Symbiosis Institute Of Business Management, Pune, Presents To You PRoelio 8.0 – India’s Biggest PR Face-off

The Information Systems and Media Relations Team (iSMaRT), the official PR team of Symbiosis Institute of Business Management, Pune, is proud to present before you PRoelio 8.0 – India’s Biggest PR Face-off. Using their wit, inventiveness, and problem-solving skills, the participants don the hat of executives engaged in mitigating a PR crisis.

A unique live PR simulation, PRoelio provides a golden opportunity for budding PR enthusiasts to present a strategy to solve the crisis at hand, followed by a grilling mock press conference. The management acumen and responsiveness of the participants is put to test through a thorough cross-examination of their proposed solutions with the judges and volunteers acting as investigative journalists.

A record 700+ registrations were received this year – a who’s who of Indian B-Schools with participants ranging from IIM Ahmedabad, IIM Bangalore, IIM Calcutta, IIM Rohtak, IIM Kozhikode, IIFT Delhi, NITIE Mumbai, NMIMS Mumbai, SCMHRD as well as SIBM Pune and sister colleges. PRoelio 8.0 primarily comprised 3 rounds, starting with an initial quiz, with questions primarily on Public Relation campaigns by companies and the history of PR. Participants qualifying from the initial quiz round were required to submit a PR strategy to mitigate a PR crisis on-hand. In true testament to the spirit of iSMaRT and revolving around the crux of a PR crisis, an intriguing case study was circulated among the participants, aligning with our theme ‘Pride. Prejudice. Paparazzi’. The case was centred around a fictional production house Miranda Studios and an ensuing conflict between the two co-founders Aftaab Ahmad and Gaurav ‘Shylock’ Sarkar regarding a departure from traditional beliefs and an attempt to commercialize their company. This eventually snowballed into a significant PR crisis for Miranda Studios and NetFilms, an OTT platform acquired by Miranda Studios.

PRoelio 8.0 lived upto the rich legacy set by the past editions, as we received a large number of quality submissions from a bevy of premiere B-Schools across the country. Replete with interesting infographics, detailed KPI analysis and succinct press releases, the submissions had the evaluation panel stunned as the participants hit the perfect balance between creativity and analytics. The evaluation panel, after hours of soul-searching and nerve-wracking judging, zeroed in on the top 6 submissions, who were crowned National Finalists and would go on to present their case solutions before an esteemed judging panel at the National Finals.

The National Finals of PRoelio 8.0 is set to be conducted on the 18^th of November 2022 at the SIBM Pune Lavale Hilltop campus. With an intriguing press conference, exciting presentations and rapid-fire question and answer sessions with the esteemed judges, the National Finals promises to be an exciting affair – one which would exemplify the analytical and critical mindset and problem-solving abilities of the leaders of tomorrow. The top 6 National Finalists are set to battle it out on a stage unlike any other.

As Stuart Ewen famously quoted, “The history of PR is a history of a battle for what is reality and how people will see and understand reality.”