perspective.

Attending PRAXIS 2024 was a really enriching experience. It’s not every day you get to be part of India’s biggest public relations and corporate communications summit, and I’m so glad I got to be there, thanks to ON PURPOSE. The two-day event was packed with sessions, insights, and conversations that really helped me understand where […]

So. You may have seen that we recently hosted a Sustainability Roundtable on “Growth and Profitability in the Age of Sustainability”. You may have been curious about it. You may have even wanted to attend it. Or you may not have cared at all. On the off chance that you do care about our planet […]

I recently had the privilege of attending the world’s largest festival of Reputation Management professionals, PRAXIS 2023, Public Relations And Corporate Communications India Summit. A remarkable two-day event that brought together over 500 PR experts from India’s major metros and beyond. The name, PRAXIS, carries the meaning of ‘to act’ or ‘to do’ in Latin, […]

Partnership aimed at Revolutionising Social Impact by harnessing the Power of AI for transformative Change  New Delhi, 29 August, 2023: ON PURPOSE Consulting, an award-winning social impact communication consultancy, and Findability Sciences, recently named one of America’s most innovative companies in 2023 by Fortune Magazine, have formed a ground-breaking alliance to harness the true potential […]

To those who don’t work intimately with criminal justice, the recent Disney+ Hotstar release A Thursday, may have seemed like a film with an excellent social message. But the reality is that this could not be further from the truth. (SPOILERS AND TRIGGER WARNING FOR SEXUAL ASSAULT) Despite its automatic appeal for those who equate […]

The agency will provide strategic counsel on brand positioning and consumer engagement through an integrated communications approach New Delhi, 14 March, 2022: ON PURPOSE, an integrated communications consultancy, best known for brand reputation management and driving social change, has been awarded the PR mandate for Beetel Teletech Ltd., one of India’s leading technology brands, offering contemporary solutions for […]

The independent firm onboards former Omnicom International President as it prepares for next stage of growth March 1, New Delhi: ON PURPOSE is excited to announce the addition of David Gallagher to its team in an advisory capacity. The former Chairman of the PRCA UK and former President of ICCO will join ON PURPOSE as […]

Launches campaign #TwoIsTooLittle to address all forms of new parenthood New Delhi, February 2, 2022: ON PURPOSE, a creative communications consultancy, launched a landmark parental leave policy offering inclusive employee benefits to new parents, primary and secondary caregivers as well as pet parents.  ON PURPOSE understands the realities and needs of modern day parenting and […]

The impact of COVID-19 has been so catastrophic that we will likely only understand all the consequences after decades, if at all. One thing that is clear is that the stress and anxiety of living in and adapting to a pandemic has detrimentally affected the well-being of everyone. This is especially true in the education […]

Sustainability can mean different things for different people. For organisations wanting to prove their sustainability credentials, the motivations could vary from wanting to attract ESG (Environment, Society and Governance) focused funding, to meeting compliance requirements, to attracting talent wanting to work with organisations that care about planet and purpose over profits. For grassroots organisations or […]

This year we are stronger. We have lived and fought through a first and second wave. We carry some scars – the anxiety of discovery of a positive diagnosis for a family member, the loss of loved ones and the burden of carrying on – the stresses of our time. And yet, work continued. Giving […]

Building a collaborative and equitable work culture, one policy at a time. New Delhi, May 25, 2021: Ahead of Menstrual Hygiene Day on Friday, May 28th, ON PURPOSE announced ‘Period Chutti’ for its employees. This policy includes additional 6 paid leaves in a year, for all employees who menstruate. The organisation’s intention is to support […]

We all have been through those ‘dark phases’ at some point in our lives. While some pass in a trice, others stay. I was diagnosed with depression in 2018. Back then, I thought just a couple of sessions with the therapist would help get my ‘sanity’ back. Clearly, I had no idea how ramified it […]

As we stand at the threshold of the New Year, we seldom brood over the year passing by. Mostly, the only things that one carries forward, from the old to the new, are the New Year resolutions.  I believe that the New Year resolutions are like that warm mist that releases from our mouth on […]

Can you think of a profession where a boss is tracked down by many on a social media channel only to be told that how much value he or she has brought into their life? I have heard this happening to people in only one profession and that is teaching. A neighbour who happened to […]

