Is this Pandemic a boon for PRCI to introspect its reach, strength and visibility?

 

Change is inevitable, but sudden change makes people restless to adopt as quickly as possible. When the whole country is in a lockdown situation PRCI tries to break the new normal by starting number of webinars across chapters. Emergence of webinars have become the new normal, although the webinars are not a new discovery. But certainly, it helps to build a reliable team with right minded people and right skilled, helps to a viewer driven communication webinars.

PRCI started its webinar in the month of May 2020 due to pandemic limitations. It has crossed the milestone of organising 50+ webinars over the last 5 months, ranging from chapter-wise webinar to national and international level, from 12 participants to 1000 plus participants. Isn’t it that numbers are amazing? Yes, this is the saga of PRCI's reach and visibility during the COVID era. The power of PR in times of crisis proved as learning for PR fraternity.

Let us introspect how this pandemic became a boon for PRCI. Before the pandemic, every Chapter would organize some events at their chapter level and post their news in the group. No one was able to know about the team head, members, presenter their contribution and role in the particular event. Now, due to the recent webinars, each one of us in the 38 chapters connected together and we are collectively speaking and interacting. Isn't the World is small… thanks to the pandemic for bringing all under a single umbrella? PRCI's conventional functioning changed revolutionarily.

No mask…No social distance…No sanitization, but we are together, communicating for a better World. It is true that there are few technical issues in webinars, but our togetherness surpassed these technical glitches with our personal clutches...

COVID 19 has reshaped the communication strategies resulting in paradigm shift in PR activities. These webinars are addressing day to day societal needs, subject experts deliberating the issues and clarifying the concerns of the participants. To recollect the best topics covered through webinars so far… Daughters’ Day, World Tourism Day, Humanitarian Day, World Youth Day, Empathy, National Education Policy, Communication in the world of convergence, Digitalisation, Mental health, Fitness so on and forth.

PRCI needs to equip itself with these webinars as a case study report and share the document so that it will be an eye opener for all of us to introspect the strengths and weaknesses. The efforts of PRCI during this pandemic is a combination of effective internal and external communication strategies. Witnessed a raising of new chapters Assam, Mumbai and Jaipur with induction more new members. The webinars made all of us proactive rather reactive, demand based action and transformation, proved a catalyst of change.

‘Managing crisis and unexpected situation by adopting change, is the key learning of these webinars’.

--------------------------- WRITER ---------------------------

Dr.Latha T.S, is heading Public Relations in Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation. Having two decades experience in public service industry and a decade experience in Public relations, she is awarded with many National and International awards.