The reltoK Show

Vineet Rajan

Welcome to the reltoK show where we get up close with some of the greatest business minds in APAC; as they answer 10 questions about marketing, business, leadership and management. Discover how current trends combine with timeless marketing principles for undisputed business success and become a marketing leader to go beyond your farthest ambitions! So get ready for some real talk with leaders in 10 questions with your host Vineet Rajan. Official Website: https://reltok.show

Episodes

  1. 2021-08-01

    Never Hesitate to Iterate with Aparna Bhawal

    About Aparna BhawalAparna is the VP Marketing for Hindustan Times and based out of New Delhi. A post graduate from Symbiosis Institute of Business Management - Pune, she has had intensive stints with FMCG majors like Glaxo Smith Kline, Coke, Proctor and Gamble before moving to the news and publishing industry.Aparna Bhawal is a 3 time Effie Awards Jury member, Jury for IMPACT 30 under 30, Speaker and Gold Awardee at the International News Media Association (INMA) World Congress 2021.Episode NotesEvolution of marketing from a creative function to a central business functionConsumer insighting and positioningStory telling and driving a narrativeCreate intellectual properties that also drives revenue with partners and customersNever hesitating to iterateDoing sales stints before marketing, and its importance.How Coke changed the way Aparna looked at marketing.How post graduation shapes one's career by driving a different value system and education is what you make it! Finally, how MBA teaches you to shape yourself as a brandTaking the digital leap of faith - as a team and initial days when digital marketing from being seen as an extension of the IT team to creating impactAparna's moving from FMCG to media and how Media is rooted in realityGaining the INMA - International News Media Association recognition.How Hindustan Times pivoted into the new normal Integrated NewsroomOne HT SalesStarting an incubation wing called the HT Idea Lab which was responsible for the recent launch OTT Play AppHT Smart CastTrends to look forward to in the News and Publishing Industry - 2021 and beyondDigital Publishing will ride on data, insights and content consuming habitsSubscription content and freemium modelsOriginal Content from Publishers, SEO Focus for more visitors, journalists and writers gaining prominence once againBuilding incremental Revenue StreamsPrint will not be going anywhere but Podcasts and audio assets will see a fresh boom.For the complete episode notes and links to the marketing campaigns mentioned by Pallavi Singh, checkout the reltoK websiteHosted on Hubhopper Studio

    36 min
  2. 2021-07-04

    Being 'lioness' hearted like Pallavi Singh

    Having always watched the automotive from the outside as a coordinator in the Royal Enfield community (2012 - 2017) and then as co-Founder of the Road Trips Co which was in partnership with an automotive major in 2018; there were a few marketers I had always longed to work with. Pallavi is one of those distinguished marketing leaders who has worked in making luxury cars even more aspirational to the difficult and discerning Indian buyer. For someone who was inspired by a poster her mother gave her when she was a little girl, this podcast is about the journey to becoming a 'lioness' hearted soul on two wheels (and four!)  About Pallavi Singh Pallavi is a passionate and pioneering senior business and marketing professional who has worked in leadership positions with iconic global brands such as BMW, MG Motor & Harley–Davidson. She has spent over 15 years in building bridges between art and science to create best–in–class digital first and marketing roadmaps for the premium market segment. While her areas of impact have been building brands, MarTech, digital & customer experience; she believes in an integrated, KPI and business led approach to marketing. In her career thus far, Pallavi has won many awards and recognitions including the Corporate Business leader award by World Association of Women Warriors, Top 50 Indian women in marketing by Brand Illustrated magazine and Most powerful influencers by Adgully. Pallavi has now shifted focus to driving impact projects and initiatives for brands start-ups & non-profits. She serves as an advisor to the Giri Foundation and her new abode online is Pallavi on a Break. Episode Notes What makes Harley Davidson so Special for Pallavi and how customers became familyWhat is marketing all about today - From 4Ps to 4Cs of 2000's and now the 4 IsThe childhood poster which inspired Pallavi and How her mom shaped her into who she is nowStarting her career with Yamaha, and how the Japanese make such great automobiles!Meeting her first mentor at Harley - Anoop PrakashMaking something very intense, a lot of fun and living like your customer with Harley (and beyond!)The story of when Pallavi met Bill Davidson (for the 1st time!) - Exclusive on reltoK!Working with her 2nd mentor, Rajeev ChabaLearning the ropes of Digital Transformation with Udit MalhotraA hiring hack for anyone wanting to build a better organization (Bonus!) Challenges faced in getting Indian buyers to accept foreign brands, working with global teams to tweak marketing to suit Indian buyersMarketing as an art and science. Connecting emotionally but talking rationallyMarTech as a business conversation, CRM being the heart of the marketing functionWhy the automotive industry needs more womenGetting the seat at the board for the CMO; and then becoming a CEOBeing Brave, as a way of life For the complete episode notes and links to the marketing campaigns mentioned by Pallavi Singh, checkout the reltoK website Hosted on Hubhopper Studio

