IIM Lucknow’s ‘Prodigies – the Leadership talk series’ of the student run Industry Interaction Cell had organized a session with R Balki, Ad-film professional and film Director. The talk was based on the theme ‘Ad & Film Making – Through the Management Lens’.

R Balakrishnan, popularly known as R Balki is the Chairperson and Chief Creative officer (CCO) of Lowe Lintas and the Director of Bollywood feature films Cheeni Kum (2007) and Paa (2009). He is also the man behind the ads with catch lines such as ‘Daag Achhe Hain’ (Surf Excel), ‘Jaago Re’ (Tata Tea) and ‘Walk when you Talk’ (Idea Cellular) to name a few. Balki’s penchant for exploring creative paths led him to Bollywood with his directorial debut Cheeni Kum.

In the session, the students got a flavor of how Indian advertisement industry works in general. Balki also explained how Lowe Lintas succeeded in producing the top-notch and eye catching ads. “If an advertisement does not make you interested in the product, then it is just a piece of good filming not a good ad,” Balki said.

Balki highlighted the nuances of designing integrated advertisements and shared his view on the changing consumer behavior in India throwing up new challenges to the marketers of today. Discussing the factors of success and failures of an advertisement, Balki said, “Learn from experiences that have worked best for you, success trains you and makes you strive for more.” He also discussed the affects of the recession and economic downturn I the marketing ideas and budgets.

Balki talked about the brands on which he worked like Tanishq, Idea, Surf, Havell etc. He shared the anecdotes and insights on those ads, the journey and significance, story board and the likes. The students got to know about the personal experiences of Balki as a Director and ad film maker regarding some of the most noted actors of Bollywood.    

Commenting on the session, Dheeraj Sarwaiya, a second year student said, “Today’s MBA student is more enterprising and bold than ever before. We have students who choose not to tread the beaten path but simply follow their dreams in unconventional fields. These talks are a good source of inspiration for us to pursue what we truly believe in.”

Stay tuned to MBAUniverse.com for more on B-School talks.