The Life Of A Northpointer

   The first time I heard the name of the institute- Northpoint Centre Of Learning, it was during the course of my Nielsen Immersion Program at the Nielsen Office, Gurgaon. It did not occur to me even once that I would go forward and join this course, but after knowing more and more about the institute, the structure of the course, the industry professionals who come and share their knowledge, my first thought faded away soon and I joined the course with the hope of honing my skills and imbibing many new ones during my stay here. It was a spontaneous step, but an important one.

 

 Coming as a fresher from schools and colleges which taught  the principles of rote learning, Northpoint was a pleasant and welcome change. The market research course which is conducted by Northpoint in alliance with AC Nielsen, India, is informative and gives the students a chance to gain insights into the ever-changing consumer behavior in the country.

Initially, I found it different and a little tough, after all I had come from a place where papers were graded and not my performance in a team. It took me a while to realize that this is how the corporate world will test me and it is a great opportunity for me to prepare myself for that.

The campus of Northpoint is something that I cannot miss to mention, amidst the beauty of hills and isolated from the humdrum of the city, the environment gives us a chance to cut the cord from the world and invest this time in ourselves. The clubhouse and council activities occupy our time when we are away from our sessions. There is enough room in the campus to find a quiet corner to read with a hot cup of coffee, which is probably my favorite activity whenever I get the chance to do so.

However, it is very important to not get lost among all the activities here and stay put towards self development, because this is what is the USP of the course. There is a lot that we can extract from the professional faculty here, in terms of how a business works and what are the steps in its development while investing in our own self. Gladly, I have noticed improvement in the way I present myself and the my knowledge quotient about the industry.

Today, after almost three months of joining the program, I am glad to have taken this step. This course is steering me into the right direction. As luck favors us, we have two great mentors at the campus whom we see as father-figures. Not only the faculty but also our mentors play a great role in carving our personalities.

My journey with Northpoint has been very interesting as yet and I hope it takes me places!

Srishti Bhatia

PGP MR 2015-16

srishti.bhatia@northpointindia.com

A Day at a Digital Agency

Post spending the last few months at the Campus, we headed out for our Industrial visits and then on to our internships. It was a mixed set of feelings, leaving the confines of our home away from home, the campus and moving towards Industry, where we all plan to be spending the rest of our working life.

Our first stop on the 12^th of October was a trip to a digital agency, iProspect, who are a part of one of Asia’s largest advertising conglomerates, Dentsu Aegis. The office was a grand one, buzzing with activity and our 1^st glimpse into life in the fast lane! We were greeted by Mr. Benedict Hayes – Executive VP of Strategy,an executive who has a vast knowledge of technologies, systems, processes and tools which is the backbone of the Digital World. Mr. Hayes took us through a detailed presentation about digital India, and the opportunities which are available in abundance as a career choice as communication’s specialist. He took us through how India is changing digitally, and the promises it holds in the digital arena. 

On Mr Hayes, my batch mate, Ankita Kureel said “It was interesting to see a foreign national tell us all about the Indian digital scenario. That is something unusual but heart-warming how the World is looking at India as place with immense potential.”

Mr Hayes also took us through a presentation about Dentsu Aegis, its subsidiaries, and how they all work together. This got us thinking off all the sessions which we have had on IMC (Integrated Marketing Communication) and it began to make sense of how it functions in the World of marketing Communications.

While we were being taken through the part on iProspect – the digital arm of Dentsu, we had insights into some trailblazing campaigns done by the agency in the recent past. The digital agency has won eight awards at the 5^th Asian Customer Engagement Forum making it the Agency of the Year 2015.

Post lunch, we were taken to the iProspect office, a few buildings down the road and here we met the various heads of department which make a Digital Agency. We were then taken through the various departments – SEO, Creatives, Client Servicing and copywriting. There was also a room especially meant for brainstorming complete with a PlayStation console! I could see a lot of glee in some of my batch mates faces as they surely wondered how they would wish to work here! We met a few ex-Northpointers as well here, who interacted with us and patiently answered all our queries.

It is remarkable how it all makes so much sense when we mix theory, which we have been having at the campus and the practical real life experiences of visiting an Agency. Suddenly there were quite a few of us who started to view Digital as a serious option for our specialization.

We were surely impressed by iProspect’s work. Like Rishi said, “I was particularly amazed by the work that the company has done till date. I liked how Mr.Hayes explained how the company functions and what it’s like to work there.”

The day was well spent and we had a lot to take in by the end of it. Northpoint would like to thank Mr. Hayes and the entire Dentsu team for making this possible for us. It was indeed a great experience.

Pallavi Dhote

PGP MarComm 2015-16

pallavi.dhote@northpointindia.com