Edelman marks first with India investment

R&PMC:Edelman, as the new entitity will be known, immediately becomes a top-three contender in India's PR market, with revenues of over US$1 million. "Our affiliate relationships are not as close as we want them," said Edelman president and CEO Richard Edelman, "This provides a guarantee for our clients. If our competitors are smart, they will follow suit." The JV will be headquartered in Mumbai, with wholly-owned offices in New Delhi and Bangalore. It will be headed by Roger Pereira, founder and CEO of R&PMC. "We firmly believe our new company will add substantial strength to Edelman's existing management team in the region," said Edelman Asia-Pacific president Alan VanderMolen. "At the same time, the joint-venture will provide clients with tremendous stakeholder insights and give them access in India to Edelman's leading stakeholder strategies and measurement tools." The two agencies recently unveiled one of these tools in the shape of the first-ever global study of media perceptions of India around the world. The research revealed that, while India's image is becoming increasingly positive, it continues to be dwarfed by China, and requires sustained communications to shed its 'outsourcing' tag. Edelman and R&PMC conducted interviews with journalists in 10 major cities across US, Europe and Asia to compile the study, which illustrated that India's share of voice in the US media is 14 per cent, compared to China's 46 per cent. However, the global media sees India's five-year plus prospects as stronger than other emerging markets, with high-tech, software, textiles and pharma perceived as growth areas. "Current perceptions are dominated by India's IT prowess," said Pereira in a press statement, pointing to other strong sectors such as automotive, biotechnology and steel. "We need to drive perceptions closer to reality." India's downsides are perceived in infrastructure and transportation, with 35 per cent of respondents citing this sector. In addition, only a third of the US media believe that Indian corporations doing business in India are transparent in their business conduct and adhere to high standards of corporate governance.