THE MICA JOURNAL

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2016 Review: Advertising Hits and Misses

The last year saw some very interesting campaigns. While some succeeded in generating positive conversations about their brands on social media platforms, there were others who rubbed their audience the wrong way. Here is our compilation of the most interesting and not so interesting ad campaigns of 2016:

1- Make Love Not Scars- Beauty Tips By Reshma

Make Love Not Scars, an NGO organisation that works towards providing opportunities to acid attack survivors released a series of three advertisements on social media. The campaign was conceptualised by The Ogilvy and Mather in which a real acid attack survivor shares beauty tips and urges people to sign a petition for enforcing a ban on the over-the-counter sale of acid in India. The video campaign triggered global conversation and support for the cause, and more than 300,000 people have signed the petition addressed to the Prime Minister of India.

2- Indian Association of Palliative Care - Last Words

This video campaign was an effort to build awareness about palliative (end-of-days) care through digital and social media. The campaign was helmed by Medulla Communications for the Indian Association of Palliative Care. People usually do not like talking about the inevitability of death and dying, especially for patients with serious illness. It often happens that their 'last words' are heard by nurses rather than their family members. This emotional video features eight nurses who share the last words of their dying patients in a campaign that leaves a lump in the throat.

3- Bajaj V- Sons of Vikrant

An emotional video tribute to INS Vikrant by Bajaj Motorcycles and media house Leo Burnett , Sons of Vikrant is stirring documentary that evokes nostalgia about the legendary warship. The video brings together stories shared by war veterans who served aboard INS Vikrant. Bajaj Motorcycles had bought some parts of the metal from INS Vikrant when the ship was commissioned for scrapping and moulded it into the bodies of their new motorcycle model, 'Bajaj V, The Invincible'.

4- Y- Films- 6 Pack Band

Backed by Hindustan Unilever and launched by Y-films, this video campaign is breaking some well-established industry norms while battling prejudice and discrimination against the transgender community. Asha Jagtap, Bhavika Patel, Chandni Suvarnakar, Fida Khan, Komal Jagtap, and Ravina Jagtap are members of India's first transgender pop music band, whose campaign is making quite an impact with its extraordinary outreach.

5- Jack n Jones- Don't Hold Back

Ranveer Singh's image took a severe beating after a Jack & Jones advertisement showed him picking up a miniskirt-clad girl on his shoulders with the tagline ‘Take you work home’. The ad was slammed by many on social networking sites for being sexist.

On 19 November 2016, users on Twitter started posting the pictures of billboard accusing the brand of being utterly sexist and objectionable. The ad was also reported to the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI), the advertising industry watchdog. The company eventually withdrew the ad on 21 November and individually tweeted to the complainants apologizing for causing distress.

6- Pan Bahar- Class never goes out of style

Pierce Brosnan, better known as the famous James Bond, shocked everyone when one fine morning, all newspapers flashed his picture holding a box of Pan Bahar instead of a gun! This was followed by an ad featuring him ooze charm fighting over the villains while holding his pack of Pan Bahar. In response the social media got flooded with trolls and jokes around the advertisement as the man who once defined style using his charm had now taken to Pan Bahar to look cool. Another interesting thing was that people still confused the ad with Pan Parag.

In October 2016 the ad has been banned from national and satellite television by none other than Central Board Of Film Certification Chief Pahlaj Nihalani.

[themicajournal]

MICAn Rooms - Part 2

We’re all storytellers here – with a creative yet analytical bent of mind – saddling up to take on the world. While we strive to solve complex case studies, run analytics and build award-winning marketing campaigns, there is a part of us that cannot resist the temptation of weaving a good story. This part, this small but integral part, is what makes a MICAn. This part of the MICAn psyche is also responsible for the endless creativity we find on campus, one manifestation of which is MICAn Rooms. Scroll down to find some of this year’s favourites: Champa 3, Ashwin Venugopal Having given up on sketching before high school, Ashwin was pleasantly surprised to find himself reaching for this long forgotten but beloved habit in a business school. The thing about living with so many people in close contact all the time is that it leaves one with very few places to be with yourself. Ashwin’s aim was to design a space where he could be himself – with his values, shortcomings, beliefs and insecurities – a place he could come back to everyday, even if it is just to sleep.

Chandni  5, Shantanu Paliwal After sleeping next to white walls throughout first year(mostly out of laziness), Shantanu knew he wanted to design his space for second year in accordance with his personality while maintaining a warm and cosy ambience for those who would visit. Thus his two greatest passions – sports and the Marvel Universe – merged to create his own sports universe. Being an ex-SCAM member, he had access to some broken sports equipment which he recycled as room decor. An LED strip around them completes the look & makes sure that the room looks its best when he is at his active best, that is, at night.

Palaash 19, Abhishek Agrawal A quintessential 90s kid, Abhishek is known for being a creative maverick. While contemplating design options it was clear to him that he wanted the room to spell nostalgia. Warmly lit with yellow rice lights, his wall sports a hand-painted mural of his favourite Cartoon Network characters – Fred Flintstone, Roadrunner, Dexter, Scooby and more. However he didn’t stop there, right outside his room, are caricatures of his friends and him, a popular graffiti tradition in MICA. Both murals were designed and executed by the general occupants of the room, who go beyond his roommate and him. 

Champa 20, Nupur Prakash Walk into Nupur’s room and you’ll know what everyone’s been raving about. Tastefully done up with dim, ambient lighting, her room is the ideal place for a chat with friends. Elegant like herself, the trinkets and knick knacks which adorn her room are all handpicked and regularly cared for. The perfect hostess also has a bed-box full of goodies for anyone who visits – ranging from flavoured teas and squashes to cookies and savouries. 

Parijat 30, Ankita Sharma A talented dancer, athlete and artist, Ankita was among the first to paint their rooms this year. The silhouettes on her wall represent her obsession with the grace and passion involved in different Latin dance forms, particularly Salsa, which she learnt for the first time in the tenth standard. The inscription meanwhile, is a reference to a mail she received during the first week at MICA from her usually stoic father, letting her know that he’ll always be around no matter what. Words that have kept her going all this while.

[themicajournal]

MICAn Rooms - Part 1

We’re all storytellers here – with a creative yet analytical bent of mind – saddling up to take on the world. While we strive to solve complex case studies, run analytics and build award-winning marketing campaigns, there is a part of us that cannot resist the temptation of weaving a good story. This part, this small but integral part, is what makes a MICAn. This part of the MICAn psyche is also responsible for the endless creativity we find on campus, one manifestation of which is MICAn Rooms. Scroll down to find some of this year’s favourites: Parijat 26, Ashna Shah Bathed in teal, this room is a delight in the mornings as the sun streams in to wake up its inhabitants. The decor, as Ashna likes to put it, is the coming together of a multitude of themes and desires that went unheard in the past. Atop her desk she collects pictures, posters and pinups carefully curated from specific events or places – each having a story or memory behind them.

