First Seminar @SJMSOM

After a grueling schedule, finally weekend came. Alas! couldn't take rest. This is the time for the yearly marketing seminar popularly called "The Marketing Continuum 2010". First thought of bunking it, but looking at the extravagant fine structure, changed my mind. As usual, woke up early in the morning. My body was not responding, but after reminding the 300 rupees fine amount, got ready in an hour. Wore the Reid and Taylor suit and knot the tie with help from a colleague. Missed the breakfast so as to reach the hall on time. By that time, it was raining cats and dogs here. But it couldn't dampen the spirit of SOMites. Dressed in western formals, 200 odd SOMites walked along the one kilometer long road with an umbrella in the hand. It was creating the reminiscence of old Raj Kapoor movies.

Reached the venue FC Kohli Auditorium just before the door got closed. Couldn't book a seat in the last rows and had to settle down in the second row. Attendance was taken for the first year students by the disciplinary committee(PlaceCom). Then, the host presented the audience about the speakers who were the top industry bigwigs in their domain. Before I could be enganged in chit chat with friends, Prof. Sishir Jha delivered the introductory speech. Then the First speaker entered the dais. Vikrant Khanna of Airtel holding VP or CMO position I couldn't remember completely. Speech was not soporific and he discussed in detail about the role of social networking in marketing strategies and upcoming trends in the telecom sector. When asked about the pressure from new operators' cheap and discount plan, he defended Airtel by putting emphasis on the quality of service being provided by the Company. He left the dais after being presented with a bouquet and a memento. Then came the second speaker Mr Vivek Sharma, CMO of Philips. He explained at length about the Corporate Social Responsibility of Philips through the SMILE project. This humanitarian project aims at lighting rural India. He told about the two instruments specifically designed for the rural mass viz. UDAY(an emergency light) and KIRAN(a LED torch). He tried his best to convince the audience on the price of the items compared with the income of the people. Time for TEA. Unlike a cricket test match, it was of just 10 mins. In the break, people were engaged in the photo session. So, couldn't finish the cuppa and left the foyer as door was getting closed. Then we were greeted by the speaker, Mr Atul Sinha, VP or CMO of Britannia. There was some problem with his laptop and his friend Mr Sharma tried to fix it. He spoke in detail about reinventing the innovation in FMCG sector. He demonstrated how the FMCG sector falls behind in terms of innovation and justified the cause with valid arguments. He also described the reason of Philips failure in capturing the market despite being technically superior than it's counterparts and Mrs Sharma accepted this.

Time for lunch which was again less than the lunch time in the cricket match. Rain was showing no sign of slowing down. After waiting at the overcrowded Gulmohar canteen for about half an hour, finally munched an onion uttapa. Then quickly made my way into the hall. Then the fourth speaker Mr Sridhar T., AVP of Idea made a presentation full of videos. An advertisement on Oongli Cricket woke up all the audience. He spoke in detail about the strategies being implemented at Idea to overcome the challenges in telecom sector. He spoke at length about the lucky recharge plan in the MP region. He defended Idea's licence procurement in 3G auction which didn't include any metro. Then came the fifth speaker, a young and vibrant marketing officer of GSK, Mr Prashant Pandey. He presented at length about the Horlicks brand, it's growth and market leader in that space. He also told about the ASHA brand which was popular in rural Andhra. He answered convincingly to the difficulty questions being posed by the audience.

Then came the last speaker, Mr Mahesh Murthy, CEO of Pinstorm. He explained in detail about the marketing and brand management by digital media. The audience were extremely amused and bemused by the stats presented by him. He was the real show stealer. He also answered beautifully to the questions of audience.Finally, the winners of the Zeitgeist contest was announced which was sponsored by the co-sponsor of the seminar, Mahindra Scorpio. A team from SIBM Bangalore won the contest. The speakers lauded the quality questions and impressed at large by the audience. Finally, vote of thanks was given by distinguished Professor of SJMSOM, Dinesh Sharma.

Then attendance was taken for the first year students. Few careless students warned by the organizing committee. We were again reminded to maintain the highest level of professionalism in the coming seminars, the most recent being scheduled tomorrow. As far as I am concerned, I remained silent for the whole show. Not satisfied with myself as I couldn't opened up. Resoluted to take active participation in the coming ones.

Nevertheless, it was very well organized by the SOMites, especially the SOM11.