses but it is also an opportunity to establish you as a thought leader. Effective and innovative communication strategies play a vital role in this. Communication and PR agencies must aggressively scout for opportunities through which an organisation or individual can build an image of a thought leader by addressing public concerns over the issue, offering innovative solutions to tackle the problem and advocating policy approaches for the government.
Communicating with a humane approach
At a time when countries across the world are living through disastrous tragedies, using communication strategies with a humane approach is another critical need. Communication strategists must keep this vital ingredient of strategy in mind. Communication should be mindful of the human tragedy and try to reach out to the people who are at the end of the suffering. If you were planning community-based CSR ideas, this is the right time to put them into action and communicate your plans through the media.
(The author is co-founder and director, Teamwork Communication Group. The views expressed are hers and Indiantelevision.com may not subscribe to them.)
AD Agencies
WPP Media elevates Dipti Gulati to vp, client growth for APMEA
Singapore-based executive to commercialise AI-powered solutions business across the region
SINGAPORE: WPP Media has promoted Dipti Gulati to vice president, client growth, handing her the mandate to lead the commercialisation of its solutions business across APMEA.
Based in Singapore, Gulati steps up after serving as senior director, client growth, where she drove expansion across APAC spanning programmatic, search, social, CTV, DOOH and cross-channel offerings. Now, she is tasked with translating advanced AI, data and technology ecosystems into scalable growth strategies for global brands across FMCG, luxury, F&B and financial services.
“I commercialise the future of media — at scale, across APMEA,” Gulati said, announcing her appointment. She added that she turns advanced data, AI and technology ecosystems into real commercial outcomes, shifting the conversation “from a pure media play to owning business outcomes”.
Her brief is unapologetically future-facing: addressable, accountable and AI-powered media. She will work with cross-market teams across APMEA, bringing together diverse perspectives and cultures to accelerate growth and build what she calls the “future of media”.
Gulati’s rise caps nearly two years at WPP Media and follows a six-month stint as regional director of growth, APAC, at Mindshare, where she led new business development and expanded capabilities for existing clients. Earlier, as global account director for integrated marketing communications on the Unilever business, she drove communications strategy for multi-million dollar beauty and wellbeing brands across Southeast Asia.
Before that, Gulati spent close to two years as associate director at Warner Bros. Discovery in Singapore. She also served as director, strategic partnerships and market development at TrustSphere, leading go-to-market and growth initiatives across Asia and evangelising relationship analytics to C-level executives. TrustSphere, credited by industry and Harvard Business School case studies as a pioneer in relationship analytics, became a springboard for her deeper engagement with data-driven growth.
Her board and evangelist roles at the Asia Cloud Computing Association and its Asia Analytics Alliance further sharpened her regional policy and analytics credentials. Earlier chapters include marketing consultancy at Blockchain Foundry and a seven-year run at Warner Bros. Discovery in India, where she led ad-sales and business development for HBO and WB across north and east India, delivering record billings. She began her career at Diligent Media Corporation Ltd and Bennett, Coleman and Co. Ltd..
From ad-sales floors in Delhi and Mumbai to boardrooms in Singapore, Gulati’s arc mirrors the industry’s own shift — from selling spots and slots to engineering outcomes through data and AI. At WPP Media, the brief is clear: scale smarter, move faster and turn algorithms into advantage.
