Name: Namrata Tata

Designation: Senior Executive, Ad Sales, NDTV 24X7

Sun Sign: Virgo, 6 September 1978

Education
I completed my schooling from Greenland School in Breach Candy, Mumbai. Later I joined MMK College in Bandra from where I graduated in Commerce

Experience
I started my career with Mata Securities as a Money Market dealer. I was dealing in the debt market facilitating buying and selling of government securities amid the various players in the market such as banks, mutual funds, financial institutions and primary dealers.

Post MATA, I joined Star India Pvt Ltd and was responsible for ad sales on Star News and National Geographic Channel. I am currently working with NDTV Media and am responsible for ad sales on NDTV 24x7.

Job Profile
At NDTV Media, we work as a team. Contrary to being an hard task, work at NDTV is fun. Here I have freedom to grow. It helps me perform and drives me to push myself to excel. It is so unlike the 'MNC culture'. Everyone cuts across the designation boundary, nobody is unapproachable or high strung. We are a bunch of emotional people, who feel strong about what we do.

I am responsible for generating 50 per cent of the revenues for the channel from the western region. I also have to focus on the new business development.

Television as career choice
Media was something that I was fascinated with even as I was graduating from college. When I got an opportunity to work at a TV station, I seized it. The opportunity allowed me to pursue a career in an industry that had always fascinated me.

Exposure to dynamic medium, where rules of the game change everyday was a fascinating opportunity. It hasn't been long, but within a short span of time, I have harnessed my skills. It was here that I realised my aptitude both as a people's person and of inborn seller. I absolutely love interacting with various kinds of people

Current Television scenario
Imagine a market like India with 40 million C&S households and every person glued to the TV sets for more than two hours per day. That's the power of television for you, hence I feel fortunate enough to be a part of the industry.

The industry is going through major changes right now which only makes it more interesting and stimulating. India is probably one of the only countries in the world with highest number of channels. With the implementation of CAS and the markets maturing, I feel there will be a shakeout and only the best two or three players in each genre will survive.

As far as the opinion of the viewer goes, I really don't have the time to watch the television, so can't help you there. But whatever little time I get, I tune in to NDTV even at home. I just remember one thing that Raj Nayak had said, "If you have to sell something you have to do it with passion. You can't sell something that you are yourself not passionate about."

Rights and wrongs about current TV scenario
I feel sad that media is treated as a commodity than a vehicle. It is also unfortunate that almost all planners/buyers, who are responsible for thousands of crores of rupees, work so hard crunching numbers in office till late at night, that they actually do not consume the product on which they spend their money.

My little experience has taught me that there is a life beyond numbers especially in television and you need to spend time watching television to get a sense and feel of the product and the environment the channel provides. I genuinely feel that ad agencies should have TV sets in their offices for planners/buyers.

Five years from now
I live for today and at this moment, I eat, breathe and sleep NDTV. In an industry that is so dynamic, it is extremely difficult to predict what is going to happen in five year. I am a firm believer in a song that I grew up with Que Sera Sera. So perhaps in five year's time, I will expect NDTV to have a bouquet of channels. I should be growing with the organisation.

Hobbies
Painting... the town red!

Idea of enjoyment
"To see the world in a grain of sand, And heaven in a wild flower, Hold infinity in the palm of your hand, And eternity in an hour"

I love life and enjoy every moment of it...

Name: Vibhav Agarwal

Designation: Senior Executive Strategic Planning, Mirc Electronics, Onida

Sun Sign: Pisces, 3 March, 1976

Educational Experience
I have done my schooling from different places. Medicine and Engineering were the only choices available to me then, so I enrolled for Engineering based on my inclination towards maths and science. I graduated in 1998 from Regional Engineering College Warangal in Electrical & Electronics stream.

I was selected by Kirloskar Electronic in campus placement. My first job exposed me to different aspect of business and I developed a good blend of technology and business acumen in a short span of 2 years. Thanks to my superiors who showed great confidence in me and gave me some challenging assignments. Very soon I realise that I need to further hone my business skills and so I decided to take a break from work and go for management education.

Getting admission in NITIE was a lovely break in my career and I decided to pursue my post graduation.

Professional Experience
Having come from a business family background, my inclination towards numbers was quite natural. It was a well thought move to start my career in brick and mortar industry. My stint at Kirloskar Electric as a Business Development Executive and later as a Marketing Executive at ABB has introduced me to different dimensions of business such as Projects and Marketing.

