Universal Communications

8/6/2019 Universal Communications

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UNIVERSAL COMMUNICATIONS

Public Relation is a link that has to be established

among people in various fields of activity so as to

enhance the relationship amongst them to their mutual

advantage. Thus, the focus would be on relationship

building process. For this it is essential to know and

understand not only other people but ourselves also. It

is realise and accept that what you could not do as well

alone, you would be able to do better together with

others. To establish and develop this kind of interaction

forms the bases and foundation of PR.

The definition or PR given by Winston Rugmon is

Effective PR is clever networking which can provide big

returns. It is a skill that has to be mastered at all levels

for it helps to achieve a range of goals that otherwise

might be too hard or out of reach.

PR forms as a part of a strategy of management. Its

function is twofold. They are as follows:

To respond to the expectation of these behaviour,

judgements, and opinion that can influence the

operation and development of the enterprise.

In turn to motivate them.

Thus, all establishments need to interact with others at

all stages of growth and development. For this, it is

essential to establish productive contacts with them. It

is this realisation that has resulted in the evolution of

PR as a very important segment of the study of

management and industry.


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The PR agency that we visited is Universal

Communications. It is an entertainment PR agency. The

details are as follows:

INTRODUCTION:-

Universal Communication is a PR agency situated in

Mumbai. It is an entertainment PR agency. This agency

does PR for all the people related to entertainment.

That is, it basically does PR for celebrities. Universal

Communication is handled singularly byMr. Parag

Desai.

The Universe consists of various elements, which have

their individual characteristics. The symbiosis of these

elements creates energy that has a universal impact.

At Universal, they make a conscious effort to channelizethe various elements like communication, perception,information, ideas and knowledge onto one direction tocreate a brand image fort their clients.

Universal Communications, based in India, is anindependent consultancy firm that offers expertise totheir clients in the entertainment industry. Establishedin 1993, they started their operations into corporate

communications and later diversified in theentertainment Industry with specific focus on Televisionand Films.

The firm has six main divisions Public Relations,

Celebrity Management, Event Management, Corporate

Image Management, Brand Management, and Crisis

Management. Universal Communications is based in

Mumbai with their associates in Delhi, Lucknow,


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Hyderabad, Ahmadabad, Kolkata, Chennai and

Bangalore.

HISTORY:

Universal Communications was formed at about 16years age, that is in 1993 by Mr. Parag Desai. He

started doing PR for various television shows and

theatre in the beginning. He has done PR for many

serials like Aahat, Close Up Antakshari, Kora Kagaz,

Sanjeevani, Sa Re Ga Ma Pa, and many more. Almost 7

years back, they started on with various Production

Houses, Films and Individual Celebrities.This is thetopmost PR agency for Television and

one of the topmost agencies for Films.

WORK PROFILE OF

PARAG DESAI

(UNIVERSAL COMMUNICATIONS)

BOLLYWOOD PROMOTION

Released Films


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Film Title Producer/Production House

Director

U,Me Aur Hum Devgan films/Eros Ajay Devgan

Krazzy 4 FilmKraft/RakeshRoshan

Jaideep Sen

Superstar Shree

Ashtavinayak

CineVision Ltd

Rohit Jugraj

Bhool Bhulaiya T Series PriyadarshanDarling T series Ram Gopal

VarmaJab We Met Shree

Ashtavinayak

Imtiaz Ali

Bhagam bhag Shree

Ashtavinayak

Priyadarshan

Zindagi Rocks BAG Films Tanuja Chandra

Yun Hota TohKya Hota

Cat Films NaseeruddinShah

Corporate Sahara One Madhur

Bhandarkar

Golmaal Shree

Ashtavinayak

Rohit Shetty

Page 3 Sahara One MadhurBhandarkar

Hanuman Sahara One V.G. Sawant

Dor Sahara One Nagesh Kuknoor

Dhamal Maruti international Indrakumar

88 Antop Hill Kushan Nandy Kushan Nandy


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OOPS Tijori Inc Deepak Tijori