    33 min
  3. 2021-06-01

    Be the 'Good Marketer' with David Fallarme

    David Fallarme was a recognized name in my inbox for some years; with newsletters that you used to popup once in a while from Hubspot. Eventually I also started getting emails from him about Marketing catchups and roundtables of APACMarketers.com. Having been a regular in the roundtables and a member of the community, it gave me a chance to understand the mind of a 'Good Marketer'; and I decided to reach out to David to come on the show. About David Fallarme David Fallarme currently leads marketing for HubSpot in Asia and based out of Singapore. He's built and led marketing teams at companies of varying sizes, from public companies to nascent venture-backed startups. He's driven growth & acquisition for products with millions of users, and leading marketing functions at several SaaS businesses. He also runs a marketing community called APACmarketers.com and blogs at The Marketing Student Episode Notes Why David loves marketing and filling in the bingo card of his careerWhy the marketing function depends on the company you are working for and what to look for when joining a company to build a marketing career. The dilemma of the Golden HandcuffsFrameworks to figure if your career is going in the right directionSetting the Gold Standard to build a high performance marketing team and what makes a company become a boring place to workInbound marketing and the blue ocean strategyBuilding a brand with Inbound marketingThe north stars for sales and marketing teams, and setting a common metric to track for both teams. Having a whole view of the funnel and building one entire conversion process that both teams own that wayThe tyranny of best practices and how to deal with it and information out there!About growing APAC Marketers For the complete episode notes and links to the marketing campaigns mentioned by David Fallarme, checkout the reltoK website Hosted on Hubhopper Studio

