After students of Kota-based coaching institutes grabbed tops ranks in JEE Advanced 2016, the town was covered with billboards of the toppers and their respective coaching institutes.

Allen Career Institute, which has remained one of the best performers of JEE Advanced 2016 with 4 of its students making it to the First Top 10 Merit list, has the most billboards. Usually, coaching institutes have one billboard in the heart of the city, at Aerodrome Circle, but this year, Allen with its aggressive marketing strategy has put up 3 billboards in a row featuring their AIR 1 Aman Bansal, AIR 2 Bhawesh Dhingra, AIR 3 Kunal Goyal and AIR 9 Gaurav Didwania. Allen has put up similar billboards around several other parts of Kota City like the road leading to the coaching zone of Kota city including Jhalawar Road in Kota City, Rajeev Gandhi Nagar and other places in the city.

When asked about the objective of flashing so many billboards, Naveen Maheshwari, Director, Allen Career Institute, Kota replies that it is a matter of celebration for the institute as its students have bagged the Top Ranks in the JEE Advanced 2016. “Its the same feeling as when a sports team wins any World cup for the country. How many times does one get the opportunity to witness such a mammoth triumph, so such moments need to be celebrated,” he said. 

Similarly, Resonance Coaching Institute has put its billboards outside its institute and other places near the coaching zone. Resonance billboards show its claims of 4,700 selections in JEE Advanced with its top ranker, Utkarsh Gupta who achieved All India Rank 17 in the JEE Advanced. Along with Utkarsh, Resonance has displayed photos and ranks of its other top rankers on their billboards. 

Career Point Institute has also showcased it’s JEE Advanced 2016 toppers along with AIIMS 2016 toppers on their billboard at the Aerodrome circle. Bansal Classes, which had last year’s (JEE Advanced 2015) topper Satwat Jagwani, has flashed their claim of 200,000 selections in IIT-JEE since 1983, the year when Bansal classes opened in Kota. The Bansal Classes billboard also showcases their toppers of JEE Advanced 2016. Likewise, billboards of Motion, Aakash and other coaching institutes can be seen around different parts of the city.

Sources reveal that the billboards are erected every year after JEE Mains, JEE Advanced, AIIMS, and AIPMT exams as an advertising and marketing strategy. Vibrant Academy in its billboards is showcasing their All India Rank 14 Rohit Chaudhary. Apart from the Girls Topper, Riya Singh, there are billboards which feature photos of Chinmaye Awale of Vibrant, who is the topper of Scheduled caste category. Rakesh Sharma, Vice-President, Vibrant Academy said, “The billboards are usually up for several days, which works out better in terms of visibility instead of running newspaper advertisements. Billboards are also eye-catching, so most coaching institutes erect their billboards across the city.”