Fareb Dayal Creations Deepak Tijori

KhamoshTijori INC Deepak Tijori

Tom, Dick &

Harry

Surendra Sharma Deepak Tijori

Chupke Se PLA Ent. Shona Urvashi

Film Title Producer/Production House

Director

EMI Popcorn Motion

Pictures/ Sahara

One Motion

Pictures

Saurabh Kabra

1920 ASA Production andEnterprises PvtLtd

Vikram Bhatt

Kidnap Shree

Ashtavinayak

CineVision Ltd

Sanjay Gadhvi

Blue Shree

Ashtavinayak

CineVision Ltd

Anthony

Dsouza

Bhag Bhola

Bhag

Shree

Ashtavinayak

CineVision Ltd

Neeraj Vohra

Maharathi Shree Shivam Nair


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Ashtavinayak

CineVision Ltd

Karzzzz T Series Satish Kaushik

GolmaalReturns

ShreeAshtavinayakCineVision Ltd

Rohit Shetty

Hollywood Films

Fox Star Studios

ForthcomingFeature Films

Luck

Blue

Run Bhola

Run

Toonpurr Ka

Superhero

Prince of

Thieves

EK- The

Power ofOne

Mumbai

Cutting

Kaccha

Limbu

Fast Forward

Purple lake

Shaapit

Phhir `

Hissss


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Max PayneMirrorsAustraliaThe Day The Earths Stood StillMarley & MeValkyrie

TELEVISION

Have promoted top Television Production houses like

Cinevistaa Communications

UTV.

Optimistic

B.A.G. Films

Tijori Inc.

In House Productions,

Percept Television

Have promoted Television shows like:

Star One

Instant Khichadi.

The Great India Comedy Show.

Star Plus

Khichadi ,

Khulja Sim Sim ,

Kumkum- Ek Pyara Sa Bandhan

Saarathi

Baa bahu Baby

Sanjeevani


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Kora Kagaz

Kangan

Sony Television

Indian Idol

Aahat

CID

HumSub EK Hain

Ye Duniya Hain Rangeen

Meri Biwi WonderfuL

Zee TV

Sarrkar

Lavanya

Sinndoor,

Hum Sub Baarati,

Kashish , Reth,

Kareena Kareena

Chalti ki Nam Gaddi

Closeup Antakshari

Saregama

Sahara One

Haqeeqat

Kaggar

KARISHMA-The Miracles of Destiny

Do Lafso ki Kahani

NDTV Imagine


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Jasuben Jayantilal Joshi ki joint Family

Ek Packet Umeed

9 X Remote Control

Sony Sab

Tarak Mehta Ka Oolta ChashmaWORKING OF THE AGENCY;

The agency has an informal work culture. Here theclient comes to the agency with their problems and

through a well coordinated team they come up with an

appropriate solution. The responsibility of finding a

solution to the problem is transferred to the agency.

OBJECTIVES OF THE AGENCY:

The basic objectives of Universal

Communications are as follows:-

To built the image of a client:The most

important objective is to build a positive image of a

client. This can be done only through PR. For

example, Ajay Devgan has been known as areserved person because his PR has been done in

that way. Similarly, Amir Khan is called as a

perfectionist. Thus, it is through PR, how a celebrity

is been presented in front of the public.

Crisis management: In this case, managing the

public image of the client in times of negative news

or incorrect facts being published in media.


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Organising of remedial measures to reinforce the

image of the client like Interviews, sound bytes,

press conferences, etc.

Countering negative publicity: Here, it is the

duty of the agency to convert the negative

publicity done by the media into positive publicity.

The agency has to plan its strategies in such a way

that it reduces the negative image that has been

spread. For example, the negative image of Amir

Ali and Sanjeeda had been created by saying that

they had been thrown out from Nach Baliye. But

the agency, by using its strategies, brought their

image back by saying that they walked out of

Nach Baliye because of unprofessionalism.

Regularity and visibility of client in news:The

agency has to take care that the information about

the clients comes in the media at regular intervals.The duration between two articles should not be

much longer as this will reduce the publicity of the

client and will affect their carrier.

Branding of the client:This means that the

client should be given maximum and required

publicity and also at regular intervals. This will

brand the image of the client. For example, if any

kind of hype has to be created, than for at least

two to three days the information about the client

has to be given in media. This will automatically

publicise the client.

