GIM 'Greenhorns' Turn Champion 'Green Marketeers'

Online, December 17, 2013 (Newswire.com) - A pat on the back from your peers and mentors can go a very long way. Ask Vidhushekhar Sathyanathan and Vipul Chaturvedi, who are just back at Goa Institute of Management (GIM) after creating quite a stir at the 7th Annual Marketing Conclave of SCMHRD Pune, where apart from the home team, the duo managed to upset teams like XLRI as well. The journey to being the best 'Green Marketing' team started very much in their own classroom at GIM. Vidhushekhar and Vipul came up with the idea for a product, which they quirkily called "Pepsodent Remix", during one of their marketing assignments at GIM. They presented the broad outlay of this idea in class and were pleasantly surprised to see the appreciation it generated in fellow students and faculty. Encouraged, they decided to expand their scope of work, develop the idea further, and expand it to the domain of Green Marketing. A week later, after eating and sleeping their idea, and having looked at all kinds of toothpastes from every imaginable angle, the youngsters were able to decide on the value proposition and marketing strategies. Another two days, and Vidhushekhar and Vipul were ready with all the necessary data and facts to support their concept. Not surprisingly, the concept was shortlisted as one of the 'Top 6' amazing ideas that would be presented in front of a gathering of luminaries drawn from the corporate and public sectors at the Green Marketing Conclave in Pune.

The contest was held on the 16th and 17th of November, where "Pepsodent Remix" won wide appreciation from the big-ticket gathering. The competition consisted of two rounds. In the first round - held on Day 1 of the Marketing Conclave - the 'Top 6' shortlisted teams battled it out, and only the best three moved to the final round that was held on 17th November, or Day 2 of the conclave.

"The Q&A round after our presentation was grilling," recollects Vidhushekhar with a glint in his eye. "The judges tried to tear our presentation apart and quizzed us on the smallest of details. The key aspect was to stay calm and be proactive while answering; even when you were stumped by a question you hadn't thought of earlier. Luckily, the training at GIM ensured that we had the presence of mind to tackle those questions as effectively as possible. Most times, judges don't look for 100% right answers. What they are looking for is smart answers, and the ability to keep your cool in adverse conditions."

Vipul and Vidhushekhar's PowerPoint slides were in fact described by one of the corporate leaders present as "thoroughly professional, precise, to the point, and which can be read and understood by anyone". What also paid off was that the two budding managers from GIM had practiced the presentation more than 10 times before actually presenting it, so that they could time it to perfection. Their hard work was wonderfully rewarded when, at the end of round 2, Team 'Earth Warriors' from GIM was declared champions!

"It really felt great," recalls Vipul with a big smile on his face. "We are still on Cloud 9! The happiest part was when I called up my parents and friends. When you hear their happy and excited voices on the other side, you feel proud about yourself."

What makes the victory even sweeter for the duo is the fact that they were the only First Year students in the 'Top 6'. Every other team comprised of Final Year students majoring in Marketing.

"Thanks to GIM, this did not make us feel inferior," says Vipul. "Within a short period, our Marketing professors - Mr. Nirmalya Bandyopadhyay and Mr. Subrata Majumdar - have been able to help us understand a lot of advanced concepts in Marketing and Sales, by encouraging us to read and evaluate Harvard Business Review articles. We used concepts like BCG Matrix, Buyers Utility Map, Breakaway Positioning and Hybrid grid (Marketing channels) to build on our idea. This gave us a competitive edge over others who stuck to common concepts like 4Ps, SWOT, PEST and STP."

Like Vipul and Vidhushekhar, almost all young managers being groomed at GIM literally breathe 'Green'. With pollution and wastage on the rise, Green Marketing is the next big thing in the field of Marketing. The premier institute of management in Goa, and one of the Top 20 B-schools in the country, GIM is known to encourage its students to think out of the box - keeping sustainability above market share - and come up with products or marketing strategies that do not push the Earth further towards a slow death.