I see the lines blurring between Marketing-Technology-Business Analytics-PR and for all the traditional marketeers like me, picking up these new required skill-sets is imperative.
1. Tell us about your early career days.
Right after my B-school, I had started out in Sales and did that for close to 3 years. That’s where I had picked up most of my learnings on People Skills, Customer Management, on-ground execution of Brand and Corporate strategies. Later, as I pivoted to Marketing, I realized those were some of the most important skills for a quality Brand Manager. So, in some way, for me Marketing started much before it actually did.
2. How did you rise to the highest echelons in your career and what advice do you have for our readers?
I feel my echelons yet to arrive and that’s how it should always be otherwise how would one grow? As far as the journey thus far is concerned, yes, I do feel it has been fulfilling and exciting. Again, there is no one answer as to WHY or HOW but if I really had to pick a few, I’d say lots of self-introspection, keenness to learn and improvise and lastly taking people along – these three certainly top the list.
3. How do you analyses whether your marketing activities reached your intended TG and communicated the right messages?
The beauty about marketing is that it’s a fine confluence of Art and Science. So, everything Creative we do, we Measure, hard-code Quantify. So, every Ad made is tested for Reach, every product sampled is tested for Brand Awareness, every influencer campaign is tested for Engagement scores; so on and so forth.
4. How do you think marketing will evolve in the future and how are you preparing for that leap?
Let me start by saying this, today, we know many organizations that have done away with CMO roles and have instead appointed Technology Officers and Strategy Officers and Public Relations Officers. That does not mean we don’t need Marketeers; it only means Marketing as a function is being imagined differently. I see the lines blurring between Marketing-Technology-Business Analytics-PR and for all the traditional marketeers like me, picking up these new required skill-sets is imperative.
5. What would be that one thing that you would do differently now than before?
The past one year has taught me to live in the Present and make the most of Now – so that book that I had to read, that Guest-lecture I had to take, that friend I had to call, that jog I had to go for, that diet I had to improve – all of it has to happen Today, has to happen Now. I would love to tell that to the 15year old me.
6. What are your thoughts for sponsoring ads during IPL?
IPL sponsorship is all about getting Brand Reach and Brand Stature, both of which then go a long way to drive Brand Equity and potentially do that in a much shorter time span. However, of course the tradeoff is how much money a Brand is willing to spend to get the time leverage.
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7. How do brands measure ROI?
Like I said, everything in marketing can be measured and there are multiple measures of Return – Reach, Awareness/Trials/Repeats (ATR as we call it), Equity, Volumes, Penetration, Social Sentiments, Media Valuation etc.
8. Which is your favourite book and why?
Lots of them so I’d rather answer what I am reading currently – or actually hearing. I have gotten onto Podcasts recently and I am enjoying the experience. Please do check out ‘Let’s Do Shots’ by Siddhant More; impactful capsules on some of the best Marketing case-studies and trends.
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Dola Halder
Passionate Marketeer, Innovation Expert, B-School Mentor, D&I Ally
Titled Corporate Diva 2019 by The HOW Forum; hand-picked as PepsiCo's Future Leader for an exclusive one-on-one interaction with the charismatic CEO - Indra Nooyi; awarded Brand of The Year 2018 for Kurkure; Won Best Joint Business Plan Award in whole of AMENA Region by PepsiCo.
Interacting with budding professionals and student communities via my Guest Lectures, Online Modules and round the clock Digital-Mentorship over LinkedIn; keeps me abreast with Thought-Challenges and is my way of Giving Back to the Society; impacted 2Lakhs+ individuals
An alumna of SRCC and IIM-K, I am currently into my 8th year with PepsiCo, my 2nd home. In the course of this exciting career, I have catapulted Brand Doritos to an unparalleled Business height, have lead PepsiCo Global's foray into Women Snacking Platform and have launched Kurkure's 1st ever Premium Snacking Range. Managing Cross-Country, Cross-Cultural, Cross-Functional teams, leading Complex Projects, delayering Consumer Speak, reading into Insights, improvising Brand Financials and building consumer Love are my areas of knack and passion.
I also champion Diversity and Inclusion and represent PepsiCo's D&I Council. Setting up PepsiCo India's 1st Child-Care Policy and System, launching Mentor4Magic - a holistic leadership and self-development program for PepsiCo India's Women talents and co-founding The HOW Forum's Corporate Diva Delhi Chapter- one of its kind platform for working women professionals to Share, Learn and Lead with a like-minded tribe; are some of my contributions to the Belief.
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