HIERARCHY AND STRUCTURE:


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In Universal Communications, there is only one head

and there are very less people working under them. It is

a sole proprietorship agency where only one person is

the head of the company. The head is Mr. Parag Desaiand there are five females working under him. There

are also two to three people in office working as peons.

There are five girls working under him and not boys

because according to him females can prove to be

better PR executives than males.

CONTRACTS BETWEEN THE CLIENTS AND

AGENCY:

In Universal Communication, contracts are signed on

certain basis. The contract depends on the relation of

the client with the agency, the popularity of the client

and through reference.

The agency decides to do PR of a client on contractual

basis and also on mutual understanding.

MUTUAL UNDERSTANDNGS:There are also

certain cases where contracts are not sighed and it

is done only on basis of mutual understandings.

However, in this case the time period can be as

long as possible but it has to agreeable to both the

agency and the client. If the client has givencertain project to the agency, than the agency has

to do PR for the client until and unless the project

is over.

CONTRACTUAL BASIS: In this case, proper

contract is signed between the agency and the

client. The contract includes time duration which is

very much important. The contracts can be signed


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for a month or months and also according to the

project. The client has the flexibility to choose the

agency of his choice. For example, if the client is

not satisfied with the PR done by the agency, thanhe can change his agency irrespective of the

contract.

PR STRATEGY:

Now, when we went for an interview with............, weasked them how do they formulate the PR strategy fortheir client? The answer thatwe got was that they do it by SWOT analysis


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PR BUDGET:

The PR agency decides the PR budget by taking into

consideration various factors. They are as follows:

DEPENDING UPON A PERSONS POPULARITY:

If the celebrity is more popular than the budget is

higher and vice versa. The more popular television

stars need to an amount between Rs.20,000 to

Rs.40,000 while the less popular need to paybetween Rs.5,000 to Rs.30,000 for two months. In

case of film stars, the popular ones need to pay Rs.

30,000 to Rs. 50,000.

DEPENDING UPON THE PROJECTS:The larger

the projects, the higher are the clients charged.


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DEPENDING ON PRODUCTION HOUSES:The

production houses are charged between Rs.75, 000

to Rs. 1, 50,000 depending upon their popularity.

DEPENDING ON TIME DURATION:The

celebrities are charged according to the duration

they want the agency to do their PR. Time is the

most important factor which plays a major role in

deciding the budget.

PR IS DIFFERENT FROM ADVERTISING:

The main difference between PR and Advertising is that

PR is done free of cost and we need to pay for

Advertising.

PR is done free of cost means that the client has to

pay certain amount to the PR agency while the PR

agency do not have to pay any amount to the

press. Thus, the PR agency needs to have goodrelations with the press and the media. By having

cordial relations with press and media, PR of a

client can be done in a better way and that too free

of cost.

However, in case of advertising, if an individual

wants to have his coverage in the newspaper,

wherein the PR agency is not involved, he needs to

pay a large some of rupees. Thus, advertising is

expensive. The press charges a large amount of

rupees if the individual is famous.

Thus, PR is a better way of publicity than advertising.


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PR OF UNIVERSAL COMMUNICATION:

Universal Communication is such an agency which does

not do PR of their own agency. They do not advertise

through any means except through WORD OF

MOUTH. All the celebrities do come to know through

references.

This company as being a PR agency in itself does not do

any kind of special publicity and nor does it require it.

The publicity for this agency is done via reference that

is word of mouth publicity and the healthy contacts thatit builds with its customers and other people they work

around with. Word of mouth publicity is the best way of

PR this agency chooses to do as it is one of the most

positive way to do publicity.

Word-of-mouth marketing, which encompasses a

variety of subcategories, including buzz, blog, viral,

grassroots, cause influencers and social media

marketing, as well as ambassador programs, work with

consumer-generated media and more, can be highly

valued by product marketers. Because of the personal

nature of the communications between individuals, it is

believed that product information communicated in this

way has an added layer of credibility. Research points

to individuals being more inclined to believe WOMM

than more formal forms of promotion methods; the

receiver of word-of-mouth referrals tends to believe

that the communicator is speaking honestly and is

unlikely to have an ulterior motive (i.e. they are not

receiving an incentive for their referrals).