    33 min
  4. 2021-05-25

    Marketing Driven by Empathy with Srini Adapa

    After I finished recording this interview, I promptly ordered myself a double mutton whopper. The interesting part is, we did not talk about burgers at all. It was more of a tribute to a brand which has understood its audience so well - consistently delivering bulls eyes' each time. Srini took it many notches further in India by building an insight powered marketing engine that defined it's social and product relevance in the pandemic. And let's not forget a career spanning over 17 years working with iconic brands like Heinz, Kellogg's, ConAgra and Burger King! About Srinivas Adapa Srinivas has been helping build brands & business for the last 17 years. The former CMO of Burger King India has built a career which has been about building American Brands in India and other countries. From running rural marketing programs for Glucon D for Heinz, to launching Pringles in India to consumer insighting with Kenyan teenagers in Africa, to leading breakfast category marketing for Kellogg's and finally leading Burger King through a pandemic - he's done it all! An IIM Lucknow graduate, believes in leading by empathy, nurturing a team culture which puts the consumer first and creating curiosity at scale. Breaking Down the Episode Being a hopeless romantic when it comes to marketing, enjoying the yin & yang of marketing and being empathetic. Keeping the consumer at the center of everything, building a culture around that and make it a way of life and being mentored by Prof Jha and Prof Avinash Mulky in IIM Lucknow. How looking at big juicy marketing challenges on the table totally works for Srini. From running rural marketing programs for Glucon D for Heinz, to launching Pringles in India to consumer insighting with Kenyan teenagers in Africa, to leading breakfast category marketing for Kellogg's and finally leading Burger King through a pandemic. Handling the marketing for Burger King during the pandemic and understanding how Every crisis presents an opportunity and how do you make it count? We had a clear visionThey were fortunate to have the right teamStaying close to the customer was the order of the dayAgility first and perfection later was an important step Understanding how moment marketing can be part of building a brand Impact vs effort grid in choosing the best ideas and the perils of always sticking to a calendar Building an idea engine with a strong team culture of encouragement, building rapport with the agency Why its crucial to look at digital marketing as marketing within the digital platform why its refreshing to work with digital natives in the marketing workforce but a word of caution! Building consumer insights with genuine interest in what is happening in the audience's life and culture built on curiosity and passion for understanding consumers at scale. In short, building an insight powered marketing engine Why it is important to choose the right spot for your brand in the continuum scale and then live it across all touch points to be truly authentic. The positives of the pandemic for marketing. (Yes, there are positives!) The three fulcrums of Srini's career - parting words! Have a clearly articulated vision of the brandHave passionate people around youMarketing is a leadership function at all levels For the complete episode notes and links to the marketing campaigns mentioned by Srini, checkout the reltoK website Hosted on Hubhopper Studio

    38 min
  5. 2021-05-17

    Learning to Care Deeply with Rohan Vyavaharkar

    Rohan and I go a long way back. The first time I reached out to him was to sponsor a bike ride and from there on, its been an honor to see a journalist turned marketer carve a space for himself with iconic brands like Red Bull. This is one of those episodes; which can shake a lot of beliefs one might come with; so be ready to junk them out of the window. What stands out the most is that a lot of what Rohan does is rooted in the simplicity of caring deeply about people; reiterated quite a few times in the episode. About Rohan Vyavaharkar As a trained journalist and a marketing professional, Rohan has over two decades experience with consumer brands, sporting teams and events in both emerging and large businesses. A global marketer, he has worked in India, Singapore and the US in different roles with brands as diverse as Twitter, Red Bull India, NDTV and also startups.  In his current role as Director, Marketing & Communications at Omidyar Network India, an investment firm focused on social impact, Rohan works on marrying a consumer based marketing approach with the unique business needs of an investment firm to help carve a unique brand. We’re going to be talking about his attempts to bring out a more human side to the firm's stories of social impact through varying use of various mediums.  He is a husband to a fellow former journalist and current communications leader, and a father of two girls who push the boundaries of reality, sanity and creativity on a daily basis. He’s finally accepted that he’s aging by participating in an amateur but highly competitive ‘dad’s cricket league’, and spends the rest of his 'sports time' screaming at the TV screen in either joy or agony depending on the fortunes of his beloved football team, Manchester United FC. And he is determined, one day, to sing songs from the feature film La La Land in tune. Rohan also contributes to several publications and is also a visiting faculty at a leading Indian communications school. Breaking Down the Episode How Marketing is an opportunity to connect with people and know their aspirations and motivations and a journey of co-creationWhat journalism taught Rohan about marketingGetting people to understand the product, try the product, believe in the product and get people to become brand ambassadors and love the productHow Rohan handled learning curves in different industriesTeam work and using the support systemAdaptability and having the self beliefThe learning, unlearning and relearning thanks to sportsWhat is real leadership? (A sport inspired version)Pushing the barrier on excellenceBuilding a team vs being part of a teamLearnings from entrepreneurshipKeeping people central to everything as a frameworkBeing honest about the quality you are deliveringNever settleBranding in the social impact spaceOmidyar's Purpose and the dual cheque book approachApplying consumer marketing in B2B and this approach can be effective in any scenario and what it tells us about peopleThe next half a billion and tech for good and responsible techClosing the language barrierClosing the cultural barriersClosing the gender barriersTwo ways to staying relevant as a marketer forever For the complete episode notes and links to the marketing campaigns mentioned by Rohan, checkout the reltoK website Hosted on Hubhopper Studio

