Continuing with the proud tradition of earlier Samikshas, 10th February witnessed yet another edition of Samiksha. This time the topic was “Indian markets have evolved and so have advertising strategies”. This topic focused on the rapid changes taking place in the Indian advertising space. It also focused on how advertising strategies are coping up with rapidly evolving markets and fast changing consumer behavior.
The panel comprised of luminaries from eminent advertising agencies. This was a new experience for NITIE students and provided them with a unique opportunity to interact with the advertising moguls of the present era. The esteemed panel consisted of
• Mr. Kinjal Medh, COO, Cogito Consulting, FCB Ulka

• Mr. Ratish Nair, CEO, Interactive Avenues

• Ms. Tanvi Jain, Account Manager,Webchutney

• Mr. P. Sreevalsan Menon, Chief of Bureau, The Week

Mr. Ratish Nair, CEO and pioneer of Interactive Avenues gave a lucid description about the differences between traditional advertising strategies and the modern ones. He explained to the students how advertising strategies have moved away from the Pareto’s principle of 80:20 to the world of mass customization. He also emphasized on the importance of rapidly changing social behavior and increasing PC penetration on the customer behavior and advertising strategies. He explained this by using a large number of examples taken from advertising strategies of companies like HLL, IRCTC, Rajshri films etc.
Mr. Ratish Nair, CEO, Interactive Avenues
Next to grace the podium was Mr. Kinjal Medh of FCB Ulka. He talked mainly about evolution of advertising from hawkers calling out their wares right from the day when cities and markets first began to the present day scenario of digital dominance. He briefed the students about the role of strategic partner for architecting a brand. He emphasized that this role is majorly knowledge centric. He discussed about the phenomenon of abundance of choice which is currently being faced by Indian customers. He also discussed the characteristic traits of customers and their typical behavior in a particular scenario. He also briefed the students about thinking process behind celebrity endorsements. He made the whole discussion capturing by discussing the advertising strategy of ZOD shirts very innovatively handled by his company.
Mr. Kinjal Medh, COO, Cogito Consulting, FCB Ulka
Ms Tanvi Jain of Webchutney was next to enthusing the crowd with her very interesting advertising campaign clips. She briefed the students about the latest new buzz word in advertising world ’Viral Marketing’, the concept behind it and how it thrives by customer marketing. The students were introduced to ‘69 marketing’, a concept unique to Webchutney. Potential challenges and limitations of web marketing were discussed. She also emphasized on advertising jargons like relevancy advertising and customer centric advertising. Ms. Tanvi Jain also threw some light on the challenges and opportunities present for young managers in the advertising industry
Ms. Tanvi Jain, Account Manager,Webchutney
These presentations were later followed by a panel discussion moderated by Mr. P. Sreevalsan Menon of The Week. The panel discussed a wide array of factors affecting the advertising industry. The panelists discussed about the changing dynamics between an advertising firm and its clients and their increasing demands. It also enlightened the students about factors involved in deciding the optimum media mix. The panel also solved the queries of students in the final or the question answer round. This encapsulated topics like social responsibility associated with advertising, relevancy of online advertisements and advertising strategies of non-advertisable products. They also explained the students that how innovation is constant requirement of advertising space especially in a society where consumer is the undisputable king of the market.