Day 338 - 22nd November 2011

Had a 930 ROMI class in the morning but decided to sleep in and go for the second lecture. As has always been the case my luck in choosing classes to bunk has always backfired. Got to know that a graded assignment was being taken in class. Ishan (my neighbour) and I rushed to class to submit the assignment. After the class got over, we had a pre placement talk in the audi. Was free post lunch which meant another 3 hour siesta! Had a film screening in the evening. We were shown The Passion of Joan of Arc a silent movie which was made nearly 100 years ago in France. After the movie screening got back to reading Sacred Hoops. Finished reading the book by midnight. Harsha Bhogle had referred to this book when he had come to SAP, a good read on leadership and people management. Went to Chota for a midnight snack with Kalkar and ended up spending a good 45 minutes out there. Have a late start tomorrow with classes beginning only at 2 in the afternoon, cant wait to wake up late! :P

Day 334 - 18th November 2011

Had a very early start to the day with a pre placement talk at 830 in the morning. Wore formals after nearly 5 months! The talk lasted for about an hour and was followed by a class on ROMI which dealt with various brand valuation models. Came back to the room and caught up on some sleep. Had to do that since there was a 6 hour marathon class on EBM. The sessions today dealt with the radio industry. The visiting faculty had worked with Radio Mirchi for 7 years and shared a lot of information and insights about how the radio business works. The business of running a radio station was explained pretty well. There is tremendous scope for growth  of this medium in India, which we should see over the next 3-4 years. At the beginning what looked like a daunting 6 hour session actually moved like quite a breeze. Some innovative marketing campaigns through radio which involved telecom, automobile, FMCG and even and media and entertainment channels were discussed. All in all a pretty good session.

Dinner was at Havmor in Bopal with Sania. Discovered a new dish called 'Tapri Chilli Paneer', its Paneer Tikka which is then cooked in Schezwan sauce. Got back to campus by 11, a little MCSA work had to be taken care of. Have BA lectures again tomorrow, will call it a day soon.

Day 333 - 17th November 2011

Had only two lectures today starting at 930. After keeping an alarm for 830 and snoozing it once, I ended up waking up at 940! It meant I missed the first lecture of ROMI. Made it on time for the second lecture which covered brand valuation. Was free for the rest of the day once class was done. Had bought a book in June on the IPL which was about the Modi Tharoor saga and all the behind the scene happenings that transpired during IPL3 which led to both their downfalls. Written by a journalist who experienced the entire episode first hand, it felt like reading a fast paced novel. As is the case with most books that I like, finished this one in one sitting.

Post dinner Sankalp had organized Khula Aasma with 4 plays staged in the audi. That went on till 1 in the night. Have another early morning start tomorrow, cant afford to wake up late again!

Day 330 - 14th November 2011

Third straight day of 930 class in the morning. Had two sessions of ROMI which covered the brand equity and customer equity school of thought. ROMI is a hotly contested topic in the industry nowadays especially when it comes to justifying marketing spends. Sometimes it is even referred to as an investment but the justification for the same is done through various models with each one giving a radically different outcome. Nonetheless, at least there is some theory in place. After the session on ROMI we were supposed to have a session on CCRM which got cancelled which meant we were free for the rest of the day. Made the most of this free time by taking an hour long siesta. Played cricket in the evening for about an hour and a half. MCSA work kept me busy pre and post dinner. Dinner in the mess was quite sad which saw a huge exodus of people to Chota for dinner! Have been watching Futurama for the past hour or so, have a late start tomorrow. Looking forward to sleeping in!

Day 323 - 7th November 2011

Had our first lecture on Return On Marketing Investment (ROMI) today. The course outline seems pretty interesting and I could find a lot of terms that are used in the business dailies. This was followed by B2B marketing which was case presentations made by different groups. These cases were shared with the class a couple of weeks in advance and people had to present their analysis of the case to the prof and the class. The session on Film Studies started with a movie screening The Shop on Main Street, which served as an example of East European cinema. Couldnt attend the classroom session that followed since there was some MCSA work that kept us occupied. Post dinner a french movie was screened He loves me he loves me not. The movie had a very interesting story and the Prof. had said while laying the context that it was a very difficult movie to make. Had a batch meet after the movie which got done by 1 in the night. Have a MCL match tomorrow, need to wake up at 630 for that!