The passing days of the lullaby storms

These qualifying grades, those dreadful norms

I wish I was blind, a believer at heart

They say its Science, I call ‘it’ Art!

“Don’t be a wishful romantic, one day someday your sins will find you out”

-Shashwat Rai

What sin did I commit – a question that is auditing my little brain these days!! Ok, being part of an MBA, I was expected to do a lot more than I did perhaps but why my present indicates an epileptic seizure for these impending Placements.

Maybe I should have reread those essays (that I wrote to get into this premier college) a few more times where I talked all about my adept versatility and how I was earmarked to become the next big entrepreneur and float a publishing house.  Maybe I should have won over my reservations and given my professors the benefit of doubt before dismissing them to deathly hallow of my connived cynicism. Or maybe I should have joined an art college and explored my very existence and beliefs!!

Ok no more philosophies, no more global gyans what say.. aha that surely would have brought relief to some but then what’s more to a discourse if not the alternatives that presents a window of titanic hope.

As I start this sequel of Placement updates from the beautiful campus of Great Lakes, I promise you hope, hope that our days of hard work and anxiety would pass soon and like true Spartans we will rise to the call of duty. For now, it’s our duty to prepare for Placements and land our dream jobs, isn’t it!!

Hmm i think i got you again in this game of political correctness, but that’s the irony. I will be lying if I say my entrepreneurial thoughts that had me waltzing has killed the ‘service’ guy in me, that I am no more charmed by the thoughts of landing a seven digit salary from here. But there is a classical dilemma that needs to be answered and trust me it has no one correct answer.

Is getting an MBA a sub par achievement – a shortcut to a great job, a fancied salary, a means to an end? Or has this course brought right perspective to our learning curve and equipped us with knowledge in commerce and strategy.  Aren’t we the custodians of the business world that is limping and gasping for breath in the wake of these seasonal recessions? Has MBA qualified us as candidates in areas of leadership and nurtured us as individuals who believe they can change the world!!

In one of his addresses to students and faculty members of the Great Lakes Institute of Management, Chennai, delivered at the Tidel Park, the strategy Guru, late C.K. Prahalad stressed on a manifesto of how Indian business might prosper in today’s global world.

“How do we compete and develop a theme of becoming unique? How do you do something that few others can do and more importantly how to differentiate yourself and not compete by other’s rules?”

CK was aware of the fact that MBA colleges like Great Lakes are shining examples of optimizing resources and new assets creation, “Great Lakes is a fundamentally important example of Constrained Innovation, where the college was able to use the scare resources at its disposal and build a school that is a model for other business schools. The idea is not to build assets that are not required as the temptation is huge to expand. However, vitality in the medium to longer term comes not from asset reduction but from resource leverage.”

His was a message that one needs to carry close as we prepare for the coming days. The fundamental drivers of successful differentiation: understanding the future of competition and co-creation of values.

Think of red carpet at the Oscars. Placement season is the confluence of all that we have learnt: a test of discombobulating (yeah as confusing as this word perhaps!) concepts that we have mastered mixed with grains of Luck that is so integral to our Indian way of preparations. It’s like the Mahakumbh mela of Allahabad, where people attired as Sages to Nagas converge. Aren’t we all cloaked with this abysmal naked truth that opportunities come with fancied jobs?

The time seems to have paused, the air is still with soundless debate of which company to choose and what roles to apply! The best companies have started visiting our campus and the pre placements talks are on in full swing. Those books of marketing and finance that were shelved have been duly reassigned and the slides and notes that one prepared in the last half-year are being referred back. Our CVs have also been professionally tweaked to highlight our core competencies but the question remains – Is a good placement a testimony to our talent, a rightful fruit of our self-exiled tapasya!

“Karma-Yoga is the attaining through unselfish work of that freedom which is the goal of all human nature” – Swami Vivekanand.

As a self-proclaimed keeper of the Holy Grail (a blogger who is locked away but present, observant but invisible), I can sense the change that’s engulfing our campus. Are these the ‘winds of change’ that Scorpions sang for their Crazy world! The unwinding salsa classes have temporarily stopped and the rhythmic bands have been shut down. Even the birthday celebration has suddenly become consciously aware of the gravity at hand but isn’t getting good placements purely incidental of our efforts here!

Most have started preparing for the d-day and those who haven’t will do so shortly. And that’s Karma for us, at least for now <.>

 “Nature is an elixir to living”

After extending a warm welcome towards the guests Dr. Nanditha Krishna and Dr. Prabhat Kumar, Pratibha and Abhishu enthralled the audience with a beautiful rhythm, while lighting of lamp by Prof. Swaminathan, Prof. Sriram and the guests Prachi captivated the atmosphere with a beautiful piece from Vande Mataram.

Prof. Sriram Addressing the Spartans and the Guests defines the true grit of this cause and the difficulty it takes to bring about the consciousness amongst all of us. He quotes “that the green awareness is a business necessity; it will not be far when organizations will have to report their contribution and effect to natural conservation just like financial reporting.” He talks about the triple bottom line, profits, people and planet and stated that those global organization who are contributing towards this cause also enjoy a great brand image.

“It is no more a luxury, it is more important for all of us to look into it in a serious fashion”.