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NEGATIVE PR:

There are cases where the client only wants to come in

lime light. So, depending on the demand of the client,

PR is done negatively. Unless and until the client

demands, the agency itself does not do any negative

PR.

How do you counter it?The golden rule is- Dont Panic! Heres what you shoulddo if ever if you have to:

Look into the problem

Identify the cause if its not obvious. Get experts toverify/debunk any claims/rumors before making apublic statement.

Work out a plan of counterattack

Get the best minds from within your firm and if needbe, hire professionals from outside(say, a professionalnegative publicity management firm) to come out withconvincing statements to counter allegations.

Give out concrete proofs of safe-practices

The best way to gain face is to quash unsubstantiatedrumors with hard hitting facts. Stage numerous public

demonstrations proving your point. Use the power ofthe Internet to reach out. This might be tricky if youreally are the defaulter. In that case, get the best mindsto mitigate the damage as best as possible.

Follow up progress continually


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After the initial storm has subsided, do not let up withre-building your image. Come out with attractive offers,make the customers take a tour of the production plantif relevant, get experts to vouch for your products, theworks. Once dented, your image will be vulnerable toattacks for some time to come.

METHOD OF COMMUNICATION USED BY AGENCY:

The method of communication that would appeal to thereceiver would completely depend upon the targetaudience.

If the target audience would be ranging fromyoungsters to mid-age people it would be via musicchannels like an MTV or a Channel V, or programmeslike Wassup Youngistan. Also for these youngsters the

mode of Internet and newspapers like Mumbai Mirroror Bombay Times etc which are read by these peopleon a regular basis.

And if this was to be targeted at a little older people the

mode would be news channels and newspapers like

Times Of India etc.

But the mode of communication would totally dependon the target audience and what kind of PR needs to be

done. There can also be held press conferences etc.


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PUBLIC RELATION OFFICER:

A public relations (PR) officer often works in-house and

can be found in both the private and public sectors:

from the utility and media sectors to voluntary and not-

for-profit organisations. Some PR officers may be based

in consultancies.

Functions performed by the (PR) officer in Universal:(1) Press relations

One objective of the PR manager is to ensure that

their client gets written favourably in the PRESS.

For this, relations with media correspondents have

to be maintained. They have to be provided with

information and handouts.

(2)Communications

The media has to be communicated about the

future plans of the client or their future assignment

so that the readers are well informed about their

plans. This is an indirect publicity done by officerso that their client is always in the limelight.

(3)Lobbying

Effective PR can influence public policy. An

important function of the PR professional will be tomaintain close relations and convince influential


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people in various walks of life. This helps in

publicity of the client by word of mouth publicity.

This increases the chances of working with big

names initially in their career just by lobbying.

Other important functions performed by the PR

officer are:

Liaising with and answering enquiries from

media, individuals and other organizations,

often via telephone and email

Writing and editing in-house magazines,speeches and articles

Preparing and supervising the production of

publicity brochures, handouts, direct mailleaflets, promotional videos, photographs,films and multimedia programmers

Organizing events including press conferences

Managing the PR aspect of a potential crisis situation


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CASE STUDY

RAKESH ROSHAN CLARIFIES ON THE KRAZZY 4

MUSIC COURT CASE:

I have been observing with great feeling of anguish,some false and frivolous reporting about the matterrelated to the music of my film Krazzy 4 in press andelectronic media.

With a view to clarifying the position and removing any

wrong and unworthy impression created by suchirresponsible and utterly misleading statements I thinkit is absolutely necessary to inform everyone about thefacts on record. This statement, besides unfolding thefacts, will serve as a timely warning to my fraternity.I had liked the music piece of the ad which I saw on TVin which Hrithik Roshan is performing as a brand

ambassador for Sony Ericsson. For the purpose of using


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some portion of the said music in my film I requestedSony Ericsson and in response I was granted consentand permission of Sony Ericsson by the letter dated 13th

December 2007 which I reproduce here below.Consequently in good faith and relying on theauthorization of Sony Ericsson as per the attachedletter I recorded with the required modificationretaining only 4 bars of the THUMP track. I wassurprised and shocked on 24th March 2008 to receive anotice from the solicitors of Ram Sampat containingallegations of infringement of his work.

