'In PR, there's lot of hype and less of delivery, action': Ameer Ismail

LinOpinion Public Relations announced last week that the agency had won 16 business in the last six months. While some of them represent organic growth with existing clients, the rest are new. And there’s the new digital mandate as well. Ameer Ismail, executive director, Lowe Lintas and Partners, explains the nature of the work on these account wins, LinOpinion's growth and more, in conversation with Campaign India. Edited excerpts:

Is the nature of work going to be different?

No. I think these are mandates that LinOpinion has won across different segments. We'll be looking to carry the same kind of work we've been doing on our existing clients for these brands. We'll be delivering strategic PR with a vision to enhance their reputation and imagery over a period of time. I think as we are evolving and growing we are planning to launch some initiatives later this year.

The 16 brand wins we have consist of brands that are very different from each other. We've got the mandate for a diamond group on one hand (Rio Tinto Diamonds) and the mandate for Shapoorji Pallonji Group on the other.

Are you looking to integrate digital for these account wins?

Yes. We've started our digital offering and it's being led by a colleague who has digital PR experience in the US. It's something we have planned over a period of time and is part of our road map. We have our own digital team who will now work on certain brands and companies who have decided to bring us on board. Some brands focus on traditional a lot more and we're not handling digital for them. Some of the brands already have digital partners and we won't be executing digital work for them too.

Among the 16 account wins how many have digital as a part of the mandate?

I would imagine about 30 per cent of the 16 would have digital as part of the mandate.

In the same period that the agency has won 16 accounts have accounts been lost too?

Yes, there have been accounts that have decided to part ways. A few haven't continued for contractual reasons. But certainly the number of wins are higher than the number that have decided to part ways.

How has the growth been at LinOpinion?

I can't comment on growth in terms of revenue. It's always good to add businesses that have a view of long term engagement. The key fact is that clients come to you is that they believe that you can deliver on a specific mandate. In PR, I've always believed there's a lot of hype and less delivery and action. Clients don't want agencies that only promise things, but look for ones which have a strong delivery record and performance. We don't believe in too much hype, we believe in doing good work.