Social Media Agency Feature : Concept Digital - A Full Service Media And Technology Consultancy

Who are we?

The Concept Group roots back to the late 80s where it gained recognition as one of India’s leading financial communications agency. In the late 90s, the agency incorporated a dedicated Public Relations unit that soon evolved into a formidable force in itself. Since its inception, we, at Concept PR, have believed that evolution is a constant and a critical driver of growth.

Acquisitions and mergers that led to the strengthening our PR service offerings in the sports and lifestyle arena and later the defining of a specialized Investor Relations team in 2004, helped us remain relevant to industry’s changing needs. In the same vein, it was in 2010, that we forayed into the digital world, believing that communication - whether advertising or PR - would not be complete without being a part of the digital ecosystem, hereon.

As knowledge partners to our clients, we have ensured that our technology and understanding are always a step ahead of their needs. It is this sensitivity that enables us to offer them exclusive crisis management and Online Reputation Management services that include the entire gamut of Social Media Marketing, blogs, news dissemination on the online platforms, SEO, ORM management, and all Online Media and search related services and the evolution has not yet stopped! In 2013, we mapped out Concept Community Relations, a unit that partners various industry players in defining their CSR mandates and, most critically, communicating the same across the online and offline space.

What's in the name? It's all about branding and image and SMM agencies are all about that. Reasoning behind choosing your agency name?

Building a brand takes years. Brand “Concept” evolved over 3 decades, gaining great heights through its service achievements and great ground through the acquisition of strengths over these years. From Concept Communication – the erstwhile advertising services agency - to Concept PR, Concept IR, putting “Concept” before our name came to be the way the team was recognized pan India. So, the foray into the digital space just meant we continued putting our Surname before the name – thus, Concept Digital!

What we do? Exact services you are into

Out-of-the-box thinking for a whole lot of things: the little nuances that create ROI, with SEO optimization from conversions and traffic boosts…Drool-worthy online creatives which make users take bites into attention-grabbing apps and games, our e-mailers are worthy of being mentioned, we do microsites, websites and can’t-miss viral films. And we do it all, from seeding a strategy to online reputation management to social campaigns!

Why we do it? Reasons for entering the industry

Our organizational philosophy has been to stay relevant through every environmental change. And today, our founders believe that PR and Advertising have a new merger based name, aka Digital Media!

Much ink has been spent on studies and views on how digital has reduced the urban-rural divide when it comes to a communication platform (recent studies show the urban/rural – mobile usage is a whopping 28/72%) – then, the question in my mind should be posed to those who are yet to adapt to this change.

How we evolve? The industry is growing so fast and we are still keeping up with the trends. Things you do to keep up and evolve

Concept as a group has always believed in investing in “domain specialists”. So, at a typical lunch hour, you’ll be sharing your meal with an eclectic mix of people who come from backgrounds that span banking, capital markets, journalism, brand strategy, consumer research, content creation, blogging, gaming, SEO management, SMM marketing and so on.

The focus is on hiring young blood, not exactly cubs, but a good mix of the experienced and the young!  And the environment ensure that the “Glued to the screen” brood complements the experienced think-tanks. Our frothy Fridays are a fun way to learn with anyone tutoring anyone, either in groups or individually. Links to seminars are exchanged, while crazy ideas discussed threaten to bring down the ceiling and the floors of our ancient stone building!

Social responsibility in social media : now that everything is so transparent and all concerned parties are exposed to all the information, how does one handle the social responsibility aspect from an agency point of view?

Currently, the overall digital scenario is such that certain corporates feel digital media is still in the nascent stage and want to adopt the wait-and-watch philosophy. Other organizations have already incorporated digital in their advertising budgets, rather seamlessly; yet others are ready to completely embrace digital by converting online promos offline. In a scenario like this our teams have to be wearing different hats at various times.

It is our responsibility, as an agency, to show our clients which path to take, depending on their requirement. We also urge our clients to use the platforms sensibly and not abuse the very core of their online presence!

Social Media is quite like a theatre performance in many ways. Our conversation with the audience is direct, unedited and spontaneous, and so is the response! Therefore, it is imperative that the content is crafted and presented intelligently and sensitively to ensure effective impact. For that we have to keep our ears firmly to the ground and ensure that the stakeholders of client partners are always engaged in productive conversations.

Need of the hour: Social networking laws are not properly drafted yet. Things we consider that need to be taken care of from our experience

We believe socially responsible content is vital as it’s a symbolic representation like a microcosm of a greater universe. So we carry a double onus – we just can’t afford to make mistakes. It is also how the content is perceived; it should in no way be offensive or damaging; while on the other hand, it goes a long way in damage control.

We learned the hard way - View points and tips you would like to share

The bottomline will reflect how we stay on top. And to seriously go about doing it is to have an in-house detective exclusively keeping tabs on innovations and reporting on all the platforms which seem to transform themselves almost daily.

They work with us

Sizzling updates and tweets for Chops Away, a fast food Pan Asian eatery in Mumbai’s corporate hub, Lower Parel. Promoting the Hearts-and-Arrows cut from Divine Solitaires, making demand for diamonds soaring through the roof! AGS Nitro, GMAT, NSCI, Supreme Housing, global real estate giant, Coldwell Banker are happy to be in the digital space with us, and some more who choose to remain unnamed!

 Industry as we foresee -Overview on the Indian Social Media industry in the coming years

A fast galloping industry that will hire kickass talent and become one of the hottest professions to be in! Ad spends and media budgets incorporating digital, will get bigger whilst digital advertising will get better and become the lead media across industries and audiences.

Uncertain of the beast in general, let alone the nature of the beast, it’s hard to tell what really lies ahead! We predict evolution that could create tidal waves of new platforms, synergies and path breaking trends, new platforms are bound to emerge, and as a community we feel all our teams will have to keep as abreast of things as possible, and be open to exploring and sharing their experiences…

A day without the Internet- Being connected now is like breathing. What would a day without the Internet be like?

Unthinkable of course! Maybe we'd convert our office into a cricket ground for the day so that all our workaholics, hooked to their mobiles, become children again!

Lastly, are you hiring?

ORM Manager