Pooja Trehann, head, communications and content, Jio World Centre, unpacks two decades of storytelling across F&B, grassroots sports, tech, and luxury, revealing the enduring principles of brand-building and how modern communications can be pivotal in reshaping brand stories across India’s diverse sectors.

Tracing Trehann’s nearly two-decade journey in communications, the conversation opened with her current role at the Jio World Centre, home to NMACC, Jio World Plaza, and the Convention Centre. Emphasising the importance of ‘customised experiences’ for the affluent market, she said, “It’s all about customising the experience for that one consumer. It might sound like a tall task, but every consumer today wants to feel valued, wants to feel like they’re taken care of, and their experiences and choices matter.”

“And, that’s the reason they would want to really invest their time and resources and make an effort to talk about it to their family and friends, and that’s the biggest word of mouth that all of us in this industry yearn for. So yeah, it all boils down to customised experiences for them,” she added.

Trehann’s journey, however, has not been confined to the luxury segment. Before this, she helped build a grassroots movement at Sports For All that introduced children aged five to 17 to more than 30 sports without any barriers.

Describing it as one of the most fulfilling chapters of her career, she shared, “We wanted to transform the way people looked at sports, especially from schools. The spotlight was on the athlete, on the kid who was making an effort. And we saw amazing stories of kids who wanted to perform beyond what they were already doing. One didn’t need to package it differently. Just give it as it is, as real and bare truth, and it really shines out.”

In a sharp contrast, her stint with the technology organisation SugarBox Networks required a different approach: demystifying a complex product for diverse stakeholders.“It’s very tough to explain a product one can’t touch, feel, or see,” she admitted. “The most brilliant takeaway for us was that technology is there to make your life simpler. The only thing that we need to do is to understand the business and simplify it. We simplified it, and hence, educating and creating awareness was very easy when these terms came into the picture.”

As the discussion widened to media trends, Trehann underlined the continued significance of print media, despite the digital shift.  

Addressing the persistent rumour of print’s ‘demise’, she asserted that print is not dying; rather, it has become something ‘exclusive and special.’

“Even today, we all want to read a book, despite having the option of a digital tablet, or a Kindle - the feel of a paper and seeing the hard work that a journalist or a writer puts in for those stories that get published in print is way too different,” she noted. The pleasure one gets when they see a print story is still there, and the demand for a brand to be present in a print publication has also remained intact, she asserted.

Recognising the media landscape as a collaborative ecosystem, she added: “For any one medium to grow, the other mediums don’t have to die. We collaborate really well across different platforms.”

She also highlighted the convergence of creators, events, traditional media, and brand experiences in creating effective narratives and messaging, while reshaping modern storytelling and communications.

Influencers, she believes, today mirror what strong editorial voices did for print: “How I would want to hear a strong, opinionated voice, and read their perspective in a publication – it’s the same value that influencers are bringing about.” Noting their growing role in community building—a vital strategy for brands seeking loyalty in today’s fragmented attention economy —she added, “They’re putting in a lot of effort to ensure their recommendations are experiences they’ve gone through, and to curate something that makes our life easier.” 

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Views expressed are personal.