Amaltas 9, Diganta Roy A natural inclination towards Buddha – the wisdom, calm and serenity associated with him – drove Diganta to paint a mural of Buddha on his wall. Our rooms represent our creativity, so tweaking the idea a bit to match his own personality was a given. Diganta decided to design Buddha for the modern times, with headphones on, perhaps listening to a groovy track. Hence the idea of the serene smile turning into a smirk was born.

Parijat 20, Alisha Singhal and Ayushi Shrivastava 

Roommates to sisters, the Parijat 20 duo, wanted to paint the room an uncommon colour and thus settled on scarlet after a lot of debate. The girls then bought curtains, lights and trinkets to spread around the room to give it the homely vibe it emanates. The walls reflect the two personalities that coexist in the room – one half has an independent dancing girl representing Ayushi ‘s two passions: painting and dancing and the other holds the favourite quotes and posters of the ardent F.R.I.E.N.D.S fan, Alisha.

Chinar 13, Kalpana Bhandari

A firm believer in the transformative power of one’s space, Kalpana knew she wanted her room to be a lively and natural place. Accordingly she chose colours and patterns that are generally happy-making and resonate with her. One of the most detailed rooms at MICA, Kalpana describes it as a piece by piece reconstruction of herself in concrete.

Champa 11, Vedant Sharma Sometimes our rooms are a gift from our friends – an apt representation of everything we stand for in their eyes. Such was the case for Vedant, a PGP 2 student who was gifted the ultimate SRK fandom cave by his closest friends for his birthday. The pictures and posters chosen reflect Vedant’s favourite scenes and films and his undying respect and love for the actor.

Chandni 19, Rajeshwari Sahay Straight out of a glossy magazine, this room is an ode to all things lifestyle with the perfect mix of quirky and chic. As a fan of candy colours and pop-art Rajeshwari is always on the hunt for kitschy new knick knacks for her room. The seating area on the ground is mainly for entertaining but doubles up as a reading nook. Not pictured here is a stack of her favourite books that she loves to curl up with on weekends.

[themicajournal]

And It’s A Wrap! - MICANVAS 2016

Every year as November rolls around, MICA prepares for MICANVAS, its annual marketing fest which was held this year from 18th to 20th November, 2016. This year, the three day fest saw a plethora of events from panel discussions by imminent industry professionals to competitions, lectures, workshops, informal events and concerts. Participants from B Schools all over India arrived on campus to be a part of the MICANVAS journey. The fest kicked off with Mr. Kunal Jeswani, CEO, Ogilvy India, delivering a keynote address at MICA, educating the students about personalisation and storytelling in the context of marketing communication. He emphasized the importance of forming that ‘personal connect’, saying “The challenge of marketing is that people are telling stories in a world where everyone is a story teller. More stories will be created and made available to mankind today than on any other day in human history. Stories feel like stories only when there is a sense of authenticity to them.”

Also organised, was a panel discussion on the topic ‘Datification of humans or humanization of data? Decoding the ‘me’ in mecosystem.’ The panelists, Mr. Ankit Mehrotra, Co-Founder of Dine Out, Mr. Siddharth Adelkar, Consultant, ThoughtWorks, and renowned psychiatrist Mr. Bhooshan Shukla, enlightened the students about the relevance of personalized and experiential marketing. “In this world of monopoly, you want to be an entrepreneur, you will have to look into the blind spots of the established giants”, said Mr. Mehrotra.

This year the fest was bigger and better, with challenges that went beyond the regular case studies and markstrat competitions. The fest started with the initial rounds of Last Manager Standing, its flagship event, which involves a multi level competition, where participants are given managerial and business problems of different formats to tackle. The event started with 18 participants from various B schools, battling for the title. The competition utilised a combination of presence of mind, strategy and negotiations skills and rewarded the most worthy candidate with a cash prize of 1 lakh.

Other events like Gambit, a sports marketing case study competition and StartUp Monopoly, a competition built on the booming start-up culture capitalized on emerging trends in the fields of marketing and communication. MICANVAS made sure participants had fun while they ideated and came up with solutions by creating events that tested the creativity quotient of its participants. Metrotopia was such an event, where participants had to come up with a superhero character based on mythology and explain how they would be relevant in modern times. UnMarketable, presented participants with a challenge to try to market products from two diametrically different brands which are considered ‘unmarketable’ to certain target audiences. They were tasked with positioning and brand extension strategies for certain products to TGs which would never use these products. Gamify took place on Day 3. The event was centered around gamification which has been the most exciting addition to MICANVAS '16 with the introduction of the MICANVAS app.

The fest wasn’t all work and no play, as the organising committee invited several renowned artists to keep the tempo going even after the rigour of competitions ended at sunset. Advaita, of Coke Studio and MTV Unplugged fame, performed live for the audience on Day 2 transporting them to fusion paradise with some of their best compositions like Mandirva. The perfect blend of flutes, tabla, taals, thrown together with the classical ragas and a pinch of western strings wrapped up what was an exceptional night. They also judged in-house music committee, Studio7’s Battle of the Bands.

On Day 3, the fest ended on a high note with Amit Trivedi, Neeti Mohan, Divya Kumar and Arun Kamath enthralling the audience with their incredible performances. The crowd sang along and enjoyed every moment of the powerpacked concert. Photos by Siddharth Samant.

[themicajournal]

10 Reasons to Attend MICANVAS 2016

Dates: 18th - 20th November

Ideas. Innovation. Inspiration. This is at the core of MICA’s annual marketing festival, MICANVAS. Envisioned as the Mecca of marketing, the event lets you Interact with leaders from the marketing industry and future leaders from the best B-schools in India. As we enter our 15th year, we have a lot in store for you. Here are 10 reasons to attend MICANVAS 2016: 

Mindspeak

Kunal Jeswani, Ogilvy India

Mindspeak brings a panel of marketing goliaths to speak on the biggest changes and trends in the industry. This year, joining us will be Kunal Jeswani, CEO of Ogilvy India; Siddharth Adelkar, Thoughworks; Ankit Mehrotra, Dine Out and renowned psychiatrist, Dr. Bhooshan Shukla.

Last Manager Standing

A multi-round competition where participants from the best B-Schools solve business and managerial problems, with the winner taking away a prize of Rs. 1,00,000.

Amit Trivedi

Let your hair loose and unwind after a grueling day of marketing madness by immersing yourself in the captivating tunes of Amit Trivedi, live in concert at Adrenaline - the artist night of MICANVAS.

Competitions

This year, MICANVAS is packed to the brim with the competitions that will rack your brains, including Metrotopia, BrandScript, Start-Up Monopoly, UnMarketable, SMS and RJ Wars.                                                   

(Read more at dare2compete/Micanvas/MICA)

Chota

The iconic Chota canteen was recently voted the best college canteen by Collegespeak.in. Nestled amongst lanterns, charpais and smiling faces, try the ‘strong-wali coffee’ or ‘tadka maggi’ and find out why.