    42 min
  6. 2021-04-12

    The 'Reason to Believe' with Sonali Shah

    Faber Castell is a brand I grew up with, as a kid. Few things mattered in those years for a kid like me; but the brand of crayons and pencils where a matter of snob value - especially when 99% of the class couldn't pronounce the words right, Faber-Castell. A walk down memory lane, recollecting how mom used to cut pencils in half for me because I always lost them by the dozens to talking about how marketing to kids requires nothing but creating trust with the customers. The challenge being - kids aren't the only customers! About Sonali Shah Sonali is an passionate marketer by accident! At the core - she is a brand strategist with deep understanding of consumers in the mothers and kids space. Her experience, stretches over two decades with stints on both sides – agency and client. Starting her career at Money Control; she moved to strategy planning at Contract India for about four years and then entered the category of toys with Mattel and then Hamley's. During her time at Mattel, she has also won the Mattel CEO award three years in a row from 2006 to 2008. She joined Faber-Castell in 2017 as business head - art and graphic and in May 2020 she was elevated as the Marketing Director. Sonali loves traveling and art. Breaking Down the Episode Becoming a marketer by accidentHer mentor Nanet D'sa at MattelBeing driven by passion and passion alone"I am an opportunist", and learned to say Yes!From being a one woman army to building a teamManaging the art folio first to the becoming Director of Marketing at Faber CastellWhy the reason to believe (RTB) has to be very strong when marketing to 3 year old'sEvolving consumer needs in a pandemic eraTrust in brand also a function of influencers driving itHow marketing has become a very 'come and go' functionProducts being a very core function of marketingApple, Amazon and Netlfix - and how they are far ahead in the game of marketingTaking the team with oneself, encouraging failure and being experimentalHaving fun at work! For the complete episode notes and links to the marketing campaigns mentioned by Alok, checkout the reltoK website Hosted on Hubhopper Studio

    46 min
  7. 2021-04-10

    Keeping the Sauce Hot, with Parul

    Join us for a very candid and no holds barred chat with Parul Sharma, previously with Mondelez who talks about all things marketing, how parenting can teach one management skills and taking breaks in life to reset your priorities. Parul has built her career at Mondelez and when you see her career it is nothing short of an inspiration. Starting off as a management trainee and then heading to the board room (also being the only woman in the room!) speaks volumes about Parul as a management professional. She was also Featured as the Top "Hot Young Marketing Minds" by Economic Times Brand Equity in 2018. About Parul Sharma Parul is an FMCG enthusiast with 15 years of Sales and Marketing with Mondelez earlier known as Cadbury India. She joined there as a summer trainee and ended up heading some of the sweetest brand portfolios in the country - Cadbury Dairy Milk, Gems, 5 Star, Celebrations, Fuse and many more. In her last role, was leading the Modern Trade sales organization for Mondelez. She has won various accolades in her career, the most noteworthy one being the AMEA Globe Award. She was also in the list of ‘Hot Young Marketering Minds’ by Brand Equity recently. She is also an active member of AIESEC, an international not for profit organization. Her passions include food, art and wildlife which she enjoys with her husband and 2 boys. Parul is a strong proponent of diversity at workplaces and that is also something we will be diving into - in this episode of reltoK! Breaking down the episode Why Having a Point of View is a very important trait of a professionalWhy emotions matter and how she loves observing and listening to peopleWhy sometimes its good not to try and fix everythingNurturing the ecosystem as a secret sauceWhy one needs to slow down to go fasterMarketers reframing the category to stay aheadBiggest shift in marketing as a function of peoplePersonalization and efficiency - the challenge to addressWhat parenting can teach one about managing teamsBeing the only woman in the room and gender being a obstacle and building a better workspace for womenResetting priorities with breaks the in careerMarketing Propositions which inspire - Nike, Fevicol, CadburyBeing outrageous and a parasite like Burger King For the complete episode notes and links to the marketing campaigns mentioned by Alok, checkout the reltoK website Hosted on Hubhopper Studio

