1. Talking digital media with Muhammad Nasrullah - CTO Pring
1) Tell us about yourself, educational background, experience and how you've reached
your current position?
I’m an electronics engineer from GIKI and an entrepreneur by heart. I’m the founder and CTO of
Pring. We’re Pakistan’s largest social network and were named Asia’s top 100 most innovative
companies.
2) How does Pring differentiate itself?

2. Pring is Pakistan's largest social network with 4.5 million users. Unlike Facebook, Pring works with or
without the internet either via mobile phones by using SMS or online via desktop browser or one of
our mobile Apps. This enables the vast majority of the emerging markets to access sophisticated
social tools for networking, education, marketing, political participation etc.
3) What is Social Media for you, and how integral is it to businesses like yourself at
present?
We believe that social media is now the key way people discover and share information. It has evolved
as a mere “time pass” that it originally was 10 years ago. All the current forms of media like TV,
Radio, Pring and OOH focus on “talking at” people instead of talking with them. This causes a one-
way communication where the consumer is ignored. Social Media gives every consumer a voice and
the power to talk to the brand, share what they love/hate about the brand and hold it accountable as
well as be an advocate for it.
4) What are the key ingredients of a successful marketing strategy? What are some of the
common mistakes businesses make from a strategic perspective?
Because our focus in Mobile Social Media we advise a lot of customers on it. In a country like Pakistan
where there are more mobiles than there are TVs, Radios and Computers combined it makes perfect
sense to think Mobile-First. However, no marketer currently understands how to achieve this. The
telecom industry has also by large failed to educate advertisers on how to monetize mobile. This has
caused get-rich-quick-schemes of SMS Spamming and brute force SMS “Blasts” and broadcasts which
consumers hate. If you’re designing a campaign think about making it social by using the most
commonly available tool: the mobile. Integrate it with your communication mix and have a two-way
channel open with your customers. Give them the opportunity to talk with you and give you feedback.
Our Pring platform performs all this out-of-the-box.
5) Do you think our market needs more publishing platforms?
Absolutely, there is not enough content to go around to begin with.
6)Your favorite digital media campaign (local or international) and why?
One of the most innovative campaigns I find was the “Chase +1” Credit Card that was only available
to Facebook users. This was pioneering because this was back in 2006 when no one understood social
media. Back then Facebook had the concept of “Fans” and adding one was denoted by “+1”. The card
gave you points for purchases and for “social actions” like joining their Facebook Group. These points
could be redeemed for concert tickets etc.
A week after the program launched, 34,000 students had already joined the group, and Chase soon
issued thousands of cards. Facebook had taken an important step toward proving that customized
advertising could work in 2006.

3. 7) What is a typical day in your life like?
I act as the editor-in-chief of my organization. I meet with all teams every day and review work, give
feedback and set course. We work on very short iteration for development, typically a week long. This
means very fast movement and forward momentum.
8) That one person who is or has been your biggest inspiration?
Originally I was inspired by Bill Gates. The idea that someone from a modest background could use his
brains to become the world’s richest man was what brought me into computers. However, when it
comes seeing what the human being is capable of achieving, my ideal is Steve Jobs.
9) What do you envision in next 2-3 years for Pakistan, on the retail front?
My hope better loyalty tracking where the retailer is able to know from the moment you walk in that
you are a loyal customer that has been buying from the retailer for the past 2-3 years along with your
purchase history. This results in better rewards and greater retention.