India has become a significant destination for foreign investment across technology, services, trading, energy, food processing and other sectors. According to the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade, India received USD 58.85 billion in FDI equity inflows during financial year 2025–26. Computer software and hardware accounted for USD 13.95 billion, services for USD 10.01 billion and trading for USD 4.01 billion.
The scale of investment has implications for companies entering the country. A foreign business may already have customers, media coverage and an established reputation in its home market, while having little visibility among Indian media, businesses and potential customers.
PR can help international brands build that visibility as they enter India.
For companies preparing an India expansion, Alisterr works on earned PR, guaranteed publication opportunities, founder positioning, corporate PR, media outreach, thought leadership, expert commentary and digital visibility.
Planning an India expansion? Alisterr can build a PR and media strategy around your entry into the Indian market. Request a custom quote
Table of Contents
- Why international brands need a local PR presence
- What changes when a company enters India
- Where earned PR fits into market entry
- Where guaranteed publication can fit
- Founder and executive positioning
- Media research and publication targeting
- Building a broader online presence
- What Alisterr can handle
- An example from an international campaign
- What brands should prepare before outreach
- PR for the India expansion process
Why international brands need a local PR presence
A company’s existing international reputation does not necessarily give it visibility in India.
When an unfamiliar company begins operating in a new market, its public presence may consist mainly of its own website, social profiles and older coverage from other countries. Indian audiences searching for the brand may have limited information available from local or India-facing sources.
That matters for businesses working through a longer sales cycle or entering sectors where trust and reputation influence decisions.
A potential customer may search the company before making contact. A prospective partner may review its leadership team. An industry professional may look for third-party references before responding to an introduction. A journalist may search for previous coverage before considering a story.
India also has a large and highly connected online audience. TRAI’s March 2026 dashboard recorded 1.09279 billion internet subscribers in India, including 1.06588 billion broadband subscribers.
What changes when a company enters India
International companies often bring an existing communications strategy into a new market. The material may include a global company profile, founder biography, previous media coverage and international announcements.
Some of that material can be useful in India. It does not always provide enough context for Indian publications or audiences.
An India-focused PR campaign can instead centre on developments that have a direct connection with the market.
Examples include a company launching operations in India, appointing local leadership, entering a partnership, establishing a distribution arrangement, opening an office, introducing a product, expanding services or bringing international expertise into an Indian industry.
The company’s existing achievements can provide supporting information, while the India development gives the media story a current reason for coverage.
This approach also gives journalists more material to work with. Alisterr’s PR process includes media research, publication targeting, media list development, story development, pitch writing, press releases, founder interviews, company profiles, thought leadership, expert commentary, news and media outreach, reputation support and coverage tracking.
Where earned PR fits into market entry
Earned PR is based on editorial interest.
For an international company entering India, earned media can include company announcements, interviews, expert commentary, founder profiles and thought-leadership opportunities.
The campaign begins with the information the company can credibly provide and the subjects that fall within the expertise of its leadership team.
A software company, for example, may have executives who can comment on enterprise technology, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence or a specific industry application.
A manufacturing company may have technical expertise, international operating experience or insight into a sector that is relevant to Indian business media.
A consumer brand may have a new product, expansion strategy, retail partnership or category development that provides a basis for coverage.
Alisterr’s PR service is structured around identifying suitable stories, researching relevant media and preparing outreach around those editorial opportunities. Its PR page specifically describes the process in terms of the actual news angle, relevance to the publication’s audience, supporting information and appropriate publication selection.
For international brands, this can be combined with a longer-term programme that develops several forms of media visibility rather than relying on one announcement.
Where guaranteed publication can fit
Some companies also need defined publication deliverables.
Guaranteed publication opportunities can be used when a brand wants specific coverage as part of an India visibility campaign and a publication arrangement is agreed in advance.
This can be useful for a newly entering company that wants a defined body of initial coverage while the broader earned media campaign develops.
The two approaches can be run together.
Earned PR can focus on stories that have a stronger editorial basis, including interviews, commentary, leadership profiles and company developments.
Guaranteed publication can provide agreed placements around specific company information or positioning.
The appropriate mix depends on the company’s objectives, available material, sector and stage of entry.
Alisterr can structure campaigns around both routes and use the same underlying company positioning across the media programme.
Founder and executive positioning
For many international brands, the founder or senior executive provides an additional route into the Indian media market.
A company entering India may not yet have a long local operating history, while its leadership may already have years of experience in the sector.
That experience can be developed into media opportunities through interviews, expert commentary and thought leadership.
Founder positioning can cover subjects such as the company’s international expansion, developments in its sector, lessons from other markets, changes in customer behaviour, technology developments or industry trends.