Extending a warm welcome, Professor Sriram & Professor Swaminathan honored the guests with a punnadai and flower seeds. Inviting them to share their wisdom with us

Our Guest, Dr. Nanditha Krishna

A Ph.D. from Bombay University, has been the Director of the C.P. Ramaswami Aiyar Foundation since 1981, and is the founder and administrator of its various constituents, C. P. Art Centre, C. P. R. Institute of Indological Research, Saraswathi Kendra Centre for Children (with learning disabilities, dyslexia and autism), Shakunthala Jagannathan Museum of Folk Art, and The Grove School.

Having a candid talk with the students she engrossed all of us into the lyrics of the Vande Mataram, leaving the foot prints of harmony in nature she spoke about few major causes that invigorates the natural imbalance in India, one of them being the Garbage issue “work out systems, India is the world’s largest recyclers, so all can be recycled”. She emphasized that development is change and no change is sustainable. As development cannot be stopped so our contribution would be towards sustainable living. Equally focusing her talk on panch bhuta and the diverse factors such as leather usage, ground level water, fresh water rivers and the air pollution she explores a holistic picture on where the natural imbalance stands.

“Living in this lovely campus, one would not realize that India’s urbanization has been a disaster” giving various examples Dr. Nanditha shows a drastic picture of ecological imbalance. On a closing note she nurtures the cause of sustainable living in harmony with nature by stating “We come from a culture which has respected environment, but today the scenario is very different. If we don’t respect, the nature would not respect us back”

Welcoming our next guest, Dr. Prabhat Kumar

Director, BHAVINI (Bharatiya Nabhikiya Vidyut Nigam Limited)

A Mechanical Engineer and has many “first of its kind jobs” to his credit in Nuclear Power Program for India. His assignments over the years from Design, Procurement, Reactor Maintenance, QA and ISI, Life Management, Remote Tooling and Construction. He has distinction of working on Pressurized Heavy Water as well as Pressurized Water Reactors. Due to his persuasive capabilities, ability to motivate team, ability to deal with design organizations and past record of working at great speed, has been assigned to construct Fast Breeder Reactor Project (PFBR) in the capacity of Project Director

Addressing the batch of Spartans, Dr. Prabhat inviting great lakes to kalpakkam he motivated the audience with the technological studies and advanced being carried out for energy production in the country equally sustaining the ecological balance of the surrounding. Emphasizing on the importance of PFBR project he invites the students to explore the most cleanest nuclear power plants “we have occupied a very small portion in the life span of the earth, but we have done enough damage that goes beyond our timeline”

Going forward with the event Dr. Bala Balachandran sends his message for the Great Lakes Family, emphasizing on “the attempts made by the various organizations to increase awareness towards saving nature” stating his gratification for all the green initiative, Dr. Bala inspires students of Great Lakes Institute of Management to be more environmental conscious.

The green committee showcases a small video on the green initiatives taken by Great Lakes under its construction and structuring of the platinum rated campus. The paryavaran-2011 initiative showcased students from the Spartans batch taking up day to day causes and acceptance making a difference towards the society.

Brining in the wagon of winners for various competition organized by the Green Committee.

Winner for Green Quiz – Abhishek Haldar

Runners up – Mr. Vikram Choudhary, Gauthem Karthik, Sanju Thomas

Winner for Quiz 2 – Saurabh Goyal

Runners up – Atif Alam, Ruma Patra

Winner for Quiz 3 – Naman Arora

Runner up – Sachin Kulkarni

Winners for Green Logo – Pranita Dhamdhere

Winner for Green Slogan – Sahil Kukreja

Winners for Green poster making – Rituparna Kashyap & Rahul Ray

Winner for Green’o’graphy – Suprabhat Gupta

Winner for Green Ads competition – Kumar Mukesh Singh

Honoring Dr. Muthuraj for his green initiative ad campaign, Spartans enthralled the halls of Lake Veeranam and Mansarovar by the thunder of claps.

Prof. Swaminathan marked the closure of Paryavaran-2011 by presenting the vote of thanks on behalf of Great Lakes Institute of Management. Extending our gratitude, professor thanked our Guests and promised to meet efforts towards this initiative as best as we could.

“marketing is something that you do on a day-to-day basis, the real-time marketing”

With this he invited the best four teams to propose their marketing strategy presentation to take over

The Boondock Saints - Gokulendu, Mukesh and Siddharth

being the first in the arena to present the case identified the outline of the case study. With Gokulendu, Mukesh and Siddharth as a team, Boondock saints strategically portrayed the soapy tales with characterization of its different usages and the key players in the Soap industry.

proposing a solution of non-ambiguous branding strategy, well-defined product line boundaries and brand elements which make unique and strong associations, this team left no stone un-turned to make-believe a full-proof branding strategy for Soapy tails.

Team DIODVAC – Avni, hariharan and Gajendran

As with the name this team is a power package in itself, briefly outlining the key issues of the case. the presenter extensively addressed the current market scenario of the soap industry keenly identifying the potential available in organised retail sector and FMCG sector.  DIODVAC equally emphasized the market threat and challenges due to competition and increased input cost.

Proposing revitalizing and re-positioning of the current brand portfolio, to create an emotional attachment with the consumer and create a strategy based on such a target proposal DIODVAC wishes to come true to the promises done to consumers.

Team SAAPS – Saumya, ankita, Poonam, Preshit & Shriram

Being third in a row of competing for that one spot at the top, SAAPS jump started with the challanges faced by the business currently, extrapolating which the team slowly identified its market strategy for re-branding M as a family soap, where as FF into men’s freshness segment and P in the baby soft segment. SAAPS primary focused on packaging and the target marketing for premium men’s soap segment.

