A Special Convocation preceded the marketing conclave where KIIT DU proudly conferred the Doctor of Science (Honoris Causa) on Mr. Hari Mohan Bangur, Chairman of Shree Cement Ltd., in recognition of his outstanding contributions to Indian industry, nation-building, and social responsibility. A visionary leader, Mr. Bangur has transformed Shree Cement into one of India’s top three cement companies, pioneering sustainable practices and industry-first innovations. His leadership has not only reshaped the cement sector but also strengthened India’s industrial growth and social development through philanthropy and welfare initiatives.

Prof. Kumar Mohanty, Director, KSOM, gave the Welcome Address and elaborated on the conclave’s theme. Mr. Hari Mohan Bangur who was also the keynote speaker of the 16^th National Marketing Conclave reflected on his journey in business and the evolution of marketing in a growing economy. He emphasized that modern marketing is about building confidence and trust, and that technology alone cannot create excellence. He shared insights from his own career, stressing the importance of books, good mentors, and the almighty in guiding personal and professional growth. He further shared lessons on hard work, values, and meaningful use of resources, while highlighting the importance of social responsibility. His address inspired the audience to focus on excellence and long-term impact rather than just immediate success.

Prof. Saranjit Singh, Vice Chancellor, KIIT DU in his address talked about the recent accolades and rankings of KIIT DU and credited the University’s success to its Hon’ble Founder, Dr. Achyuta Samanta. This was followed by vote of thanks from Prof. Jnyana Ranjan Mohanty, Registrar, KIIT DU.

The conclave featured a panel discussion on “The Advertiser of Tomorrow: How AI Is Reshaping Creativity, Media, and the Consumer Mind,” moderated by Mr. Gaurav Rajput, Chief Marketing Officer, Bennett Coleman & Co. Ltd., The Times of India; with panelists Mr. Devang Bhojani, General Manager, Mixion, GMM Pfaudler; Mr. Dominic Vijay, Head of Marketing, Ajio Business, Reliance Retail; Mr. Saahit Togaru, Head of Marketing & Strategy, Iris Business Services; Mr. Sujoy Sahu, Associate Vice President, Cheil India, Samsung Group; and Mr. T.M. Ramakrishnan, Senior Vice President, JioMart Digital, Reliance Retail. The panel deliberated on how AI is transforming marketing and advertising, enhancing creativity, improving operational efficiency, and customer engagement. They emphasized that while technology provides powerful tools, its true potential is realized only when combined with human values, strategic thinking, and ethical considerations. The panel highlighted the importance of sustainability, inclusivity, and consumer-centric approaches in shaping the future of marketing, providing students and professionals with practical insights and guidance to navigate a rapidly evolving industry landscape.

Post-lunch, the conclave transitioned into interactive workshop sessions designed to foster focused engagement between industry experts and students. The session featured insights from distinguished industry leaders, including Mr. Amitosh Pal, Business Head, East Cluster I Branch Head, East, Indian Languages, Network18 Media & Investments Limited; Mr. Amit Kumar, Area Manager, Tata Motors; Mr. Rakshit Sinha, Brand Strategist, Aequitas Investments; Mr. Arya Gourav, Senior Consultant, Digital Transformation, Infosys BPM; Mr. Achinto Mahto, Country Head, Laundry Sales India, Electrolux Professional; Mr. John Gabriel, Senior Partner, Interactive Business, Tata Consultancy Services; Mr. Nandakumar K, Vehicle Sales, Isuzu Motors; Ms. Shrawanti Saha, Senior Vice President, Sales Business Development, Carnelian Asset Management and Advisors Pvt. Ltd.; Mr. Tony Sebastian, Partner, Marketing Strategy and Digital Transformation, TCS Interactive, Tata Consultancy Services; Mr. Arup Roy, Zonal Head, East, Trade and OEM, Greenply Samet; and Ms. Sunanda Chak, Chief Operating Officer, 4 Minute Mile Marketing Services Pvt. Ltd. The workshops were on topics like Data Driven & Tech Enabled:Marketing That is Smatter not Louder; Climate x Creativity:Designing Youth-Led Climate Action Campaigns; Influencers vs. Advocates: Who Should You Partner With?; Beyond Discounts: Loyalty Programs that Actually Work and Why We Pay What We Pay: Pricing Psychology Uncovered.

The Marketing Conclave successfully connected theory with industry practice. It provided a dynamic platform for students, faculty, and professionals to connect.