Gamification Experience

Gamify your MICANVAS journey with the MICANVAS app and score points on your way to become the ‘Ultimate Marketer’. The app keeps you engaged online as well as offline, and challenges you on 5 domains: General Knowledge, Advertising, Branding, Problem Solving and Sports Marketing. 

Campus Infrastructure

MICA radiates with a rustic charm which can be attributed to the red brick walls. These walls symbolise strength and transparency. A lot has changed at MICA in the last 25 years, except the blissful feeling the campus leaves you with.

Battle of the bands

Battle of the Bands 2016 brings together the best semi-professional musical acts from across the country to fight it out for musical supremacy (and the prize money, of course). This year, we left no stones unturned and got the celebrated fusion band Advaita to headline and judge this competition.

Chota Wall

Every year before MICANVAS, MICAns splash the Chota wall with paint, adorn it with lights and fill it up with graffiti and quotes. Loaded with insider jokes, this wall gives you a glimpse into the daily life at MICA and serves as the perfect conversation starter.

The MICAn Life

Everything at MICA has a story to tell - the trees, the bricks, the air, our rooms, our hostels and our graffiti. Unravel these stories, taste the MICAn life and learn a thing or two about ‘India’s best-kept secret amongst management institutions’.

[themicajournal]

The making of AMBAA : Sankalp’s Annual Production 2016

Sankalp, The Theatre Society At MICA is all set take the stage for Annual Production 2016 with Ambaa which is a rendition of Indian Mythological epic, The Mahabharat. The play is being directed by Ipshita Khan, Chakshu Bhandari and Aishwarya Raghavan, who are all part of Sankalp. The play encompasses around the story of Ambaa who is on a quest for justice which takes the storyline of the play from the ancient kingship setting to a futuristic setting. A total of 30 students are part of the play in the form of cast and crew and working towards making the story of Ambaa being told in a captivating way. As rehearsals are in full force, we bring to you snippets from behind the scenes of Ambaa.

“A play based on the Mahabharat would require creatives on a thin line revolving around a particular set of characters, which has been done extensively over the years. Having to design the creatives around a comparatively lesser known character gave us the freedom to come up with our own depictions of her and pushing our imagination.” Arushi Srivastava from PGP 1, who is designing creatives for Ambaa

 "Sometimes, characters help you explore a side of your own persona that you never knew existed. Ambaa, I think has been a very empowering experience. I relate with her emotionally - the love, the passion and the commitment that she has for the ones she cares for. I have realized over the course of our rehearsals that I have intricately identified with her dauntlessness and fierceness. It has been a very enriching experience and I hope it’s a visual treat for the audience too." Ishita Singh from PGP 1, who plays the titular character in Ambaa

"Theater and dance have always fascinated me, thus, being a part of the Annual Production “Ambaa” is an exciting opportunity. For me, Ambaa’s story is one of the most powerful ones in Mahabharat, and depicting various moods of the tale through the medium of dance is, in itself an enthralling experience. The endless hours of practice and adrenaline surge is bound to culminate into a memorable theater treat for the audience." Rituraj Singh from PGP 1, who is part of the dance group for Ambaa

“It was an insightful experience to develop a story around characters that we are all so familiar with. Despite this familiarity, these dynamic characters have the scope of being contextualized according to the writer’s perspective. It’s very rare that you get an opportunity to interpret an epic at this scale and I thoroughly enjoyed doing it.” Chakshu Bhandari, one of the Directors of Ambaa

So, brace yourself to witness the story of Ambaa unfold at HK Arts Auditorium, Ashram Road on the 11th and 12th of November 2016. 

Passes available at: https://in.bookmyshow.com/plays/ambaa/ET00048847

[themicajournal]

MICAn Subjects (Part 2)

As the premier school for strategic management and communication, MICA has always strived to stay relevant in terms of its curriculum. The subjects taught at MICA – right from Day 1, until the students step out into the corporate world – are tailored to help think beyond the obvious, reject pre-existing perceptions and build worldviews. This series aims to build familiarity to the concept of a day at MICA, specifically in the classroom.

Culture and Communication

As expert craftsmen of brands, MICAns are known for their understanding of culture. This attribute is set in place in the 1st term itself, with the subject of ‘Culture and Communication’. This course attempts to disrupt the fixed understanding of culture and recast it as practices that emerge at the intersection of various socio-economic, political, and global landscapes.  In this framework, you look at various communicative practices and contexts in which ‘culture’ constantly changes and is changed.  You explore ‘culture’ as text, one that communicates the ways it has been produced, who it is meant for and how it is used.

This is further built upon in the next term where you practice this awareness of culture as text. The second part of the course situates this awareness in a series of practical encounters with cultural stereotypes and develop an applied mental tool-kit for negotiating difference both at the workplace and in everyday life.

When asked to describe the subject, course faculty Pooja Thomas said, "This course looks at different kinds of cultural interactions in a world changed by technology, media, migration, and processes of globalization. In a world such as this, it is increasingly hard to hold on to a fixed idea of culture and cultural identity. This course introduces context sensitivity as a tool and strategy to understand 'culture'. Context sensitivity helps analyse cultural products, generate cultural insights and innovation, and connect with multiple stakeholders. This course also uses context sensitivity to take a hard look at ethical behaviour, at conflict and violence, and at the encounters with difference in the shifting world we live in.”

Stuti Sethi, a student of PGP-1, describing her learning experience with great enthusiasm, says,”The Culture and Communication classroom becomes a simulated site of cultural encounters to test and develop competencies for ‘reading culture’. We are introduced to ‘culture’ as a practice and process, especially in relation to identity. In the world of marketing, the course will help us apply these strategies in our encounters with difference.”

Urban Retail Studies

MICA has a strong legacy of retail management and studies, and this course happens to be a part of that rich tradition, taken forward by our very own Professor Mini Mathur. The retail environment has evolved rapidly in the past few decades, with the retailing industry and its placement and design of "brick-and-mortar" locations changing with evolving demographics, shopping behaviour, transportation options and a desire in recent years for more unique shopping environments.

The course provides a basic understanding of the store format and how to categorise consumer behaviour according to product/store categories- to eventually induce and maximize product purchase. The students are given field assignments that require them to go to various retail outlets and carry out market research and map the consumer buying process. The key takeaways are visual merchandising, in-store eyeball tracking and understanding floor layouts. This was an introductory course and was complemented later by subjects like retail management.

Mini Mathur, the professor offering this course is excited to see how students react to the subject this year, “We recently had the CEO of Walmart India drop by for a talk on campus, I thought it was really great exposure for students interested in this field. It’s the perfect groundwork for my course, really!” Services Marketing

Offered in the second term, this course focuses on the difference between marketing of goods and marketing of services (both B2B and B2C). The course is offered by Anita Basalingappa, who believes in teaching through case studies. Every class has a designated case study pre-read, usually from Harvard Business Review, which is discussed at length in class until a solution is reached.

