Career of a Marketing Professional: Interview with Head of Marketing - BabyShop, Landmark Group - Ad
- Ruchika Airon
- Sep 3, 2017
- 5 min read
Aditi has twelve years experience working in the UAE. In the past she has worked with organisations such as Honeywell, Carl Zeiss Vision and Kwality Ice cream.
FULL NAME : ADITI VYAS KUMAR
LOCATION : DUBAI
DESIGNATION : MARKETING HEAD UAE/ PR LEAD GCC ORGANISATION : LANDMARK GROUP (BABYSHOP)
HAILS FROM : INDIA
Aditi would be keen to mentor students. Look out for opportunities to interact with her on our blog.
Questions & Answers
ACADEMICS AND SKILLS:
Q1. What did you have to study to get into this line of work and where did you attend college? Were/are there other ways of qualifying for this profession? (Please specify if your educational qualifications were necessary to get into this line of work).
Ans. I did my engineering BE Hons.(Computer Science) from BITS Pilani(Dubai Campus) and MBA in Marketing&HR from S.P.Jain(Dubai Campus).
I could have got into marketing without pursuing either Engineering or MBA. However, for excelling in this field and growing into a leadership role, educational certifications are very helpful. Both MBA and Engineering have taught me a lot which I actually use in my job on a day to day basis.
Another interesting thing to note here is, I realised my passion for marketing only when I took it as an elective during my last year of engineering. Hence, it’s great to acquire knowledge as it eventually takes you in the direction where your interests and capabilities lie.
Q2. Academically, what subjects should a student be good at, to be successful in this job (during school and higher education)?
Ans. There are different aspects of Marketing such as, Analytical, Branding and Digital.
For the Analytics roles, one needs to be good at number crunching and hence mathematics.
For the Branding positions, one should be great at languages - English being the global language, Arabic being the language of this region (it's not essential but would be a huge plus) and a third language, possibly French would be very beneficial in the long run.
For Digital Marketing, a student good at Computer Science during school would fare much better in this field Also, someone with a Computer Engineering background would have a solid understanding of what’s happening in the backend and would be able to foresee underlying limitations in a scenario. However, not being an engineer is not a limitation to get into this field.
Q3. What skills should an individual try to develop to be good at this role, which could also possibly help them break the entry barriers for entrance exams/interviews etc.?
Ans. An individual who has a creative bent of mind would do really well in this field. Also, one should work on developing their communication skills - verbal and written, analytical skills, ability to think out of the box and understanding of the digital world.
Ivy league schools go for individuals who aren’t just good in academics but have well-rounded personalities. Hence, developing good hobbies and following them with passion would be a great idea.
Q4. Would you like to give any tips or reminders to students aspiring for such a profession (these could be related to deadlines for entrance exams or subjects essential to study to get into this field or red flags to be aware of before dreaming about a profession)?
Ans. Start doing your research in high school itself about fields that may be of interest to you. It’s good to be aware of what will be required of you later. You may even start preparing for GMAT, GRE etc. in high school itself.
Q5. In your opinion which are the top three colleges/universities in your field within your country as well as globally? (eg. Top 3 MBA institutes in UK and top 3 globally.)
Ans. In UAE, SP Jain School of Global Management and Heriot-Watt University of Dubai are good for an MBA in Marketing.
I firmly believe that as long as a student is in a receptive frame of mind and has a strong motivation to learn, it doesn’t really matter where they learn their concepts.
ABOUT THE PROFESSION:
Q6. What are the day to day responsibilities of a professional in this field?
Ans.
Analysis of data received from market research.
Designing a marketing strategy based on the customer lifecycle
Brand campaign planning
Implementation of a branding strategy across locations and stores.
Supervising the team (in a leadership role)
Q7. What does it really mean to be working in this role? (Do you have a good work-life balance? Do you travel a lot? Do you often have to meet a lot of new people?)
Ans. Every job is what you make it out to be. Worklife balance is really something that depends on an individual. Having said that, during a brand launch etc, late hours are expected but other than that it’s the way you prioritise your work.The job does require travel and one meets a lot of new people such as those from agencies, suppliers etc.
Q8. What are the perks of being in this kind of a role?
Ans. Marketing is both a science and an art. While on one hand you get to vent your creative energies, on the other you have to keep an eye on the data and what it is telling you. It’s a job which is a beautiful fusion of creativity, logic and leadership. I don’t stay stuck adhering to processes in this role and that’s what I love about it.
PERSONAL CHOICES:
Q9. How did you choose this profession?Ans. It matches my personality well. I love being creative and logical at the same time and that is what attracted me to this field.
Q10. What do you love about your job and what do you dislike?
Ans. What I love has been covered in the previous response. I dislike nothing about marketing.
Q11. Where did you start and where have you reached today? (Position/organisation you started off with and where you are working now).
Ans. I started off as a Marketing Project Analyst with a company called Ethos Consultancy and I am now heading the Marketing department at Babyshop, Landmark group.
MYTH Vs REALITY
Q12. Is there any myth you’d like to break about your profession that over-glamourises or de-glamourises it?
Ans. Marketing can only make things look good up to a point. Unless your product is good, there is not much that marketing can do about it.
Also, marketing is a lot more than just making things look pretty!
Did you find this article useful? Are there other aspects on a career in Marketing that you would like to know about? Do you have specific questions for Aditi? Please let us know by writing to us in the comments section at the end of the page.
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