My second spell has started with ONIDA immediately after my post graduation as Sr Executive - Strategic Planning. I have always been in the developmental role which I find more creative & challenging.

Job Profile
Job profile includes exploring new business opportunity for the organisation. It spans from making a business plan for new products or new business line to actualising an opportunity to address a new geography and new cluster of people with existing line of business. Its very exciting and promising which requires a lot of understanding of market dynamics.

Strategic Planning as a career choice
When we speak about strategy, we envision generals and armies preparing to wage battle against one another. The more common (and less harmful to human life) reality of the application of strategy is in relation to the process of modern organisations. The term "strategy" derives from the Greek "strategos", which literally means "general of the army". Strategists can be traced back to the battle of Marathon (490 BC), where strategoi advised the political rulers on strategic alternatives for winning wars as opposed to just concentrating on battles. From these military roots, the application and theory of strategy has evolved but the focus as always remained on the "big picture". In the early 1920?s, Harvard Business School developed the Harvard Policy model, one of the first organisational strategy methodologies for private business. This model defined "strategy" as a pattern of purpose and policies defining the organisation and its business. A strategy can therefore be viewed as the underlying logic, which holds the organisation together. The strategies adopted by an organisation will determine its future structure and its scope for improved economic performance. What can be more exciting than this ?

Current Marketing and Advertising scenario
There are no predefined rules in marketing. As long as logic works everything is right. Every successful move becomes a benchmark but repetition of the same does not guarantee the same fruits.

With the advent of foreign players into India and their quest for spanning their aura with aggressive marketing has awakened up many Indian giants. New definitions of marketing are evolving. Competition is certainly sending one message across; that "either become world class or you will not find the trace of your footsteps".

There is still a lot of scope to create win-win situation for both organisations and consumers by competition among the players. But fierce competition on just pricing a product aggressively does not ensure the sustainability of bigger pie of market share in long run. Which results in a life time award of Fly-By-Night operator.

Right and wrong about current marketing scenario
Thanks to the cable TV boom of early 90s, which has opened up a plethora of avenues for advertising industry to address more than 80 million TV homes. But we certainly need some discipline to do so in a more professional way.

I keenly follow the development on CAS implementation as I foresee a big opportunity for my organisation to introduce one more product in it's existing portfolio.

Instead of bringing in more transparency and discipline, so far CAS has brought more confusion in the television domain. There are no concrete plans to implement CAS except a plain announcement by the government. The issue will continue to be in a state of flux unless we provide a regulatory mechanism in the lines of TRAI.

About the current Television scenario
I usually watch news or infotainment channels. I like the current mix of entertainment, business and current news. Though I don't watch the soaps, I find them a turn off, but I am not complaining. I have the remote.

Five years from now
I am looking forward to enrich myself by exploring newer horizons in my present job profile and discover a path breaking business plan for my organisation.

Hobbies
I like listening to music, debating, reading & cooking. I am very fond of cooking, especially food of my choice.

Idea of enjoyment
Spending few moments with nature.

Name: Shruti Seth

Profession: VJ, Actress and Model

Sun Sign: Sagittarius, 18 December 1977

Educational Experience
I was born and brought up in the city of dreams Mumbai. I did my schooling at Ashok Academy and I graduated from St. Xavier's College Mumbai in Economics and Commerce.

Professional Experience
I never really believed in planning, what has to happen will happen. Right after my graduation I started working at the Taj Mahal Hotel on the Executive floors as the guest relations executive. Later I stepped into TV and did a bit of modeling.

My television career kicked off with a couple of anchoring shows and a few modeling assignments. I did ads for Brooke Bond, Tata Home Finance, Frooti and Kinetic Honda. I anchored a film based show Lehrein.

Eventually, I moved onto acting and I got my first break with Star Plus in Des Mein Nikla Hoga Chaand. Soon after that I was offered a role in the action series Josh. From there I moved on to Neena Gupta's Kyun Hota Hai Pyaar, to play the character of Ramya. I also did have a good role in Maan that aired on DD metro.

Presently, I am playing Jeeya- a cute witch with a golden heart, in Shararat Thodi Jaadu Thoda Nazaakat on Star Plus. The show has earned me an immense amount of recognition and adoration.

Basically I am a social, fun loving person. I share a good rapport with Channel and I guess they were quite happy with my attitude and yen for talking. So I was offered a chance to become a VJ on Channel [V]. Being a VJ on Channel [V] is like a dream come true. Currently I am anchoring First day first show and Junglee Jukebox.

