Rethinking corporate visibility

The country which once had very few channels now having more than 30 channels and numbers of other media are also increasing as day progresses. There has been significant increase of internet users from mobile, laptop and other gadgets too. Currently, almost 80 million people, mostly from mobile phones are using internet. Consequently, the opportunity of corporate visibility in media has sharply increased during the last couple of years.   Most importantly, it has become a bit strategic platform as social media has emerged as another potential platform. It seems these emerging contexts has influenced public relation jobs to reshuffle their strategy for corporate visibility.

A PRO who has just started his career in corporate sector often struggles to identify the right media and tools to convince the management for maximum visibility. So, PROs must be well equipped with latest tools where combinations of latest and traditional practices of Public Relations should exist. For instance, social media is now a thriving platform to development, business and other relevant institutions which  often include Digital Media Buying (sponsoring content in face book) to reach desired target group e.g. BRAC, Pran Group. It is handy as it can be measured in terms of views, shares and comments. Even a PRO can go for Digital Media Buying (as sponsor content) within a view promoting good practices e.g.  Highest Tax Payer, Best Banking. Likewise, Digital Media Buying, Facebook Live can also maximize organizational visibility if celebrity, cricketers and other popular figures can be used e.g. Tahsan, Shakib Al Hasan. Another exercise of visibility is having a Corporate Facebook Page to promote ideas, promotional contents, feedback sharing news e.g. Marico Bangladesh.

Special events like ongoing World Cup Football can be the best examples for maximum visibility in print media (Walton Quiz etc). If business entities have expensive products like Cars, I-phone, Diamond set is better to use special magazine like ICE Business, ICE Today and other similar magazines having niche readers. However, it is easily assumed that all organizations cannot afford sponsoring news or TV programmes but visibility is equally important for them too. So those organizations can choice front-page sticker, newspaper insertion to save cost.

Currently more than 80 per cent of mobile phone users use internet from their mobile phones. Thus, it has surely augmented the tendency of reading more news online than print. Considering the fact many organizations now prefer to place advertisement in online news portal for visibility. Currently online news portals offer insertion of advertisement in between any news section of news, top of the homepage, bottom or other desired sections based on the needs of organizations.  

Emergence of news channel has also opened a new widow for TV News Branding for corporates which like to draw the attention of larger audience. Based on the budget and target group (TG) many options of TV news visibility such as Pop up; Laptop Branding e.g. Minister TV; News Countdown e.g. Akij Cement News Hour; Clock branding e.g. Seven Rings Cement; Share and Super Scroll etc can be chosen. Another visibility tool is Sponsoring Popular TV shows e.g. Ittadi of BTV, Sultan Sulayman of Dipto TV, Tritio Matra of Channel I, The Kapil Sharma Show. Some television channels offer Social Media Promotion through posting the event in the official pages prior to shows and link of the promos for consumer engagements e.g. Independent TV. Reports and Features in the name of fellowships, internships are some other common practices of increasing visibility in media e.g. UNICEF Meena Award.

(The writer is working at Khan Bahadur Group, habib.pr@kbg.com.bd)