Marketing Symposium held at SCMHRD
The 3rd edition of the Annual Marketing Symposium organised by Symbiosis Centre for Management and Human Resources Developement(SCMHRD), in association with the Sanjay Kakade Group, was held at the Symbiosis Infotech Campus on 20th and 21st December. The theme for this year’s edition was ‘Evolving Consumer Trends’. Eminent industry experts on sectors from Retail to advertising graced the occasion and consumer trends evolving in their respective industries were discussed and debated upon. The highlight of this year’s edition was Mr. Prahlad Kakkar, legendary ad film director, known for his making some of India’s most memorable TV advertisements, who graced the occasion with his charismatic demeanour and insights into the Indian consumer’s thought process.
Day 1 highlights
The event was inaugurated by Mr. Raghu Pillai, CEO - Reliance Retail, who spoke about the huge potential for marketers in what he termed the “India-2” segment. He was followed by Mr. Kedar Deshpande, Head Retail – Edelweiss, who discussed the trends in the equity markets, and Mr. Zahir Abbas, Associate Director - Technopak Advisors, who gave an insight into some very recent consumer trends.
The afternoon session saw Ms. Kanupriya Didwania, SCMHRD alumnus and Manager - Special Projects at Perfetti Van Melle India who stressed on the importance of unconventional marketing and how it helped Perfetti manage the downturn. Next up, Mr. Pradeep Lokhande, Founder - Rural Relations, spoke on the emerging importance of rural marketing. He was followed by Mr. Perry Goes, Senior VP, Strategic Planning and Business Analysis-United Breweries Ltd., who spoke about the evolution of beer market in India and how UB has been receptive to the changing needs of the Indian consumers. This was followed by Ricerca, the paper presentation contest. In a closely contested competition, the team from Indian School of Business (ISB) Hyderabad, comprising of Sumona Basu Majumdar & Aditya Bhargava beat the other two finalists from ISB and IIM Lucknow.
Day 2 highlights
Day 2 was graced by the Principal-Director, Symbiosis University Mrs. Vidya Yeravdekar, Mrs. Usha Kakade of the Sanjay Kakade Group. This was followed by Mr. Partha Banerjee, Sr. VP(Tech)- Mahindra and Mahindra, presenting a detailed view of the current Indian auto industry. Mr. Jose Varkey - VP, Sales and Operations, Reliance Petroleum spoke on the petroleum industry and Mr. Subodh Srivastav - COO, Systema Shyam TeleServises Ltd, gave a detailed picture of the price wars happening in the Indian telecom sector. The afternoon saw India’s stalwarts in the field of media and advertising, Cinematographer – Director Mr. Mahesh Aney, Photographer - Film Maker, Shantanu Sheorey and ad guru Mr Prahlad Kakkar discussing the making of some of the best ads ever made in India and in the process, how ad makers feel the pulse of the consumer’s changing habits.
The 2-day event was an eye opener for all - at a time when world markets are slowly recuperating from the aftermath of an economic slowdown and the spotlight shifting to Indian markets, it is important for marketers to know and gauge the changing consumer preferences.
