ASMA Recognises the Best marketing Talent at India’s Top 30 Marketers’ Summit 2021

ASMA India’s Top 30 Marketers’ Summit 2021, presented by Collegedunia and powered by NoPaperForms was held on 29^th January 2021. ASMA’s flagship event saw a gathering of top marketers from academia discussing trends, innovative ideas, and sharing best practices in digital marketing.

The event saw over 6000 attendees, with participation from over 100 Higher Education institutions and more than 40 industry speakers.

The event also explored the latest innovations in delivering effective and impactful student recruitment campaigns in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The award ceremony was aimed at recognising and honouring the best marketing talent that brought forth innovative campaigns in the education sector.

The event comprised of two engaging panel discussions and a keynote address by Gopalakrishnan Ramachandran, Chairman, InnoServ Group. There was also an industry presentation by Abhishek Ballabh, Co-Founder, ExtraaEdge.

During his Keynote Address, Gopalakrishnan Ramachandran, Chairman, InnoServ Group remarked, “Branding has to be redefined. Today we are talking about a scenario where remote learning, blended learning; technology-enabled learning will all be there. No longer will distance learning be seen as inferior.”

He added, “It is no longer teaching, but mentoring. Brand marketers can attest to the fact that as we get into the future, it will be imperative to change the method of brand positioning. The digital marketer will be the winner of the future”.

The first panel deliberated on the topic ‘Regional Marketing to Maximise Reach: Using Real-Time Data to Understand How Market Segments React to External Factors’ and the panel comprised of distinguished leaders from the education and marketing sectors such as Sudhanshu Varma, COO, Bennett University, Meghdut Roy Chowdhury, Director of Global Operations, Techno India University, Suraj Bhoyar, Project Director & Digital Evangelist, MIT Centre for Future Skills Excellence, MIT-ADT University, Dr Manjinder Singh Dhaliwal, VP – Student Outreach, Chitkara University and Jayanta Bagchi, Associate Vice President – Branding & Communication, NSHM Knowledge Campus. The discussion was moderated by Tarnjot Singh, Zonal Head West Region, Collegedunia.

The enlivening discussion delved into how data could be leveraged to build an institution’s brand. The speakers emphasised how content plays a key role in the digital marketing efforts of educational institutions and that marketing of the future will be more personalised and focused on consumer experience.

Adding his insights to the discussion, Sudhanshu Varma, COO, Bennett University said, “In today’s world driven by technology, there is no boundary. Data is an excellent guide; it has a beautiful way of telling you where you went and where you need to go. It is equally important for us to understand what works; what works needs to be backed up.”

Making very valid points, Meghdut Roy Chowdhury, Director of Global Operations, Techno India University said, “Technology is only relevant as well as we can use it. Educators need to stop looking at technology as a linear medium. People’s opinions of an organisation many times depend on the image. You need to be the most relevant player in the market regardless of what’s happening”.

He added, “Capital becomes easy when you know how to sell stories; when you know how to sell dreams. Let’s talk exponential marketing and not incremental marketing”.

The second panel of the day discussed the topic ‘Understanding Marketing & Branding Challenges & Opportunities during the Era of Disruption’. The panel was moderated by Suraj Sapra, Chief Strategy Officer, NoPaperForms and comprised Dr Ankur Saxena, Director – Admission & Marketing, SAGE University, Dheemant Agarwal, Director – Digital Strategies, JECRC University, Saibal Chatterjee, General Manager- Academic Initiative, GLA University, Prof Saranjit Singh, Director – Industry Engagement, KIIT Deemed to be University, Devadeep Konwar, Associate Director, Office of Communications, Ahmedabad University and Mackey Agarwal, Chief Manager – Marketing & Admissions, Jain College, Jain (Deemed-to-be University).

Speakers in the second discussion highlighted how digital has changed the way business is conducted in the education sector today.

The panel agreed that not only will content and the correct communication play a crucial role in the brand building, but innovative technology such as AI and Gamification will also change the way digital marketing will be leveraged.

Dr Ankur Saxena, Director – Admission & Marketing, SAGE University remarked, “Digital media has empowered us to be more cost-effective when implementing marketing initiatives. As marketers, we must know when to change our communication. You cannot manage what you cannot measure; digital marketing has given us the opportunity to measure our efforts.”

While Dheemant Agarwal, Director – Digital Strategies, JECRC University added, “The digital age has been steadily changing how we have been doing business. We have seen the industry evolving over the past 5-7 years. Now, everything comes down to data and analytics. I believe interactive marketing is set to take the stage in 2021 in the form of AI, Gamification and experiential marketing.”