Another PRAXIS and another city but the camaraderie, the bonhomie and the vibe are intact since 2012. This is felt online and offline. Some of you are PRAXIS regulars. Many of you are making it to this summit for the first time. We can confidently say that PRAXIS has indeed become the largest residential gathering of the Public Relations fraternity. This was possible due to several factors that got aligned. A great set of supporting companies. Some have been early supporters and have stood the test if time by committing to this venture. They know who they are, and we will call them out at the summit.
Great stories are those that are authentic, credible and transparent. Whether it is the story of an individual or that of a brand, the basic ingredients do not change. At this edition you will hear various aspects of storytelling that you can apply to the brand you work on. You will also get to exchange a story with a new connection or a long-time friend you will meet here in Hyderabad.
Some things are unique and have worked very well to take PRAXIS to a position of strength where over 600 delegates, over 35 speakers and 30 partners are all in it together. After travelling to Pondicherry, Lavasa, Agra, Mysore, Aamby Valley and Jaipur the summit makes its way now to Hyderabad. No host city has been repeated. In all these editions with rare exceptions of non-PR professionals like academicians or journalists and two stalwarts, the summit has seen over 200 unique speakers since its inception. A speaker is never repeated, and we hope to keep that legacy alive for the first ten editions.
Our goal has been that PRAXIS becomes that annual platform which is in the calendar of the 25-year-old as well as the 65-year-old and all in between. We have tried to make it the classiest conference that one can attend in India. It is not commercially driven despite the numerous logos one sees in the event branding. We have a presenting partner in Adfactors, who early on supported us with the advance required to secure the venue. There are other partners who are mentioned at the end of this note that we remain ever grateful to.
A tiny four-member team works part time through the year to make this summit come alive. Another dozen volunteers and a few students pitch in on the event days to offer every attendee an outstanding experience. This year we have, for the first-time, global communication leaders from leading companies belonging to diverse sectors who will keynote at PRAXIS. We also are experimenting with new segments to make the format richer than it has ever been. We are re-introducing break-out sessions and keeping it optional. This will be called the Hyderabad Masterclasses and take place at the end of the main conference and just before the awards night. We are piloting a Super Night at PRAXIS powered by MSL which will then lead to a series of Super Nights in two other metros every alternate month through the winter.
We have applied the GREAT principles to measure the success of this very special edition. We are hoping our goodwill helps us close on speakers 90 days prior to the next edition, like we did this year. We are hoping the respect we have earned helps us secure the 30 odd partners we seek at least 60 days before the next edition and we hope the affinity this platform has created helps us get to the number of delegates we aim for, 30 days in advance. During the event we hope there is adequate engagement that makes everyone go back with a great feeling, something we will be able to track through the conversations online and we hope the trust people repose in us helps create the word of mouth. If we set out with these goals we will be able to measure them. Because achieving these five in varying degrees is what sets us up for success that is enveloped with high credibility and a good reputation.
We hope you enjoy this edition and come back to the next two which are lined up in Goa and Chandigarh not necessarily in the same order. We want to end by thanking all our partners whom we have not yet mentioned.
Platinum Partners – Avian WE, Value 360, SCoRe and The Holmes Report besides Adfactors as Title Partner and MSL as Super Night Partner which are mentioned above already
Gold Partners – Viacom 18, Google, Godrej, Genesis BM, Ketchum Sampark and Media Mantra
Silver Partners – Fuzion, First Partners, Impact Research & Measurement, SPAG, PR Pundit, Edelman, IFFCO and ShareChat – a unique app that needs a special mention for choosing to be a part of our journey
Bronze Partners – Kaizzen, Simulations, Kommune, On Purpose, Ideosphere, Skateboard, PRHUB, News Voir, Cision and Boring Brands – which is the company that has designed the various creatives you will see around at PRAXIS.
There are supporting partners who we would like to acknowledge – Vivo, Mondelez, Ola, Global Alliance, Institute for Public Relations, PRCAI, Avignyata, MxM India, One Source and Sahyadri Institute for the student volunteers.
Last, but not the least the speakers who have travelled from various global cities and from various Indian cities. To you, our delegates, we remain indebted!
He is also the Founding Dean of the School of Communications & Reputation (SCoRe).
He can be reached at @amithpr on twitter.
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