Team BUD : Shashank, Anshul, Richa, Akriti & Bhanu

The grand finale for the session 3 for IIM C Workshop on soapy tales case study, jump starting with a power packed presentation, Team Bud left the audience bedazzled with their catchy slides. Targeting the masculine passive space in the soap industry their market entry strategy revolved around the understanding of the men’s soap segment which currently prevailed less cluttered than the others.

As quoted by Akriti

“Absence of appeal and excitement led Team BUD to target a particular segment”

With this the last session of IIM C Workshop concludes with intense competition within all the four teams and spectacular presentations to aid them. Spartans imbibed the essence of live discussion between the participants and the panelists involving a huge potential to unlearn the marketing myths from industry experts and learn the real strengths of marketing skills.

Team SAAPS was judged the first and Team BUD being judged the second in position by the panelist as winners for this session. Mr. Ajay Jain encapsulated the essence of soapy tales complete presentation in few business specific norms and factors, pin pointing teams to be more precise on numbers and re-positioning to a market friendly segment the moderator for the event factually emphasized on value creation selling.

As they say, no story remains untold. The success of IIM C workshop is a story well scripted by the arduous effort put by management, student volunteers, panelists and participants. Spartans at their best yet again successfully concluded the last session for the day.

Be it the warriors of Athens or the board rooms of conglomerates, the possession of the top is an infectious disease. The viral has well spread to the four best teams (New Wave, Challengers, Just in Case and Lemon Aid) presenting their analysis and market  propositions for Nimbooz.

The stage is set, the panel is ready and the game is on.

Sonali from Team New Wave quotes with their exemplary presentation stating their high points as

“Team New Wave presented an in-depth analysis of “Lemon-Aid Strategy” case, it equally made recommendations that revolved around bringing new variants of Nimbooz (spice and Masala variants), involving health specialists as brand advocates to boost overall sales.”

Team Challengers showcasing an upbeat competition with a plethora of speculative questions and strong contenders, Nishtha Dewani, Amit Pal Singh Bagga, Rohit Aggarwal and Vivek Gupta presented a spectacular with a strategic sales pitch in Nimbooz  at the fast food outlets where the cheesy flavour is counting on calories.

Their target point hits high node with their proposition of Nimbooz as a non-sugared version to target the health conscious and mocktail segment.

Not to far was the next high on energy team, Just in case with a case presentation done by Pratibha, Naman, Kashish and Divya showcasing a clear structure to a marketing strategy. well touted by the panel and well grilled by the audience ‘Just in case’ left no doubts about their presence and understanding of the case.

Naman from the team says it all by encapsulating the following lines

“We suggested keeping it simple, with only limited variations, as complexity may not gel well with the product. While continuing to target out-of-home consumption, we recommend focussing on the freshness of the product, and its refreshing effect. Health focus can be achieved by introducing Diet Nimbooz to bolster sales in the health-conscious segment. Also introducing a Rs. 5 Returnable Glass Bottle (RGB) would help capture the more price sensitive consumers. Since it’s a product consumed across age groups and geographical locations in India, the marketing communications should have a wider focus than just the youth.”

The last to mark the grand finale was Group Lemon Aid, giving a fair fight and enthusiastic approach to their strategy to introduce Nimbooz as a substitute to home made drink and mixers. Advaita, Sahil, Jaywardhan and Sourabh did present to be the true crusaders to mark the finish line. As quoted by the team members

“The presentation looks forward to the strategic path to make this brand into a mega brand. “

They say no show ends without a show stopper, today not one but we had 4 teams beckoning the exemplary show stoppers for the closure of the first session of IIM C workshop. Mr. Prateek Pota enveloped his suggestions and ideas marking the end of the lemon-aid case study presentation

The grand Finale gets done with the first prize bagged by team ‘just in case’ and second by ‘Challengers’. Truly speaking, nothing else can be better than a well deserved accolade.

And yes, whatta game it was!!

– Ashok Jayaram

Certainly, “History is not a burden on the memory but an illumination of the soul”

With the best of IIM Calcutta Alumni in the walkways of Great Lakes institute of Management. This Saturday morning is a special retreat, with the trimmed black suits and formals bringing in the best of a B-School presentations, the director of PGPM Prof. T.N. Swaminathan opened the workshop by IIM C Alumni, Chennai chapter with a warm welcome extending his gratitude of behalf of Spartans and the college.

Mr. Ashok Jayaram, (CEO, Coaching foundation India) charted the workshop with a short crisp introductory speech, dotting the two major milestones in his sales life, of one bringing in the first sales pitch and second having a repeat customer as the primer in a sales marketer’s lifecycle. Closing up with a feeling of gratification to have received few of the best presentation from GLIM, he passed the baton of introduction to Mr. J. Krishnan.

Mr. J. Krishnan, who pioneered the chair of Chief executive officer, Deccan Chargers for the two years of its inception is an IIT Madras, IIM C Alumnus. Currently associated with UniMity Solutions Pvt. Ltd. Mr. Krishnan showed his pleasure to visit Great Lakes for the second year in concurrence.

Following the lead of luminaries, to join us were Mr. Jagannathan from Godrej, Mr. Prateek Pota, Executive Director – South, Pepsi. Mr. Mali Mahalingam, Partner, T.S. Mahalingam & Sons. Mr. B Ravindranath, Director, Kadamba Technologies Pvt. Ltd and Dr. P. V. R. Murthy CEO, Executive Search Consultants.

