What was born in early April as an aspiration of the students of the Marketing batch, culminated in “Coffee Conversations and Marketing” the Marketing seminar held at Symbiosis Institute of International Business on the 27th of August 2010, in association with IAMAI (Internet and mobile association of India). Revolving around the concept of moving towards a stimulated, conversational, form of marketing from the traditional, broadcasting mediums, the day-long event aimed to understand the importance of new age mediums of Marketing communication and their implications on Marketing as we know it.
The day started with Mr Debashish Mitra, Director, Sales & Marketing, Mercedes-Benz India highlighting the importance of a 360 degree approach to marketing, especially in the luxury products segment.
The favourite of the audience was Mr Kiruba Shankar, CEO Business Blogging, who won over the hearts of the audience with his exuberance and enthusiasm. His experiences about the importance of digital communication and social networking as tools of marketing had the students alive with a will to do the same . Also, present on the occasion was Mr. Purnendu Kumar, Associate Vice President, Technopak who enlightened the students about challenges faced by organised retail. He gave rare insights on the ways in which unorganised retail can pose a threat to organised retail and the learnings to be derived from it.
The last speaker for the day was Mr. Rajiv Dingra, Founder & CEO, WATConsult. Aged just 25 years old, this CEO immediately struck a chord with the students with his light hearted but practical talk about niche blogging and the digital era of Marketing.
The lecture series was followed post lunch by a panel discussion on “The changing trends in marketing: Old tricks won’t work anymore”. Vishal Sharma CEO, ithink Labs and Ratan K K, founder associate, Gutsgo e-marketing joined Mr. Dhingra and Mr. Shankar for the panel discussion moderated by Mr. Prithwiraj Ghorpade. A jam packed auditorium was witness to the witty and rich churning of ideas that followed. The panel threw light on the importance of accountability in Marketing, and the increasing reach of digital media for communication.
The event was organised by the students of Marketing, 09-11 batch under the able guidance of Ms. Adya Sharma, Faculty SIIB, who also proposed the vote of thanks. The attendees included students from Symbiosis Institute of International Business, SCMHRD and SCIT besides members of faculty and invited guests from across Pune.
