Online PR - A promising move!!!

Dec 13, 2008: With the US recession eating into every level of the country's Economy, the need to think futuristic, need to have diversified portfolio, need to cut down costs have emerged as the macro level solution for the corporates.
When huge giants like TCS, Sony, Jet Airways have started laying off a major percentage of their employees, stock markets crashing down, BPO's shutting shop, freshers being put on bench, there is panic in every employed and unemployed Indian.
Sources revealed that a top PR agency in the country layed off 100 employees. This rose speculations, insecurity, unpredicatability among all PR professionals. Living in the moment of truth, I discovered, Survival of the Fittest is the solution.
Foreseeing the trend in the PR industry:

• Client Poaching: With giants cutting down on their PR and ad budgets, most of the PR agencies are on the look of for new accounts. Hence, poaching becomes the next option left. Wooing the clients with innovative cost effective proposals is something most PR agencies would do to poach big accounts from leading PR agencies in the country.
  
• Innovation: To combat the stress from poaching, the PR agencies would start looking at delivering service beyond PR. 'Integrated Marketing Communication' (IMC) is the mantra for the way ahead. Advertising, PR, Activations, Media Buying & Selling, Graphic designing, Direct Marketing, Promotions. There is a new bunch of services that's been added to the bouquet of IMC - Online & Offline Marketing.
  
• Online Marketing: E-marketing campaigns or programs, from Search Engine Optimisation(SEO), pay-per-click, affiliate, email, banner to latest web related channels for webinar, blog, RSS, podcast, and Internet
  

With more and more people depending on social networking portals, blogs, podcasts to keep themselves in the swim, there is a decerning need for the PR agency's to look beyond PR in trying times. Online PR offers promising avenues for the survival of PR.