Brandwagon Coordinator Writes

Written by Akshay Moorthy

My first article as Club co-ordinator of BrandWagon, the Marketing Club of IIFT and I will begin with a quote by Juan Carlos Castillo – “In marketing there are those who satisfy needs and those who create wants’’. When I was asked to write this article I was a bit reluctant initially but what clinched the deal was when Preyoshi said what better way than an online forum to promote your club and publicise your activities. She had gotten through to the marketer in me. And the culmination of that conversation is this article. For the record, Preyoshi belongs to the latter while I would like to believe that I belong to the former!

Talking about BrandWagon…

BrandWagon happens to be, after all, the most happening club on campus with strength of over 200 students as its members. It is, I believe, the only club of its kind in any B-School in India to have a title sponsor of its own. For this, we owe our complete gratitude to SAMSUNG who saw BrandWagon worthy enough to associate their name with.

For non-IIFTians, future students, potential recruiters and the uninitiated public at large, BrandWagon is a forum for students interested in marketing, either as a subject or as a preferred career. Being one of the most sought after clubs at IIFT, BrandWagon ensures that it continually expands and enriches the students’ classroom experiences.

B Schools across the world consider one and only one book as the Bible of marketing and its author as the undisputed guru of marketing. I am, of course, referring to Philip Kotler. In his words, Marketing takes day to learn. Unfortunately it takes a lifetime to master. The marketing club of IIFT sets out to prove the very guru of marketing wrong.

For, members of BrandWagon have successfully mastered the art of marketing in their two years at IIFT and have been displaying their proficiency in sectors ranging from Telecom, Automobiles, IT, Textiles to the big players in the world of FMCG.

Marketing is perceived as mundane theories formed upon simple tasks. If only I had a nickel for every time someone said “Yaar, marketing is all gas… its just playing around with words”…. BrandWagon aims to dispel this very notion. It functions with certain objectives in mind chief among them being to challenge individuals to move beyond jargon and clichéd theory and explore the real world of marketing, to provide a platform for IIFTians to express their creativity, use their acumen in industry analysis, and invest time and effort in live projects and several such activities and to help in updating members’ knowledge of marketing by keeping abreast with the latest in the marketing world.

We at BrandWagon try to achieve this through a myriad set of activities like BrandTracker(A brand tracking event), Dwijanma(A competition on study of failed brands and their proposed revival), Goal Mart and Vastutva(a market research competition). This coupled with the magazine Mark Key serves as the topping to an already attractive cake. If this was not enough, we have a Symposium or a Conclave every year where the best marketing minds in India come together and analyse the current market scenario, concepts of marketing and advertising and predict future trends in the industry. Add to this mix, discussions and interaction with eminent people from the industry (we had the COO of Wal-Mart, India on campus for a guest lecture) and you have students with a well rounded and holistic knowledge of marketing.

My fellow co-ordinators Raghav & Shweta and I aim to continue this very tradition of BrandWagon of churning out some of the brightest marketers the industry has ever seen, year after year. As we journey along, many more new and exciting events have been planned and are on the anvil. BrandWagon 2010-2011 promises you a great year ahead.
Why do we need to say all of this on an online forum; why the need to publicise our club, you may ask. In my defence, all I can say is we are not here to make noise, but we wont talk in whispers either.

To highlight just how essential this forum is to BrandWagon to draw attention to its activities and achievements (thank you, Preyoshi!) I shall reproduce someone’s words

For a business not to advertise is like winking at a girl in the dark. You know what you are doing but no one else does.

Cheers!!!