I think I was born to entertain I need a job that is challenging enough to hold my interest. Being a VJ with Channel [V], and working as a television actress has kept me on my toes. Both aspects of the media are challenging and offer much professional contentment. Just recently, I started hosting a talent show on Star Plus Kucch Kar Dikhana Hai.

Television as career choice
Rather that me choosing television, I think the television chose me. I never imagined I'd be here, but I think I was destined to entertain. Monotony, is one thing that I hate. With TV, I get to do something new everyday. I could not have ask for anything better than this. As they say there is no business like show business and I am here to stay.

Current Television scenario
Well, at this point TV is huge. We are flocked with so many channels with so many shows. For consumers, there is a variety to chose from, and as for the artists and technician, there is also lots of opportunities for to exhibit their talent.

Right and wrong about current Television scenario
I think TV has a tendency to go through phases. We see the same kind of shows not only on different channels but also on the same channel.

I think that is due to audience preferences. What needs to be done is give variety of shows, so that one gets to see everything without getting bored of the same type of shows.

Five years from now
I see myself settled with a family of my own, still a part of the television industry hopefully rich and famous.

Hobbies
Needless to say, I love music... particularly pop, rock and old Hindi numbers. I also like talking, watching movies, reading, shopping and traveling.

Idea of enjoyment
Doing anything that puts my nerves at ease could be hanging out with friends and family, traveling, exercising, shopping, watching a movie, reading, working and even eating.

Name: Vijay Barse

Profession: Photographer

Sun Sign: Libra, 1 October 1968

Educational Experience
I was never really academically inclined. After HSC, I joined commercial arts course at Raheja. Ever since my childhood, I have been fascinated by camera. My father has an TLR camera, whenever I did get the time I would take it and start clicking. Later, I also did a photography course from JJ School of Arts.

Professional Experience
After completing my commercial arts course, I started freelancing for advertising firms and also doing some live photography. But I soon realised that my interest wasn't in the photography, I just loved shooting live pictures and I was pretty good at it too. So I joined Zee in the year 1995 and started doing their press pictures. But my first, so to speak, big break came when I was hired to do the photography for teleserial Shanti. Ever since then started my association with Mandira Bedi. At that time, I did not have an idea that Mandira Bedi would be such a hit. Neither did I think that I would be able survive in the industry. What I knew for sure that I did love working for television, I liked the people.

While was working with Zee, I started getting lots of offers to freelance. I thought it was great opportunity, so I left Zee after almost working for a year and half. In 1996, I started freelancing for In house productions. I used to do the live shots for their programmes for Sony, Star Yaar Kalakar and Harmony.

I still remember, Sony officials really liked the pictures that I did for Sudesh Bhosle's unplugged. They approached me to do their pictures and frankly it has been going great ever since. They give me a call whenever they need me. I work on hourly basis. Rest of the time I am free to take up any other assignments. I have also been working for production housed like UTV, In house and Polygraph, plus some studio and live shots for Agencies.

I have also been doing some portfolio for wannabes and established Television acts. Amongst my celebrity list includes Mandira Bedi. We often bump into each other. In fact, I have been doing her pictures till date. Even now, while I am at Sony, she is MAX's mascot.

Television as career choice
I have been also freelancing for film production houses as well, but I not usually very keen working with them. Be it a starlet or an established actor, they have an attitude problem. Where as television people generally avoid the filmi act.

Plus, I think my specialty is live photography. It is the kind of photography that has greater scope in Television.

Present and future of Photography
Broadly speaking, there are three types of photographers: industrial, commercial and glamour. Glamour photographers like Jagdish Mali, Gautam Rajadhyaksha, Subi Samuel are well known and often in the limelight. But despite of being talented lot, the industrial photography has few takers.

With advent of digital photography, the art part of the photography is slowly dying. You can easily mix and match few stuff with just a click. Photography needs to be treated like art, but I guess we have a long way to go.

Current Television scenario
I don't watch television, so I can't help you there. But one thing is for sure, my family does watch a lot of television. Besides the saas-bahu dramas' on the Hindi entertainment channels, which are a must watch, they also catch a lot of regional television. Both at home and my village in Ahemadnagar, Alpha Marathi, DD Sahyadri are regularly watch.

