Brief Profile:
Being found in 2009, Teamwork Communications Group started its services with PR as a productive and reliable tool. Now catering to a diverse clientele ranging from healthcare to fashion, corporate to start-ups. The company boasts of services that include image management, reputation management, public relations, corporate communications, brand building, and crisis and issue management, among others.
In our chat with Ms. Nikky Gupta, Co-Founder & Director, Teamwork Communications Group, we talked about brands, digital trends, and more. Let’s dig in.
Q) The year 2020 was a year of dismay and learning for many businesses. How was the year for Teamwork Communication in terms of performance, revenue, and overall business?
It was a difficult year since the business witnessed a lot of changes and needed a lot of adaptation to meet the changing needs of the time. While some of our clients stopped work citing resource crunch, others reduced the scope of their work to cut costs. However, at the same time, we witnessed an influx of a large number of new clients, most of them hiring professional PR services for the first time. Interestingly, in the post-COVID world, the needs and requirements of communication strategies also witnessed a shift. While advertising budgets were slashed big time, organizations felt PR being a low-cost exercise was more sustainable for them. We added 50 new clients in multiple domains including PR and social media departments. The numbers of organizations looking for PR associations for short term projects also increased.
The media platforms also witnessed a lot of activity. Several city editions closed down while a bulk of media activity shifted to the digital space. So, work-wise the scope of our work diversified significantly. In terms of revenue and performance, we continued to do well. We also expanded our workforce significantly.
Q) The behavior of brands has changed post-pandemic relating to marketing. How do you feel about it?
Yes, as I mentioned marketing and communication have witnessed a marked shift. On the one hand, organizations have started giving more importance to regular Public Relations exercises, on the other hand, we are witnessing a trend of more integrated marketing campaigns. So, today a marketing campaign will consider advertising and PR as two parallel pillars of communication rather than focusing on one heavily.
Similarly, digital marketing and communication have gained immense importance. Digital and social media communication has become central to any marketing and communication strategy.
Q) What are the starting points that suggest you pick the client?
A number of things are taken into consideration; whether the client has a sustainable and long term vision of PR and communication; whether the product or service offered by the client is marketable enough for the media as also whether the client is offering monetary commitment sufficient enough to give us a margin.
Q) Digital trends that would prevail in 2021.
We will see an increasing shift towards integrated digital and social media strategies by brands when it comes to marketing, PR, and advertising. We are also witnessing the increasing importance of social media engagement in a world where people are spending more time online. Similarly, digital versions of newspapers and magazines will gain greater prominence for PR and communication as print readership declines and shifts to the digital medium.
Q) How do you evaluate a brand?
We evaluate a brand by studying the story behind its foundation, the market void it fills, its growth story so far, and the influencing ability of its leaders and founders.
Q) What are your future plans and programs?
We are actively looking to expand our presence in digital marketing and influencer marketing. Currently, we have our headquarters in Delhi with branch offices in Hyderabad and Mumbai. Expansion in other cities is also our key focus. Going forward, we plan to have branch offices in Bangalore and Chennai as well to grab a larger share of the lucrative PR market down south.