With dignitaries gracing the presentation, Mr. Prateek Pota took charge for the workshop briefly outlining the structure for Lemon Aid case study. The Ongoing IIM C workshop – Chennai Chapter in GLIM, the batch of Spartans are exuberated to be a part of the session marking the launch of career counseling session for fall of 2011.

The movie is a World War II story of a British soldier’s unit and the days they spend in Japanese captivity – first treated as slaves but eventually winning the respect of a tyrant enemy.  The sole responsibility of this turnaround could be credited to the British Commander Colonel Nicholson who adapts dynamic and fitting tactics to deal with his Japanese counterpart Colonel Saito. The movie, like most of the war movies, succeeds in displaying a wide array of emotions that suffering of war brings upon.  However, this movie offers a few unique perspectives that are worth noting.

1.)    Have a value system and guard it to life.

2.)    If you flourish on getting garlanded as a leader, be ready to pay back with gusto when it counts!

3.)    Learn to respect yourself before you expect the world to respect you.

Colonel Nicholson during his first few meetings with Colonel Saito tried to win the rightful conduct for his unit and was jeered at repeatedly. Never did he act out of code and bravely confronted the Japanese abuse of the situation. To win dignity and respect from others one should first award them to himself! In one of the scenes during this phase- suffering from acute weakness and dehydration, the Colonel did not let himself be dragged in front of his unit; he indeed marched like a soldier should and won his terms from Colonel Saito!

4.)    When you negotiate – negotiate hard!

Upon his release, Colonel Nicholson recognized how he held upper hand over Colonel Saito due to the pending construction of the bridge. Col Nicholson did not mince words when they mattered and smartly procured all the things he desired from Col Saito for his unit and officers. He was deft enough to do this without hurting Japanese ego!

5.)    What is ought to be done is ought to be done! There is only one righteous path.

There comes a time in movie when Major Clipton gets perplexed by the honesty with which Col Nicholson gets into the project of building the bridge across the river Kwai for Japanese – the enemies! To which the colonel replies with an astute message of giving the best even as a POW and that he would be proud to be recalled by the future generations as the builder of this bridge. This philosophy is exactly the one preached in Indian scriptures as ‘Dharma’ or ‘Swa-Dharma’ to be precise. Every being has to perform his duties in a righteous way – but this righteous way is itself a function of circumstances. Hence, we as humans shall perform what is right under all conditions.

The ending act of Colonel in the movie, when he blows up the bridge himself, is also a manifestation of realization of ‘Swa-dharma’. Colonel Nicholson was able to think through the right way to act given the sudden change in circumstances. He sided with Japanese when he thought was right and played his part as the British Colonel when he became aware of the orders of higher authorities.

The movie teaches many lessons and I am sure other viewers would be able to append/modify what I tried to summarize. This churning up of thoughts is what we at Film Appreciation Club would attempt to do every time we screen a movie. I am looking forward to your thoughts and views on this remarkable movie.

By

Devashish Pandey

Films Appreciation Club.

Amidst all his glory God does get unfair at times – if not before he has surely has been so in the past few days! First Steve Jobs and then Jagjit Singh were lost to the vagary of death – the two stalwarts of their own fields! The world mourned from the beaches of California to the plains of Punjab and everywhere else in between. In the world full of conformists and traditionalists there is always a dearth of original thinkers. The above two personalities were not only original but they had the courage, conviction and drive to introduce new vistas of possibilities to the world. I have been a huge fan of both and at this great loss I could not stop myself from drawing parallels between the two amazing personalities.

‘Never compare apple with oranges’ goes the saying. One may laugh at an attempt to compare Jobs and Jagjit – there is nothing remotely common between them! While Jobs has spent majority of his life in the USA working on pioneering technologies and designing devices, Jagjit Singh was the Indian musician of a rare art form known as ‘Ghazals’.  While Jobs was a straight faced English speaking American, Jagjit Singh was a typical Indian with mix bag of language skills including English. In all possibility, the two would have never met all their life and I won’t be surprised if they didn’t even know of each other. So is this attempt to compare them a mere hyperbolae or an eccentric attempt to read too much into their lives? No.

The learned say – the basic principles of life remain the same irrespective of times, geographies and people. There is a method in the madness of the world and pioneers are those who champion these methods. It is on these lines of thoughts that I intend to compare the life, time and work of the above two distinguished figures. To put a structure to thoughts let’s pick certain headings.

Innovation and Self belief

Steve Jobs – the founder of ‘Apple’ and creator of many modern design marvels – once struggled to save his company. In the era dominated by Microsoft Windows and PC – Jobs believed in the viability of devices powered by Mac. Jobs was proven right when the Apple Macbook and the subsequent launches from the company were highly successful. Jobs proved his mettle again when he redefined music listening thorough the breakthrough product – iPod! In combination with iTunes – the product reaped rich harvest for the company. Not long ago he bettered himself with the bigger brother of iPod and a yet again novel idea – iPad. His belief in himself and his ideas lead to the classic innovator Jobs was.

Jagjit Singh entered the musical arena in the 70s. The Indian music industry in the films was dominated by the giants in Kishore Kumar, Mohd. Rafi and Manna Dey to name a few. Being turned away by music directors citing his ‘unsuitable’ voice – Jagjit decided to pick his first love – Ghazals. Ghazal singing in those days was a niche and secluded art form. The singers like Mehndi Hassan, Begum Akhtar and other proponents of classic style left no space for a newbie. Jagjit with his wife Chitra launched his first album ‘The unforgettable’ in 1976. With an emphasis on melody and choice of ghazals, he propounded a new simplistic form of rendering ghazals. This diversion was often jeered at by the traditionalists, but it was this unique simplicity that he brought to the art that has won millions of hearts world over!

