* Building, measuring and managing brand equity
* Gauging the effectiveness of a brand
* Development of a transformational brand strategy
* Inspiring employees to live brand
* Brand conflicts and consumer choices
The first one to speak was Mr. Sudhir Sharma, Managing partner Chromosome advisory and consulting. He started with the concept of brands and the origination of the same, giving us the concept that brand came from the word burning. The path breaking presentation made by him was a perfect way to kick off the mega event, he gave us insights into how and when did brand came into existence into India. Marketing strategies and branding existed in India way back in 7383 BC when Valmiki wrote the “Ramayana” .According to Mr. Sudhir Sharma “Ram” is the biggest brand that is sold in India and will continue to be so.
He said that it took an eternity for some one to recognize the potential “The Ramayana” had and it was not until the 16th century when Tulsidas brought “The Ramayana” and “Ram” into the world of the common man and since then there had been no looking back for the brand “Ram”, the least promoted but the biggest brand in India.
The next speaker was Mr. Sundarajan, AVP HCL Technologies Ltd. who is involved extensively in the enterprise brand building activities at HCL. Mr. Sundarajan brought with him a fresh concept of how brands are built. All students were given valuable insights about the lifespan of a brand building. He shared with all of us the methodology with which HCL was made a potent brand in the market. This was lacking some time back because there was an air of confusion about the market targeted by HCL. He made it clear to all of us, that how he went about the tough job on his hand, and showed us some of the advertisements that had been a part of the marketing campaign of HCL, explaining us the meaning and significance of all the advertisements of HCL which had been a major part of their marketing strategy off late.
The third presentation was taken by Mr. Praful Mishra CEO Netcarrots.com. He cracked a lot of jokes and made the atmosphere light. Mr. Praful shared his experiences of working with Microsoft, JCPenney, Mary Kay Cosmetics, Hewlett Packard, Dell, GE, Hero Honda Passport program etc. for market research, advertising, direct marketing and consultancy. His main effort was to make us all understand that consistency in performance is what made difference from the companies that have created brands and those who have failed to do so.
The fourth session was taken by Mr. Lokesh Aggarwal, VP SRS Retail. He made us to write down 1) the 10 brands we remember the most 2) the values we adore in any brand 3) the limitations we hate in any brand 4) Who contributes to create and carry a brand 5) as an employee what you expect from your company etc. He then made us understand the mission, values, and vision of a brand and the path to make it a successful one. And finally explained how branding is strategized in retail sector.
And finally, we had a panel discussion wherein questions were posed about successful brands. The guest speakers gave a great value addition to the students with the day long event