    38 min
  8. 2021-03-27

    Building Marketing Campaigns That Win Business with Anirban Basu

    reltoK with one of the most prolific business and marketing leaders of our times. In this conversation, I asked Anirban 10 questions ranging from his career to his work and finally his favorite marketing campaigns. A walk down memory lane for me; having relived all his favorite marketing campaigns! About Anirban BasuAnirban has been a sales and marketing professional for the last 14 years. Post majoring in Economics (Delhi University) and his MBA in Marketing (SIBM, Pune), Anirban has worked with some of the most iconic global consumer brands and companies like GlaxoSmithKline, PepsiCo and Danone, both in India and international markets. He was shortlisted as one of the best FMCG Marketers in India by Impact Magazine in 2016. Currently, Anirban is the Global Innovation Director at Danone and based in Bangkok, Thailand. His key professional interests include brand building, driving the P&L and market share, coaching and building diverse teams, and managing complex business challenges.  Apart from his corporate job, Anirban is also a startup mentor and an angel investor. He is also associated with several universities as a guest speaker, guest faculty member and board advisor. Breaking down the episode What makes Anirban a "no-b******t" marketerHis love for FMCG and how he got his big break with GSK and then DanoneHow the level of digitization and the availability of data are the biggest shifts in marketingHow one needs to have their own definition of success. Taking risksBeing fearlessly empowering as a management styleWhat it means to be an innovation director for DanoneThe challenges a marketer facing with innovation marketingWhy Pepsi changed the game, Zoozoos struck a chord and Happy Dent was way ahead of its timesWhy some marketing campaigns win awards, while others win businessOne advice to all listeners For the complete episode notes and links to the marketing campaigns mentioned by Anirban, checkout the reltoK website Hosted on HubHopper Studio

    31 min
  9. 2021-03-27

    Being Intentional and Curious with Alok Chitre

    Tune into a very engaging conversation about marketing, a very interesting framework called MAMI; and how the wealth of information is leading to a poverty of attention - this interview is a must listen to anyone who is looking at not just marketing success but also personal growth. About Alok Chitre Alok Chitre is a Business and Marketing professional with experience of having delivered global campaigns - filmed on the streets of New York, the skies of Berlin to the glittering world of Bollywood in Mumbai.Starting out as a sales manager, and moving over to the world of digital, before he took over broader roles in the world of marketing. He is a self proclaimed poet and philanthropist and currently is the Global Head of Marketing & Partnerships at Mahindra Racing ,who compete in the Formula E World Championship. Having worked with agencies and teams from around the world, he has built a network of professionals which he is cherishes very dearly. Breaking Down the Episode Why marketing is part art and part science; and understanding human behaviorAlok's journey into digital marketingWhy one has to be experimental with work to learn the most about marketingWhy not watching netflix was one of the best decisions in lifeSupporting 'Youth for People'The M.A.M.I framework to marketingThe Wealth of Information and the Poverty of AttentionBeing a coach and trainerPeople who have had a massive impact on Alok. An ode to his mentor Murugan SHow Netflix's Drive to survive is a marketing campaign way ahead of its timesWhy one needs to be intentional and but also curious  For the complete episode notes and links to the marketing campaigns mentioned by Alok, checkout the reltoK website Hosted on Hubhopper Studio

    30 min

About

Welcome to the reltoK show where we get up close with some of the greatest business minds in APAC; as they answer 10 questions about marketing, business, leadership and management. Discover how current trends combine with timeless marketing principles for undisputed business success and become a marketing leader to go beyond your farthest ambitions! So get ready for some real talk with leaders in 10 questions with your host Vineet Rajan. Official Website: https://reltok.show