Frameworks like the Service Gap Model, Zone of Tolerance and the Model of Diffusion of Innovation are only some of the many theoretical concepts we are taught to use when solving business problems within case studies.

“Coming up with an idea isn’t the be all and end all of a business. Services Marketing helps structure the execution of business ideas and service models, that wouldn’t otherwise be accessible to us” said Abhishek Agrawal, a PGP-1 student when asked about the relevance of the course.  

[themicajournal]

MICAn Subjects (Part 1)

As the premier school for strategic management and communication, MICA has always strived to stay relevant in terms of its curriculum. The subjects taught at MICA – right from Day 1, until the students step out into the corporate world – are tailored to help think beyond the obvious, reject pre-existing perceptions and build worldviews. This series aims to build familiarity to the concept of a day at MICA, specifically in the classroom. Semiotics

Students at MICA require an understanding of communications systems to recognize the communication network as being meaningful and inter-connected. The course on Semiotics helps them understand that all aspects of their professional engagements – marketing, finance, retail, advertising, technology – need to be addressed as linkages within a larger discourse of social and cultural ideology. Semiotics helps them to see beyond ‘models’ and brings in the important focus on culture and agency.  By learning to actually ‘analyze’ and engage with methods through semiotic theory, students learn to appreciate the layers of meaning within these texts, the sub-texts, and how each of these influence one another within different contexts of usage. They learn that cultures are dynamic and require to be understood from different perspectives. Theoretical inputs help them see that culture and communication systems can be addressed from varied vantage points and in order to appreciate theory, analytical methods must be applied.Speaking about the course, Professor Harmony Siganporia said, “I've said before, only half-facetiously, that semiotics is an extremely arrogant field of study: it thinks of itself as a master science, which seeks to locate how meaning enters (and circulates in) societies. For everyone from advertising agencies to MR organisations working on cultural research, semiotics is the buzz-word of the moment, but most practitioners don't seem to understand just how vast its ambit actually is, with its links to futurology. As a method, semiotic analysis reverses conventional ideas about consumer insight mining entirely, and this makes it a powerful tool to have in any aspiring marketer's arsenal. 

In class, the endeavour is to try and ground my students in as rigorous a theoretical training as I think is necessary for them to become truly thinking - and cutting-edge - practitioners able to carry out work suffused with a semiotic sensibility.” PGP-2 student, Madhur Agarwal, was all praises for the course, stating how the knowledge of semiotic theory helped her with her assigned project during her summer internship, as her work largely revolved around insight mining and understanding consumers. Research Methodology

Among the subjects offered in Term 2 is Research Methodology, an intensive course that aims to provide deep understanding of research techniques and different approaches to understanding reality. This course helps prepare students to undertake independent research study by deconstructing a given management problem and translating the same to suitable research problems. This course, taught by three eminent faculty members – Kallol Das, Ashutosh Dutt and Shailesh Yagnik – is instrumental in enabling the identification, application, and execution of appropriate research design given the research problems at hand. Moreover, on completion of the course, students are able to distinguish amongst the different research methods, be aware of the specific tools and their relative roles and limitations. The areas of study covered under this course entail: 1. Research problem formulation, research question, and hypothesis formulation 2. Research process, research design, and sampling 3. Measurement and instrumentation 4. Planning for analysis Research Methodology is a significant course for MICAns who go off for summer internships at the end of first year, where they are met with roles that require quantitative and qualititative research. Pragya Mehra, a PGP2 student fresh out of her internship stated how she was able to translate her classroom learning to tackle real-life marketing issues faced by the company she worked with, often gaining praise for her meticulous approach. PGP-1 student Apurva Bhinda spoke about the course as well, "In each lecture we delve into understanding psychology and culture until we start to see things as common sense. There is no better feeling than uncovering a sharp insight, and we are lucky to have such accomplished faculty teaching us how to do so." Describing his course, Professor Das said, “ The research methodology course is designed to strengthen the critical thinking and analytical abilities of students besides acquainting them with important research tools and techniques. The larger purpose is to equip them with required knowledge and skills that can help them take better business decisions as future managers and entrepreneurs. As a faculty, I hope that the course instills a strong sense of curiosity among the participants to better understand the world around and makes them capable enough to search for the answers independently. ”

Digital Marketing and Transformative Frameworks

The world of digital media is changing at a phenomenal pace. Its constantly evolving technologies, and the way people are using them, are transforming not just how we access our information, but how we interact and communicate with one another on a global scale. It’s also changing the way we choose and buy our products and services. People are embracing digital technology to communicate in ways that would have been inconceivable just a few short years ago. Digital technologies are no longer the preserve of tech-savvy early adopters, and today ordinary people are integrating them seamlessly into their everyday lives.

In the developed world internet access is becoming practically ubiquitous, and the widespread availability of wireless connectivity means that people are now going online daily to do everything from checking their bank statement, to shopping for their groceries, to playing games. What makes this digital revolution so exciting is that it’s happening right now. As future marketers who are living through it, and we have a unique opportunity to jump in and be part of this historical transition. 

Every marketer in the digital age will be expected to understand what is possible, achievable, affordable and effective within the digital channels. Internet marketing is evolving into a highly specialized discipline. It shares many of the core elements found in conventional direct marketing – media, messaging, planning, database management, CRM, segmentation and fulfilment with the added twist of new technologies, tools and techniques that deliver extended capabilities and greater business opportunities. First year student, Abhishek Paul had this to say, "The landscape of digital media is changing every day but the core rules remain the same. The fascinating discussions we have in class cement our marketing sense while updating our knowledge base regularly. Our projects and assignments also give us a deeper understanding of how things actually work." The classes, usually highly interactive, include a mix of theoretical & practical discourse and focus on trying to develop an understanding of the way search engines work, the ways to optimize content and webpage design for better rankings.  Additionally students are familiarized in monitoring & tracking techniques/tools to measure performance. Associate Dean and faculty for the course, Prof. Siddharth Deshmukh is excited for the endless possibilities digital marketing opens up to MICAns, “Its not about being prepared for working and living in a digitally enabled world. Its about shaping that world to suit your work and life. We are at a place where we have that choice- to shape or be shaped.” AnyBodyCanDraw

Crafting Creative Communication or CCC, a course that creates intrigue in most minds when it comes up, is a programme specially designed for people who want to pursue a career as Ideators. Today, the need is for conceptual thinkers who are also 'executors'. In other words, Ideators are more than just copywriters, art directors, designers, TV commercials makers or even web designers. At MICA, CCC folk are the ones you’ll see running around with cameras and sketchbooks, lugging easels and in general having a ball. 

His intention behind starting this course was to make his students start seeing the world from different perspectives, rejecting the set patterns and colours that are considered the norm. In an ABCD class you will never hear the words proportion or line quality because at MICA we strive to learn the difference between seeing and looking. ABCD or Any Body Can Draw is a session that takes the learning out of the classroom, to the green surroundings of MICA. Ask Mr. Pravin Mishra, Head of CCC, and you’ll hear about the detrimental effects conventional art classes have on children who are just starting to learn how to express their creativity. 

