With one night to go for the big bang, the vibe at CTF was enthusiastic, and we had a brief chat with Tharunya Danabal (final year Geo Informatics), Student Director of Marketing team, CEG Tech Forum, for a crisp interview.
Why did you choose Marketing?
Any event, big or small, must be marketed in order to have a great reach. Marketing is the point of contact between the hosts and guests of any event. Furthermore, Kurukshetra must prove the brand image of CEG at a larger scale. The stakes are high, and marketing is slightly difficult when compared to other institutions of national importance like the IITs.
How has been the journey so far being part of CTF? How is the rapport within the whole team?
It is a whole new experience to be a part of CTF team; to conduct an event of tis magnitude is no mean feat, and it always gives pride to be a part of the proceedings. Working very actively with CTF for the last four months in particular has given me a lot of moments to cherish. The whole team has a very good rapport of friendliness with each other; the juniors who work for Kurukshetra always inspire me.
How has the marketing strategies for K! 17 differed from the previous editions? Is there any aspect of marketing that stands out?
We have made sure we exploit all channels of marketing in equal proportions. Some of the strategies are WhatsApp messages, direct marketing, reaching out personally to the students, utilising the brand ambassadors, and offering internships to the best brand ambassadors and so on. New strategies adopted this year in particular are the “Jump Cuts” video promo in Facebook, and use of “call tracking” app to avoid unnecessary spamming.
What are the mistakes you have rectified this year?
Systematic recording of data has never been our forte so far. This year, we have maintained a database of all our calls, SMS and mails so far so as to avoid redundancy and ensure that only the interested people are being followed up.
Is direct marketing more efficient than digital marketing in this Digital era?
Though we speak of Digital Era, there are certain regions or colleges that do not encourage students to be active in social media, and have stricter rules and regulations to keep them on check. Also, there is always one sector of the student community which might not be very active in social media platforms, or without laptops and smartphones. In such scenarios, direct marketing acts as the key and it is the only way we can reach out to the above-mentioned students.
What was the learning experience of the first year students in the marketing team?
With respect to marketing, I can very well say that there are no segregations, whatsoever, between the seniors and juniors. All are basically trained to handle at least 50 to 60 phone calls every day. Also, they are well equipped to take care of the prank calls with a calm temper (laughs).
How important, in your opinion, is marketing for an event generally?
There is a visibly marked difference between Apple launching a product under its banner and the other companies doing the same. For any product, the outside world must be made aware of its uniqueness and success, and that is where marketing comes in to the picture.
Facebook is one active social media platform where information is communicated en masse to the students. Is there any sequence of release of posters/promotions? Do you follow a pattern?
The promotions for the events take place depending on the type, of event and the Facebook page activity. For events which will attract a huge mob the promotions take place only towards the end. We also make use of Page Insights and other such tools to make sure we reach out to maximum number of people.
Given the marketing strategies that have been put to effect this time, can we expect more turn-up this year than the previous year?
That is uncertain. A lot of people ask us this question but we never give a quantitative reply to anyone. Again, the success of any event does not entirely depend upon marketing, but rather, marketing is an effective tool towards branding and awareness.
