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- 700+ participants, 2 Workshops, 7 Speakers in Utsaha 2021
Indian Institute of Management Indore (IIM Indore) kickstarted Central India’s Biggest Marketing Fest, ‘Utsaha’ in a hybrid mode on October 22, 2021. Focused on the theme ‘Marketing 360’, this year’s Utsaha witnessed active participation from over 700 participants from leading B-schools in India.
The fest was inaugurated with the lamp-lighting by Prof. Saumya Ranjan Dash – Dean (Programmes), IIM Indore; Prof. Swatantra, Chair-Hostel and Students Affairs; Prof. Abhishek Mishra, Chair-FPM, Faculty, IIM Indore, and Col. Gururaj Gopinath Pamidi (Retd.), CAO, IIM Indore. Prof. Dash spoke about how IIM Indore has dealt effectively with the pandemic and emerged stronger than before and has set an example for all the educational institutes. The Institute has completed its 25 years of excellence this October and aims to achieve more milestones in the future, he said. Col. Pamidi congratulated the Utsaha team for successfully organizing the event for the first time in hybrid mode. Sharing his views, Prof. Abhishek Mishra noted that Utsaha has metamorphosized into the virtual mode this year, and the offline aura has been perfectly replicated into the ‘new normal’. Prof. Swatantra also congratulated and motivated the organisers and welcomed the esteemed speakers and audience.
The former-Associate Vice President of Zomato, Mr. Manish Bansal spoke about his experience with Digital Marketing giving insightful information about the Evolution of Marketing in the tech-enabled digital world. This very engaging talk was followed by yet another inspiring session by PayPal’s Mr. Hrishikesh Bhand, Senior Product Marketing Manager. Mr. Bhand spoke about Exemplifying Global Product Marketing for the Digital Future, which was much appreciated by the participants.
Post that, the second segment of the highly insightful Business Analytics and Data Visualization Workshop by Mr. Kanth (VP of Artificial Intelligence, BEPEC Solutions) was conducted. This was followed by intriguing discussions on the topic “Spotting Digital marketing trends to grow your own digital agency” by Mr. Akshay Gurnani (Co-Founder and CEO at SCHBANG), marking the end of Day 1.
The second day started with an enlightening and attention-grabbing speaker session by Mr. Prasad Routray, Head Corporate and Alliances, Airtel Payments Bank, where he spoke about Digitizing Rural India. With the scope of marketing crossing regional and national borders, rural India is not left untouched. Complex implementation plans are being put in place by companies targeted specifically to the rural audience. “What you see is not the game, the game is something else”, he said. He emphasized the essence of a project and not just profits. “The mantra to me looks like we are entrepreneurs who are middle class at heart and hence maintain cost by default”, he noted.
An all-encompassing workshop was conducted by Mr. Govind Chandak, Business Head, NSDM India. He gave perceptive tips about achieving the skills for a creative, well-established and successful growth marketing strategy. Sharing his supreme knowledge, he allowed the participants to implement their learning from the workshop in a live assignment. In his words, “It’s a mindset, it’s a skillset, an approach, a strategy, a vision.”
The second day also witnessed a speaker series. Mr. Ishan Bose, Chief Marketing Officer, KreditBee shared his unsurpassed knowledge on “Marketing beyond the metropolitan junta”. If one thinks that marketing ends at the doors of urban metropolitan cities, they are not clear with the concept. With a vast a consumer base in India which comprises mostly the rural and semi-urban, a strong marketing strategy spell works well only when the rural audience is given importance in the Indian market’, he said.
Mr. Sunder Madakshira, Head of Marketing, Adobe mentioned that every crisis brings with itself an opportunity and it is the onus of the companies to extract the best possible use of it. He shared some important tips and tricks for busting the myths related to conventional styles of marketing.
Ms. Ashima Praveen, Global Product Marketing Lead, Bumble, spoke on the topic “Product Marketing”. In the prime time of changing consumer preference, for a marketeer it is of sheer importance to know the user more than they know themselves, she said. “Letting the consumers know that they are cared for and the products that they use every day are made especially for them is very vital to ensure customer loyalty”, she noted.
The closing ceremony was graced by Prof. Himanshu Rai, Director, IIM Indore. He congratulated the Utsaha team for successfully conducting the largest marketing research fest of Central India in hybrid mode for the first time. He encouraged the participants to be passionate, compassionate and kind. ‘Follow your heart and do what you are passionate about. Invest in relationships, for relationships help you grow and evolve. Reach out to the less privileged. Be compassionate about other people’s feelings and find solutions to alleviate their pain’, he said. He encouraged the participants to give their 100 percent to every task they take and every decision they make, for excellence is all that matters.
Utsaha’21 has been a roller-coaster ride of learning, gamification and fun for the participants, attendees and organizers alike. With this being the first-ever edition of the fest with hybrid incorporation of gamification and market research, Utsaha’21 truly set a standard on how to conduct a marketing fest even in the middle of the pandemic. “We want to thank everyone for their enthusiastic participation and undying curiosity. Utsaha’21 could not have taken place without a synergistic effort by everyone involved. We will be back with more fun and learning soon’, said the coordinators Jhilmil and Pragya. The event concluded with a vote of thanks.