With 14 years of professional experience in Public Relations & Marketing, Anindita comes with a deep understanding of the dynamic media and communication landscape in India. Through her successful stint with reputed PR agencies like Genesis Burson & Marsteller, Percept Profile and Mileage Communications and many more, she has worked closely with clients across verticals, such as travel, hospitality, F&B, fashion & lifestyle, entertainment, IT and corporate.
Technology has disrupted every sector, and it has become more significant now during the lockdown where everyone is working remotely. At such a time, education technology or Ed-Tech has come to the fore. Before lockdown, it was looked at as a complementary tool to the traditional methods of education. However, with the lockdown and schools being shut for over two months, more and more parents and teachers are exploring technology solutions for learning and trying to bridge the gaps between classrooms and students.
With the on-going crisis, the whole dynamics have been changed, and even academics, which had been relatively slow to adopt technology, are now embracing it. While Ed-Tech has been here in India for quite some time now, its role so far has always been minimal, keeping in view what it is capable of achieving. The COVID-19 crisis has, however, revealed the potential of Ed-Tech and the significant role it can play in not just continuing ‘learning from home’ but also create an ‘impactful engagement’ and enhanced learning possibilities, for students across various age groups. From benefits like focussed attention span, parent involvement and ease of operation and tracking of student progress, among other features, has led to the sudden popularity and comfort among parents and teachers, for Ed-Tech platforms.
However, if we take stock of the available Ed-Tech facilities in our country today, we will realise that there is very less awareness, especially among parents and teachers. A lot of parents and teachers, who are still sceptical about depending on technology for the education of their children, are unaware of the potential and benefits it can have on the growth and development of the students. However, through effective use of PR and communication tools, Ed-Tech companies can leverage this current affinity towards technology and use this to build upon a sustained growth plan for the sector.
Here are four ways why Ed-Tech companies should utilise PR:
Educating stakeholders: With each passing day, technology is becoming better and also more complicated. So brands must inform stakeholders on the benefits, impact, and long term significance of the technology. This becomes even more imperative in case of education technology and its impact on children, especially since parents are varied about technology access to children. PR tools allow for a long term, informative approach towards Ed-Tech, offering content-driven solutions that assist brands in creating awareness about the product and services and also defining key industry trends. These can go a long way in creating positive brand valuation in the eyes of the stakeholders.
Category Building: As an emerging sector, Ed-Tech currently requires a focussed approach to PR that can help brands to create positive visibility for the Ed-Tech as a viable solution for impactful learning, creating an aspirational value for the same. Through content-driven trend stories and opinion pieces around disruptions and future potential, PR can help kick start conversations around the category, creating consistent, relevant, and impactful narratives to build affinity for technology-driven academic solutions.
Build Thought leadership: Creating awareness and building a category for Ed-Tech as a sector is an extremely vital step before embarking on though leadership, for any brand aspiring to be viewed as a leader in the industry. While there are several brands in the segment currently, there is a lack of a clearly defined purpose and vision in terms of the holistic sector and thus, a massive first mover’s opportunity to create thought leadership! PR has, in the past, demonstrated its might by building brands out of innovative start-ups that led to disruptive growth for the industry and enhanced principal and intellectual valuation for the brand. If leveraged effectively, PR can help the modern Ed-Tech brands to not only create a presence and survive but to also lead the sector, by positioning the brand spokesperson as a visionary and thought leader in the domain.
Enhance reach and visibility: For any business to succeed; it is essential first to create differentiated visibility followed by strong reach and brand recall. From brands in the emerging Ed-Tech segment, this is more important than ever. Create the right image, with relevant narratives that can impact the trust and buying decisions of parents and academicians as secondary consumers, is vital for a segment like Ed-Tech, given its potential to shape and impact young minds. PR helps build trust, visibility and recall through compelling and research-based narratives that can generate trust and reliability among parents and teachers.
Way forward
In line with the pointers mentioned above, it is reasonable to say that PR is one of the most indispensable tools of communication for the Ed-Tech sector and its growth across age groups. Even as innovations continue to disrupt the market, more and more brands are turning towards innovative storytelling concepts to drive home the significance and the potential of Ed-Tech, helping create and share positive brand communications that reflect their key philosophy, corporate growth, goals, and value offerings.