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Prof. Joydeep Biswas set the context of the conclave. He highlighted the importance of sustainability in marketing and the need for inclusivity on various fronts. He stressed on the importance of innovation and creativity in marketing strategies and the idea of building brands around sustainability.

Dr. Sumita Mishra, Dean, KSOM, in her  address, welcomed the guests and introduced the corporate dignitaries to the audience. She stressed how KIIT and KSOM have always been committed to sustainability and inclusivity.

Dr. Tapan Kumar Panda, Pro-Vice Chancellor, KSOM and KSRM in his speech highlighted that sustainability and inclusivity are not mutually exclusive, but rather complementary concepts. He gave several examples of how businesses can make their products and services more sustainable and inclusive, such as, using recycled materials, reducing energy consumption, and making their products accessible to people with disabilities. He also spoke about the strategic challenges, frontline flexibility, and data science skills that are needed to implement sustainability and inclusivity in marketing.

The inaugural session was followed by a Panel Discussion. It was on the topic “Consumer Inclusivity in Digital Marketing”. It was moderated by Ms Nandini Chatterjee, Chief Marketing & Communications Officer at PwC. Other distinguished panelists included Mr A N Sasmal, Sales & Marketing Head at Shibaura Machine India Private Limited; Mr Siju Narayan, Chief Experience Officer at RexEmptor Consult; Mr Vishesh Sharma, Chief Marketing Officer at Bajaj Financial Securities Limited; Mr Shishir Ranjan, Founder Director of Farmisto; and Mr Akhil Minocha, VP of Sales for Enterprises and Global Capability Centers at Cast Software.

The panel discussed on the importance of reducing bias in organizations and the reputational risks associated with discrimination. They discussed about the challenges in the field of marketing technology, generative AI and the shift towards an “Inclusive Consumer” concept. They further emphasized on the present and future of digital media and how technology can sustain inclusivity. The panel concurred that promoting inclusivity, addressing biases, and harnessing technology is imperative for a more inclusive consumer experience in the digital marketing era.Top of Form

Dr Kumar Mohanty, Director – Corporate Relations, KIIT DU, felicitated the guests and gave the Vote of Thanks. He emphasized that KSOM & KIIT focus on enhancing the employability of their students, with an emphasis on deployability rather than just employability. He also stressed that KIIT places a high priority on fostering collaborations with industries, considering it a crucial aspect for any global university.

The panel discussion was followed by seven parallel interactive workshops on topics related to Emerging Marketing Trends and Roles in the AI-driven Era, From Instincts to Intel: How Data Insights Can Power Smarter Content, Automation in Marketing – Are we Losing Human Touch and Driving Growth and Building Brands in a Connected World. These workshops provided participants with valuable insights and diverse perspectives in Marketing.

The conclave provided students with an opportunity to interact with business leaders from the industry. It created a platform to connect industry professionals, academia and students.

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Dr. Saroj Mahapatra, Director, KSOM & Konclave Chair gave the Welcome Address. He extended his welcome and greetings on behalf of Dr. Achutya Samanta, Hon’ble Founder,  KIIT & KISS, to everyone present in the event. He introduced the corporate dignitaries and set the context for the day. Dr. Mahapatra addressed the students regarding the tumultuous time ahead for businesses and how ‘Quality, Time and doing the Right Things’ with the help of technology can help us overcome the challenges ahead.

Hon’ble Vice Chancellor, KIIT DU, Dr. Sasmita Samanta addressed the gathering and gave an insightful speech on the theme – New Business Models in the New Normal. She said businesses must communicate efficiently to meet customer demands and improve customer loyalty.

The keynote address was given by Mr Lalit Agarwal, Founder & MD V-Mart. His speech revolved around the idea of inculcating a culture of Customer Centric approach to be successful in the new normal. He talked about the importance of integrating the business environment to create value/profit for all stakeholders. Mr. Agarwal opined that change is inevitable and companies need to have their own exclusive strategy to remain close and relevant to consumers.

The inaugural session was followed by two panel discussions. The first panel discussion was on the topic – Data Driven Marketing and Consumer Privacy. The panel highlighted the fact that in today’s era, data is very essential for micro personalisation. This level of marketing approach is critical for the target customers as it strengthens the relationship in the long run.

The second panel discussion was on the topic – Digital World in the Post-covid times. The panellists talked about the changes in the digital world in post-covid times and how businesses need to adapt, up-skill and re-skill themselves. This holds true across industries like healthcare, entertainment, education and personal lives. They also concurred on how the only thing that’s constant is change and therefore adapting to it is imperative in business.

