Telum recently caught up with Samrita Adwani, the Marketing and PR Global Manager for Delta Partners. She shares with us her past comms experience and some key leaderships skills.

You’ve gained comms experience all across the globe. Of all the various markets you've worked in, which country strikes you as the most unique?
At the moment, the regions I overlook are all unique in their own ways. Australia, Indonesia, Dubai in particular have their unique challenges, while Singapore overall adapts a more global communication style. What’s tricky with communications isn't the way we’re communicating - it's what is being perceived. Communication isn’t key in a global role, comprehension is.

What are some key leadership values and skills to have amid the current pandemic?
Adaptation is key. Change is the only real constant. I was on hiatus with Delta Partners last year, and the changes I have noticed between my time there before and now are drastic.

In terms of marketing, comms, and PR, everything has changed, and with the ongoing nature of the pandemic, it will only continue to change. How do we continue to work remotely in a position that typically requires heavy face to face interaction? How do we continue to generate content that captures a two-second attention span? We adapt.

What are some marketing and PR trends that are catching on, and what do you predict for the future?
Purely based on the industry I’m in and the regions I cover, we’ve shifted into a more holistic sensory approach where we cover articles, visuals, podcasts. Content that was typically text heavy is being converted into content pills / infographics, roundtables are now podcast discussions, presentations are more interactive interactions on Zoom.

As to understand the future, we need to go back in time. The old-school networking will bounce back, in person conferences, catchy campaigns that include travel. All in good time - for now though, it’s been fun navigating the change.

Can you share with us some marketing or PR challenges that you've faced and how you overcame them?
Initiating initiatives across the industries I have worked in came with its own challenges, whether it was a global campaign translating well across various regions, legal adaptations, measuring ROI or putting metrics on intangibles.

What industries see the need for a stronger marketing and PR strategies post-pandemic?
In my very humble opinion, I think every industry could always benefit from strengthening marketing and PR strategies. In a pandemic or not, nothing sells itself. There’s always an audience that has forgotten about it, or an audience that isn’t aware of / ignorant towards it.

From travel regaining strength and airlines encouraging consumers to fly again, convincing them it’s safe to do so, from insurance to business services and F&B, we could all benefit from adapting to the ever-changing environment and ramping up our efforts in accordance.