To Boldly Go…

“When you reach for the stars, you may not quite get one; but in doing so you’re not left with a handful of mud either.” …..Leo Burnett, Chicago 1926.

This has been my credo ever since I graduated college in Mumbai in 1997. I have always had a curious bent of mind and have enjoyed probing the undiscovered and the undone. I have found this process to be enriching, enlightening, and at most times, rewarding in some sense or the other.

For sometime now, I have had a fascination with communication- it excites me to think of the effect a message may have on a disparate set of people and how people’s needs and wants may be influenced in favor of certain goods and services. I have always enjoyed and found challenging, the process of communicating effectively, creatively and in an engaging fashion with a wide variety of people. My “audience” has widened exponentially to include not only my parents, friends, and teachers, but also business associates, colleagues, clients and their customers.

I think it would be pertinent to briefly reflect upon my experiences in India, in the field of marketing communications prior to my arrival in the US. I completed my undergraduate studies from the University of Bombay in Bombay, India, majoring in Accounting and Finance. As an undergrad, and a high-schooler before that, I’ve always had a creative bent of mind. A trait and a personality type that I didn’t think would really be the right fit for what I thought was the extremely dry profession of Accounting (however, with all the creative things happening in the Accounting profession these days, maybe I was too quick to judge). Upon graduating college I was fortunate to land a job at BDDP, a prestigious advertising agency in Bombay. I worked at BDDP for two years on the Nilfisk-Forbes account in both creative and public relations account management. As a trainee copywriter I was involved in the creation of two internal communication films for Eureka Forbes Silver Circle Club and International Sales Division respectively. As a Junior Account Executive I specialized in Internal Corporate Communications. Through this experience I learnt that in order to further my career I would need to get a Management degree. I enrolled into the MBA program at Welingkar’s Institute (affiliated to Temple University, PA) in Bombay and specialized in Marketing. Graduate school was a great experience for me. Being able to choose an area of concentration and focus completely on it was an extremely motivating and rewarding experience. The experience molded me into a true team player and helped me to develop leadership skills.

Being born under the sign of the Water Bearer, my Aquarian traits of originality and inventiveness, I believe, lent itself to the field of communications. My experiences in advertising taught me a lot. Whilst at Saatchi, Rediffusion |DYR and D’Arcy(now Publicis) (on various projects) I learnt the importance of research in the communication creation process – specifically Usage & Attitude (U&A) studies. Since communications are meant to be liked before they can be persuasive, the advertiser must understand the psychology of his audience. Working at these esteemed organizations exposed me to some very interesting techniques like, qualitative and quantitative studies, dip-stick surveys, focus group discussions and customer behavior observation.

The idea that effective communications needed to be entertaining and engaging was driven home through my experiences working with Leo Entertainment at Leo Burnett.

At Leo Burnett, my main account was The Hallmark Entertainment Channel. At the time Hallmark was making its foray into the ultra-competitive S.E. Asian and Australian satellite television market. I was given the responsibility for the promotion of their movies and television programs. Through certain tactical and strategic efforts we were able to increase the channel’s viewership significantly over a six month period. My most memorable and challenging campaign was the StarTrek Voyager campaign. This was an edgy outdoor, radio and internet advertising campaign. Keeping in mind the content of the show, I put together a unique on-ground event concept that was intended to be pilot tested in India’s key meters. I envisioned a ‘Be a Captain for a Day’ campaign that allowed members of the public (present on site) to sample the show. A truck was designed to resemble the starship USS Voyager. We set these trucks up at key locations (hang-out spots) in the city. People were invited to enter the back of the truck – where the bridge of the ship was recreated. Sitting on the Captain’s chair, a person would play a simulated videogame, with all the thrills of having the ship toss and turn, just like on the show. If the participant completed the game successfully, he/she would be given a certificate that stated he was deemed fit to enter Starfleet Academy and to tune in to Hallmark Channel weekdays from 9 to 11 pm for details. This ‘stunt’ generated both interest in the show and awareness, while skillfully plugging the show’s name, network and show times in a seamless fashion.

Working in India fulfilled my short-term goals of entering and learning the dynamics of the field of advertising. However in the long run it was my goal to broaden my horizons and look toward a more global landscape. Keeping this in mind I decided to look State side. I enrolled in the New Jersey Institute of Technology and decided to develop a technical skill set that I think is critical in this day and age. I did a MS in Management specializing in eCommerce. After completing this program, however, I realize that in order for me to make a foray into the US ad world I would need the backing of a reputed communications school. One that has a well-recognized program and an influential alumni circle. Thus hath my travels brought me to Emerson College – where I would learn to broaden my horizons, which, for the most part have been acutely national in the Indian context, to international and global dimensions. The wealth of knowledge that I possess through living, studying and working in India coupled with my unique educational background (BCom – Accounting, MBA – Marketing, MS – Ecommerce) would both enrich and enliven the experience for all the program’s participants. Specifically, I hope Emerson, will help me strengthen and fine-tune my skills to equip me to meet the challenges and demands of working in the US. I hope to be able to leverage the one-year, which it takes to complete the Master of Arts in Global Marketing Communication & Advertising program, into a lifetime of “grabbing stars”.

(essay submitted as part of Emerson College application)