By Jaisurya Das
Ladies and Gentleman, welcome back to Dear MxM! The past few weeks have been nothing short of eclectic for most of us in Maharashtra, what with the Ganeshotsav omnipresent with its radiance…
And back in the South, Bengaluru reels under controversy and discord over the Cauvery. Whoever thought that these modern times will see progressive cities come to a virtual standstill all thanks to a river!
Well I guess wonders will never cease.
As I write this, countries across the world are making rapid progress in
science, business and technology and here we are squabbling over trivia… I pray God that this impish attitude changes for the better and these so called activists and revolutionaries find better pastimes.
Maybe it’s time we relook our basic educational system. Good learning
may just be the answer.
On that note of prayer and hope I take you straight to this weeks questions from our readers in Bengaluru, Mumbai and Ahmedabad..
Read on…
Sir, my office is in Bengluru and over the last few weeks, we’ve been experiencing huge law and order problems. And to add to my woes, I am a Tamilian. A TamBrahm in fact. And my fiancee is a Kannadiga. I think we’ve had it. I am in the media, and am considering relocating to either Mumbai or Delhi. However, I am awful in Hindi. I find the rentals in Delhi are cheaper but do you think language is a big hindrance?
Oops yes, I can imagine the stress you are going through.It’s indeed unfortunate that in these modern times, divisive forces such manage to disrupt the peace in this country.
Coming to your query: no, I don’t think language is a concern, as long as you have some basic understanding to converse with the public at large. This is of course assuming that you will continue in English media.
Delhi is a little more language intrinsic when it comes to Hindi and thus Mumbai may just be the better choice. Also, Mumbai is likely to offer you more employment opportunities as most companies have large offices based there.
Additionally, Mumbai is known to have a huge influx of non-maharashtrian and hence language won’t be a cause for worry. Personally, if I were to be given a choice, I would back Mumbai!
All the best to you.
I am an adsales executive in a leading channel, and want to explore the digital media for a job-switch. Which course would you recommend I do along with my work?
Digital does offer a lot of opportunity and several courses are now offered in various specialisations. In your case, it would be prudent to do a course in Digital Marketing in oder to get your fundamentals in place.
This will help you pick up the finer skills required from a digital perspective. Many institutes offer these courses, in addition to the online ones available. Manipal and other universities also have the online classroom courses for Digital which are fairly robust.
Go ahead and enrol early so that you have this certification at point of entry. That would also aid your HR rounds when you are ready to move.
My good wishes to you.
Sir, are online courses valid in the job market? While they may be good for knowledge, there’s an extra fee if I want a certificate. I would like to check before paying up.
But of course they are! Provides that its from a reputed institution
that has packed in a good module. Online education has been used very effectively by a lot of professionals across the world.
Portals like Coursera have actually brought the best universities of the world within the reach of everyone. I have done courses online and can say with vehemence that besides the certification bit, they are also a tremendous source of learning.
Yes, certifications cost money but that’s worth it considering the effort you would be putting in to do the course.
These skills always add up especially at the point of entry. HR professionals are always on the look out for additional qualifications in order to sieve the best from the lot. This is where these diplomas and certificates come in handy. Go for it my firend. You will never regret learning!
I was reading with interest the Carat report projecting no downward change in growth of advertising spends in India. Sir, but the reality is different, even though one can say that we still haven’t seen how life will shape up in the festive season. I am asking you this because I have my quarterly reviews coming up in end-September so please answer my questions as soon as you can and not after three months like you did the last time.
Wait a minute, buddy! I took three months to answer your question??
That’s very strange. Two possible reasons: 1. You sent it by snailmail.
2. The question had attached images (of questionable nature!)
with it. There can be no other reason, unless of course our editor slept on it.. but since he barely sleeps, it’s highly unlikely.
Anyway, the forecast seems fairly bright and clients seem to be pushing up their spends, though from what it seems, online is getting bigger by the day.
Digital advertising is seeing a huge spurt and most agencies and investing heavily into the digital medium.
A random survey that I did a few weeks ago (across large and medium advertising agencies based in the cities of Mumbai and Bangalore) indicated that their digital arms were all beefed up for the onslaught.
To be honest, this may herald a lot of cannibalisation into mainline but it’s inevitable, since spends will happen more rationally in the months to come. The power of the digital medium is unparalleled and this coupled with the lethargy that print has displayed off-late stack the odds in favour of online.
So my friend, there is no reason to worry. Just focus on some good work and the market will keep up to your pace.
All good wishes for the season ahead.
Bappa Morya, bappa morya …and that’s our chant to the wonderfully radiant Elephant God to return.. What a smashing season with Ganesha..! Truly eclectic.
On that auspicious note, I leave you to enjoy your weekend with much good cheer and ale.
And, yes, if you do feel like pouring your heart out for some reason, feel free to write to editor@mxmindia.com with ‘Dear MxM’ and your ‘City’ mentioned in the subject line. Dear Mxm will be there as always to respond.
Jaisurya Das, maverick and media evangelist, eats, sleeps and makes love to brands. His consulting interventions are aimed at making brands powerful and sustainable.
For more on his work visit www.xanadu.co.in
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He is also the Contributing Editor of MxM India.
The views expressed in this column are his own.