If wisdom were the sole preserve of experience, the wisest man would be a monkey,? notes Ritesh Ghosal, head of brand marketing at Tata Teleservices Limited (TTSL). ?Though I do not know who to attribute this quotation to, it has served as a guide throughout my career. From my early days as a management trainee at Lowe Lintas, I believed in the power of fresh thinking, as opposed to the security of doing things the way they were always done.?
Ghosal has over 15 years of experience in marketing and advertising. He joined TTSL in 2009 when the company was launching its GSM venture. Prior to his current role, he had a short stint in advertising with Lowe Lintas in 1995, after which he moved to market research.
He spent seven years in MRB and then at Reckitt Benckiser and Coca-Cola India (CCI). At CCI, he rose up the ranks to become a marketing manager and then spent the next two years creating marketing programmes for Coke, Thums Up and Maaza, and preparing to launch Minute Maid juices in the Indian space.
?In July 2006, I moved out, as I was bitten by the start-up bug,? he reminisces. ?TATA DOCOMO is the third start-up for me and by far the most successful one.?
As head of brand marketing at TTSL, Ghosal?s responsibilities include creating programmes that build brand equity while supporting the immediate growth aspirations of the business. The cycle, he explains, begins with developing actionable insights, working with available consumer research and commissioning studies. The next step is converting these insights into marketing strategies, selling them to the business and converting them into communication packages with the advertising agency. Thereafter, the communication is taken to the market across media. And the final step is to develop learnings based on the success or failure of each marketing programme.
Regarding the likely future trends in telecom, Ghosal says that operators will have to devise more innovative ways to win subscribers. ?The growth in social networking and multi-user chatting has built on the existing preference for SMSs in steadily reducing the dependence on voice as the primary means of communication. Telecom operators who have so far fought the battle of competing for voice minutes and used the other offerings as added sweeteners will have to learn to compete in a new manner.?
When not coming up with new campaigns, Ghosal plays cricket or tennis on weekends. He also enjoys taking short breaks with family and friends. He says his ?sane time? is also spent reading books on history, humour or travel.