Keep it Simple – Touch the senses!

While the world wondered about usability of a phone with no keypad – Mr. Jobs made use of one of the natural senses of ‘touch’ and ushered the touch screen revolution headed by iPhone. The minimalistic designs of all the products from Apple are testimony to the fact that simplicity is special. Be it the user friendly click wheel or multi-touch pad of its laptops – Apple has kept design as simple and natural as possible and the credit goes to the visionary Mr. Jobs.

Jagjit Singh is often credited with bringing the Ghazals to the masses. One of the prime reasons for his success in making it happen was the simplicity of his tunes. Jagjit’s music relied more on melody rather than the technical nuances or classical rendering. It did not require one to be an expert in music to appreciate the soothing and calming effect his sonorous voice created backed by simple and pleasant tunes. The aim of his music was to touch the audience and not impress them! This simplicity and the intention of touching souls did resonate and how!

World is not fair – get used to it!

Imagine being kicked out of a company you founded and that too by a guy who was hired by you! Sounds so unreal – but Steve Jobs faced it. His reaction? Founded another company based on an altogether different idea, nurtured it well. However a talent as big could not be missed for long – he was called back to Apple, when the company was in doldrums. Rest, as they say, is history. Jobs and Apple never looked back. The take away is the man did now succumb to the circumstances anytime; he let his inner self always be stronger than the outer influences.

Jagjit’s life has been full of troubles. He left for Mumbai from his native place to become a film musician, only to return empty handed and without ticket to his hometown. He gathered courage went back and thus started a long phase of struggle. He sang in private functions, small functions and gradually grew to rule the roost one day. When things looked just perfect he lost his son aged merely 18 years to a car accident. Life was never the same – his singing partner and wife withdrew from the profession and never sang again. His music attained a new high after this very sad loss.

There are many more such similarities to ponder over – and that’s the beauty of the common thread that weaves through such magnetic personalities.

Being an apt representative of the modern society at large – the Spartans fraternity at Great lakes too shared the condolences. Sridhar Venkataraman, Smruti Rekha Padhy and many others have expressed the emptiness they feel after these losses. Abhilash Mohapatra says about Jobs – ‘In this dynamic world very few have been the personalities who have added revolution to the rotating earth. One amongst them who has touched everybody in their mind was Steve Jobs. He affirmed with his work that world can be made a better place. Innovation has much longer to go. He not only inspired with his trail but with his spirit of innovation as well’

Richa Chauhan shares her feelings as – ‘Jagjit Singh the velvet voice that will never be heard again. “Kal Chaudvin ki raat thi” and ” Tere aane ki jab khabar” are like the background music of my life now. Time flies with his voice. Sad that now the treasure is limited. No more will be added to it ever now. I’ll always regret I never had chance to hear him live. One regret I’ll always have to live with. RIP Jagjit Singh’

Abhilash pays homage to Jagjit Singh – ‘Jagjit singh a name synonymous to ghazal, never did one express feelings the way he melodiously sung them. They say there are five elements in this world but Jagjit sahab made all of us realise the sixth element MUSIC that touches the soul. Generation might come and go ,the soul in his songs would remain forever – chitti na koi sandesh,Janney woh kaunsa Desh jahan tum chaley gaye’

If I may conclude – the most important similarity is that both of them touched millions of hearts during their stay on Earth! May their souls rest in peace! Heavens will take pride on playing the best of the music on best of the music player now.

- Devashish pandey

Spartan 2012

Second time director Zoya Akhtar’s Spain odyssey takes you on an adventurous ride full of drama, romance and camaraderie between friends. Mostly shot in the beautiful land of Spain, the movie oozes energy of youth and refreshes you.  Javed Akhtar’s splendid lines “Dilon mein tum apni Betaabiyan lekar chal rahe ho.. toh zinda ho tum” (If you have eagerness in your heart, it means you are alive) keep echoing forever. But even beyond these apparent themes there is this disguised objective in the movie which many marketing fellows will agree to.

Just remember the splendid blue sky of Sevilla marvelously painted by Carlos Catalan’s fluid camerawork .You watch three guys jump from a plane one after another, your adrenaline rushes at Rajni speed. The last one to jump is just like you, frightened of heights, not sure to do it. Or maybe your personality is more like the second one, completely ecstatic about it. Nonetheless there is this seed planted in your sub-conscious inadvertently, a message that gets conveyed to the depths of your brain “Ultimate fun is in Sky Diving”.

Cut to scene 2, the hunk is sweating, facing his fear of water. You feel connected to him, it has happened to you so many times. You have just let it go because you were frightened. But this time your lobes see a different image. You see him overcoming his fear and challenging the extremes of it, a ‘deep sea dive’. At the same time your brain is conditioned with the presence of an immaculate beauty to exaggerate the sense of enjoyment. You love the blue water with colorful fries moving all around, the music takes you into a journey of soul.  And tadaaa, message no.2 received “Adventure sports are safe and extremely enjoyable”.

Your mighty brain takes no nanoseconds to web all these different messages, planted across the movie, into a story which tells you how you can overcome your fears and go for the ultimate fun and enjoyment via adventure sports.

It might not be evident on the face of i , but Zindagi Milegi Na Dobara exquisitely camouflages and uses  the age old marketing steps of product market development. The five steps defined by George Beal and Joe Behlen  in 1957, Awareness, Interest ,Evaluation, Trial  and Adoption to target a fairly new Product market  “Adventure Sports in India”.  The story plot weaves unforgettable images of the product and  ensures capture of  customer’s mindshare as they journey across the AIETA steps.

