Digitisation is changing the paradigms in marketing across
sectors. This global phenomenon is introducing new practices in marketing
communications and renewing the significance of online media for B2B and B2C
businesses.
How marketers can adapt to a rapidly evolving arm of marketing in
the world of business and what are the challenges and opportunities in the next
decade were some key topics discussed at International Research Conference
organized by S.P. Mandali's Prin. L. N. Welingkar Institute of Management
Development and Research (WeSchool) And Academy of Indian Marketing. The symposium under the
theme "Marketing in the Next Decade", revisited the fundamental
pillars of marketing in the backdrop of technological advancements.
The event
was consequent to the three day 6th AIM - AMA Sheth Foundation
Doctoral Consortium that invited doctorial students to share their research
about ‘’Marketing in a Connected World." Noted academicians from
international universities participated in both events. The conference saw
marketing leaders discussing the influence of digital technologies in marketing
and also the academic scholarly work on this subject.
The inaugural of the conference was attended by the leadership
team from WeSchool and AIM (Academy of Indian Marketing) at WeSchool, Bengaluru
Campus. The Chief Guest, Sharad Sharma, Founder, iSPIRIT emphasized
on the power of data empowering lives through data democracy and bringing in
economic prosperity. He showcased the progress of technology by citing the fact
that more people have mobiles phones than wrist watches. He also highlighted
that advertising was shrinking in a significant way and that video content
would continue to be a non-advertising supported model in the foreseeable
future.
Prof. Dr. Jagdish Sheth, Charles H. Kellstadt Professor of
Marketing at Emory University said, “Technology enables innovation hence, it is bound to
have a profound impact on marketing. In this digital age one cannot maximize
profits but organizations need to focus their energies on scaling up and
minimizing the cost.” He rightly pointed out eye opening facts on consumer
behavior by stating that demographics were changing globally with more
individuals staying alone on an average for ten years. As a result, influencing
the consumption pattern. More individuals are attached to unanimated objects
and the virtual world of internet. The world is moving in a direction where
people are experiencing stress due to paucity of time than scarcity of
money. Basic chores of cooking and baking have become hobbies. Dual
income is no more a choice but necessity.
Addressing the dignitaries present at the conference, Prof, Dr.
Uday Salunkhe, Group Director, WeSchool said, “We believe in
catalyzing knowledge exchange between academia and businesses. The conference
provides exposure to evidence-based researches undertaken by academic
fraternity that may find a productive utilization in coming up with innovative
strategies in marketing practice. We are confident that it will provide
professionals an opportunity to get ready for future changes and challenges in
marketing domain from both academic and practicing perspectives.”
The Chief Marketing Officer roundtable with Ragavendra
Prabhakar, Strategy Lead on Digital Marketing, BOSCH; Vikrant Bhargava, Digital
Practice Leader, IBM; Vivekanand Venugopal, MD, Hitachi Vantara; Indroneel Das,
Principal Technology Architect, Flipkart was moderated by Marketing Guru, Prof.
Jagdish Sheth, Charles H. Kellstadt Professor of Marketing at Emory
University. The discussion underlined how consumerism was
driving companies to become digital. The panelists agreed that consumer
engagement as key to influencing the dynamic profile of a consumer.
Speaking on the future trends in marketing, Ragavendra
Prabhakar, Strategy Lead on Digital Marketing Bosch said, “By 2020,
30% of web browsing sessions will be done without a screen. It is imperative
for the IoT to blend with business ethics in this digital world. In the retail
sector omnichannel presence and e-commerce penetration will see rapid increase
with more physical stores launching apps and adopting IoT in their marketing
mix.”
Emphasizing on how marketers can enhance customer experience using
digital tools, Vikrant Bhargava, Digital Practice Leader, IBM said,
“Three things that companies need to focus are to know your visitors, let them
be advocates of the brand and create best in class web experience through data
driven knowledge.”
The following session on “Marketing Research in Digital
Age’’ saw N. S. Muthu Kumaran, Executive Director, Hansa Research; Ashutosh
Pujari, Founder, Chief Epic Maker and Lokesh Sewak, Head of Digital Marketing
and Analytics, Loccitane. The session moderated by Prof. Dr.
D. N. Murthy, Dean Marketing & Research, WeSchool asserted the
significance of data as the new currency and business analytics.
On a concluding note, Dr. Uday Salunkhe, Group Director, WeSchool
expressed the need to nurture talent in a super VUCA world. He mentioned how
placements in 2025 will be cloud based and open to a wider group of
individuals. He stressed on the need to develop skill sets that are changing
with changing time.
The valedictory session saw Chief Guest, Beena Patil, Vice
President - Human Resources, Indegene Lifesystems, describing the event with an
outcome that is practically viable. The event concluded on a positive note with
closing remarks from WeSchool and AIM leadership.
