MAM
PR Strategies for Start-ups: Building Buzz on a Budget
Mumbai: Public relations plays a crucial role for any start-up. It’s like having someone else to vouch for your business instead of blowing its own trumpet. It helps build credibility, creates a value proposition, focuses on storytelling and attracts investors at a later stage. Usually start-ups have extremely limited resources and are often bootstrapped, with sliver budgets to scale and grow. This often seems like PR isn’t for start-ups. Well, PR stands as one of the most cost-effective elements in the business and founders can start with budgets of any size. The only thing to keep in mind is that it demands consistency – it takes time for brands to grow and create their voice in a cluttered market.
Here are top 5 PR strategies for Start-ups to maximise reach and further grow their brand.
1.Capitalise on excellent storytelling by crafting a compelling narrative
Humans have used storytelling for thousands of years to build connections with others and strengthen bonds within communities. PR is also about storytelling. When brands shed light on their motivation behind business ideas, or by reducing pain points of customers and solving their troubles through data based research, it creates a value proposition. In simpler terms, the USP of the brand is established, thereby differentiating them from their competitors or establishing a first mover advantage.
For instance, a prominent name in the fashion industry, that was primarily perceived as a mass production brand, wanted to transition to the perception of a design-led company. Through strategic PR initiatives like gathering significant traction among fashion influencers, celebrities, and prestigious fashion events, we achieved this shift by emphasising the brand’s commitment to innovative designs, quality craftsmanship, and exclusivity.
Leveraging key partnerships within our network with renowned fashion influencers and enabling the brand to reach fashion-forward consumers, we manifested couture exhibitions for our clients and innovative capsule collections with key KOLs to expand its reach to an exclusive and elite clientele. Through meticulous planning and through a design innovation led approach, we positioned them in key fashion shows alongside the best labels in the country. By aligning its messaging and positioning with the aspirations of its target audience, the brand has solidified its presence in the luxury fashion market and poised itself for continued growth and success.
2. Leverage owned, earned and shared media
First, set clear goals with founders on the PR message that the brand wants to communicate. It can be to launch the start-up, a product from the collection or an announcement of a new strategic location expansion. Then, one can leverage owned, earned and/or shared media. Owned media includes blogs, informative articles and building a robust social media presence helps start-ups gain the initial traction needed and SEO value to really stand out. Start-ups can also leverage earned media by media-training their CEOs and aligning that with the backgrounds and vision of the founders.
A key ingredient to all strategies is a compelling press kit that highlights the launch of the brand, its story with compelling visuals to take advantage of opportunities that are more personal than product-focused. Strategically collaborating with businesses that have similar target audiences and creating social media content and contests are also pivotal.
3. Invest accurately in a strategy
In the current digital age, influencer marketing plays a key role in creating and driving content for businesses in their key markets. Investing in influencers which accurately match your business views and have a high engagement rate will prove to be extremely beneficial for businesses on a budget. Be it a sexual wellness client who would like to build a niche for themselves in the market or a bootstrapped fashion client; creating unique messaging with influencers can push sales through specific and well targeted affiliate programs. This helps turn the eyeballs needed for short term boosts. This can be a pre-launch event, a digital buzz, to achieve campaign specific goals or funnel movers for geographic markets. Identifying and working with the right nano and macro level influencers can be mutually beneficial for both parties.
Further to influencer marketing is crafting clever content that is in tune with trends. This would ensure that brands are seen as entities that are well aware of industry trends and have an opinion on it. But most importantly, it’s advisable to establish a budget and the cost to benefit ratio when building out an influencer marketing strategy for brands with bootstrapped budgets.
4. Keep a proactive approach
It’s possible that a start-up may not have the budget to host an event or have a significant piece of news worthy of announcement to make frequently. This, however, doesn’t mean that PR needs to fall short. Publicists must keep a proactive approach towards it all, from constantly researching trends and connecting with the media, to creating relevant and compelling story ideas. Once a rapport is built, one must timely attend and facilitate inbound query requests to engage with budding brands. This should be a priority on the agenda for publicists.
5. Crisis Management
When working with start-ups there could be a bunch of knicks that they will need to iron out as they go along. In such times, be patient with your client. Having a robust crisis management strategy in place can help any negative press or blow outs on social media.
