Author(s)
Wandakani Josephine Shadap, Eurich Badapkupar Nongsteng
- Manuscript ID: 140504
- Volume: 2
- Issue: 6
- Pages: 1390–1406
Subject Area: Management
Abstract
Many emerging economies are at important operational inflection points with public sector incubators, driven by shifting policy mandates and growing socioeconomic pressures [1]. This paper explores in detail the journey of PRIME (Promotion and Incubation of Market-driven Enterprises) Meghalaya’s strategic evolution from a localised technology incubator to a state-wide ecosystem orchestrator during 2018-26. This study adopts a comparative brand audit approach, utilizing a diverse set of secondary institutional data, such as organizational records, financial records, digital analytics, event attendance data and stakeholder engagement records, to map PRIME’s evolution in identity management, communication strategy and institutional positioning across two developmental stages [2].
The empirical evidence reports a major structural change: Phase I (2018–2021), with urban, technology-oriented startup focus, with basic visual identity and formal administrative communication [3], was intentionally repositioned in Phase II (2022–2026) to multi-sectoral, inclusive and culturally embedded institutional framework [4]. This shift resulted in measurable institutional outcomes: applications increased to 4,500+ across cohorts, social media engagement grew to 13,411 followers across platforms, media coverage increased to 50+ mentions annually, and flagship event participation skyrocketed to 200+ attendees from pre-existing baseline below 100 attendees [5].
In this paper we propose the Public Sector Repositioning Framework (PSRF) [9] with four core integrated pillars; Purpose Coherence [6], Hybrid Marketing Architecture [9], Co-Innovative Storytelling [7] and Integrated Sub-Brand Management [8]. The framework is empirically grounded in the institutional experience of PRIME and provides generalizable principles applicable to public sector institutions in transformation in emerging markets. The key takeaways are human-centric storytelling as a strategic lever operationalised via beneficiary narratives [4], physical marketing dominance in connectivity-constrained geographies (₹14 Crore allocation vs. ₹2 Crore digital marketing [9], and culturally specific sub-brand architecture exemplified through CM ELEVATE integration [7].