Delhi government to raise media team strength

In order to streamline its media outreach and ensure public interest campaigns are highlighted in a more professional manner, the AAP government has reportedly decided to appoint a dozen more communications consultants in the national capital. The primary aim of appointing more consultants would be to go for a complete makeover of the AAP government’s image in public.

After assuming power, the Kejriwal government set up a communications wing, called Shabdarth, under the directorate of information and publicity to handle media and other publicity campaigns. The AAP government hired consultants to provide professional guidance to its communications wing for better media outreach. It also appointed media consultants to handle the CMO and offices of other ministers to highlight their achievements.

Now, the Kejriwal government has decided to rope in more communications consultants to undertake awareness campaigns through print, electronic, outdoor and other media platforms. The prime job of the consultants will be to transmit information related to the government’s policies, welfare schemes and programmes to citizens and other beneficiaries.

The consultants will be required to create awareness, provide information to people, engage citizens effectively in a two-way communication with the AAP government and also hold periodic stakeholder consultations in order to get voter feedback on a regular basis.

The AAP government is said to have decided to carry out the process for selection of a communications consultant for assisting, aiding and advising it in creating awareness, providing information to people, engaging the citizens effectively and in developing a strategy and communications plan and perform other functions in accordance with the terms of reference.

The other work that the new consultants will handle include social media, setting up of a robust news desk to disseminate news and information regarding various welfare programmes, continuously analyse the reports in print, electronic and other media about the government and its various functionaries and update the relevant functionaries of the state administration.

They will also be responsible for providing information and updates on a regular basis to the national and international media, organise regular briefings to inform the media about the various initiatives of the government for promoting public welfare; invite and facilitate the media as and when the government conducts any event and continuously analyse the impact of various advertisement/awareness campaigns.

The scope of services of the consultants will be to construct and communicate impactful media roadmaps which engage the right audience and deliver the right messages. They will be accountable for designing, preparing and executing strategic communications plans by defining actionable goals, drawing out an implementation approach and carrying out the plan to create and strengthen its campaigns.

The other key assignments of the consultants will be operation of a 24 x 7 news desk services support system for content development across print, visual, online and social media and to create a visual library of photos, infographics and videos; draft papers on key issues and initiatives, including provision of a full-time videographer and a full-time photographer for editing, graphics and production of films.

On the social media front, the consultants will be required to monitor online conversations which are relevant to the government departments; curate content to suit social and digital media; support the social media channels of the government like YouTube, Facebook and Twitter; and assess and analyse social media engagements for reporting on a daily basis.

The consultants will also be responsible for all the relevant content to be uploaded on the government website. They will be required to manage the press room on the website for which a web master, web designer, content writer and web developer will be provided.