- We must have graduate level courses in PR for better future
- Digital media platforms playing major role for the success
Interview with Ms. Samra Muslim — Mad-hatter running Walnut & Alchemists
PAGE: How long have you been to this field and what are your strength?
Samra Muslim:Â I have been in the field of marketing for over 18 years now. With experience varying across in public relations, marketing and communications, social media, talent management and brand activation in a diverse range of industries. I am efficaciously running two companies, Walnut Communications & Alchemists. Walnut Communications has expertise in the field of Public Relations & Image Management can easily be seen in the successful projects we have delivered for brands like Sooper, 7up Pakistan, Lipton & foodpanda to name a few. Alchemists is a full-service talent management & image marketing firm exclusively representing a pool of artists from all over Pakistan, as a 360-degrees talent agency, as well as working on the casting projects for digital campaigns, commercials, dramas, web series’ & films.
PAGE: What is the modern view of Public Relations in Pakistan?
Samra Muslim: If I was to describe the PR landscape in Pakistan, in one word, I would call it EVOLVING. Now you may wonder why I would say that. Honestly I feel that, Walnut itself is now 8 years old and when I look at from where we started to where we have come now, we as well as the industry itself has evolved to quite an extent. Years ago, we had the first mover advantage by being the only agency in Pakistan who was giving digital as well as conventional PR services. Today when I look at the industry, influencer marketing is the new thing, which wasn’t there a decade ago. Look at where we have come in terms of the new media spaces which we using now. From instagram to being a photo app, its now an app where people share reels. From the entry of YT short to Tiktok. The industry has changed, the way we consume content has changed.
PAGE: How you measure the success and failure of your Public Relations activity?
Samra Muslim: When it comes to a digital campaign, we measure it through reach and impressions and how many eyeballs it got. For example, one of our influencer marketing campaigns for the launch of Pau-Pau in Pakistan got about 21 percent engagement rate based on the influencer selection. That was a major win for us.
PAGE: Are communication agencies equipped to handle the client’s requirements?
Samra Muslim: I would say, yes and no. As an agency who evolves with time and the trends, we try to keep pace with technology and all the worldwide trends. PR is 24/7 industry and trends change rapidly. Our team is the top-notch and has been working with some of the best brands in the country and delivering some quality work. As an agency we are working with top most clients from EBM to PepsiCo and I am stoked and proud to say that we have been working on some path-breaking campaigns and in 2023 looking forward to working on some amazing campaigns as well.
PAGE: How you compare Public Relations in Pakistan with other countries?
Samra Muslim: Its very very different, I feel, PR in Pakistan are divided into multiple categories. Wherever Pakistan is in terms of digital space and capacity, we are there. But globally I see such amazing campaigns breaking and I really wish our brands were willing to take that leap of faith and agree to do some more clutter breaking work.
PAGE: Do you think provision of specialized education can improve this field?
Samra Muslim: Globally for PR, people have degrees in PR but in Pakistan we are in a very nascent stage. Right now there are PR bodies being made. At max there is an elective course being offered in some universities. Beyond that there are not trainings and nothing else happening in Pakistan. I strongly feel, if we have more PR courses in undergraduate or graduate level, things will be much better.
PAGE: What is your preferred media for your Public Relations activities?
Samra Muslim: For sure, preferred media would be DIGITAL. We are specialised in influencer marketing as an agency and we work very strongly in the digital space in terms of PR while there are other agencies who work on advocacy and trainings etc,etc — and it works for them, that’s their niche, but digital is the next big thing and that’s where our focus is.
PAGE: How penetration of digital media impacting the communications landscape?
Samra Muslim: Digital media is evolving tremendously, it’s a dynamic space. We are in touch with the consumers directly. The conversations are very real time. Every crisis is just a tweet away. Consumers have more access to the brands than ever before. The penetration accelerated much during the Covid-19 times. So I feel if we were actually supposed to be where we are now in 2025, it happened back in 2020 only.