“Ask them to draw something they like, and 15/20 students will bring you the same generic scenery with triangular mountains and a winding river – and for that matter why should a mountain always be brown? Who decides?”, complains Mishra. A student attending the ABCD session spoke about her inhibitions as well, “We usually do all our work on digital platforms, for some reason the act of putting pen to paper is now a very intimidating idea. Sir wants to inculcate a culture of sketching within the class and we’re excited to see what comes out of this session. We’ve been given autonomy to conduct sessions on our own, so all of us will conduct one session where we can pick a theme and work around it. Today’s theme for instance is portraits.”

ABCD sessions take place 2-3 times a week depending on the students’ schedules. So far it has been a resounding success with even PGP students joining the CCC folk in their early morning sketching sessions.

[themicajournal]

Sankalp : Opening Night 2016

Hello Buttercup, Sankalp’s Opening Night Feature for 2016, received an overwhelming response at its staging recently at MICA. Backed by incredible performances directed by Aishwarya Raghavan, Chakshu Bhandari and Ipshita Khan, the play managed to handle the delicate issue of schizophrenia with a grace that was not only commendable, but also a testament to how far the social stigma of mental health has come. Set against the romantic backdrop of vintage Bombay, complete with Victorian street lamps and classic signage, the plot revolves around Em or Melanie who is portrayed through three stages of her life – a young girl on the brink of motherhood, a middle-aged eccentric and a defeated old woman going through the motions. Em is seen caught in a tug-of-war between her conscience and her “other”, that threatens to ruin her, but which she indulges until the very last scene.                                      

The setting of vintage Bombay was a clever addition to this adaptation of Jerry Pinto’s Em and The Big Hoom, as it helped romanticize the notions of delusion, a popular by-product of love. There are moments in the play that are designed to bemuse the audience who spend most of the one hour run-time trying to decipher the inner workings of Em’s mind. They are, of course, helped along the way by a strong supporting cast that embody the insecurities and helplessness of Em’s fictional family.

Aadya Sharma, who plays one of the protagonist’s three roles, spoke about the run-up to the Opening Night, “Late nights or early mornings, rehearsals were always fun – with exercises and character work and a fair amount of goofing around too. I think we were all so at ease on stage because of how close we got to each other and to our characters. It was truly an amazing experience.”

Going ahead, we must set aside special mention for the creative production team who pulled off this visually enthralling play. Capturing the essence of vintage Bombay and the nuances of enduring love through their subtle but effective props and pop-colour light filters that elevated the proceedings to another level. Spectators walked out with certain visuals burned into the back of their minds, destined to stay there long after the curtain fell.

Speaking of her cast and crew, director Ipshita Khan said, “More than the final show what is dear to me is the fun we had during the whole process. My actors, volunteers, team and co-directors are just brilliant to work with.”

The impeccably directed Hello Buttercup is just one of the many productions that are set to grace the MICAn stage this year. Sankalp, MICA’s theatre society, is known for the dedication and planning that goes into each and every play from its conception to its eventual execution. Having just announced the members of its junior committee, the play was also instrumental in setting the standard for the recently inducted first years in terms of the quality of work expected from them. We look forward to Sankalp’s next event, Khula Aasmaan, a platform for aspiring MICAn directors to showcase their talent.

[themicajournal]

Junior MCSA 2016

The MICA Council for Student Affairs is the representative of the student community at MICA. Every year, after a gruelling process, the senior MCSA selects a junior team from PGP-1. This year, we congratulate Abhigyan Anand, Ankita Mohan, Megha Gautam and Siddharth Bhatnagar - Junior MCSA 2016.

The Junior MCSA 2016-2017 (L-R) : Siddharth Batnagar, Ankita Mohan, Megha Gautam, Abhigyan Anand

"Coming to MICA, I thought I knew what life was going to be like and that I was ready for everything. I'm so glad that wasn't the case JuMCSA included. Now it's just about keeping the trust of everyone involved.", says Abhigyan Anand. 

Ankita Mohan, a former Teach For India Volunteer says, "I knew that I would do well when I saw MCSA help grapple with my sickness in the first week. After the rigorous selection process I see myself take up responsibilities and let MICA work it's wonders on me."

"MICA was always a dream and now I'm finally living the dream. It is a home away from home and it's awesome to be surrounded by the most amazing people. Really privileged to be part of the JuMSCA and looking forward to working with the wonderful team.", says Siddharth Bhatnagar who has been a part of many student driven organisations previously.

Megha Gautam expressed her enthusiasm saying,"It feels amazing to be a part of the MICAn community and when you get chosen for JuMCSA, happiness knows no bounds. I am looking forward to a crazy ride with equal amounts of enthusiasm and nervousness."

MICA Council of Student Affairs 2016-17 (Standing L-R):  Abhigyan, Megha, Ankita, Siddharth | (Sitting L-R) : Nitin, Skandaram, Nupur

With a team of 7, MICA Council for Student Affairs  2016-2017 is all set to take on the challenges and work towards the betterment of the student community and the Institute. 

[themicajournal]

MICAns At Work - Summer 2016 (Part 3)

The MICAns At Work campaign is an attempt to bring forth some incredible summer internship experiences. Spanning across E-commerce, Media, FMCG, Research and Advertising - we present to you the third edition of stories from MICAns At Work.

                           HT MEDIA LTD. - Vaibhavi Joshi (PGP-22)

As part of my PGDM-C course at MICA, I got the opportunity to intern with HT Media Ltd. for two months.  Having recently completed it, I feel more confident about many topics that we learned in class, because I learned the practical aspects of those topics at HT Media Ltd.  The internship also gave me various opportunities to develop myself as a professional.  I gained a lot of experience and exposure, especially in the area of B2B marketing. As part of my project on B2B customer satisfaction and brand assessment study for Shine.com (An online job portal and a part of HT Media Ltd), I conducted B2B clientele’s awareness and satisfaction study through telephonic interviews. I also designed an engagement plan for the year (online and offline activities) for the B2B clientele. As a bonus, I got to participate in the event planning process with the team for the 41st Shine HR Conclave at Gurgaon.  My mentor during this internship was the Brand Head of Shine.com (and a 2008 batch MICAn). He was very helpful and always willing to share his feedback about my work.

Interning at HT Media Ltd. has helped me clarify my priorities and interests. The best part about the internship was working with an organisation that has more than 20 MICAns on board!

                               STAR INDIA - Het Mehta (PGP-22)

As I grew up in the world of spells and unicorns, working in the world of fiction was always my ultimate dream. Thus, an internship with Star India soon translated this dream to reality.

When we think of Media, particularly television, we think of models, parties and glamour. What we tend to discount is the spilled sweat of hundreds of people behind the screen. My stint with Star Plus gave me an increased appreciation of the evolved frameworks of collaboration required to churn out daily episodes like clockwork.  