I contacted Sony Ericsson and was told that theyissued the letter by mistake and infact they didn't havethe rights for the same.Before I could think of any solution, Mr. Sampat filed asuit in Bombay High Court framing all wild and frivolousallegations of infringing his copyright of said musicpiece of Thump.

It was really a shocking development becauseinstead of approaching me to know the facts he straightaway went to court. It was evident from going throughthe plaint and annexure therewith, that he waspreparing the suit for a long time.

It is interesting to note that the Krazzy 4 music waslaunched in February 2008 and the promos containingthe alleged infringed work was released on TV on allchannels in the end of February 2008. All these daysRam Sampat chose to wait and instituted the suit in theHigh Court just a few days before the release of thefilm.

This was a well planned scheme of making money.Having all the proof in my hand to defend, I washelpless for want of time.

I was required to be in Court when the prints of thefilm had already been delivered all over the world.Finding myself caught in a helpless situation and to


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keep up my commitment with distributors and torespect feelings of the audience, I had no way but tosuccumb to the pressure and to compromise on thematter, thereby seeing that the film is released on theannounced date.

To honour all these commitments, moral andprofessional I paid the price to Ram Sampat whostrangulated me just days before the release.

These are facts which will enlighten each andeveryone who might have been misled by wrongfulclaims and have been carrying wrong impression aboutthe intentions and integrity of a banner which issincerely and honestly serving the Motion PictureIndustry and cine-goers since decades. These are alsothe facts which Hrithik had sent to Ram via sms whichhe has misused.While concluding I would request my producer brethren

to be beware of such people who wait to harass and

corner the producers just at the time of the release ofthe film for wrongful gains.

PRESS RELEASE OF PRODUCTION HOUSE

Shree Ashtavinayak Cine Vision Ltd Geared up

with a Plethora of releases!


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Shree Ashtavinayak Cine Vision Ltd. who has

continuously delivered successful movies like Jab We

Met, Bhagambhag, Golmaal and Maine Pyar Kyun

Kiya, are all set to continue the Bollywood blitzkrieg!

Shree Ashtavinayak Cine Vision Ltd has assembled

an eclectic line-up of films ranging from suspense

thrillers to comedies to adrenaline pumping action

films.

Illuminating on the big bag of releases says Dhilin

Mehta, the Managing Director of Shree

Ashtavinayak Cine Vision Ltd. "Even after the

success of 'Jab We Met', 'Golmaal', 'Bhagam Bhag' and'Maine Pyar Kyun Kiya', and our goal (strategy,

intention, focus, vision) still remains to deliver more

and more good quality entertainment to the audiences

which has become a necessity nowadays. The company

has multiple releases lined up for future which can be

universally accepted by the people of all genres."

Coming up first from the multiple releases planned is

Shivam Nair's suspense thriller 'Maharathi' based on

Paresh Rawal's popular Gujarathi play and featuring


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Naseeruddin Shah, Om Puri, Boman Iraani,

Paresh Rawal, Tara Sharma and Neha Dhupia.

This will be followed by 'Kidnap' by Sanjay Gadhvi,

an action thriller which will feature Sanjay Dutt,

Minnisha Lamba, Vidya Malvade, Rahul Dev &

Imran Khan in a fast paced adventure.

The festive season of Diwali will usher in the much

awaited sequel 'Golmaal Returns' returning with Ajay

Devgan, Arshad Warsi, Tusshar Kapoor, Shreyas

Talpade, Kareena Kapoor, Celina Jaitley, Amrita

Arora and Anjana Sukhani under the direction of

Rohit Shetty.

Another comedy from the stable of Shree

AshtavinayakCine Vision Ltd will be Neeraj Vora's

'Run Bhola Run' casting Govinda, Tusshar Kapoor,

Tanushree Dutta & Amisha Patel. Not just this,

Neeraj Vora will be once again directing another

laughathon titled 'One Way Ticket' starring Anil

Kapoor, Akshaye Khanna & two more Heroines

Coming to one of the most exciting projects already

creating a buzz from Shree Ashtavinayak Cine


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Vision Ltd is 'Blue', a magnanimous action film with

the boasting of high profile stars like Sanjay Dutt,

Akshay Kumar, Lara Dutta, Katrina Kaif and

Zayed Khan in the hands of Director Anthony

D'Souza!! To be shot in sizzling locales abroad, "Blue"

promises some spectacular underwater stunts and

never seen before action sequences, backed by an

expert crew with technicians from India and Hollywood!

