KIIT School of Management (KSOM), KIIT Deemed to be University organized the 11th National Marketing Konclave on 12th December 2020. The theme of this year’s conclave was – ‘Marketing@New Normal’.
Inaugurating the conclave, Prof. Sasmita Samanta, Pro Vice Chancellor, KIIT Deemed to be University, spoke about the changing landscape of marketing over the past three decades. From being product centric it has now become consumer centric. Quoting from the works of Philip Kotler, Steve Jobs and Warren Buffet, she highlighted how human values are becoming increasingly important in marketing.
Mr. Aseem Soni, CEO and Board Member, Modern Foods India was the keynote speaker. He spoke about the importance of understanding what the consumer wants. With the consumer becoming more demanding and discerning, marketers need to be on their toes not only to adapt to situations but also to prepare for the future. He discussed about the impact of e-commerce in India and the importance of retaining consumers in this highly competitive market. He said that the marketer today has to give value for money and a trust factor to the customer in order to remain at the top.
Earlier, Prof. Saroj Mohapatra, Director, KSOM welcomed the guests and set the context of the conclave. He spoke about the changing mindset of customers and the need for corporates to adapt to this change. He mentioned how data science and analytics have started playing a huge role in understanding the consumer.
The inaugural session was followed by two panel discussions facilitated by the Conclave Convenor, Prof. Joydeep Biswas. The first panel discussion was on the theme – ‘How the Marketer can create Value for Consumers, Firms, and Society in the New Normal?’ The panel comprised of Mr. Rajnish Bhasin, Managing Director, Marwana Foods who moderated the discussion. The other esteemed panellists were Mr. Sanjit Satapathy, Business Leader, CB Group, 3M; Mr. Allwin Agnel, Founder/CEO, Pagalguy.com; Mr. Rajiv Mitra, CEO, Groupe Lactalis and Ms. Priya Gilbile, COO, ManipalCigna Health Insurance. The panel was of the opinion that change in marketing has always been inevitable. Various events like demonetization, GST implementation and now the pandemic have kept changing the marketers and consumers perspective. Handling uncertainties and pressure has been the forte of successful marketers. The panel concurred that there is ‘hope and scope’ for growth in spite of these adverse circumstances.
The second panel discussion was based on the theme – “Will there be a Change of Equation between the Marketing Spend and Revenue Forecast”. The panel was moderated by Mr. Sandeep Agarwal, VP & Country Head for Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg Markets -Tech Mahindra. Other eminent speakers were Mr. Raghu Reddy, Chief Business Officer – Xiaomi India; Mr. Saumar Deka, Marketing Director – High Radius, Mr. Kiran Patil, CEO & Founder – Growisto; Mr. Shreekanta Kumar Parida, Vice President (Marketing) – SHV Energy Pvt Ltd (SuperGas) and Mr. Prasad Routray, Head Corporate & Alliances – Airtel Payments Bank.
Most of the panellists agreed that there is a direct correlation between marketing and revenue, though a few of the panellists cited a few real life examples as to how it may not be true every time. The stage of product life cycle, the product category, the market and the ability of the company to retain and give value to customers are the key for revenue generation on a sustainable basis. The panel believed that analytics and technology will start playing a greater role in strategizing marketing.
The second half of the conclave had eight workshops for the students with topics related to Marketing Environment, Realigning Sales force, Consumer Behaviour and Technology, Customer Based Marketing Strategies, Reinventing Retail and Changes in Consumer Behaviour Post-Pandemic.
Marketing Conclave is one of four national level conclaves organized annually by KIIT School of Management, the other three being HR, Finance and Business Analytics. This year’s marketing conclave provided students with an opportunity to interact with business leaders for holistic learning. The conclave was received enthusiastically by industry professionals, academia and students.