Aakhya India is a full-service strategic public affairs consultancy firm that specializes in communications and policy advocacy.
This Delhi based agency works closely with policy-makers and businesses alike, and is uniquely positioned to bridge the gap between the two by amplifying the individual strengths of the public and private sectors in an ecosystem that aims to solve the economic and social issues in India.
In the last five years, they have proven to be a trusted partner for the Government of India, spearheading communication strategies for various government institutions at the center as well as the State Governments. We also work with several multinational companies around the world.
Aakhya’s core strength lies in Public relations, Content, Social Media, State Engagement, Crisis communications and Policy Advocacy.
As a part of our PR Women entrepreneurs feature we spoke to Archana Dutta, CEO, Aakhya India about how the agency has been helping its clients navigate through the pandemic.
Read on.
As a Women Entrepreneur in the business of PR how are you coping with the impact of Covid-19 and what are the strategies you are building for your clients?
Well there is no one today who is not impacted due to COVID-19, so are we and our clients whom we work very closely with. Being a woman is only an advantage in whatever areas of work as we have better resilience, and take charge in most difficult situations.
We are reaching out to our clients with detailed Market research from time to time on Covid and its impact on our economies, and how we also see an opportunity in certain industries that this Pandemic has brought. As most of our clients are in the government sector, thus, it’s our prime responsibility to make our last mile connect, by getting the right news to the right audiences, along with information on all the hard work that the government is doing, during these difficult times.
We have also done some workshops with our clients with focus on wellbeing, which is actually taking care of their mental, physical & emotional health, which is extremely essential at this time. The other workshops are on “Work From Home” ethics, which is the new normal.
What will be the objective of your communication strategy going forward?
Our role is really crucial in building positive narratives across print, electronic, and social media that impact Public opinion, Perceptions and Image. Thus, our communication Strategy is aligned with the goals of our client. First we Understand them thoroughly, Ideate with them, Create what is most impactful, Amplify the right message to the right audience and then Analyse to bring in the best results.
How did you keep the morale of the employees during this lockdown period? On a personal note, what is keeping you positive?
Aakhya is very sensitive towards its employees as we are a rather small company with only 65 of us on an all India level. It’s like a family and we are all connected with each other. During the lockdown, we made sure that we connected over zoom calls, not only for work, but also some fun calls where we shared some positive notes with each other, that lifted us up. We also did wellbeing workshops with our own colleagues, and some yoga & breathing techniques that helped to keep calm and balanced.
On a personal note, I am very spiritual and I lean on meditation and yoga, and that’s my mantra to always stay afloat.
What are some of the post-lockdown business strategies that you will use to win new clients?
We would like to go with our business objective to understand our Clients’ needs at post-pandemic times, Ideate with them, Create the most effective communication strategy with right channels, Amplify the most important messaging & Analyse the results and bring in synergies that are long-lasting. With an element of our motivational workshops focussing on wellbeing, we will be able to connect with our clients emotionally, which is the need of the hour.
What is that one special mantra that you would want to give to the millennials joining the PR Profession?
I would like to tell the younger generation/ our millennials/GEN Z, to be authentic, and always think from your clients’ shoes. More than commercial, if we align with our clients on an emotional level, those relationships go a long way. Just being genuine helps in any industry, especially in PR/Communications.
Post-Covid what would be your advice to your clients on ways to do effective communication?
Covid has taught us to think beyond ourselves, and care about others equally, not only humans, but nature, birds, animals etc. My advice would be to have a more holistic approach to businesses and communication. To bring in a more genuine and authentic approach, to understand that effective communication in the most authentic ways, can be life changing!