The second half of the conclave consisted of eight interactive workshops on topics related to Human to Human Marketing, Storytelling in New Age Marketing, Future of Mobility and The Stakes Behind Personalized Advertisements.

The Marketing conclave provided students with an opportunity to interact with business leaders from the industry. The conclave created a platform to connect industry professionals, academia and students.

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Prof. Saroj Mahapatra, Director, KSOM welcomed the esteemed guests on behalf of Dr. Achyuta Samanta, Hon’ble Founder,  KIIT and KISS. He introduced the theme and set the context of the conclave. He said that the challenge for organizations today is to save the human interface from being drowned under a deluge of algorithms.  He also expressed that the pandemic had fast-tracked the process of technology adoption in various fields of management.

Prof. Sasmita Samanta, Pro Vice-Chancellor, KIIT DU, in her address talked of human emotions and human interventions being extremely important behind all marketing studies and processes. She further added that data is and will enhance the knowledge of all stakeholders of an organization.

Prof. Hrushikesha Mohanty, Vice-Chancellor, KIIT DU, in his address, narrated his experiences with early forms of computer technology and AI. He opined that the human touch is very important when it comes to handling data and AI.

Mr. Yugal Sikri, Managing Director, RPG Life Sciences was the Keynote speaker. He said in the future the challenge would be to amalgamate physicality with technology, which he referred to as “phygital.” He emphasized that developing and distributing customized products for various customer segments has become important today.

Prof. Satya Narayan Mishra, Dean, KIIT School of Management, gave the vote of thanks and spoke about fusing the art of AI with the beauty of Human Relations to bolster marketing.

The inaugural session was followed by two panel discussions. The first panel discussion was on the topic – “Dynamics of Artificial Intelligence in Customer Relationship Management”. It was moderated by the Conclave Convener Prof. Joydeep Biswas, KIIT School of Management. The panel discussed the relationship between AI and CRM, as well as the importance of creativity in marketing and how the growth of AI would positively affect innovation in business. The panelists said that BFSI, E-commerce and OTT have been the forerunners in implementing AI.

The second panel discussion was on the topic – “Insulating Customers from Piracy of Private Data”. The various discussion points were the safety of business and consumer data, appropriate use of data and systems to protect data. The panelists concurred that for data privacy and to stop data piracy, both consumers and businesses have to be responsible.

The second half of the conclave consisted of nine interactive workshops on topics related to Influencer Marketing, Automation in Marketing, Data Mining and Market Research. The conclave provided students with an opportunity to interact with business leaders from the industry. It created a platform to connect industry professionals, academia and students.

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Prof. Saroj Mohapatra, Director, KSOM welcomed all the guests and set the context of the conclave. He spoke about the changing mindset of customers and the need for corporate’s to adapt to this change. He mentioned how data science and analytics have started playing a huge role in understanding the consumer.

In her inaugural address, Prof. Sasmita Samanta, Pro Vice Chancellor, KIIT Deemed to be University spoke about the changing face of marketing over the past three decades. Marketing from being product centric has now become consumer centric. She quoted from the works of Philip Kotler, Steve Jobs and Warren Buffet and highlighted how human values are becoming increasingly important in marketing.

Mr. Aseem Soni, CEO and board member of 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 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.

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 demonetisation, 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 lifecycle, the product category, the market and the ability of the company to retain and give value to customers is 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.

This conclave was one of four national level conclaves which are annually organized 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.

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Prof. Anil Bajpai welcomed all the guests to the 10th edition of Marketing Conclave and spoke about how Marketing analytics is fundamentally changing both business and consumer marketing across the customer life cycle. He was of the strong opinion that analytics is going to form the backbone of new age marketing strategy and is going to result in better cash-flow.

This years’ conclave witnessed three Panel Discussions followed by Marketics – innovative group coaching sessions.

The first panel discussion was on the topic – ‘Mapping Customer DNA.’ The panel comprised of Mr. Navoch Mohanayak, Strategy Consulting Leader, Frost and Sullivan; Ms. Pallavi Palkar, National head – Tier 2 business, Bigbasket; Mr. Rajni Ranjan, Co-founder, Kraftbuy.com & Mr. Siju Narayan, GM – APAC, Loyalty Juggernaut Inc. are members of our first panel. Mr. Damandeep Singh Soni, Startup Growth Consultant moderated the discussion. The panel started discussing about how customer DNA has changed over the past decade. Consumers today have become more aware and informed because of exposure to various media. From the company’s point of view, data has been democratized and hence it becomes easy to carry out initial product testing without much cost in today’s world. The key insight from the discussion was that with a proper understanding of customer DNA, organizations will be able to bring customers to the center of the business equation, leading to greater loyalty and value.