It targets a particular segment of consumer, set of rich young persons in intersection with set of individuals having paucity of time. These consumers have a tendency to do stuff which is not runoff the mill, they associate prestige with their products. And what better than adventure sports to cater to all these values, addressing prestige, symbolizing fun and providing psychological gratification with notion of achievement.  Above all it makes such an interesting topic of discussion for their next social meets, with different stories behind each jump and different colors in each dive.

The movie works hard to belch out the pre-activity details of each sport and makes it a point to customize them for the varied personality traits. There is this trio of an enthusiast, a reluctant and an indifferent personality, which broadly covers the various consumer behavior styles. And without the knowledge of viewer marketer has won the race in crossing the “Awareness” stage.

“Interest” generation is easier now, with charm of characters portrayed by superstars having youth icon status, who keep running into viewers face every time he switches the idiot box on. In combination with   various promotional shows where they joyfully pour the details of fun they had while shooting for these sports.

As mentioned earlier, the positioning done in the sub-conscious of viewer, the seeds planted, manifests itself in anyone who has crosses the above two stages. There is already an acceptance build which guarantees a positive result out of the “Evaluation” of adventure sports.

And now when the iron is hot the only task left for the  potential beneficiaries and  masterminds behind these awesome idea   is making available the “Trial “ process  to  such consumer and ensuring there is no dissonance in the promised deliverables ,“Thrill, Fun, Success, Pride” ,eventually leading  into the “Adoption “of adventure sports as a brand by  loyal customers. Customers, who will be more than happy to be its unofficial brand ambassadors in their own domains.

To sum it all, ZNMD thus duly succeeds in setting up a cushioned platform for the forthcoming sequels of an Integrated Marketing Campaign for   “Adventure Sports”.

By:

Pranav Gopal Jha

Film Appreciation Club

Great Lakes Institute of Management

                                                                   - Shashwat Rai

                                                                            (with valuable insights from Ravisekhar)

“Being out there, conquering every hint of fear.
The untold story of the six was yet to flare.
Naive and fearless we stood with nothing to lose.
Victory and defeat had the sides to choose.
They won the match and us the hearts.
The victory for both, divine played smart”

Our noon lecture had just finished – a grueling 3 hours with marketing and branding sprinting marathon in my mind. Catching hold of my friend X who was busy painting the world of social sites with his interesting updates (like the one above from Imran) on the sports meet that was underway in our college, I headed towards the mess. As we waited in the queue for our lunch, the air conditioned thoughts of the impending match loomed heavily on my mind. I was asked to cover a football match for the blogger’s diary.

Gosh football and me!!!

Football is one game that truly inspires the whole world community but ask a die-hard ‘Indian’ cricket fan and you will have scores expressing indifferent responses. I was no different and was wondering how to be true to my present job knowing very well that an off-side never turned my thoughts on.

Mister X solved the problem. It was lunch time and the famous ‘salad-bar’ of our college was decorated with its usual mouth watering offerings.

The private tutorial of Mister X commenced…

“Dude, suppose this pepper here is our Goalkeeper.” The pepper looked lost in his giant hand.

Picking up a piece of shell pasta and its rotini cousin he continued, “And the rotini is the defender. Also let this shell here be the attacker. Now, when the ball’s played forward, the shell has to be level with the rotini. Hello, now concentrate… Offside, onside… Offside, onside….” The expert was at his best and somewhere, somehow ‘Bend it like Beckham’ was running on my mind.

“So get this straight… The offside rule is when the shell pasta is in between the pepper and our rotini…”

For the next half an hour I couldn’t but think about the craziness that had engulfed the whole college. Everyday a new hero was born and his exploits did the rounds of our coffee table and socializing joints.  It was a fortnight worth canvassing and locking away in our memory books. This is college life and all of us here were living it!!!

I believe a blog should never start with plain reporting, even if its purpose is one! There are ways to charm your audience: protocols that have been used by writers over the years to influence readers into submitting to some wishful mental imagery. For this article, I would like to state its pedigree by peeking through the mystifying lens of history.

Citius, Altius, Fortius: faster, higher and stronger. These are the Olympian ideals that guide people, spurring them on to achieve ever greater heights in their lives. It is no coincidence that the modern day Olympics aspires to such lofty ideals, setting the standards that the athletes must live up to in their pursuit of excellence. And it is no coincidence that as business school students, these are the exact same ideals that drive us to excel. So what better way to manifest this spirit than a sporting extravaganza organized in its full glory!

In ancient Greece, the Olympic Games were held in honor of the Gods who presided over mount Olympus. The games were a holy celebration of effort and sportsmanship. In much the same spirit, over a period of 15 days, Great Lakes Institute of Management was transformed into a sporting arena where the sports warrior amongst us heeded the call of competition and took to the playing field. What followed were brilliant displays of technique and power that were not merely entertaining but positively dazzling.

Great Lakes sports fiesta was an organized series of acts and performances that unfolded in an emotional backdrop.  It was unrehearsed but practiced, relentless but rewarding.  The emotional tinge to the event was courtesy to the fact that the four sections (S1, S2, S3 & S4) in which the Spartan current batch was divided were being dissolved as the electives season approached.  It was perhaps the last time that the sections were together as a unit and this added to the emotional quotient of the tournament.  Some fondly called it a split-up season while others waited for the breakup parties. The campus was brimming with an undeniable energy of youthful verve – everywhere you looked you could see the Saina(s) and Tendulkar(s) walking hand in hand and sharing their thoughts on the sports meet.  Mortals were fermenting into poets and spirits were turning all high!

