It is strange how sometimes the way things just happen. One moment we were sitting through a session on Project Management, and the next moment we come to know that Arnab Goswami is on the campus, and we might get to have an interaction with him!
Finishing our lunch in record time, we rushed towards the upper campus and waited patiently (as patiently as a group of forty one restless students can be). Finally we were ushered into the conference room and there he was sitting very coolly in a persona very different from the one we see on TV. Ruffled hair, unbuttoned shirt and a more hip glass frame.
From the conference room we moved to a more open area and had a short interaction with him. During the entire session, what was most impressive was his frankness while answering our questions without trying to be politically correct. Professionally he might be a really tough guy, but personally he seemed to be a very cool and laid-back sort of person.
On being asked what his advice would be to budding advertising and market research professionals, he said that we should dream big and believe in ourselves. What was amazing to see was his passion and conviction in his work. Whether or not his dream to make TimesNow on par with BBC, CNBC comes true will be interesting to see. Also he believed that Indians possess an unparalleled proficiency in the English language and have a great advantage over other Asian countries in the race of developing as a media. He was of the view that, in the future, there will be a great amount of synergy and integration of the digital media and television in India.
Besides our intelligent question and answer exchange, there was a lot of informal and fun interaction with Arnab. We got a small glimpse into his world. Be it his obsession for coffee or love for listening to vivid genres of music on his iPod.
For Arnab the most important part of his brand was that he remains relevant to the people. Love him, hate him but you just can’t ignore him!
As students we definitely look forward to more such interactions.
By
Rahul Bhandare
Industry Interface Council
PGPMARCOMM 2014-15