The seminar was attended by over 200 students of the Post Graduate Programme in Communications Management (PGPCM), Crafting Creative Communications (CCC) and Retail Communications Management (RCM). Dr. Schultz is currently the Professor Emeritus of Service at Northwestern University’s Medill School, USA. He was accompanied by his wife and co-author, Heidi Schultz.
Also present at the seminar were Professor Atul Tandan, director of MICA, Professor Naval Bhargav, head of International Relations, MICA as well as other eminent MICA faculty members.
Dr. Schultz, who has just conducted a workshop at the Indian School of Business, Hyderabad, one of the foremost advocators of Integrated Marketing Communications.
The lecture series at MICA talked at length about the changing market scenario and its implications for marketing services. The power is today in the hands of the consumer, who can make informed choices and treats the traditional means of communications as clutter. Prof Schultz demonstrated how this new reality is to be managed and the financial implication of the same.
“The goal is to generate both short-term financial returns and build long-term brand and shareholder value”, explains Dr. Schultz.
On the first day, Dr. Schultz spoke about the birth of marketing communication in a rapidly changing American landscape and its subsequent acceptance among the South-Asian countries. He addressed the importance of being customer centric, pragmatic and gave lucid examples of firms he was associated with – notably IBM. He explained the five stages of the marketing communication process to get maximum returns.
On Day two, Dr. Schultz spoke about aligning ‘push and pull’ marketing communications and potential solutions for marketers competing in such a scenario. He talked on the development of new communication methodologies and systems and the shift of power in the marketplace to the customer. He ended his address by giving his views on how the firm should prepare itself for this new marketplace and gave a few insights from his latest book, Brand Babble. Professor Tandan signed off the event by giving the vote of thanks.
Dr. Schultz is now heading to Mumbai, where, in another MICA organized event, he would be addressing senior managers from all over India in a private session on the 21st of August 2007 at the ITC Maratha Mumbai (formerly Grand Maratha). The topic of the seminar is ‘Customers Seize Control: New Paradigm for managing brands’.