Next on the anvil is 'Luck', an action flick from Soham

Shah that will see the Debut of Shruti Hassan

(Daughter of Kamal Hassan) who will star alongside

Sanjay Dutt, Imran Khan, Danny Denzongpa, and

Ravi Kisshen with Mithun Chakraborthy.

Other ongoing exciting projects include a co-production

with Shri Jagganaath Entertainment, 'Mudh Mudh

Ke Na Dekh Mudh Mudh Ke', a Musical Love Story,

which will star Himesh Reshammiya,Niharika Singh

& Jennifer Kotwal, directed by Seema & Sudhir, and

'Bond' which will be directed by Anthony D'Souza

starring Sanjay Dutt and two other heroes in

association with Sanjay Dutt Productions Pvt Ltd.


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They have also signed up a couple of directors such as

Rummi Jaffery who will be directing John Abraham

and Kareena Kapoor in an as yet untitled love story

and Vivek Sharma who will be at the helm of another

film with Govinda and another heroes with two more

heroines which are yet to be finalized.

Old favorites Rohit Shetty will cast Ajay Devgan

once again and another hero and two heroines in an

action comedy and Imtiaz Ali will also be rolling out his

next film with Shree Ashtavinayak Cine Vision Ltd.

starring Akshay Kumar in the lead.

The company is also associated with prolific directorslike Priyadarshan, Aneez Bazmee, David Dhawan,

Abbas Mustan, Rohit Shetty, Neeraj Vohra,

Vikram Singh, Soham Shah & Rohit Jugraj

Apart from these Shree Ashtavinayak Cine Vision

Ltd. has signed stars like Sanjay Dutt, Salman

Khan, Akshay Kumar, Saif Ali Khan, Kareena

Kapoor, John Abraham, Arshad Warsi, Katrina

Kaif, Shreyas Talpade, Tusshar Kapoor and the

latest heart-throb Imran Khan for future projects.


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Lastly, with a Bollywood bang, in 2009-10, Shree

Ashtavinayak Cine Vision Ltd. also plans four

releases in the Telugu and Tamil film categories also.

Well looks like cinema connoisseurs are all set for a

spectacular visual treat this year!!

PRESS RELEASE OF AJAY DEVGAN

Ajay Devgan gets a standing ovation in the Royal

Albert Hall!

Remember the Ajay Devgan who once gave a rare

singing performance in Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam?

Well, years have gone by and we hear that as Ajay is

currently shooting in London for Vipul Shahs

London Dreamz, the cast and crew have been busy

shooting at a landmark location called the Royal

Albert Hall where some of the most celebrated andworlds finest artistes and performers have given mind

boggling performances!

Probably inspired by the aura and accomplishments of

these great artistes, Ajay just picked up the mike and

gave a wonderful rendition to his wife Kajol anddaughter Nysa along with the other cast and crew of


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around 100 people, mindless of the fact that the mic

was plugged into the central amplifiers of Royal Albert

Hall!!!

A crew member who wishes to be anonymous says that

Ajay started off on an imperfect note from an old song

by a group called Air Suppy and then suddenly

stopped. Then he called out to his daughter Nysa and

once he had her undivided attention, he started

humming the song Am all out of love, I cant livewithout you this time perfectly in sync with the tune

even as Kajol and Nysa started applauding followed by

the entire unit!

Looks like Ajay is really going to miss the apple of his

eye, Nysa and his wife Kajol when they return toMumbai as Nysa is being terribly missed by

grandparents too! But to make the most of their time

together, Ajay took Kajol and Nysa to shop around

London and Nysa favourite destination turned out to be

none other than Henrys the biggest toy store in

London!! The end result being that the indulgent father

finally had a cab following them which was loaded withall the shopping goodies!

Universal Communications

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