One size fits all cannot be the approach to PR. It’s imperative to devise plans especially curated for every business, as each one has its unique needs, aim, budget and market. In order to curtail budgets, PR can be flexibly moulded in any way as per the specific requirements of a brand. For instance, a renowned sneaker brand based in a south-east country, aimed to establish its presence in the competitive Indian market while operating on a limited budget, to test the waters in a new market before diving in. Through strategic planning and innovative thinking, we devised a unique gifting campaign targeting the exclusive sneaker community in India. The campaign involved sending exclusive merchandise as pre-invites to the launch of the exclusive store and website in India. We utilised the power of social media and digital marketing to amplify the reach of the gifting campaign, unveiling to reach a wider audience among the sneaker enthusiasts across the country. The gifting drive then served as a prelude to the website launch where we strategically tied up with influencers to unravel the UX and UI, along with the benefits of shopping online and finally launching the official store in India a month later with key media and industry KOLS.
In a nutshell, start-ups must have a PR strategy in place, regardless of the budget or the end goal. Through effective PR, new and freshly ideated strategies that fit the business’s short or long term goals are set in and targeted plans of action result in setting up a brand narrative for the targeted audience. As the strategic tool that enables effective communication, PR remains an indispensable asset for companies that when employed in the right manner can deliver immense growth.
The article is authored by Mint and Milk PR founder Komal Rukhana.
Brands
YES Bank hands the keys to SBI veteran Vinay Tonse as it bets on a new era
Former SBI managing director appointed as YES Bank’s new MD and CEO
MUMBAI: YES Bank is done rebuilding. Now it wants to grow. The private sector lender has appointed Vinay Muralidhar Tonse as managing director and chief executive officer-designate, with RBI approval secured and a start date of April 6, 2026 confirmed. The three-year term signals the bank’s intent to shift gears from crisis recovery to full-throttle expansion.
Tonse, 60, is no stranger to scale. Most recently managing director at State Bank of India, he oversaw a retail book of roughly $800bn in deposits and advances, one of the largest in the country. Before that, he ran SBI Mutual Fund from August 2020 to December 2022, a stint that saw assets under management surge from Rs 4.32 lakh crore to Rs 7.32 lakh crore across market cycles. Add stints in Singapore and four years leading SBI’s overseas operations in Osaka, and the incoming chief arrives with a genuinely global CV.
His academic grounding is equally solid: a commerce degree from St Joseph’s College of Commerce, Bengaluru, and a master’s in commerce from Bangalore University.
The appointment follows an extensive search and evaluation process by the bank’s Nomination and Remuneration Committee. NRC chairperson Nandita Gurjar said the committee unanimously backed Tonse, citing his leadership track record, governance credentials and ability to drive the bank’s next phase of transformation.
Non-executive chairman Rama Subramaniam Gandhi was unequivocal. “I am certain that Vinay Tonse, with his vast experience as a senior banker, will propel YES Bank to its next phase of growth,” Gandhi said, adding that the bank remains focused on strengthening its retail and corporate banking franchises and expanding its branch network.
Rajeev Kannan, non-executive director and senior executive at Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, the bank’s largest shareholder, said Tonse’s experience across retail, corporate banking, global markets and asset management positioned him well to lead the lender. SMBC said it looks forward to working with Tonse and the board as YES Bank pursues its ambition of becoming a top-tier private sector lender anchored in strong governance and sustainable growth.
Tonse succeeds Prashant Kumar, who took the helm in March 2020 when YES Bank was in freefall following a severe financial crisis, and spent six years painstakingly stabilising the institution, rebuilding governance and restoring operational scale. Gandhi was generous: “The bank remains indebted to Prashant Kumar, who is responsible for much of what a strong financial powerhouse YES Bank is today.”
Tonse, for his part, struck a purposeful note. “Together with the board and my colleagues, I remain deeply committed to creating long-term value for all our stakeholders,” he said, pledging to build on Kumar’s foundation guided by his personal motto: Make A Difference.
Beyond the balance sheet, Tonse played cricket at college and club level and represented Karnataka in archery at the national championships — sports he credits with teaching him teamwork, situational leadership, discipline and focus. In quieter moments, he reaches for retro Kannada music, classic Hindi songs, and the crooning of Engelbert Humperdinck, Mukesh and Kishore Kumar.
YES Bank has its steady-handed rebuilder in Kumar to thank for survival. Now it has a scale-obsessed growth banker at the wheel. The next chapter starts April 6.