With some initial dazed days spent trying to decode the cultural hotpot that is Star (every floor has its own culture and vibe!), I decided to take one day at a time while diving deep into research. My project brief was simple. I was asked to conduct extensive primary research to understand the social barriers faced by women in the Indian society.

From day 1, we were told that media as a space is chaotic and only for people who learn to thrive amongst this chaos.

Right from deciding my approach to the project and hiring an agency to recruit respondents according to my specifications to moderating focus group discussions, depth interviews and analyzing them, I was given full ownership of this project which took me from the developing roads of Vadodara to the narrow lanes of Varanasi.

Listening to a female Allahabad high court judge talk empathetically about the sufferings of women in UP to discussing the portrayal of indian women in media with Mr. Raju Hirani and Ms. Svati Chakravarthy (co-director Satyamev Jayate), this internship experience accorded certain opportunities I would have deemed improbable just 2 months back.

Till I joined Star, I was just another fresher who hoped she knew enough to adjust well in the competitive world out there. I still am. But because of these 2 months, I feel a little more ready to take on this world!

                                  STAR INDIA - Nupur Prakash (PGP-22)

My internship was in Star India Pvt. Ltd in Distribution- DTH Sales where the focus of my project was to identify reasons for churn on DTH Platforms. The industry loses a lot of revenue as many pay DTH subscribers leave the platform for free dish, cable, etc. The objective was to identify the reasons for this behavior. The methodology followed was to initially study historical data to be able to map churn trends, followed by secondary research which included meeting key DTH platforms. All the information was then verified by way of primary research where I interviewed about 370 households in over 4 states of UP, MP, Rajasthan and Maharashtra and met various other stakeholders in the form of dealers, cable distributors, etc.

The internship gave me an opportunity to travel where I could learn the ground realities of distribution business in media industry. At the same time it gave me a holistic overview of how the distribution of channels and DTH business operations function. I had an  amazing mentor who guided me in developing my project for the overall advantage of distribution business. The project gave me an opportunity to develop my softer skills as well during my research. Overall, I got to learn how a media organization operates and it was a great experience.

                              GRABHOUSE - Aarti Hariramani (PGP-22)

Summers form a very important part of a Masters’ degree, as during this time one gets a chance to understand whether or not one wants to work for a particular domain. For me, summers was this one opportunity to explore the uncharted territory of working for a startup and understand the nuances of its dynamic culture.  I worked for Grabhouse, a rental startup based out of Bangalore. My project included designing a corporate-campus interaction programme for the company; this included a lot of primary, secondary research, ideation, agency interaction and content development. Working for this project I learnt about the many facets that go into developing a new property for a brand. On the digital front I worked on projects like keyword research, bounce rate analysis, to optimize the digital spend of the company. I learnt using tools like Google Adwords and Google Analytics and Facebook Ad Manager to run and keep a track of digital campaigns.

3 months at Grabhouse allowed us to work closely with our mentors. We had regular feedback meetings and discussions to improve our work. The dynamic culture, fun-loving team and flexible working hours made life at Grabhouse exciting. One day before the final presentations, at 1 in the morning the CMO offered us help and sat with us for an hour to share her experience. We presented our work to the CEO, CMO and other key members of the senior team and received valuable feedback. Overall it was an experience of its kind and I have returned with wonderful memories and an in-depth understanding of the humongous amount of work that goes into planning and executing new projects.

                         REDBUS - Samarth Bhatnagar (PGP-22)

One of the reasons I was able to perform as well as I did was because of the constant guidance and support from some of the most brilliant people I've met. In addition, the amount of trust redBus places in all the employees - including interns - is unprecedented. The nature and scale of projects I was involved in my stint here is testament to that fact and is a major factor why I can say that I couldn't have asked for a better internship experience

The past three months have been an amazing learning experience. It has been hectic but an extremely memorable ride at redBus and I'll fondly reminisce the time I spent here.

On the first day at redBus, I was introduced to the Brand Marketing team - the people I would be working closely with for the next three months. Sr. Brand Director of redBus, Pallavi Chopra, who is a MICAn herself, was my mentor. Neelabh Malick - also a MICAn from PGP 19th batch, Sahithi Palaparthy, who handles content and PR for redBus, Akansha Jayaswal who takes care of BTL, and Avideep De (currently Assistant Brand Manager at HUL) comprised the rest of the Brand Marketing Team.  The rest of the day was spent in presenting my project proposal to the team and meeting everyone else.

In the first week itself, I was asked to assist in a High Frequency customer feedback survey. This proved to be an amazing learning opportunity as I was actively involved in creating the survey and deriving actionable insights out of the result.

I was also asked to assist in redBus's Women's Safety Project, a CSR initiative by redBus. This proved to be one the most challenging and rewarding work I did during my time here.  I was also assisting the Brand Marketing team in the TVC campaigns, creating organic advertisements for Facebook and setting up Social Media Campaigns.

The last month at redBus was spent in completing my actual project - i.e. setting up a corporate brand identity for redBus, a brand perception study and finally a brand alignment exercise, which I presented to the CEO of redBus, Prakash Sangam, on my last day.

[themicajournal]

MICAns At Work - Summer 2016 (Part 2)

The MICAns At Work campaign is an attempt to bring forth some incredible summer internship experiences. Spanning across E-commerce, Media, FMCG, Research and Advertising - we present to you the second edition of stories from MICAns At Work.

             TITAN COMPANY LIMITED - Rajeshwari Sahay (PGP-22)

Working at a TATA company was one of the most enriching experiences of my life. At Titan, I was interning in the Watches and Accessories Department under the Trade/Retail Division. My project included market mapping for a new product and I visited stores across Bangalore and Mumbai. I also visited the Tanishq-Titan factory in Hosur, Tamil Nadu as a part of my project. 

My project location was at the Corporate Head Office in Bangalore. The culture in the company is very vibrant. We got adequate support and guidance for our projects from our mentors and also enough scope to implement our own ideas. At all the MBOs, EBOs, distributors and retail outlets that I visited, there was immense respect for representatives of a TATA company. I thoroughly enjoyed my summer working at a well-known and loved brand like Titan. 

               DDB MUDRA GROUP - Sourabh Bharadwaj (PGP-22)

Summer internships play a crucial role in helping one define their career choices. For freshers like me, it holds greater importance as it is our first taste of how working for an organization feels.

 I had a great time interning at DDB Mudra, one of the premier advertising agencies in India. As a strategy intern, I was exposed to many facets of advertising like concept writing for creative briefs, campaign planning, mystery shopping exercises and most importantly primary research.

I had a fantastic mentor who helped me understand the key elements of an engaging communication idea, which helped me, recognize tensions of the consumers and identify behavioral markers to derive insights for my project.

Overall, it was a very satisfying experience and I walked away with an in-depth understanding of how strategy plays a critical role in creating meaningful brand stories.