The second panel discussion was on the theme – ‘Marketing Analytics will replace Marketers with Machine?’ The panel comprised of Mr. Lalatendu Panda, Sr.VP & CMO – Value Format, Reliance Retail; Mr. Parthasarathy Vallabhajosyula, Co-founder – Analytics Quotient; Mr. Rahul Sarangi, Global Head – Content and Business, The Viral Fever and Mr. Vinamra Pandiya, Founder & CEO – Qtrove. Ms. Banoja Acharya, Sr. VP – Nielsen moderated the discussion. The panel deliberated on various topics such as omnipresence of brands, the importance of network and 360 degree marketing approach. The panel agreed that in future we can expect more localized, personalized value offerings setting a globalized context for customer expectations. Thus, this ecosystem will become Glocal (global + local) in the future with both marketers and machines working side by side to offer greater value to the customers.

The third panel discussion deliberated on the topic – ‘Is Conventional Marketing getting Disrupted?’ Mr. Chiradeep Samal, Product Manager, Global Marketing Effectiveness – Nielsen; Mr. Vikas Lachhwani, Director and Co-Founder – MCaffeine & Mr. Yuvraj Mehta, Head – Corporate Brand Management & Communications – Larsen & Toubro were the esteemed panelists. Mr. Ramesh Krishnamurthy, CEO and Founder – Delight Foods acted as the moderator. The panel first discussed about conventional marketing topics such as market research, product development, product management, content & media and user generated content. The discussion then moved on to new age marketing tools like influencer marketing, digital and social media marketing. The panel agreed that though disruptive innovation is inevitable irrespective of industry segment, conventional marketing will always remain relevant.

The conclave was one of three national level conventions which are annually organized by KIIT School of Management in the areas of HR, Marketing and Finance, to bring industry closer to academia. 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.

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The conclave was inaugurated by the Mr. Navonil Chatterjee, Joint President, Rediffusion and Mr. Sagar Daryani, Co-Founder and CEO, Wow Momos.

Prof. Debasish Das, Director, KSOM set the context and spoke about how technology is revolutionising the way marketers are engaging with customers across different demographic segments.

Mr. Navonil gave few marketing tips for the future – focussing on rational and real aspects of the products, importance of creating app platforms, product personalization and keeping marketing content & communication simple.

Mr. Sagar spoke about his journey of creating Wow Momos. Drawing inspiration from the success story of Pizzas in India, he revolutionized the concept of momos in the Indian context. He spoke about converting adversities into opportunities.

The first panel discussion was on ‘Marketing to Gen Z.’ The panel consisted of Mr. Mahesh Shah, CEO, HomeTown at Future Retail, Mr. A L Jagannath, Senior Director, Dell-EMC Alliance at VMware, Mr. Jaytilak Majumdar, Head- Electronics and Consumer durables at Havells India, Mr.Spandan Mishra, Creative Producer, MX Player, Mr. Nilanjan Roy, Head, Cigna Global Health & Group Benefits, Cigna TTK Health Insurance and Ms. Prachi Mohapatra, CMO, fbb. The panel concurred that the attention span of Gen Z is a few seconds and it is a challenge for marketers to capture their attention. Influencers are gaining more acceptance than celebrities as they are considered to be more authentic and trustworthy. Marketers in future have to be genuine in communicating the functionalities or the aspirational values of a brand and create appropriate touch-points. Technology would be the driver for future marketing strategy.

The second panel discussion was on the topic “End of Consumer Engagement or Rise of Customer Empowerment”. The panel consisted of Mr. Anirudh Patil, Director, McKinsey & Company; Mr. Debraj Tripathy, Ex-MD Mediacom South Asia; Mr. Shabir Momin, MD & CEO, Zenga TV; Mr.Vinay Chak, Director, 4MM; Mr. Manvendra Singh, CEO, Davidoff and Ms. Sohini Das, AVP Strategy, Leo Burnett. The panellists said that customer is going to become more empowered in the future because of the increased usage of social media. An engaged customer helps in increasing positive word of mouth on such platforms. Brands can sustain by being authentic in their communication. The panel concluded that in future amplified customer engagement can happen through innovative marketing strategies resulting in increased customer empowerment.