Cash burn, clients on wait-and-watch mode, budget cuts, deferred payments, fewer onboarding of new clients on one side and on the other heightened communication requirements from customers, shorter deadlines, and immense pressure to deliver and also from the confines of our homes! Sound familiar? Welcome to PR in a COVID19 world.  We are all amid […]

The invasion of the COVID-19 pandemic in everyone’s lives has put forth unique challenges in front of the Indian workforce. As a large section of the white-collar workforce has switched over to working from home as a result of the Indian government’s-imposed lockdown that has now extended for a further 14 days over the originally […]

– I like how you’re carrying your C.V., it’s rare these days – I am judging you not from your C.V., but on your attitude to take challenges The meeting with the Managing Partner of my firm in a nutshell. Who am I? What is a person who breathes, sleeps and lives Bollywood doing in […]

This was our second-year sponsoring PRAXIS. As a bootstrapped start-up, just over 2 years old, we consider it a privilege to be able to support our industry and be an active participant in the discourse shaping its future. We wouldn’t have it any other way. Here are a few takeaways for our clients and others […]

As I grew up, I started looking back at history as a map of events, a process, that involved different stages that have led to the present. The specific days did not really matter. I celebrated the stories. I celebrated every event in the thread of events. The country celebrated its 73rd Independence Day recently. […]

Climate change is real. We have ample evidence to suggest this. It is mind-boggling though, that some people are still questioning the authenticity of climate change and backing out of climate agreements! We live in a world where it is getting easier by the day to manufacture truth, most palatable to you, but even the […]

“Is it a film or a musical?” My friend from New York asked me, amused as we left the movie hall after a 2 hour and 35-minute-long movie. Unlike in the west, in India we’ve rarely separated one from the other. Music and dance have always been an integral part of Bollywood, providing creative expression […]

Politically charged discussions abound in all corners. Everyone is glued to their TVs to finally concur if the exit polls matched with the actual result. Some bets are won, others feel forlorn and dejected. By now you would have realized that it’s that time again when promises will be made in abundance, freebies will be […]

Bangalore, Dec 4, 2017 I was fortunate to attend #e4mSouthConclave, the first of e4m’s flagship events in Bangalore and was impressed with the quality of speakers and the well curated event. Given the theme, “How to Make Brands Purposeful” I couldn’t miss it. Here are my three key takeaways: 1. Great brands solve problems: Mathew Chandy, […]

On Dec 1, I had the privilege of moderating a discussion on ‘Turning Diversity and Inclusion Practices into Action’ with a fantastic set of panelists. Here are some learnings that may be useful to others: 1. Start with Why: Any change program in likely to fail unless we’re unable to recruit the people concerned as allies. This means […]

We are the most informed generation and have access to almost everything ‘material’. We have so many options from which we can choose that often we forget the value these things are supposed to add to our lives. To quote lines from one of my favorite movies Fight Club, ’Advertising has had us chasing cars […]

This Diwali, with a ban on firecrackers firmly in place, we were inspired to look beyond clicktivism and to find out what people were actually doing to make the festival season easier on the environment. We sought out passionate people who walk the talk, and have been for years leading by example, through a campaign […]

On Teacher’s Day, Swati from Pune tells us about her journey as a teacher and recalls how her childhood experience as a student moulded her approach later as a teacher. Please introduce yourself and briefly tell us about your career I reside in Pune. I am a Pre-School teacher and have been in this profession […]

Research need not be confined to ivory towers, nor films to Bollywood.  Make them application-oriented; and they can very well be used to our advantage in ‘communications to drive social change’. Making place for differentiated skill set in communications for social change Here is a sector brimming with stories waiting to be shared (with stakeholders, […]

12th August has been christened ‘International Youth Day’ by the United Nations, and this year’s conversation was around ‘Safe Spaces for Youth’. The UN especially recognises the importance of such spaces as part of the ‘2030 Agenda’ for Sustainable Development. On Purpose took this opportunity to raise some questions on what safe spaces are and […]

The On Purpose #CriticalMatters series was started to deliberate on some hard questions. This Twitter-specific brainstorm exercise by us has its interests spread across matters relevant to the field of communications and of our larger goal of championing social change. On July 6th, the @onpurposecomms handle hosted a tweet chat on a question that so many […]

