ISB Hosts “Ikshaa a The Marketing Summit”

The theme of this Summit was ‘Marketing in 2020: Are Marketers Ready?’. The students at the summit drew valuable insights from a stellar list of speakers which included

· Dr Dipak Jain – Dean, Kellogg School of Management

· Mr. Girish Bapat – VP – Marketing, LG (India)

· Mr. Harish Bijoor- CEO, Harish Bijoor Consults Inc

· Mr. Hemchandra Javeri – President, Madura Garments

· Mr. Partha Rakshit – MD, AC Nielsen (South Asia)

· Mr. Vinod Giri – Director Marketing, SABMiller (India)

The theme of the summit, “Marketing in the Year 2020 – Are Companies ready?” brought out mixed feelings from the panel members. However, there seems to be a unanimous consensus that the Indian consumer will become increasingly powerful and sought after by all marketers, both domestic and global. Any marketing plan for the future, for any company in the world, must have a serious commitment and roadmap for this increasingly powerful, intelligent and global Indian.

Partha Rakshit of “Live Life King Size” fame expressed concern over the low FDI/GDP ratio in India but is very bullish on the great Indian middleclass. To tap the full potential of this segment, Mr. Rakshit argued, markets will have to build value for money.

The charismatic moderator for the panel discussion, Harish Bijoor, who also eaches at the ISB, envisioned a future where selling products will be akin to providing a service.

Mr. Hemchandra Javeri, President, Madura Garments shared with the audience some key statistics. Interestingly, the Indian consumer’s fashion cycle is as high as five times a year. A marketing strategy of the future will have to recognize this increasing willing ness to pay and provide the product demanded.

Mr. Girish Bapat, VP – Marketing, LG (India) stressed the need to cater to the youth as they are the influencers in the decision process for consumer durables. Marketers are finding it infinitely challenging to predict the pulse of the youth. A winning strategy will have to get close to the consumer and truly understand what drives their whims and fancies.

Mr. Vinod Giri, Director Marketing, SABMiller (India) stressed the need to cater to “consumer desires” instead of just “consumer needs”. The days of universal branding are over and extreme segment focus is the key. While economy brands drive top line volumes, it is the “worth-more” brands that will drive bottom-line growth.

Delivering the keynote address, Dr Dipak Jain, Dean, Kellogg School of Management and also a founder of the ISB stressed the need to be proactive in today’s “nanosecond culture”. Bringing out the stark differences between USA‘s ailing airline industry and India‘s booming airline industry, Dr Jain cautioned about mindless replication.

Dr. Jain concurred with the other panelists and remarked that the next few decades truly belong to India.