What’s missing in the mentoring scenario?

BY IMPACT Staff

By SAMARPITA BANERJEE

The Media and Advertising industry is booming, in India and worldwide, and thousands of bright young professionals are veering to it every year. The India Brand Equity Foundation (IBEF) predicts that the Indian advertising industry is estimated to be valued at around Rs 63,000 crore, with both Print and TV having a share of 38-40% each. In such a scenario, it becomes critical for this young set of people to get the right footing in the industry, making mentoring a crucial step in the long-term success of both the professional and agencies.

Global entrepreneurs including General Motors CEO Mary Barra and Virgin Group founder Richard Branson recently wrote about the importance that various mentors played in their lives as a part of LinkedIn’s new series, ‘The Mentor Who Shaped Me’. While Branson wrote that his Uncle Jim taught him that it was okay to sometimes embark on the path less travelled, Barra added that she has reached her position today owing to not one or two, but a network of mentors who have shaped her throughout her professional journey. Closer home, with media rapidly moving towards Digital, many young Media and Advertising professionals in India feel the need for mentoring that would give them a clearer picture of the Digital space.

At the unveiling of IMPACT’s Top 30 Under 30 2015 list in Mumbai last week, we spoke to some of the young achievers to find out their thoughts on the mentoring scene in the industry, and what could improve on that front. Garima Bijlani, Group Manager, Digital Media - Strategy, Planning at FCB ULKA says, “I feel we have not yet reached that level where we have lot of Digital planners in India; so mentoring in that kind of a facility would really make sense for us.” Adding to the same thought, Harsh Vora, Account Controller at Madison Communication, says, “I think there are enough training programmes being conducted by agencies today. However, they can be much better in terms of Digital training and various other aspects of media which will help the youngsters to be in the industry, work harder and try different things.”

‘SENIORS MUST BE MORE APPROACHABLE TO US’

Many of the young achievers feel there is a need for seniors in the industry to be more approachable, which would make asking for advice easier for the newbies in the industry. Divya M Nair, who previously worked with Mindshare and has now moved to EY, says, “In India, mentoring can improve if seniors act as a friend and try to understand that people of every age can give you some kind of information and knowledge.”

Stressing on the need for increasing accessibility of mentors to youngsters, Neha Bansal, formerly with PHD India and now Senior Brand Planning Director at Lowe Lintas, says, “As young people, all we get to see of seniors is through magazines. Personal interaction is something that can really help us chalk a way forward. We need more things like what North Point is, or what Mica is, and more programmes like that which will be aimed at a larger mass of people joining Advertising.”

Giving an innovative solution for learning the tricks of the trade, Kalpesh Chavan, Sr. Business Manager, Planning, MediaCom says, “Mentoring for me is basically a youth exchange programme between agencies, where an individual can have access to other agencies at least for a month to get to know about media software and the growing Digital media industry.”

‘MAKE WORKING DURING COLLEGE A PRE-REQUISITE’

Mihir Karkare, co-founder & EVP, Social Wavelength (now Mirum) feels that there’s a need for industry aspirants to work right from their college days. “I know the value that a good mentor can bring, as I have been lucky to get superb mentors right from the beginning of my career. I think the way to improve mentoring facilities in India is to make working during college a pre-requisite. This is something that has to be incorporated in every single course because otherwise we won’t get trained people coming into the workforce.”

Meanwhile, Aniruddha Atul Bhagwat, Co-Founder and Director, Ideosphere Consulting, feels there is a growing need for the industry to give young professionals platforms to meet and initiate discussions on various industry-related issues. “I feel the younger generation that has gained some experience and expertise should be presented with more platforms where they can come and interact with each other about how they can make things better together,” he says.

Sameer Malik, Account Director, Client Servicing at Performics, adds that a lot of mentoring also needs to come from the global offices of agencies. “I believe a lot of advanced media technologies are been implemented globally. In India, we still do our media buying on call, which is no longer the industry trend. The mentoring needs to come from global offices because most agencies have offices.”

‘LET’S NOT TEACH, BUT EXPERIENCE THE WORK’

Finding a way of exposing youngsters interested in the field to the work being done by different agencies could also work wonders for young professionals, feels Aalap Desai, Associate Creative Director, Leo Burnett. “I think we should devise a way of getting more juniors at the award ceremonies to witness what they can actually do. Not only juniors, if people who want to enter the industry are also exposed to such platforms, it could really make a difference.”

However, many of the young achievers, like Arnab Manna, Copy Supervisor at Publicis India, feel that the best way to learn is by figuring it out on the field themselves. Echoing his view, Pracheta Mazumdar, Group Account Manager at Ogilvy & Mather, says, “Young professionals need to be given challenges; they need to be thrown into action and that’s where they can experience the larger picture. Teaching and handholding sometimes does not help, because you need to experience it only when you are into it, and that is when you can find your own solution. So I think let’s not teach, let them experience it.”

(With inputs from Alisha Marie Patel)

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