{"podcast":{"title":"Earned First","slug":"earned-first-7353885","podcast_index_feed_id":7353885,"rss_url":"https://media.rss.com/earned-first/feed.xml","website_url":"https://www.earned-first.com/","image_url":"https://media.rss.com/earned-first/20250602_080658_aded3a2d68ee400f7b6880a54d15a4d2.png","author":"Arun Sudhaman","episode_count":34,"summary":"Earned First is a groundbreaking media and events platform dedicated to elevating public relations and communications professionals across Asia-Pacific, the Middle East, and Africa. Hosted by respected industry journalist Arun Sudhaman, the Earned First podcast delivers crucial insights and intelligence for the global public relations industry.","last_synced_at":"2026-07-01T18:17:44.245899+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/earned-first-7353885"},"episode":{"title":"Madan Bahal on sustaining growth through turbulence","slug":"madan-bahal-on-sustaining-growth-through-turbulence","published_at":"2026-01-12T06:09:04+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/earned-first-7353885/madan-bahal-on-sustaining-growth-through-turbulence","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/earned-first-7353885","url":"https://rss.com/podcasts/earned-first/2454772","audio_url":"https://content.rss.com/episodes/328453/2454772/earned-first/2026_01_12_06_07_44_0c1f3e4f-f92c-45be-a06d-cbef2cbfd1a6.mp3","summary":"In this episode of the Earned First podcast, Arun Sudhaman speaks with Madan Bahal, co-founder and MD of Adfactors PR, about what it takes to sustain consistent growth in a public relations industry marked by prolonged uncertainty. Reflecting on the pressures facing consultancies, Bahal describes this turbulence as a permanent condition that firms must learn to operate within — a mentality that has helped Adfactors grow to more than $65m in fee income over the past three decades. The conversation also explores why public relations continues to struggle to command value commensurate with its influence, particularly in India. Bahal discusses how this reality shapes agency behaviour, expectations, and leadership priorities, before turning to questions of succession, long-term continuity and his own peace of mind.","meta_description":"In this episode of the Earned First podcast, Arun Sudhaman speaks with Madan Bahal, co-founder and MD of Adfactors PR, about what it takes to sustain cons…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":2500,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/earned-first-7353885/episodes/madan-bahal-on-sustaining-growth-through-turbulence/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/earned-first-7353885/madan-bahal-on-sustaining-growth-through-turbulence.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}