A webinar on ‘The emerging Power and Influence of growth opportunities in Digital Marketing’ was conducted by Mr. Rohit Gandhi - National Sales Head - Network 18 digital, CNBCtv18.com and moneycontrol.com. He shared that we are in a digital era where all businesses are getting disrupted by it and there is no way the future will be any less of digital. So it’s important to arm ourselves with digital knowledge. He stated the reasons why future of digital retail is bright in India as digital is the new name; it gives an opportunity to reach global markets; is more affordable; has higher engagement rate. “If you are creative, you will be a big hit on the digital platform. Digital marketing will remain as the most powerful way of marketing in the future,” said Mr. Gandhi.
Phenomenal growth in the number of Internet users is also pushing the growth of digital marketing in the country. Talking about the traits and characteristics of a successful digital marketer, Mr Gandhi listed them as having strategic and analytical thinking; having an understanding of basic psychology of people; Have excellent communication skills; being customer centric and understand the context around numbers & data on a daily basis. He advised students about survival in the digital era by upgrading their skills; keep doing iterations: trial & error; expose themselves to positive black swans and have a passion that keeps one going.
An enthralling session on ‘How to excel in Creative Writing: Guiding Aspiring Writers’ was conducted by Dr. Jeffery Archer, English novelist and former politician, Author in UK. He talked about writing in general and then interacted with the students. He shared how he began writing by mistake and always wanted to be a politician. Post a misadventure in business, he wrote his book ‘Not a Penny More, Not a Penny less’ that faced rejection from 14 publishers, ended up with an advance of £3,000 and on first printing took a year to sell 3,000 copies. He shared his ‘ruthless writing routine’ divided into four sessions of two hours each during the day that starts at 5.30 in the morning. “I write from 6-8 a.m., 10-12 a.m., 2-4 p.m., 6-8 p.m. I keep that routine up for 40-50 days and hand write every word. I then take a break and go back to it again a month later. I think I am a natural storyteller who gets ideas every day,” shared Dr. Archer. He stated that one has to combine the art of storytelling with great writing to be a good writer.
Dr. Archer shared his admiration for R.K. Narayan and called him a great story teller and praised his works. He advised students to do what suited them and told them there is no substitute for hard work.