Charu 0:00 Oh, yeah. Hi Anita. Welcome to Mrigashira Unknown Speaker 0:07 2020 Good afternoon. Charu 0:09 Okay, sorry I took it. I waited. Okay, we'll do it again. No problem and I'll wait for you. Okay. Don't say good afternoon only because we release it in the night. Unknown Speaker 0:18 Time of telecast, okay? Charu 0:21 Okay. Hi, Nisa, welcome to Mrigashira. Unknown Speaker 0:25 Thank you, Tara. Thanks for having me. Charu 0:28 2021 been quite a year. I mean, and everybody thought 2020 was the, you know, the killer. But 2021 has been quite a year synonymous with purpose, brand and authenticity, especially for brands. And when it comes to consumer tech brands, and like LG and so many others, the pressure to stay authentic to your purpose is even more, right. So what have been the biggest barriers to storytelling for LG. Unknown Speaker 0:56 Certainly, 2021 has been a very, very challenging year for the entire world, in fact, and coming to the PR world. When we talk about technology products, we used to look forward for a new new product launch in a massive way. But you know, a huge outreach programs. So due to pandemic, that has been the biggest challenge that we really missed the offline events, where media influencer, bloggers can come and experience the products. And those stories were written post experiencing the product. And when we talk about LG, we have a range of products. So for some products, it is possible that we can do a seeding program, but some products are very, very expensive and heavy. And it's not possible to do the seeding of the products at a massive level. So that has been the biggest challenge, I would say which we faced. Secondly, apart from products, experiential marketing events were also missed. So when you want to engage consumer at a large scale, and you want them to experience your products and technology, apart from you know, exposing the television commercial or the digital campaigns or other marketing initiatives, but on ground when you want to make people feel, feel the product, that is something which was terribly missed. And with the innovative ways we learned with time that how do you overcome that? So these have been few of the biggest challenges I would say. Charu 2:28 So then what did you do to ensure that the storytelling was authentic, and you know, we're actually able to break the ice with influencers, journalists, your consumers reach out to them connect with them, Unknown Speaker 2:41 to what we looked at, to replace an offline event, we looked at virtual events, so that at least we have a platform where we can communicate with the audience, because it does matter. That apart from telling the key features of the product, there should be a behind the scenes story on you know what made the brand to launch a certain products. For example, we launched our tune free to AWS category we introduced during pandemic. And we were very, very excited for it. And there were huge plans to do work offline launch, but suddenly, due to pandemic, it was not possible. But we ensure that the management, the product managers introduced the story of while we are looking at launching TW s in India, we have we have a very innovative product up nanotechnology. So that was very appropriate, keeping in mind that health and hygiene became a key focus for all the consumers. So you have a TW S, which you can you know, sanitize through UV technology. So that became a good hit, we got some good engagement. So these kind of virtual events helped us in connecting with the audience and explaining our product benefits. And then of course, we kind of invited media or bloggers in smaller groups so that they can experience the technology, or if they have any queries they can ask it. It was all around learning, learning and relearning I would say. Charu 4:07 No, absolutely. And I think a lot of people did that. And and you know, 2020 When people kept talking about how tech PR is dead, but obviously a lot of innovations were were done and like like the ones you just talked about. international brands we often find lack consistency when it comes to telling the brand story because you know, in different markets, you have different things happening and how can these misalignments be streamlined for more authenticity because now today's world where everything is interconnected and people know what's happening. I mean, the same LG is there in in, you know, in the US in India in Europe, and you know, you need a lot of streamlining when it comes to communication to ensure authenticity. How does one do that? Unknown Speaker 4:55 Certainly, consistency is very, very important for For an impactful brand communication, when we look at LG Electronics history in India, soon we are going to complete 25 years in India. And this very successful journey has been possible due to localization that not only global products, but the brand has launched many making India products after studying the consumer insights. However, if we stick to the global product lineup, so, if you talk about it, we were the first brand to have pull it. And in fact, we are the only brand to have OLED technology, which of course, is defines the future of TV. So that has been something very, very consistent. And if you look at the message, which is driven by headquarter where, you know, we saw that why somebody would like to buy an OLED television, or what is the technology behind it, why it gives you superior viewing technology, which no other technology can give. So those kinds of stories built consistency across markets beat Korea beat us Beat India, be it Singapore. So the story was same that OLED is the future of TV. So those kinds of messaging really helped. Similarly, if you look at smart appliances, so when we talk about appliances, be introduced AI, thank you technology, so that it