The conclave was one of four national level conventions which are annually organized by KIIT School of Management in the areas of Marketing, HR, Finance and Operations Management to bring industry closer to the academia. This year’s Marketing conclave provided students with an opportunity to interact with business leaders and policy makers for holistic learning. Twelve workshops related to Marketing were also conducted as part of the conclave. The conclave was received enthusiastically by industry professionals, academia and students.

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Dr. Achyuta Samanta, Hon’ble Founder, KIIT University and KISS Tribal University, welcomed the dignitaries of the conclave. He highlighted the importance of digital marketing in the current era. He said that even though this is the age of marketing, companies have to create robust products and services to sustain. He shared his experiences and insights in developing KIIT and KISS into competitive world-class educational institutes.

The theme of the first panel discussion was ‘Consumer Power in Digital Age.’ The panellists were Mr. Sanjay Tripathy, Co-Founder and CEO, Agilio; Mr. Rohit Khurana, Co-Founder and COO, Tagbin Services; Mr. Prasad Routray, Vice President and Business Head, Airtel, Mumbai; Mr. Krishanu Chakravarty, CEO, Farmers’ Fortune India and Mr. D.J.Dutta, Vice President, Sales and Operations, Altitude Software. The panel deliberated on the power that a consumer wields in a digitally connected world. The issues discussed ranged from cybersecurity, the need and utility of Omnichannel marketing, the juxtaposition of traditional 4 Ps of marketing with the emerging 8 S of digital marketing and the requirement of brands to connect with the consumer and customize products as per their needs.

The second panel discussed on the topic ‘Digital Capabilities of Firm’. The panellists were Mr Rahul Kohli, CEO, Indo Gulf Fertilizer; Mr Deep Prakash Pant, Practice Head – Digital at BT – Global Services India; Mr Girija Shanker, Head – New Markets, India/South Asia, IBM Global business Services; Mr Vivek Merani, MD Magnon eg+; Mr Swapnil Dixit, Lead Product Alliances (Dev. Platform & Offline Innovation) and Co-Founder and former CEO, Jagriti Yatra. The panel said that the use of technology is imperative in enhancing core business processes and improving efficiency. With the use of technology, marketing departments today, are able to quickly assimilate and synthesize a lot of consumer data. The panel agreed that technology enables organizations to reach more customers at a lesser cost. Interacting with students the panellists asked them to practice the following principles to be successful – ‘Have confidence without attitude; Stay inquisitive, Challenge the status quo and To go beyond themselves.’

The final session of the conclave had eleven informative and interactive workshops with thought-provoking discussions on topics such as Designing a Digital Product, Digital Advertising, Omni Channel Commerce, Next One Billion Digital Consumers and so on.

The conclave was one of the three National Level events organized by KIIT School of Management in the areas of HR, Marketing and Finance to bring the industry closer to the academia. It provided students with an opportunity to interact with business leaders and policymakers for holistic learning.

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The theme of this year’s  conclave was “Digital Marketing – From Silos to Integration“. The event was inaugurated by Prof. Abraham Koshy, IIM-A; Mr. Chakrapani Gollapali, Chief Business Officer, Holidays, Yatra.com; Mr. Maheshwar Peri, Founder and Chairman, Careers 360 in the presence of Prof. P.P. Mathur, Vice Chancellor, KIIT University; Prof. Anil Bajpai, Director, KSOM and Prof. S.N. Mishra, Dean, KSOM.

Prof. P.P. Mathur, in the welcome address highlighted the growing importance of digital marketing for companies. Setting the context, Prof. Abraham Koshy said how consumer behaviour can be divided into pre-purchase, purchase and post purchase behavior. Tracking down these behaviors can help the marketer in engaging the consumers at each stage effectively. Keynote speaker Mr. Chakrapani Gollapali, said how utilizing multiple marketing communication  channels has become important for the modern businesses to survive in today’s competitive market. The discussion became even more interesting when our second keynote speaker, Mr. Maheshwar Peri shared his inspiring journey from investment banking to print media and finally moving on to online media. He stressed that understanding the mindset of the consumer is of prime importance before a product and its delivery mechanism can be designed.

