“We have an unwavering commitment to delivering quality with assured, honest efforts every single time and this is a crucial differentiator between us and other agencies.”
Shailesh Goyal (Founder & Director, Simulations)
One of the most renowned companies in the Public Relations industry, Simulations crafts narratives that build a lasting impression. With more than two decades of experience in strategic communications across different mediums, Simulations is operating in Pan-India.
We interacted with Shailesh Goyal, the Founder & Director of the company to gain more insights about the company. Here are some edited excerpts from the interview.
1. Please explain in brief about yourself and your company? How do you correlate with your company?
I have been a part of the communications industry for close to three decades now. Simulations Public Affairs Management Services was founded by me at the turn of the century, in the year 2000, after having worked with leading media houses such as BCCL (The Times of India Group), Living Media (India Today Group), and corporates like Torrent Pharma, and Vadilal Foods. As much as I can recollect, Simulations PR was the first dedicated Public Relations Consultancy firm from Ahmedabad, and I am proud to say that we introduced PR as a professional discipline field in Ahmedabad, and by extension in Gujarat.
2. Elaborate on the offerings of your company. What makes its services worth the investment?
Over the years, our core offering has been PR and Media Management Consultancy. But we believe in keeping pace with the times and have expanded our services in tune with the market requirements. Our bouquet of services now includes Digital Media, Content Development, Creative Design & Audio-Visual Production Services, and Corporate Events Management & Promotion among others.
Our commitment to delivering satisfaction by taking a realistic approach and providing solutions to meet the client’s objectives in the given budget every single time, maybe the reason for whatever small success we have achieved. This is something our clients vouch for.
3. Elaborate how the company came into being, its journey, and where it stands today.
Simulations began its journey around the year 2000 with the idea of providing 360-degree communications solutions. Unfortunately, the very next year, a massive tragedy of destructive earthquake happened in Gujarat, and while we were trying to recover, communal riots followed putting the businesses at standstill. But as they say, opportunities exist in adversities, the situation also gave us avenues to associate with, plan and execute public relations and image-building programs of some large trade bodies, and multinational corporations. Later, as we decided to pursue work mainly in the discipline of PR & Media Consultancy, Simulations became the first PR-focussed company in Ahmedabad at that time. There were no other regional players in PR. National advertising agencies used to double up as PR firms by providing some basic PR services, mostly to the IPO clients. I felt there was a definite market gap and an opportunity that led me to establish Simulations PR. In over 20+ years’ time, we have the satisfaction of having played a small role as a catalyst in the business and industry’s growth in Gujarat.
4. What makes your company stand out from competitors?
We offer a complete bouquet of PR, Content, and Creative Communications Support Services, which few non-national agencies offer. We have also expanded into a host of digital services, which few agencies have a presence in. We have an unwavering commitment to delivering with honest efforts every single time, and this, I believe is a crucial differentiator between us and others.
5. Shed light on the clientele of your firm. How do you develop strong & positive client relationships?
We have clients from across the spectrum, including Healthcare, Hospitality, Education, FMCG, Steel, IT & Technology, Pharma, Financial Services, Sports, Real Estate, Infrastructure, Agriculture & Dairy Cooperatives, and much more. Many of these clients have entrusted Simulations as their PR consultants for several years together, on account of its strong commitment to delivering consistent, useful work.
6. What is the mission and vision of your company?
Our mission and vision are to remain a creative thought leader in strategic communications and to deliver quality and excellence consistently in whatever we do. We want to continue to build on our existing strengths and also expand in newer areas that will allow us to further complement our existing services.
7. How important are teamwork skills for your company? How do you improve employee engagement and bring your team closer together?
Teamwork is the key to success in all fields, but even more so in a creative field like ours where a lot of ideation is required. We engage in multiple activities such as team lunches, games, festival get-togethers, and other activities regularly to improve employee engagement. We are blessed to have a very close-knit team comprising dedicated individuals, each of whom excels in his/her area of work.
8. What is the biggest challenge faced by your company and how did you overcome it in order to succeed?
The biggest challenge was survival during the Covid-19 pandemic, especially in the early days in 2020. There was so much uncertainty, and no one knew when the situation would return to normal. Clients were uneasy, and with business taking a hit, everyone was looking at ways to lower costs. We managed to sail through the period by rationalizing costs and looking at alternate avenues to generate revenue.
9. In your opinion, what defines success? What is your secret to success?
For me, success means happy team, happy clients, happy people around us, and the respect that we have earned from each one of these – even from the competition. We have always worked ethically and transparently, and this is a quality that has been appreciated most.
10. Mention the awards and milestones received by your company so far.
As I have said earlier, Simulations’ work has been consistently recognized as the leading regional PR consultancy in the country beyond metros, over the years by the professional associations, Sabre Awards, IPRCC, PRSI, etc. Besides, I have featured among the most influential professionals in the PR and communication industry over the years. Recently, I was privileged to be in the ‘Top 100 Influential Game Changers List 2021’ in PR and Corporate Communications by exchange4media. This was the third consecutive year I found a place among stalwarts and giants of the PR and Communication industry. Earlier, I was featured in Social Media Influencers Listing Engine (SMILE) 2021 in the specialist category among PR and Corp Comm professionals by Reputation Today.
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