Lakshmi Dhana talks on what it takes to build Encomium and how PR is a great career choice for women

Lakshmi Dhana started her PR career relatively late in 2003 and it actually happened by accident. Her first boss, Keerthana Ramakrishnan, is her inspiration.  "If she hadn’t invited me to join her company, I wouldn't be in the place I am now. She is my guru and a dear friend", Lakshmi mentioned when she was asked for her inspiration in her life. Lakshmi's dream was to become a doctor but for other reasons, she couldn’t fulfill it. he ended up doing a Diploma in Electronics, finished and settled with family. It was after she entered the PR profession, that she realized she needed a better understanding of PR if she wanted to take it up as her career. So, she did her PG in Diploma in PR and Event management in EMDI. Lashmi Dhana When asked about her mentors, she said, "There are two women in my professional life who I look up to and who made me realize what I was capable of in my early stages. The first is, as I mentioned, Keerthana and the other is Shefali Kotnala who was all in all at USL. Perfect leaders and both had supported me in different ways at different stages of my PR career". BV: How has the PR industry changed over the years? Lakshmi: Great question. Well, to be precise, PR has evolved from papers to emails to WhatsApp or from PCs to Smartphones. PR has changed drastically through the times and will continue to do so. We have also coped well with this change. I did like the earlier days better because any press releases for products or announcements, appointments or business, required a visit to media houses to meet the journalists and intimate them about our client. This definitely made it easier to establish a great relationship with the journalists as well. Although technology is making everything easier and faster, I feel media rounds/visits and meeting journalists should be continued. PR is not just a profile of getting coverage in digital and traditional media outlets, it goes beyond that in the form of PR strategy & plans, PR Ideas, pitch notes, monitoring, measurements, metrics, tone of voice, the share of voice and MAVs. The rise of digital technology has played a major role in PR. This means that PR is no longer just about working around journalistic deadlines, but also taking into account blogs and influencers’ content that have a huge social reach across various network platforms. BV: How can you trace Encomium's growth over the years in the PR industry? Lakshmi: Honestly, Encomium as an agency is not chasing rankings or big money-making. Our vision and mission is to be known as one of the best agencies to work with for both clients and employees. We have a set of clients in Hospitality, Fashion, and Trade and are consciously focusing on these clients to give them the best service. The clients that we have won till now are through references, and this clearly proves that we are moving towards our vision. The last 3 years were challenging with a few ups and downs but we witnessed gradual growth.   BV: How and when you have come onboard in Building a PR agency- Encomium? And give a brief about your role. Lakshmi: Well, it is a PR story in itself. Encomium was earlier called Eulogy India, a London based PR agency. Eulogy India started its operations in India in 2010 and I joined this company at the end of 2011. We had great clients, a combination of international and national. In 2017, Eulogy London decided to close its operations in India due to various reasons, and that's when I was approached and asked if I could take the responsibility to run the company. initially, I hesitated because of the amount of responsibility and other baggage that comes with the role but being in the PR industry for 18 years, I eventually decided that I could confidently run this company. The decision of taking up this company and its transition was not easy at all because I had to convince clients, and more importantly my colleagues. I am sure Encomium would not be where it is now without my colleagues having faith in me and my clients believe in me. I would love to take this opportunity to thank my colleagues and clients. As of today, we have offices in Bangalore, Chennai, and Mumbai and we work with associates in various other cities. Encomium Team   BV: What are your thoughts on the Importance of Communication within your company? Lakshmi: Primarily, we all make it a priority to sit together and exchange thoughts and views on everything, be it on clients, colleagues or other resources. Although we have designations for our experiences, we all learn from each other. You never know, sometimes younger generations come up with brilliant, fresh ideas which I would not have even thought of despite being in the industry for so many years. I strongly believe that if you take of your colleagues, they will take care of the company.   BV: What are the core values of encomium. Lakshmi: Integrity, deliver as promised, accountability and fun.   BV: What are your thoughts on Women in the PR industry? Lakshmi: The PR Industry is dominated by women, & it ends there.  PR is all about building relationships whether pr professionals to journalists or pr professionals to clients or clients to public. In my opinion, women do better in building personal bonds, multitasking and being creative.   BV: How do you manage your family and profession? Lakshmi: Easy and simple now, as my children are old enough to live on their own in different cities. It's all about managing myself and my professional life.   BV: A Piece of advice you would like to share with the young PR professionals. Lakshmi: Education and Application in PR are totally different. As far as I have seen, the younger generation is not very clear on the fundamentals of PR. Expecting a large salary as a fresher, hikes and promotions in their first year and quitting when they do not receive the former, is not feasible. That's why we hardly see quality PR professionals nowadays. In my opinion, PR is a serious profession, as we are accountable for building a brand image, creating relationships between organizations and the public and working along with clients to achieve their brand visions and goals. My advice to young PR Professionals is it is a great career to be considered, firstly 3 key points to be remembered: be open to read, learn and listen as these keep you abreast of anything and everything that you want to talk and secondly, give yourself atleast2-3 working years in each place. PR professionals are storytellers. For more such updates, follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Download our magazine Spunky Indian for exclusive stories.