As part of the conclave there were two panel discussions. The first panel discussion was on the theme “Traditional Marketing vs Digital Marketing”. This panel comprised of Mr. Ronak Kumar Samantray, Co-founder, NowFloats, INK Fellow; Mr. Subhobroto Chakroborty, CEO, Martech Agency; Ms. Dharna Dhamija, Office of the Brand Custodian, Group Executive Council, Tata Sons; Mr. Manohar Hotchandani, Director – Business Development, Microsoft. Initiating the discussion, Ms. Dharna said that digital marketing has enabled companies in customizing  marketing communications, targeting customer’s at individual level. Mr. Manohar Hotchandani opined that companies should use due diligence in utilizing the massive online customer related data that is being generated  today. Mr. Subhobroto Chakraborty stressed that it is also important to focus on  rural markets where traditional marketing still dominates and digital marketing has a long way to go. Mr. Ronak discussed how digital media is enabling marketer to utilize technologies like big data, cloud computing etc. to understand consumer buying behaviour and delivering marketers proposition on a real time basis.

“Managing the shift of retail consumer to online” was the theme of the 2nd Panel Discussion. The panelists were Mr. Spandan Mishra, Head- Strategic Planning, Reinfusion Y&R, Screenwriter; Mr. Jyotirmoy Mukherjee, Sr. Vice President Marketing, SBI Card; Mr. Sahan Ray,  AVP – Strategy, Jabong and Mr. Raman Puri, Vice President SVAM International. Mr. Spandan Mishra highlighted how in recent times there is a increase in the Ad-spends  of E -commerce companies in comparison to brick and mortar businesses. Mr. Jyotirmoy Mukherjee said that the number of online financial transactions have increased significantly. Mr. Sahan Ray elaborated on the challenges being faced by E- commerce companies in balancing their growth and profitability.  Mr. Raman Puri said that the current online businesses are catering only to a miniscule percentage of population and the potential of growth is significant.

Ten workshops related to Marketing were also conducted as part of the conclave. This years’ conclave witnessed huge participation from management students, academia and industry practitioners making the event a grand success.

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E-Commerce is one of the most pertinent phenomenon that has led to significant changes in the business fundamentals.

The event was inaugurated by Mr. Sandip Das, Former MD, Reliance Jio Infocomm, Mr. Nitin Seth, President (LCV and Defence), Ashok Leyland and Mr. Peshwa Acharya, Founder, Think As Consumer in the presence of Prof. P.P. Mathur, Vice Chancellor, KIIT University and Prof. Anil Bajpai, Director, KSOM.

Setting the context, Prof. Anil Bajpai spoke about the rapid integration of E-Commerce practices into the business and how marketing definitions are getting re-defined by this phenomenon.

Mr. Sandip Das in his address, said that marketing begins with the identification of consumer needs which helps to develop the product and services accordingly. The job of a marketer is to focus on creating and expanding markets. According to him, the future of business can be categorized into – either Digital or “Dead” Companies. He said, ideation is agnostic to age, rank or designation. It is execution that makes or breaks e-commerce companies. The real test of technology is how it can finally impact the lives of the underprivileged people.

Addressing the gathering, Mr. Nitin Seth emphasised on the fact that we should not forget the basics of marketing while integrating internet in business practices. In auto industry, role of Internet is critical with respect to perception management. The Indian consumer psyche is extremely heterogeneous and it is crucial to have an understanding of the consumer mind-set before exploring business ventures in India.

Mr. Peshwa Acharya, in his speech, said that E-Commerce has given a platform to many budding entrepreneurs. He said that E-Commerce is majorly about commerce with technology acting as a backbone. He spoke about a new phenomenon that has been observed among Indian consumers called “ROPO- Research Offline and Purchase Online.”

As a part of the conclave, three panel discussions were held. The first panel discussion was on ‘Technological and Financial Services: Creating the E-Commerce Ecosystem’ that had Mr. Rajan Pundhir, Head – Franchise Business, Housing.com, Mr. Amal K. Das, Managing Partner & CEO, Good People Consulting LLP, Mr. Anirudha Kawade, Head – Tariffs, Billbachao.com as the panelists.

The second and the third panel discussions were held by industry luminaries on topics like FMCG prospects in E-Commerce and M-Commerce – The Future. The panelists included Mr. Venkateswarlu Nelabhotla, Co-founder and CEO, Vyome Biosciences, Mr. Dilip Panda, GM – Sales & Marketing, Shalimar Group of Companies and Mr. Pawan Tiwari, Co-Founder and Director – Virtual Veda, Prof. Subhasis Ray, XIMB, Mr. Diiliip Mahapatra, Director, Water and Solid Waste Management and Mr. Shubhenjit Chaudhuri, MD, Tata Pigments.

Undergraduate and postgraduate student competitions which were held as part of the conclave, saw pan-India participation. The conclave also saw enthusiastic participation from industry and academia.

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