1. What inspired the #ApniMittiApnaRang campaign and its use of the iconic Mile Sur Mera Tumhara anthem?
I can clearly recall that day. I was on a call with Creative Director and MD of Jindal Lifestyle, Ms Deepika Jindal, who happens to be the primary person from Jindal family to guide my team and me on organising the biggest annual event for our corporate employees, Utsav. By then, we had finalized the theme of Utsav 2026 as Apni Mitti, Apna Rang. We wanted this gathering to be a celebration of our diversity. As a manufacturing company spread across India, Jindal Stainless is much like mini-Bharat, united in our diversity. Every year, as per the theme, we organize a performance by employees. And while discussing this part with Ms Jindal, the thought struck.
There was one song in the 1990s that pulled me, and everyone else I knew, like a magnet to the television. It showcased the rich cultural tapestry of India like nothing else did. Shot in 16 different Indian languages, in about 15 states, sung by legends like Pandit Bhimsen Joshi and Lata Mangeshkar ji, this song became a symbol of national integration. Mile Sur Mera Tumhara seemed like a natural fit to connect our employees’ cultural backgrounds with the everyday experience at our workplaces. It provided the perfect backdrop to communicate our gratitude towards and appreciation of our employees – diverse, yet united towards a common and stainless vision of India.
2. How did you ensure the campaign authentically captured the diverse voices and cultural identities of Jindal Stainless employees?
With the theme and song now finalised, our next step was to bring in employee performers who could bring alive their respective cultural heritage. Since the rendition was envisioned as an expression of our roots and cultural identities, we rolled out teasers and invited nominations from colleagues across our corporate offices. The campaign brought together 19 artists, some of whom actually represented their states, and some who chose their avatars among options available. While we had a choreographer and an art director to guide employees, each participant had the freedom to demonstrate his/her own interpretation of the song through his/her own movements and cultural identity. The entire shoot was completed within five hours at our own office complex!
This is perhaps the most authentic example of storytelling I have experienced. It is not about placing people in a predetermined narrative frame but rather it is about co-creating a story that reflects people’s personalities. #ApniMittiApnaRang was an attempt to visualize the idea of one Stainless Family and present the idea that the whole is always greater than the sum of its parts.
3. What are the biggest challenges in building and maintaining a consistent corporate reputation today?
The biggest challenge in maintaining a consistent corporate reputation in today’s age is the lack of boundaries between the external and the internal. It is no longer possible to have a façade that is different from its interiors. In a world that is open and is being rewritten through the lens of the user, the face and the innards can no longer afford to be different. Even in yesteryears, having incoherence between internal and external imagery was shaky ground to stand on. But in today’s times, it’s simply untenable.
And this is great news for anyone who believes in authentic storytelling. For storytelling was never about manipulating an audience’s views; it was about shaping the collective values of employers, employees and society in ways that bring about holistic improvement across the board. With the explosion of social media and digital platforms, perception can change at great speed, affected by factors like customer experience, employee feedback, or online conversations. Keeping a good corporate reputation requires more than just talking about it. It requires organizations to walk to talk, to create the internal culture in alignment with its desired image, and conduct their stakeholder relationships in the same spirit.
As communication professionals we need to focus on building trust through transparency, consistency and credibility in simply being. Storytelling comes after that.
It requires understanding the expectations of stakeholders. It also requires monitoring conversations on different platforms and readiness to handle challenges. Ultimately, a good corporate reputation is not formed by the organization alone but also by the actions of the organization, their governance, values, and long-term trust that they are able to establish with their employees, customers, and community.
4. How do you measure the effectiveness of a communications strategy beyond media coverage and reach?
Once again, the connectedness of the world dilutes the importance of any single KPI is driving visibility. We therefore view and measure our effectiveness through all possible indicators, and media coverage/ reach is one among them. In my view, effective measurement entails both quantitative and qualitative indicators. And this can range from the number of job applicants to the off-page content on Reddit and Quora, and everywhere in between!
While parameters such as views, reach, and engagement make it possible to assess visibility, aspects such as audience perception, recall of the message conveyed, the type of conversations generated and changes in perceptions of stakeholders are also important when analyzing the effects of the communications campaign. In the end, success in communication is not only about how many people see the message but whether the right audience is targeted, the message resonates among them and it helps in achieving business goals we set out to achieve. Ultimately, a good campaign should help build trust, improve stakeholder relations, shape desired perceptions, or establish a meaningful connections.
Looking at the #ApniMittiApnaRang campaign, we consider not only the visibility metrics but also how the story resonated with people. The film had over 12 million views on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube, thus proving its efficiency as a tool of outreach. However, the primary aim was to foster a sense of belonging, familiarity and pride among our people. The post-Utsav employee survey rated this film as the best experience during the annual event.
5. How do corporate communications differ from marketing, and how can the two functions work together to build a strong brand and reputation?
Back during my student days at IIMC, most professors characterised the distinction between Corporate Communications and Marketing as the difference between building earned reputation and buying paid visibility. I think it stands true even today, even despite the influence exerted by content creators and social media.
Marketing primarily focuses on creating demand and selling a product while corporate communications involves shaping a broader perspective of the organization in relation to its multiple stakeholders such as employees, media, investors, communities, and the public. Corporate communications deal with how the organization and its leaders are perceived and what they espouse.
Nonetheless, it is equally important that they work together, since both functions are responsible for shaping narratives and influencing public perception. Most successful organizations do not treat these two functions as separate and isolated from one another but they work in tandem. In the end, a brand is not merely created by messages alone. It is built through the cumulative experience people have with an organisation, and both teams should play complementary roles in making sure that organisation stands true to what it preaches, practices, and promises.
