In a first, Adfactors launches practice for high end tech, COO Roger Darashah to lead with specialist team

Adfactors PR, India’s largest public relations firm, today launched a specialist offering, the 'Frontier Technologies' practice, to address new and emerging technology sectors – from artificial intelligence and big data to machine learning and nanotechnology.

The offering will specifically serve the requirements and opportunities facing emerging technology companies, in addition to mainstream businesses deploying next-generation technologies such as Blockchain, artificial intelligence, machine learning and autonomous mobility across their operations.

The practice will deliver specially-designed services of particular relevance to this sector including concept and platform audits, ‘deep’ technical stakeholder engagement, and both ‘technical’ and ‘societal’ thought leadership. These products have been specifically developed for nascent sectors where, in many instances, purchase and partnership protocols, public sentiment, channels to market, regulations and, even, business models are yet to be defined.

Adfactors PR has taken care to select professionals who have a strong background in emerging and high-end technology for the practice. The practice will be led nationally by the firm’s Chief Operating Officer (COO), Roger Darashah, supported by a dedicated team of specialists. In Mumbai, it will be led by Sandeep Ajgaonkar, vice-president, Adfactors PR, who was formerly senior general manager, digital & direct marketing at Sun Pharmaceutical and, earlier, editor & marketing head for Express Computer Magazine; in Bengaluru, by T V Mahalingam, senior group head and former national technology editor at 'The Economic Times'; in Delhi by Priti Setia, group head, who recently joined the firm from Edelman where she was co-Lead, integration, Delhi. The practice will be supported by Adfactors PR’s extended team including data scientists, programmers and developers.

Adfactors PR co-founder and managing director Madan Bahal explained that the practice reflected the distinct communications challenges facing companies incorporating and deploying emerging technologies.

“In this field, technical understanding is a crucial but insufficient competence. Communicators also need to be able to understand the public sentiment – informed or otherwise, anticipate risks and opportunities, and navigate incomplete regulatory frameworks,” Bahal noted.

'Frontier Technologies' national lead and the firm’s COO Roger Darashah added, “While such technologies are becoming increasingly complex and impenetrable to non-specialists, discussions about their impact are actually becoming more mainstream. Today, the requirement for technologists to explain and address the societal implications of their offerings to broader audiences – customers, partners and employees as well as regulators – has never been more crucial.”