In keeping with the true Olympian tradition, there were a multitude of games to participate in. From the traditional football, basketball and shuttle to board games, a wide range of events were available for the players. The excellent on campus games infrastructure was put to good use, with qualifying, quarter finals and semifinal matches occurring every evening immediately after classes, with games going on well into mid night. Each of these matches was host to enthusiastic crowds cheering for their respective class mates. Every successful move drew roars of approval from the crowds causing the entire hostel to vibrate with the decibels. Throughout the events there was a festive air about the venues, almost a carnival atmosphere that was a source of enjoyment and pleasure to both players and onlookers.

Imagine sitting in a lecture, listening absently to your professors with minds running helter shelter on what’s in store for the evening elsewhere!!! Some games between Spartans were true gems, gravity defying boomerangs and epitome of true sportsmanship moments. These shall always occupy the legendary tales on our platter of good times when we look back on our stay at Great Lakes.

Some highlights:

1. The most heated match of the Table Tennis tournament was – TT doubles b/w Sridhar/Kashish v/s Sumit/Anurag – a match that created enthusiasm in the event for Spartans and tested the will of every supporter who nonetheless never cared about the spin on the ball or the depth in shots, who were there to blindly support their sections. We witnessed the height of cheering and the ‘dabba banging antics’ of Saurabh Srivastav(melaram, as we fondly call him) for which he had to put band-aids next day and surely this act would have made the famous ‘Sivamani’ recompose some of his tunes!!!
2. The next most heated events were in badminton – major matches were played b/w 11pm-2 am and there were multitude of spectators for these matches. People were unable to complete their assignments properly because of these matches, some lost grades others sleep; there are such good memories of badminton matches that represented the spirit of sportsmanship that my penned account cannot truly reflect on the same!

a. In a semi-final badminton match where Swati (S3) played Against Neeti (S2) – the match had a nail biting finish where the match ended in the final set with Neeti as the winner.

b. Badminton finals match between Avnish from S3 and Sridhar S2. Match started around 1:15 in the night and the entire men’s 4^th block was jam packed to see the finals and it was a final worth watching also. The eventual winner was Sridhar with the match going into the final set of best of 3.

This is what some Spartans had to say about the match:

“They say champions fight all odds, rise from the ashes and pump their fist in victory … To my friend, group mate and a true champion!! Take a bow”

- Siddharth Radhakrishnan

“Some games are not played between sections, nor between people, sometimes it is the game tha plays, all by itself. This game was one such game.”

-SriHarsha Bandaluppi

3. Basketball match between S2 & S3 girls: The score line was 24 -6 in favor of S3 where Swati Arora scored 20 points alone… Basketball match between S1 & S4, where S4 were kind of underdogs but they won by a mere margin of a single point.

4. The finals of football match between S3 and S2 had everyone biting their nails as the match couldn’t be finished in the extra time and went into penalties where eventually S3 won.

Interesting  Facebook status updates:

1.      “Rise and fall, a reality after all, Moments to cherish are too blurred to scroll… Flocking us together was a herculean task, Executed to perfection behind facial mask… Hearty thanks to every effort and sweat, Making our evening memorable and conquering every threat… Achieving the infinite is our story and try, Spartans no doubt will always fly high…”

- Mohd Imran Athar

2. S2 Football News: “Mighty S2 beat skilled S3 by 1-0”

Nilotpal scored an ecstatic goal in the second half giving little scope to the ever so technically sound S3. S3’s dream of being the Spartan Football champion took a hit when the muscle of S2 tactically nudge the football between the legs of the goalkeeper. The game however came to a turmoil when S2’s captain Kunnu missed an easy goal that even the oldest woman on earth could kick. However, great saves by kotler and the two defenders Hari and Sudu saved Kunnu’s ass yet again. S3 were very disciplined and strategic in their game, while they imposed on disabling Kunnu by tripping him and fouling him. But who knew that Kunnu was only a decoy and the real game was being played by the other 4, the substitutes and the enchanting crowd of S2.”

-          Special correspondent , Najeeb Imran khan

3. ES2PN: Highlight of day 2. It’s unfortunate when the best player of the sport is out injured; but even in injury Aishwaraya showed that his is a couple of classes above the rest of the best volleyball players in GLIM. Boom, boom, boom, boom!. Four bullet serves left the crowed completely stunned. Gravity defying high speed flat trajectory that could not be returned. We wish him a speedy recovery just like his serves. – Nilotpal Sinha

4. Spartans, we are like the sunlight & shade: when there is a lot of study we are found in our holes , but when there is none we can be found anywhere- facebooking , playing cricket , planning for event of ganesh chaturthi, some karmayogis & onam planning , then comes the planning of electives ,where a lot of inventions for many people are yet to happen. So overall By the Greatlakes forecast department – today will be an eventful day with some muddrops of OB & bouncers of QM, some creativity in Rangoli & some tussle in musical chair , some rivalry in lemon race .. oh no.. all are pessimistic words *(tussle rivalry) – but thats the magic . Be ready to cheer for your teams in the sports events. At last happy cheering!! – Rohit Agrawal

“And then there was tyrant, an abysmal faith

Of while the worlds fought with an unaccustomed pride

A piece of land, beans of grains, sometimes for love and equally hate

Men fight their battles, O Spartans of Sparta

Men fight their soul and a dignified pain”

The evening was pleasant as the cool breeze of this city down south blew past the tower of reflection as Spartans from Great Lakes batch of 2012 sat willfully watching their Conclave at its finish line, just when the master of ceremony stood behind a commotion speaking to his colleague trying for a mono-act explaining that the guest has arrived. The branding team all set, events team ready on a go, the placecom vigil and alert as one of the most awaited guests for the evening came walking with a smile, and as one could see him with a group of dignitaries you hear,

“Please welcome the Director, Tata Management Training Center, Mr. Chetan Tolia.”

