It is Kamra/Bhavesh vs Good Karma in this week's good and bad PR
Diwali draws closer, and we're excited to see how brands use the festive period to make us buy things we don't need. Kunal Kamra (alleged failed comedian) and Bhavish Aggarwal (*cough* Serial Entrepreneur *cough*) continued their digital fisticuffs on X, continuing their spat on the state of bike servicing issues plaguing the EV company.
Seriously, guys, get a 'kamra' (room)!
Good PR: When Jyoti Bansal birthed 400 millionaires
Jyoti Bansal (Serial Entrepreneur) Remember Jyoti Bansal? He's the founder and CEO of AppDynamics, which was acquired for $3.7 billion way back in March 2017. He's since expanded his entrepreneurial portfolio with Traceable, Harness, and Unusual VC. Why are we ruminating on this in 2024? Jyoti spoke publically recently about the 'regret' he felt after selling AppDynamics, even though the sale created 400 millionaires overnight amongst employees who owned company stock.
The media cycle used the peg to get Jyoti a glut of visibility throughout October—a textbook case of the enduring power of reputation and PR. Build a good company, make your employees rich, don't take your customers for a ride and you'll always feature in the PRmoment Good PR column. You will even compel us to mention your new ventures.
Jyoti is also an IIT Delhi graduate, but unlike other alpha startup CEOs, he doesn't need keyboard warriors to defend him and call him the messiah of wealth creation. At Harness, he's trying to better the lives of software developers by eliminating inefficiencies in coding. Next, I bet he'll take a shot at curing cancer!
Bad PR: Toxic Work Culture allegations, Piaggio, EY and Bajan Finance feel the burn
Unfortunately, toxic work culture has dominated our news stream in the past month. EY India and Bajaj Finance faced the brunt (rightly so) when tragic stories regarding their employees emerged in late September. So we were dismayed to see Piaggio India find itself in the middle of another 'toxic work conditions' furore.
The severe allegation came to light when MP Praveen Patel sought a probe into the unfair nature of the dismissal of senior employees. Here's why this incident is alarming in more ways than one: Only one mainline media coverage about the allegations, that too behind a paywall. We couldn't find any other stories about this incident, not even on the whispering corners of social media. Does this indicate media apathy/fatigue around toxic workplaces or good media management?
Why is an elected MP from Phulpur, Uttar Pradesh calling for a probe on a privately owned company headquartered in Pune, Maharashtra? Go figure! Unfair employee termination is a serious allegation, but we must be objective about what constitutes a 'toxic workplace' and not be frivolous about clubbing all HR headaches under one roof.
Shoeb is the chief innovation officer at Ideosphere Consulting. He loves helping brands and business leaders articulate their value better. If you want to point out examples of good and bad PR message him on LinkedIn
If you enjoyed this article, you can subscribe for free to our weekly event and subscriber alerts.
We have four email alerts in total - covering ESG, PR news, events and awards. Enter your email address below to find out more: