Guest Lecture Report - Ms. Janet Arole
Guest Lecture Title: Importance of Building a Corporate Narrative in the Digital Era
Date of Conduct: 10 October, 2020
Duration: 1.5 hours
Speaker’s Name & Designation: Ms. Janet Arole, Assistant Vice President and Head - Corporate Communications, Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail Limited
Batch: Batch 2019-21, MBA - International Business and Agri Business.
No of students present: 120+
Synopsis:
On the 10th of October, the students of the MBA-IB Batch 2019-21 attended a guest lecture by Ms. Janet Arole, Assistant Vice President and Head - Corporate Communications at India’s largest fashion powerhouse, Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail Limited. The webinar was themed on “Importance of Building a Corporate Narrative in the Digital Era".
The session was particularly engaging as it started off with the trending digital stories that truly show the “power of digital”. Especially gestures of kindness as in the case of the balloon man provided shelter from rain at an ABFRL brand outlet, and how it went on to generate an impression in the minds of lakhs of people, showed the importance of empathy and emotional connection in today’s world. Ms. Arole went on to take the students through her impressive portfolio which majorly pertained to Brand Management and to some extent, Crisis Management as well. She then explained how the company has been propagating excellent thought leadership on LinkedIn and how the platform is the new business card. Ms. Arole also gave the students insights into innovative social media campaigns the company is engaged in and how brand portfolios have changed due to the pandemic, in order to better suit consumer demands. The session was concluded with a very interactive Q&A session wherein the speaker not only through real life scenarios, depicted how consumer satisfaction is guaranteed at Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail Limited, but also took an active interest in how the committees of SIIB approach the concept of Brand Management and their ideation process for social media campaigns and public outreach.
Student Feedback:
- “It was very informative. We got firsthand experience of what to expect from life in a Startup. How do Startups actually function and how do they develop their offerings. Also we got to know about the mindset that is required for entrepreneurship. It was an enlightening session. - Sanchit Raina, MBA - International Business (Marketing), Batch 2019-2021.The session with Ms. Janet was different in the sense she engaged us throughout and made us realize the potential of our own institute's branding. We also learnt about some of the interesting and effective digital campaigns that ABRF has implemented. The session was highly engaging and insightful and we would love to interact on more occasions with her in the future. – Sparsha Shetty, MBA – International Business (Supply Chain Management), Batch 2019-2021.
- “ It was an honor interacting with such a well-versed speaker Ms. Janat Arole. She not only gave us useful insights into Aditya Birla Fashion brands, but also taught us how to build brand value by using the example of SIIB itself as a brand. – Sayali Chavan, MBA – International Business (Marketing), Batch 2019-2021.
Overall Feedback: The session was very informative and gave the students insights into the fashion retail industry. They could learn about different branding and marketing strategies the company goes undertakes. It was great to see how efficiently Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail Limited uses LinkedIn platform for attractive collaborations and other social media handles for the sub brands. The attendees were privileged enough to showcase their leadership skills as well, being a part of various committees and their contributions in SIIB's branding initiatives.