Shilpa quietly walks up to the lectern, her eyes shyly scanning the applauding crowd in the room. She wrings her hands for a few seconds before leaning in and speaking. Her soft-spoken style and calm demeanour stand in contrast to the steely determination she has shown in her life and for which on this day she […]

The Ethel Prabhu Foundation was created to keep alive the memory of an ordinary and simple woman called Ethel Prabhu who was ahead of her times. She stood by these values during her two decades of work as a school teacher across four cities – Equality, Excellence and Empowerment. Ethel Prabhu was my mother. She […]

Mums get a lot of attention in early May every year. This has been the pattern strongly for advertisers, marketers and now the new breed – influencers. Apparently, I am supposed to belong to the last category. To be honest, yes, it is an overdose of mommy videos, campaigns and contests but I do believe […]

Mothers are complex, volatile, apprehensive and extremely emotional beings and I’m no different. Mothers are not perfect but motherhood does come with a lot of self-imposed pressure – to be on one’s toes and know the right thing and do the right thing for the children all the time. If something doesn’t go by the […]

One year. The one that just flew by, the one that tossed us, twirled us, threw us from a trapeze and shot arrows at us as we rode into the great, wide, open unknown. It took a while to let go – but the space in between has been thrilling, hair-raising, nerve-wracking, sometimes (read every […]

An ice basket full of bubbly was ready, the house had been cleaned within every inch of itself and since we were in CR Park, local street-food dominated the menu. We just couldn’t wait! For what you may ask? An evening of revelry with some friends of On Purpose! We were celebrating one year of […]

What’s the best way to spend a Sunday morning? Relaxing on the bed with a good book for company is a great idea. But, a better idea is to spend it with a group of young, enthusiastic readers at a beloved library! ———- Buguri the community library officially came into being in January 2017 in […]

The word ‘geri’ actually refers to the ’rounds’ farmers in Punjabi villages used to take around their fields. But in Chandigarh, the ‘Geri Route’ has been for decades become the site of cars and bikes moving in rounds, with the drivers openly harassing women who walk the path. This ‘route’ spans roads surrounding Sector 8,9,10, […]

Idol worship and ideal worship are somewhat analogous. Both involve an irrational desire for something that doesn’t exist and something that is a figment of imagination turned into a deep-rooted socio-cultural belief and construction. Idol worship is still not as pernicious because it is only a metaphor, a symbol after all. But the ‘ideal’, a […]

This piece is about the walls women are sometimes met with when we express anything that is unexpected or not the norm. It explores the silences that trying to communicate difficult things brings about. I’m seventeen. He’s twenty five. I say let’s not. He does it anyway. I’m twenty three. He’s twenty three. I say […]

A sanskari woman would never go out on dates with boys who are strangers they said. But I always did what I wanted to and never stopped because I am a ‘girl’. Given my love for meeting new people, I went out on a few Tinder dates and almost dated one of them. Because, why not! Who knew, […]

From the time I understood that I am the one who will be responsible for my decisions, I started making my own choices. Starting from taking PCM (Physics, Chemistry, Maths) after the 10th grade. In the middle of the night, sitting in the dark, I had removed the option of ‘Commerce’ (that I had tick-marked […]

My grandmom often used to say, “Never trust a man who cries openly and a woman who laughs openly!” She wanted her grand-daughters to be well-behaved princesses. My father was an IAS officer, and she expected us to step it up. The rules she abided by were – be quiet, or speak less; serve everyone; and don’t […]

A city like New Delhi is a study in contradictions. It is home to a plethora of people coming from all walks of life, not all of whom have access to clean surroundings and basic sanitation services. Suparnaa Chadda is a women’s rights activist, media professional and founder of Women Endangered India (WE) & ‘Simply Suparnaa’. […]

The On Purpose Photo Contest, the first of its kind, ran between November 14th and December 2nd, 2017. The following is a list of the brainwaves, plans, and observations that happened behind and during the contest. Because we believe in record-keeping! PSST: To purchase a Kindle edition of Ashraf Engineer’s book, Bricks of Blood (that […]

India does not need another generalist consultancy. The market is cluttered with global and independent consultancies with undifferentiated offerings. What India needs and what clients are buying, is differentiated expertise. We want to bring more confidence to the business of Public Relations The communications profession needs to be more confident about who we are as a […]