becomes smart, and it is more convenient and easy accessible for the consumers. So AI, thank you is also communicated in a very, very consistent way when it was introduced in CES. And after that it was introduced in local markets. So some of the key flagship products, the brand has kept consistent communication across markets. Charu 6:39 Yeah, sounds great. Yeah. Okay, just on a separate note, I'm reading this out try and also just talk general, because the idea is not just keep it brand specific, but actually like this thing. So that's okay. It's just Yeah. So some limitations to direct to consumer content that you would like to highlight, because direct to consumer content has really been the focus in the last, say, 1516 months. But it comes with its limitations and challenges. Would you agree? Unknown Speaker 7:08 I do agree that directly reaching the consumers, if we talk about, you know, a lot of BTL campaigns and initiatives, which were drawn to, to connect with very, very regional audience at a ground level, that has been a constraint, because you have to look at the pandemic protocols. And at the same time, you have to expose your products or your technologies to various audience. So that has been challenging, but I believe in our industry, what I could see that that has been replaced with probably smaller, you know, sessions with the consumer audience, or, you know, doing digital sessions with consumers, like, you know, a baking session with a set of consumers, explaining them the key benefits, because everybody knows that almost everybody became a master chef during lockdown. And people wanted to have a restaurant or a restaurant like experience at homes. So those kinds of things, people became open to it. And we could see a lot of influencer content around this. Charu 8:11 So what skills do you recommend PR professionals to really sharpen, you know, to when it comes to managing owned mediums for clients, or within the company? Unknown Speaker 8:23 What needs to be creative? That's very, very important. Because why should I read your story? Or why should I read a brand or product story? So one has to be creative in storytelling, good writing skills is a must it? You know, that's the foundation one should have, then what is the story behind a product, sometimes we see that many products are made to products, but the way it is told it becomes very, very intrusive, and interesting to know about that product. So I believe the stories behind product developments makes a lot of sense, then you have to collaborate with cross teams, being in communications, that's one skill set, which everybody would need. And one has to keep on learning and studying the best case studies across the industry. And the most important thing is that you don't only create content, but how do you create good engagement? That is something which we are learning over the time that how do I create an engaging content that's something very, very important. And of course apart from blogs, press releases, one has to now look at how do I do storytelling in good interesting videos. So that's something is a you know, is becoming a trend and we are learning it every day that how do we do it? Charu 9:44 No, absolutely. And storytelling is not just you know, limited to just, you know, everything needs a story, right? Everything has a story behind it. I mean, the whole process of cultivating nurturing the whole technology brand and you know, generating storylines. In which the brand is the champion is the hero and that needs a lot of skills and and, you know, you really talked and what you talked about content being key and how to divide drive engagement really makes a lot of sense. I'm going to ask you one last question and it's all around the value of PR has never been more clear right? Three things which helped elevate LG story in India. Unknown Speaker 10:25 I'm going to complete close to 15 years with LG India and what I can say over these years, why LG still remains relevant for media or you know, why they chose us when they are talking about consumer to dribble in spite of being the market leader in Indian consumer durable industry, one thing which you know, media looks forward for LG is that what are going to be the consumer trends. So, in terms of that is a consistent newsmaker for the brand, that what are consumers looking for. So, during pandemic also a lot of media used to reach out to us that how the Indian consumer shopping is changing when they're buying consumer durables. So, when they are doing trends, stories, they look up to the leader to know what are the trends, then of course, the business growth stories have been also very, very relevant that which area is performing well, where you know, the durable industry needs still more penetration. So, that is something which we are followed, we are asked and we are able to present a lot of data and interesting trends to the relevant influencers. Last but not the least, which I mentioned earlier also. So, if you ask me that what has been the key success or you know, something, which people are never tired of asking and writing about is if the localization is the key, I think the brand has been able to have a very, very successful run, because they not only launched the Global products, but they study Indian consumers very, very deeply. And we have some features you know, which are very India specific like you have 301, auto cook menus or you know, you have a washing machine which is developed, keeping in mind the Indian consumer insights. So, those are the things which actually made the brand huge success. Charu 12:25 And you're infectious. Sorry, and your passion for algae is really infectious. Thank you so much for joining us on Mrigashira. Always a pleasure to speak with you. Unknown Speaker 12:36 Thank you, Tara. Thanks. Cool.