                            MRSS INDIA - Rajat Pandey (PGP-22) 

My internship was with MRSS India which is the Indian subsidiary of Majestic MRSS. I was posted in Mumbai and my work was entirely about Market Research. During my internship, I worked on Qualitative Research and used In depth interviews and Focused Group Discussions to achieve the objective of the project I worked on. Also, I got a hands on experience of how syndicated research is done for which I had to carry out an intensive search for secondary data and read multiple reports to draw insights from them.  

Overall, it was a period of astute learning which helped me hone my Market research skills. There were several concepts and models that I had learnt in class and got a chance to implement in the project I worked on.  Also, my internship gave me a new perspective towards Market Research which previously was clogged by stereotypical beliefs.

                              GOOGLE - Abhishek Gupta (PGP-22)

Being a Google Intern is an amazing feeling. Not just because it’s one of the best organization in the world, but also because it makes you feel special. Google opened its door of immense knowledge about digital marketing to me, and I deep dived so as to touch the trench of its knowledge’s ocean. I was Campaign Manager for AUNZ business, working as part of the APAC team. One of the major tasks for me was to run the campaign on digital platforms. Campaigning was done on AdWords at Search, Google Display Network & YouTube platforms. Working on live project and looking at things getting implemented in front of my eyes was great confidence booster. The environment at Google is such that it brings the best out of any person. And that’s the reason any sort of help needed was catered by the manager, mentor, & fellow team members. I remember each and every one of them say “There are no stupid questions”, and thus this attitude made me more comfortable in the team and helped me to learn more and perform at my fullest potential. In these two months of Internship, Google has put all trust in me, and to respect that all I did was to deliver something fruitful for Google. And this mutualistic relationship made me believe that Google is world’s best organization to work for.

                                GOOGLE- Ashwin Venugopal (PGP-22)

My internship at Google had me working on a project which aimed to standardise the onboarding process of a campaign manager to his role. Currently,apart from the technical training,there is no standardised process for the new employee to gather the details of his client,the business environment,the kind of products specific to the client(display,youtube etc) and this tends to delay the entire vertical or team's business output by at least 4-5 months. I was allotted a team and given access to their training so I could compare,find out shortcomings,identify business critical information and create a deliverable to help this process. The choice of the deliverable was given to me and it had to be presented to senior management at the end of my internship tenure. The project helped me to gain process knowledge, the company's business model and various product information as much as possible.

[themicajournal]

MICAns At Work - Summer 2016 (Part 1)

Summer internships are important stepping stones to our careers ahead. The MICAns At Work campaign is an attempt to bring forth some incredible summer internship experiences. Spanning across E-commerce, Media, FMCG, Research and Advertising - we present to you some moments fresh from their internships.

                                                                AMUL- Shikha Bhardwaj (PGP-22)

My summer of 2016 was every bit about Scorching heat, soaring temperatures and endless nagging about humidity. But I am not complaining, even a bit because I got to Intern with the largest Food Brand in the country “Amul”, with a huge range of delicious dairy products.

I was among the lucky one who got to work with AMUL’s media and advertising vertical. I got the right amount of exposure to Media Planning and backend financial media operations which helped me understand the nitty-gritty’s of both the client (in this case, AMUL) as well as agency side work. My work also incorporated giving suggestions to revamp AMUL’s entire website. The company gave me abundant freedom to drive the project around, interacting not only with Brand Managers but also with managers from other departments and put forth my suggestions to the top management. I also got a taste of vanilla social media marketing at AMUL where I handled one of the contests which aimed at repositioning the communication idea (#HamaraColdDrink) for one of the prominent beverage brand of AMUL- Amul Lassi.

In a nutshell, the internship gave me enough exposure and sneak peek into the FMCG industry and AMUL lived up to its name by giving me an Utterly butterly delicious experience.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BFdJDSSkBMQ/?taken-by=mica_schoolofideas                      

                                              AMAZON.IN - Rithika Karumbaiah (PGP-22)

Of one of the many things MICA teaches you, being comfortable with shopping online is one of them. Every day a number of us placed orders for clothes we urgently needed, phones to replace the ones that suddenly broke and the like. But, I never realised the amount of work that goes into ensuring that you place that order until I started my internship with Amazon. Working on the retail side of this E-commerce giant, my projects provided me with an overview of the working of the consumer electronics category. The experience taught me about the processes that one followed to ensure that every customer on the platform has the best experience possible. It also gave me the opportunity to present ideas from the point of view of a person, who until a few months ago, was a customer herself. The internship provided me with the skills to think customer backward and optimize customer experience. All in all, it was a great learning experience that put both, the analytical and creative parts of me to the test!

https://www.instagram.com/p/BGgRX0vqi7TKZpXMbZrZS8Ob6P6Lh385dl8DRg0/

                FIDELITY INVESTMENTS - Nishtha Kashyap (PGP 22)

I had an opportunity to work with Fidelity Investments which is a US based company in the Market Research and Insights team. It involved a lot of number crunching and gave me a glimpse of Analytics and Research. The tools that I used for analysis were Excel and SPSS. The project I was working on was live and I was given an opportunity to present it to the US counterparts including the President of the Market Research team which proved to be a great learning experience. In a nutshell, it was a hands on experience of handling and making sense of tons of data and modelling.

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10209304683116913&set=t.1317729991&type=3&theater

                            LEO BURNETT-  Tapan Vaghela (PGP-22)

"When you reach for the stars, you might not quite get one, but you won't come up with a handful of mud either."

                                                                                        - Leo Burnett

The very first day I entered Leo Burnett’s Delhi office, I could sense the feeling of creative expression, open and informal culture merely by looking at the colors and doodles sprawled out across the workplace. When we our introduced to our mentor, we were told that we need not report to him every day at the beginning and end of our work. “This isn’t a factory.” I was relieved and welcomed this much needed change, after actually having worked in a factory for a while.

There was no official dress code - Employees could wear anything they are comfortable in. I consider myself lucky because I got a lot of brands to work on, big ones most of them – Leading Cola brand, Beverage brands, a global spirits brand, life insurance brand, a Smartphone brand etc. Generally, interns get to work on only one brand and have specific project outlines. But in my case, it was totally different. I got the exposure of doing different kinds of jobs – primary and secondary research, insight mining, trend mapping, competitor analysis, creative brief writing, communication strategy concepts for brands in various segments. Micans are generally offered the role of Account Planning in advertising agencies, and I got to have a look at the scope of work planning entails.

My key takeaway was that planners need to improve their observation skills, curiosity for everything and their ability to build narratives. Insights lie in day-to-day observations. I got a wonderful feeling when my mentor shared during a brainstorming session that a particular insight came from an episode of FRIENDS. Classroom discussions really broaden your perspective, enabling you to think from multiple angles. Lot of background research goes into any piece of communication, and yet the end result may or may not be well received – it’s really difficult to presume.  

 https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10153725099952685&set=rpd.551347684&type=3&theater

                             SONY PICTURES NETWORKS - Pragya Mehra (PGP-22)

With increased number of hours being spent on digital platforms for various purposes, there lies immense potential in capitalizing on the need for quality content and channelizing their time spent on digital into profitable currency for Sony Pictures Networks. My summer internship at SPN was an attempt to uncover the unexplored genres of content on digital, outlining a roadmap for Sony’s entry into the same field.