As for the television as the work place, the scenario is far from good. What has kept me going in this industry is my speed. I can deliver thousand prints, in few hours. You can never afford to relax, even after a decade in the industry I never rely on anybody. I personally supervise the wash and check the pictures as soon as they are done. The industry is so fickle that the moment you lax, you are out. You have to be punctual as well as patient.

Right and wrong about current television scenario
In the current television scenario, where daily soaps are the flavour of the season, the production values have become dismal. In the previous set up, just prior to the channel boom, there was a system in place. You had a set of veteran professionals and their understudies who made sure that the work is done well.

In the soap land, where the priority is on fast and cheap production, they were soon replaced the middle men, who with their production houses and channels contacts, got the work done cheaply. In came the gullible souls, the newcomers who were willing to work for lower wages, the middle men got work done for say Rs 5000 that would have otherwise cost 10000. Undoubtedly, the work was shoddy and the newcomers were paid as low as 1000, sometimes not even that.

Five years from now
While I am good at live photography, I would like to experiment with the art aspect of photography. I would love to open up my own advertising firm in another five years.

Hobbies
Though I did love to travel, I rarely get the time to do so. If I can manage, I take off with my friends for weekend. In last eight years, I have just managed to take my family out once for a ten day trip at our native place. I like taking my parents and family to Nasik or Lonavala.

Idea of enjoyment
Drive out of the city or catching a good movie with my friends

Name: Zubin Driver

Designation: Creative Director, Cell Communications

Sun Sign: 19 February 1970 half Pisces, full Aquarius

Educational Experience
I did my Bachelor of Arts in Economics from St. Xavier's College, Mumbai. Then I pursued post graduation in Literature from Mumbai University.

Professional Experience
I have been in a number of MNC agencies in India. Each of them were great learning experiences. Lowe, TBWA, O&M and Madison are a few of the agencies I have worked with.

My last Advertising agency assignment was with TBWA Mumbai as a creative director. I left TBWA to form Cell Communications in September 2002.

As a creative director at the Cell, the task that I was assigned to involved handling all of CNBC TV18's communication needs: advertising, DM, branding and internal communication. The aim was to achieve focused, hard-working and clutter-breaking advertising that would actively move a brand.

In the last few months, Cell Communications has evolved into an independent brand and design consultancy that now handles large brands outside the CNBC -TV 18 family. Our list of clients include CNBC TV18, a New York based magazine Mantram, business & financial services portal based in India - Moneycontrol.com, all the products in the IL&FS portfolio, IL&FS Mutual Funds and Beauty Without Cruelty - BWC.

The field record

In May 2003, Cell Communications decided to pitch in the open market as an independent brand and design consultancy. We pitched for IL&FS Mutual Fund and bagged the account after a two week long process. We have launched the IL&FS Growth and Value Fund campaign in June 2003. It is a multi-city and multi-media campaign including Press, Hoardings, TVC and Email.

Meanwhile, in May 2003, Cell Communications was also approached by the Reliance Corporate office to do a re-design project for their corporate communication brochures. We delivered in record time and the brochures are in print.

In keeping with our unique approach to work, we decided to offer our services to an NGO. We now handle BWC, Beauty Without Cruelty, a well-respected NGO working in the area of prevention of cruelty to animals and the promotion of vegetarianism.

Television as career choice
Television has exciting possibilities. It is an evolving category in India. The idea of starting an in-house creative and brand consultancy was very challenging.

Current Television scenario
It is very fascinating. Increased segmentation, fierce competition... the most interesting phenomena being the emergence of so many news channels. It will be great fun tracking their progress.

On the television software front, specially soaps etc, we've seen not too much progess on original ideas and great scripts but the industry is picking up...of course and how CAS will change everyone's lives...another big question is how will the mass entertainment channels build differentiators over time, will individual programmes compete on conflicting time bands, where will the brand war be played out, how is the consumer going to react to proliferation and over selling from channels....will inherent brand values of a channel make any difference or will increased commodification make the whole game even more ruthless and fickle.

Right and wrong about current marketing scenario
Simply put, what is right is the freedom that channels have been given and what's wanting is quality, delivery and responsible reporting. We still have some work to do.

Some news channels are still in the 'sensationalist' phase, they need to evolve into deeper analysis and quality perspective, while others are just mirroring the lowest common denominator for mass viewership. Such channels generally compromise on the holistic perspective. Training of personnel in the industry is a huge issue. Channels need to invest in their intellectual capital, rather than physical capital. That's where we lack as compared to some of the older foreign channels. On the other hand, a lot of India based channels have found their own unique voice and are bonding strongly with their viewers. It's a dynamic and fascinating scenario.

