Head – Marketing
Emkay Global Financial Services Ltd.
In the battle of heart and mind, I have always chosen to go with my heart. When I decided to graduate in marketing with a Bachelor of Management Studies (BMS), a new course from the University of Mumbai back then, I met with some resistance from my family.
Thankfully I decided to have my way, and today when I look back at my decision, I feel the rebellion was worth it. Post BMS and the subsequent MBA in Marketing, I landed a campus placement in a brand and marketing consultancy firm, where I got to handle brands like Pidilite, Panacea Biotech and Nakshatra among others.
An early exposure into brand consultancy helped me gain great insights into the kind of challenges brands faced from a 360 degree perspective of product, price, placement and promotion. It also helped me realize the importance of market research and of giving importance to minute details when designing a communication plan.
This was followed by a stint with an IT services company, where I gained the exposure of B2B marketing and PR. The importance of pre-sales pitches and customer relationship management were very well understood by me here. From there I went on to join my current organisation Emkay Global, which at that time was filing for an IPO.
I was the first and only person in the marketing department at that time, which meant I had to learn the processes and create the entire marketing framework from scratch. The exposure has been more enriching than I ever imagined. The extended hours and hard work paid off and I grew along with the organization.
Today I head the marketing and corporate communications team at the group level and continue to learn each day from my wonderful team members and mentors.
2. How according to you has marketing evolved over the years?
While I was still a student of marketing during my graduation and post graduation years in early 2000s, we were learning about many marketing concepts and mixes but digital marketing was not one of them. No one seemed to be talking about it even though the term ‘digital marketing’ had been coined in the 1990s and internet had entered India in 1995.
Websites had become common but marketers in India were still skeptical about digital marketing’s reach and efficiency. Companies were still relying heavily on traditional media for marketing, with TV and print ruling the game. As the penetration of internet and mobile phones deepened and as the number of internet users increased, digital marketing exploded.
Companies that were resisting being on the social landscape, now started embracing it. The budgets, slowly but consistently, started shifting from the traditional forms of media to the likes of Google and Facebook among others. Today there are numerous companies that use only digital marketing for their brand building and lead generation activities, but I doubt there would be any who rely on just the traditional channels for the same.
Today concepts like big data, analytics, machine learning and artificial intelligence have become commonplace. Some marketers are already experimenting with AR and VR, which I think would become as common as social media marketing in the years to come.
3. Where do most of your marketing budgets go, traditional or digital?
Most of our budgets today are directed towards digital marketing. You can’t escape digital and why should you? The penetration of mobile and internet has enabled marketers to reach their target audience easily and more efficiently by minimizing spill over.
Most of our budgets today are directed towards digital marketing. You can’t escape digital and why should you? The penetration of mobile and internet has enabled marketers to reach their target audience easily and more efficiently by minimizing spill over.
Powerful analytics engines have enabled marketers to calculate their ROI far more precisely than they ever could with traditional channels. This is not to discount the importance of traditional marketing. One needs to know where their audience is, what their budgets and objectives are, and accordingly decide on the mix.
4. How can one reach the top echelons in marketing?
Marketing today is far more dynamic than it was a decade earlier. The pace at which technology is transforming the way you reach your prospects and customers has made it imperative for marketers to not only keep themselves abreast of all the new and emerging platforms and trends, but also to bite the bullet and experiment with the relevant ones. The only way to grow in this field is by learning, analysing, experimenting, relearning and repeating the cycle, over and over and over again.
5. How will marketing change in the next decade or so?
A decade is a long time and the way I see things moving, we should expect the unexpected to rule the way we market products, services or ourselves. Yet, the aspects that I believe would continue to dominate our marketing decisions, no matter which platforms we use are: evolving consumer insights, relevant and engaging content and a focus on customer retention.
4. How can one reach the top echelons in marketing?
Marketing today is far more dynamic than it was a decade earlier. The pace at which technology is transforming the way you reach your prospects and customers has made it imperative for marketers to not only keep themselves abreast of all the new and emerging platforms and trends, but also to bite the bullet and experiment with the relevant ones. The only way to grow in this field is by learning, analysing, experimenting, relearning and repeating the cycle, over and over and over again.
5. How will marketing change in the next decade or so?
A decade is a long time and the way I see things moving, we should expect the unexpected to rule the way we market products, services or ourselves. Yet, the aspects that I believe would continue to dominate our marketing decisions, no matter which platforms we use are: evolving consumer insights, relevant and engaging content and a focus on customer retention.
And because these are so important, we would see more powerful analytics and machine learning tools, use of AR and VR to grab the attention of a consumer who turns increasingly blind to regular ads and better automation tools in the customer retention space.
6. Which is your favourite book and why?
Atomic Habits by James Clear – One highly practical book on building good habits. I recommend it because I have personally implemented a lot of strategies in the book to build the habits I always wanted to, with ease.
6. Which is your favourite book and why?
Atomic Habits by James Clear – One highly practical book on building good habits. I recommend it because I have personally implemented a lot of strategies in the book to build the habits I always wanted to, with ease.
The book doesn’t just tell you ‘why’ building good habits is important, it focuses on ‘how’ you can easily slip into them. A must read for all those who think they are short of time to add new habits into their lives.
- Interviewed by - Sanjana Jain
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