The objective is to give journalists access to expertise that is useful to their readers while also building recognition around the person representing the company.
Alisterr’s PR services include founder interviews, personal branding, thought leadership and expert commentary alongside corporate PR and media outreach.
Media research and publication targeting
Publication targeting needs to reflect the company’s industry and the subject of the story.
A technology company may require technology and business media. A financial services company may need finance and business publications. A healthcare company may need health, business and specialist trade coverage.
Geography also matters.
An international company entering India can have an India expansion story, an industry story and an international business story. Different publications may be appropriate for each.
Alisterr’s work includes publication targeting and media list development, with campaigns built around relevant publications and journalists.
Its international Web3 campaign in Tokyo provides an example of this process. The campaign involved research into Japanese and international-facing publications covering cryptocurrency, blockchain, Ethereum, finance, technology and startups. The team targeted 44 unique publications, identified journalists for direct outreach, onboarded 16 publications and generated 11 published press coverage pieces. The broader campaign also produced 25 event listings and supported journalist attendance at the events.
The same media-research discipline can be applied to an India market-entry campaign, with the target publications determined by the company’s sector, audience and story.
Building a broader online presence
Media coverage is one part of the public information surrounding a company.
International brands entering India may also need to review their business profiles, directories, social accounts and other third-party references.
Alisterr’s online reputation audit recommends checking branded searches, business profiles, directories, review platforms, duplicate profiles and incorrect business information, including phone numbers and website URLs.
The company’s directory work follows a similar approach. Business information can be maintained across relevant third-party platforms with consistent company names, websites, services, categories, contact information and other core details.
This can be particularly useful for companies establishing their Indian presence because the brand may have different offices, contact information, service areas or market-specific information after expansion.
What Alisterr can handle
For an international company preparing to enter India, Alisterr can support several parts of the visibility programme.
Earned PR
Media research, journalist outreach, company announcements, founder interviews, expert commentary and thought leadership.
Guaranteed publication
Defined publication opportunities where the placement and deliverables are agreed in advance.
Corporate PR
Company profiles, leadership announcements, expansion news, partnerships and other corporate developments.
Founder positioning
Interviews, personal branding, commentary and thought leadership built around the founder or senior leadership team.
Digital PR
Media coverage and third-party references that contribute to the company’s wider online presence.
Reputation support
Reviewing branded search results, business profiles, directories and other public-facing information.
Coverage tracking
Recording media outreach, responses, published articles and campaign activity.
These services are listed within Alisterr’s current PR and Media Relations offering.
An example from an international campaign
Alisterr has experience working on an international campaign where the audience extended beyond the client’s immediate local market.
For two Web3 events in Tokyo, the PR team researched relevant Japanese and international-facing media, built journalist contacts, conducted targeted outreach, distributed press information, coordinated follow-ups and supported journalist attendance.
The campaign generated 11 published press coverage pieces, 25 event listings and media attendance from three publications. The work involved six journalists identified for direct outreach and 16 publications onboarded.
The case study shows the operational side of international media outreach, including publication research, contact development, follow-ups, press coordination and coverage tracking.
Read the full Tokyo Web3 PR case study
What brands should prepare before outreach
International companies can make the PR process easier by preparing a clear set of company information before outreach begins.
That normally includes the company’s approved name, India expansion details, founder and executive biographies, current services or products, key company facts, approved photographs, website and social profiles, recent developments and any supporting figures that can be cited in media material.
The company should also identify which executives are available for interviews or commentary and which subjects they are qualified to discuss.
Where an India launch involves local operations, partnerships or investment, those details should be supported by information that can be confirmed.
A consistent set of approved business information is useful beyond PR as well. Alisterr’s cross-platform citation guidance recommends maintaining a master business record covering the business name, website, contact information, category, services and other core business details, then using that record when updating public profiles.
PR for the India expansion process
The case for India is already reflected in foreign investment data. India’s FY 2025–26 FDI equity inflow reached USD 58.85 billion, with significant investment going into software and hardware, services, trading, non-conventional energy and food processing.
Companies entering those and other sectors will approach the market at different stages.
Some will be launching for the first time. Others will already have Indian customers, partners or operations and need to increase visibility. Some will need founder positioning, while others will focus on corporate coverage. A company with an established international reputation may also need to build more India-specific third-party references around its brand.
Alisterr’s role is to build the media and public-facing side of that process.
That can include earned PR for editorial opportunities, guaranteed publication for defined placements, founder and executive positioning, corporate PR, thought leadership, expert commentary, media research and digital reputation support.
The campaign can then be built around the company’s actual India expansion plans, the sectors it operates in and the audiences it needs to reach.
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