As the landscape of Public Relations evolves, it transcends mere media presence to become a strategic orchestration of communication aimed at answering the quintessential “WH” questions tailored for multiple target audiences. Traditionally, it’s about cultivating credibility, goodwill, influence, and reputation over time with new modes and mediums.
Enter Legacy Matrix—an innovation elevating the role of PR from mere presence building to power building. But what exactly is Legacy Matrix? It’s more than a concept; it’s a meticulously crafted intellectual property born out of 12 years of qualitative research. This strategic formulation offers a generic framework for building legacies, be it for products, services, individuals, or organisations that can be tactically customised for each brand to align with their vision. If an organisation or a brand has completed 25 or 50 or 100 years, that is not the mere criteria for the legacy. It is the reputation it has among stakeholder holders, the impact it created and the community presence it enjoys and the cultural impact.
I have drafted a non-fiction business and marketing book titled Theory of Reference Building: Legacy Matrix with the analysis and observations I noted from 2011. The research included secondary data source of books, videos available on YouTube, movies, series and media articles. The primary source included focus groups, social observations, pop culture trends, interactions and conversations with varying people and personal experiences in routine life. I must have read around 150+ relevant books and watched 1000+ videos on YouTube of Press Conferences, Interviews, Podcasts and Documentaries for the research of Legacy Matrix.
Shah Rukh Khan acted as an inspiration catalyst for this curiosity since 2010-11. It began with the intense curious questions as an introvert teenager of why do certain brands outshine other brands and enjoy influence. I was completely unaware of what is Public Relations till 2013. I was introduced to PR in 2013 during my graduation in BMS at Mithibai College, Mumbai.
Prior to 2011, other iconic personalities that curiously laid the foundation in my growing-up teenage years during high school include Brad Pitt, Tom Cruise, Shree Balasaheb Thackeray, Michael Jackson, Jackie Chan, Sachin Tendulkar, Swami Vivekananda and Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam.
I pursued Masters in Public Relations at Hinduja College, Mumbai. There I became aware of Edward Bernays and that captured my fascination. After my college hours, I used to visit Oxford Book Store next to KC College in Churchgate and curiously read books there. From August 2014 to February 2015, I have read biographies of Dev Anand, Dilip Kumar, Shah Rukh Khan, Guru Dutt, Dhirubhai Ambani, Prem Chopra, Rajesh Khanna, Steve Jobs and few more over several cups of tea. I used to religiously visit the store twice or thrice a week. Apart from biographies I read some non-fiction business books and marketing books too.
Gradually I evolved as a PR professional working on several clientele with many consultancies.
As a part of research and personal gratification I attended a few Press Conferences (majorly related to entertainment), movie premiers, guest participation at shows hosted by Shah Rukh Khan (Sabse Shaana Kaun, Ted Talk India, Filmfare, etc), guest participation at celeb talk shows at NDTV, Film Companion and other media houses. I happen to meet a lot of celebrities and I also got an opportunity to observe and note things personally as primary research about the glamour, media, corporate, influence and storytelling. It all enriched my insights, understanding and observations.
From 2014 to 2021, as a part of research I was reading the media articles on Reshma Shetty of Matrix Bay, Bunty Sajdeh of Cornerstone, Rohini Iyer of Raindrop Media, KWAN (Collective Artist Network), Shah Rukh Khan, Spice PR, Prashant Kishore, YRF Talent, Universal Communications and others. I had the privilege of personal observations too some times in Mumbai. Their clientele also helped me read between the lines and gain insights.
In November 2022 I compiled and drafted my IP. It includes Theory of Circle of Legacy Building which distinguishes between Fame, Stardom and Legacy and outlines a theory that at a macro level Fame is B2C in nature, Stardom in D2C in nature and Legacy is B2B in nature.
Theory of Reference Building is the base of Legacy Matrix. Reference Building is a perception and reputation building process, knowingly or unknowingly, that impacts the buzz of a brand in short and long term.
The triangular matrix of legacy, has PR elements and angles that can be customised for every brand’s legacy planning.
Legacy Matrix states that ‘Legacy is built in the culture’. Legacy Matrix transmutes perspectives from brand building to legacy building. If a brand focuses on legacy building, brand building would be a by-product in the process.
In January 2024 I thought of publishing my IP in a book format retaining the copyright and business implications. I preferred to be atmanirbhar (self-reliant) and self-published the book with an Indian online publisher. I believe this book is the blessings of Saraswati Mata.
The book is available on Amazon, Flipkart, Kindle and Google Books.
The views and opinions published here belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of the publisher.
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