An exploratory study was carried out that broadly incorporated qualitative research (primary and secondary) to ascertain what content is driving traffic on YouTube nowadays for our pre-decided TG. The scope also involved studying the competitive landscape and identifying best practices in the industry. Additionally, there was need to develop characters that will form the visual aspect along with summary of character building opportunities.

Next step required me to define the content strategy for each specific age group along with content preferences backed by primary and secondary consumer research for which depth interviews were conducted and an online survey was also rolled out for our focused group.

Insights derived from both means of data collection formed the quintessential content roadmap for stating what must be the next format to be rolled out for Sony on the Digital platform.

Autonomy and creative freedom given to build an end-to-end roadmap for an entirely new business for Sony provided a great learning platform and experience under the Digital and Business Development Team at Sony Pictures Networks.

 https://www.instagram.com/p/BExX98vEBIJ/?taken-by=mica_schoolofideas               

[themicajournal]

One Year at MICA- A Journey of Culture and Perspective

                         “A good life is a collection of happy moments”

‘Culture’ is the omniscient buzzword at MICA. Whether it’s a classroom discussion or dinner in the Mess, culture subtly seeps in everywhere. From quizzes to mark Harry Potter’s birthday to kebabs and biryani on Eid-ul-Fitr, there is something to suit everyone’s tastes. 

The three terms of every MICAn year are a wonderful potpourri of formal and informal events, festivals and celebrations. Following is a series of beautiful photographs which encapsulate one year at MICA.

                                        Eid-ul-Fitr celebrations 2015

                                            Studio7 Unplugged Night

                           Work-in-Progress ‘Poohkalam’ - ONAM 2015

                          OORJA 2015- Annual Dandiya Night at MICA

                 Bollywood music duo Sachin-Jigar at MICANVAS 2015

                                                   DIWALI 2015

               The Annual Production by Sankalp-Theatre Society at MICA

                                                     Uttarayan 2016

       TEDxMICA 2016- MICA’s annual independently organised TED event

                              SAMAR 2016- The Annual Sports Fest at MICA

                                  YELLOW UMBRELLA FESTIVAL 2016

                                             50 Shades of MICA- Holi 2016

[themicajournal]

The Batch That Was - PGP 21

A mere two years ago, was when we walked through those iron gates, into the hallowed red brick halls of MICA. Takkur Chacha looked fondly at us while we took our hostel room keys and wondered with excitement about what our roommates would be like. We dropped our bags on the floor, sat on the bed, across from each other and said our first hellos. Who knew what this legendary place had in store for us. It was from that day that the adventure began; a journey of self discovery and late night chilling sessions. Moments when we transcended boundaries, translating cultural discourse into friendly Palaash Wars; the moments where the Jarawas came face to face with the Negritos . 

Painting on the walls, each one of us telling a story, ubiquitous as far as being a MICAn is concerned, but unique to us, carrying on a tradition.  

The onslaught of classes, coupled with assignments and coursework helped build our academic backbone, the camaraderie amongst batchmates made up for the rest. 

Over the years we had our fair share of growing pains, heartaches, inconsistencies, triumphs and disasters and looking back, it has made us who we are today, a batch; PGP 21. Today, a few hours away from convocation, memories eclipse emotions and ordinary words are simply doing it all a grave injustice. So let’s leave it to the poetry, none more apt and beautiful than that by Rudyard Kipling, If.

If you can keep your head when all about you      Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,   If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,    But make allowance for their doubting too;   If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,    Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies, Or being hated, don’t give way to hating,    And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise:

If you can dream—and not make dreams your master;      If you can think—and not make thoughts your aim;   If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster    And treat those two impostors just the same;   If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken    Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools, Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,    And stoop and build ’em up with worn-out tools:

If you can make one heap of all your winnings    And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss, And lose, and start again at your beginnings    And never breathe a word about your loss; If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew    To serve your turn long after they are gone,   And so hold on when there is nothing in you    Except the Will which says to them: ‘Hold on!’

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,      Or walk with Kings—nor lose the common touch, If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,    If all men count with you, but none too much; If you can fill the unforgiving minute    With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run,   Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,      And—which is more—you’ll be a Man, my son!

[themicajournal]

5 Places in MICA you can’t afford to miss!

1. Chhota Canteen - Unlike any other college canteen, Chhota has food named after students who created the recipes. While you’re at Chhota, try the Anish Paratha and Uchil Burger and wash it down with Nimboo Paani. Also, have a look at the iconic Chhota Wall that depicts the quirks of MICAn life.

2. The Mani Ayer auditorium at MICA is a fiesta of colourful cushions that look like life-sized macaroons. Sit back and relax in this vibrant space as you wait for your personal interviews to take place.

3. MICA Nescafe- We can’t get over the fact that Maggi is back! And it tastes the best when coupled with Cold Coffee or Iced tea from our very own campus Nescafe stall.

4. Ganesh temple- While you anxiously await the results of your interviews, check out the beautiful marble temple at MICA to calm your nerves. 

5. KEIC (Knowledge Exchange and Information Centre)- Don’t miss our library, undoubtedly a piece of stellar architecture. Here you’ll find a large array of  newspapers, journals and magazines from the world of business, marketing and advertising. 

[themicajournal]

Make Way for MCSA 2016-17

As another academic year draws to a close, we welcome a new edition of the MICA Council for Student Affairs (MCSA). Nitin Pillai, Nupur Prakash and Skandaram Vasudevan of PGP-22 were democratically elected as the senior MCSA for 2016-17. 

The new MCSA was elected from a pool of 12 candidates who applied for the posts of President, General Secretary and Treasurer. The selection process comprised of a manifesto by each candidate, followed by individual speeches and then voting. 

Nupur Prakash, the General Secretary for MCSA 2016-17 has been a part of the Junior MCSA in her first year says “Being part of the junior student council, it taught me how to deal with various stakeholders be it admin, faculty or students. At the same time, it gave me an opportunity to work towards my college be it even a small change. I bring the same experience to the table being senior MCSA.”

“I am overwhelmed and humbled at the same time to see that our batch has bestowed their trust on us as a team to manage the student affairs. We are confident of doing a good job but that wouldn’t be possible without the constant support from the batch. We look forward to fulfilling our responsibilities to the best of our abilities and have a fruitful year ahead.”, says Nitin Pillai, the newly elected President of MCSA.

 “I feel we will work well together. I feel the batch chose three people who complement each other, and I don't think we will have major issues working together. Looking forward to the new team, and hope it is as good as my last MCSA team.” says Treasurer Skandaram Vasudevan, who was also part of the Junior MCSA last year. 

We extend our warm wishes to the new MCSA for a fruitful and successful year ahead.