Five years from now
On a six month cruise somewhere in the middle of the Pacific....

Hobbies
Writing, theatre, reading, walking and watching people.

Idea of enjoyment
Chilling with a lovely book on a rainy day.

Name: B Shankar

Designation: National Sales Head, Raj TV

Sun Sign: 16 Jan 1974, Capricorn

Educational Experience
I am a science graduate, BSc Physics. Later, I did my post graduation in System Management, followed by a sales training course. Besides, I have also done a number of courses to keep myself abreast of the latest technologies, be it in the IT sector or the advertising and marketing field.

Professional Experience
After my PG in in System Management, I joined a computer firm as a programmer. The job was smooth sailing except for the fact that I felt that my creativity and talents weren't really being used to the optimum. I felt stifled, I knew that it wasn't something that I would be happy doing for the rest of my life. My boss at the computer firm offered me a sales project and I found my calling. I knew I wanted to be with people and so I chose to opt for a career in the advertising and marketing sector.

My first stint was with Get it Yellow pages in Hyderabad, it was a challenge. Later, I joined the investment firm Capital Market and then Indian Express. With most of my formative years spent in Chennai, I had always wanted to visit Mumbai. I have been fascinated by the city. When accidentally I landed up in Mumbai, I was amazed by the spirit, the professional attitude of the city, but due to some personal compulsions, I had to go back to Chennai. However, I guess coming back to Mumbai was in store for me.

It was just some time later that I was contacted by Raj TV and thus began my career with Raj TV as the sales head. Later, I was appointed as the National sales head in Mumbai. I have been with Raj TV for six years now.

On moments of personal triumphs
One thing that I learnt in the course of my career is that, establishing a relationship with the client is a must. In 2002 when we approached Cadbury's to sponsor our Rajnikanth film festival, it seemed like quite a task to convince them to advertise down South. Since Rajnikanth is a superstar, we created a campaign with Five Star chocolate bar. It was my first mega campaign in Mumbai and I pursued the clients till we got the deal done.

Another campaign that has been quite memorable is the Videocon Kollywood festival. I was in Mumbai at that time and the we got the news that Sunil Tandon would meet me at Chennai. I clearly remember it was 26 April 2001. So I immediately flew there but due to some problem he didn't land there, I waited the entire day. The very next day, I managed to fix an appointment in Mumbai. After convincing Sunil Tandon about our capabilities, I clinched the Rs 7.5 million contract. Later, there were quite a few, including soft drink giant Coca Cola.

Marketing in Television as career choice
Television as a dynamic and glamorous field fascinated me a lot. It has that audio visual feel, the ability to connect with people that wasn't there in print. Besides, I have always wanted to meet people, interact with them. Television was ideal for me to broaden my horizons. There is a constant need to innovate and dynamics of the field are brilliant.

Current television scenario
Good and looking up by the minute. It has a lot of scope for improving but I guess we are getting there.

Right and wrong about current television scenario
One good thing about current television scenario is that it has opened up a myriad of job opportunities for people. It offers 50 per cent more jobs than cinema. As for the creative aspect, people are getting more and more content savvy, there is a certain programme loyalty and there is a market for niche programming.

One thing that irks me are these TRPs, GRPs,CPRPs... for me it is very difficult to sell an half hour show. Advertisers are very skeptic. As a result, there is a chance that a good project will wither for a lack of sponsors. The entire cycle is vicious. In such a scenario, people are unwilling to experiment.

Personally, I believe that only public broadcasters like Doordarshan are beyond all this and are willing to experiment.

The rating system cannot be done away with till an alternative yardstick is established. But people need to look beyond the numbers; only then can television and its advertising market bloom.

Five years from now
Be it in this industry or any other, I should be the one of the best. Up and raring to go would be my state of mind even then.

Hobbies
I guess catching up with my friends, either on phone or personally. In my profession, where spare time is a luxury, I have learnt to squirm in some moments of fun. Listening to FM is my hobby, I used to love 94.6. So whenever I am stuck in traffic, I am very happy! Besides, the industry itself is a hobby.

Now that I am married for two years, we both try and catch up with the city. She is also from Chennai... though she had some problems earlier, she loves the place more than I do now. We just live and love every moment of it

Idea of enjoyment
Switching off the mobile phone and going for a drive to Lonavala.