A thunderous applause astounds the walls of Lake Mansarovar and Veeranam as he took chair of the event.  From the mark of a start every single student sitting inside the hallowed rooms of this institution was ready to imbibe like a seed which has been seeped in water for the first time.

After an introduction and exchange of pleasantries, the floor was open for talk of the evening by Mr.  Tolia and never would you have seen such energy levels of an auditorium where 300 would sit straight, minds razor sharp, one shot of fire and you could actually feel sparks flying. All in the enlivening atmosphere one would call paused to enthusiasm, Chetan Tolia greets with a chuckle and a rhyme.

For a second amidst such preparations all were taken aback “is he really so cool?” and could hardly return his greetings. Another try and the affirmative assurance “yes, he is cool” normalcy derives and the batch of 2012 cheers with a boisterous greeting to the speaker.

“Your generation has tremendous responsibility and you have the opportunity galore to explore that responsibility”

While most of us were ready to take notes, pointers and quotes as usually from an inspiring talk. One would be amazed to see how easily a speaker par excellence would mold a high intensity discussion into a smooth flowing platform for dialogue, where learning multiplies by levels without diminishing an inch of its intensity.

“Today I would talk about three themes nurturing, innovation and thinking.”

Spreading insights over how leadership germinates when a nurtured and nourished mind meets a challenging opportunity one would wonder on what various aspects of life will a simulation of real time problems would be given, a prototype where one would always have a dry run as to how can one grab an opportunity right when its lying affront and equally one would be dismayed that It will happen hardly and most of the times it would be we chasing behind opportunities and strike at the right one at the right time. With an effervescent aura he continues,

“Your only chance to do anything with the knowledge is when you explore the challenging opportunities, whether you succeed or not it doesn’t matter.”

A true leadership, where one is often misinterpreted to showcase performance based results as the only way to succeed. While all you would ever need is a will to innovate, patience to explore opportunities and a skill to implement 

He further proceeded to his second theme as seamlessly as one could imagine over the discussion on Innovation,

“Few years from now, innovation would be the key differentiating factor across the value of an organization. The chances of innovation increase at the confluence of more than one domain. Get out of your comfort zones, go and learn more”

Certainly the daily rigmarole is not something that any student of masters would wishfully think of when all that he has believed of himself is to be unique, creative and extraordinary. Mr. Tolia focusing over the importance of innovation led the so called thinkers from the batch of Spartans ponder as to how well one could strike a balance in between growth, power and innovation. In this labyrinth of opportunities, one is usually busy looking at the closed doors of missed chances when all the while one fails to identify the open door marked by the path of innovation. Chetan Tolia after a brief suggestion over the importance of innovation in an organization delves into the last and the final theme, of that being “The Thinker”

“One thing that cannot be outsourced is the ability to think. Don’t outsource it to your boss, to your friends and colleagues; don’t outsource it to anybody”

Leveraging once potential can be measured by the various techniques that can be identified with, one of them is the immense power that every human holds in the power of thinking. All one needs to know is to question “why?” and not settle for any half hearted information that one desires for.

Before I could rest my pen for the day, I could see those faces of wonder mixed with satisfaction which one experiences after a best in class talks. Mr. Chetan Tolia in the paramount of the time and amidst an experiential conversation paved the path to success by just three stepping stones.

“I would like to leave you with these three key words to reflect on Nurturing, innovation and thinking.”

And right after the post conclave candid discussion with students sitting on the stairs of amphitheatre, one would marvel how can there be such a remarkable amalgamation of simplicity with power, of intelligence and understanding. One need not be a rocket scientist to cherish an over the coffee conversation but one surely needs to be a Spartan to realize such an experience amidst one of the largest events at the Great Lakes Institute of Management.

“Stay where you work, develop domain expertise and innovate. There is no better way to reach for the top”

There comes a moment when you relate to the meaning of being in your Alma mater, such an experience for us was this talk on a surreal evening. Where every Spartan believed and felt their true reason to learn, imbibe and explore under the institution regarded for its values. The event came to a closure with a clouded sky and a mild rain as Spartans took course for rest of the day with a volley match and assignments galore, with deep eminence from an unforgettable talk.

As thunder poured, Bistro Anna ready with his steaming pot of milk assuming the stream of hostlers who invariably would jump in… the night leisurely delved in few cups of coffee, exams, discussions over the event, laughter, music and poetry…

“Delusionary vision, you might hardly care

Of while you defy, those doors of Satan divide

A path for truth, few good men, sometimes for poor a merciful disdain

Men fight their battles, O Spartans of Sparta

Men fight courageous, indefinably insane

And then you would see, the cloudless thunder

When 300 would join for the end of a game

Those rebel for the kill some bleeding to death

Men fight their battles, where few would arise

O Spartans of Sparta and win thy name”

~

By

Debashree Chatterjee