In today’s rapidly evolving marketplace, marketing has evolved into a data-driven, customer-centric function. Marketers are at the forefront of this transformation. Keeping this in perspective, KIIT School of Management’s 15th National Marketing Conclave, was themed on “Marketing in the Age of Disruption”.

The context of the Konclave was set by Prof. Joydeep Biswas, Conclave Convenor. Prof. Biswas highlighted that the business environment is going through a period of profound changes. He said that the event is aimed to inspire businesses to adopt responsible and forward-thinking marketing practices.

Prof. Suva Kanta Mohanty, Director, KSOM gave the welcome address, and introduced the corporate dignitaries. Prof. Mohanty emphasized that increasing uncertainities, technological advancement, globalization and changing socio-economic demography have shaped consumer preferences and buying behaviour significantly. To maintain an essence of relevance and to stay abreast with consumer, marketers have used various tools like influencer marketing, AI and user generated content. Still marketers have to do a lot more as understanding human mind is not a simple task.

Prof. Saranjit Singh, VC, KIIT DU in his address talked about the various initiatives that KIIT is undertaking to strengthen industry academia connect in order for education to stay relevant. He said that industrial 4.0 has resulted in a sea change in the educational curriculum development. He also stressed that students should clearly understand the concept of disruptive marketing and how IT platforms, AI and Generative AI are impacting the functioning of business verticals significantly.

Mr Partha Sinha, President and Chief Brand Officer, Bennett, Colemon & Co Ltd., gave the keynote address. Mr. Sinha is one of the most renowned Advertising Strategist in the media world. He has worked with companies like Citibank N.A, Ogilvy & Mather, Zee, Publicis, BBH, & McCann World Group. Bennett, Coleman & Co Ltd is the company that publishes The Times of India, The Economic Times, and many other marquee newspapers.

He provided a keen insight into how brand building in the age of disruption is synonymous to brand building in the era of intelligence. He further delved into the concept by relating intelligence to hyper-personalization, enhanced customer experience, data driven decision making and automation & efficiency. He felt that intelligence is now democratized with Generative AI being used for brand naming, brand personality, website copy, on-page SEO, customer persona and marketing strategies. He strongly opined that the concept of empathy which is usally related to society must be an integral part of business strategy and decisions. He said that success in volatile environments depends on the ability to apply data compassionately in response to new opportunities. He believes that successful brands of the future will be those who care about people, not branding.

Prof. Sumita Mishra, Dean, KSOM, proposed the Vote of Thanks. She reiterated that KSOM & KIIT always prioritize industry collaborations and it is an imperative parameter for any global University.

The inaugural session was followed by LSIP (Large Scale Interactive Processes) headed by top Marketing professionals. Ms Prachi Mohapatra, Strategy Head, South & Maharashtra Cluster, Disney-Star; Mr Radhakrishnan, Director, Tata Starquik; Mr V Narayanan, Head – Marketing Rane Aftermarket Business, RANE Group; Mr Shyamlal Patnaik, Joint President – Global Business Head, Aditya Birla; Mr Lalit Tejwani, Chief Marketing Officer, Hind Rectifiers Ltd; Mr Kuldeepak Sharma, Associate Vice President, Amararaja Energy & Mobility Limited; Mr Lalatendu Panda, Sr VP & Business Head, JioMart Grocery; Mr Siddhartha Dash, Executive Vice President, UTI AMC Ltd; Mr Indranil Chaudhury, Corporate Business Development Head, Aquatech International and Mr Amit Mathur, President – Sales & Marketing, Finolex Cables Ltd. These are closed group interaction of the students with the corporate leaders. The topics ranged from Humanizing Marketing in a Digital World, The Evolving Consumer Journey in a Disrupted Marketplace, The Power and Ethics of Data-Driven Marketing to Disruptive Pricing Models in the Current Times and Green Solutions in the Age of Disruption.

The conclave was preceded by a National Level marketing Simulation Competition. It saw participation from over 1300 teams from across top B Schools of India.

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.