“From working at one of ITC’s largest food processing plants to selling bakery fats to bakeries in old Delhi, little did I imagine shifting career trajectories to as novel a sector for me as media and entertainment space. Just the COVID crisis aptly teaches us, skills and learnings in today’s day, after all must be transmutable.”
Being the national runner’s up of Sony Pictures Network’s “The Next Big Thing” corporate competition in 2018, he earned an internship opportunity which he later converted to a Pre-Placement Offer (PPO) along with being conferred with the High Impact Project Award from the CEO of Sony Pictures, NP Singh. Here is his first hand account of his internship chronicles of working at the Media & Entertainment giant:
- 1st August 2013 (NIFTEM Campus, Kundli), Flashback:
“FBM 222: Food Marketing” — I still remember this course as one of the most engaging ones during my undergraduate days, which if I now look back in retrospect, laid the foundations of my earliest understanding of the world of marketing and branding. While as a food technologist, post graduation I furthered my affinity for sales & marketing by working in FMCG and agribusiness sectors, little was I aware that my exposure to the hinterlands, varied cultures, people and societies since childhood and consumption of a myriad forms of media as a musician was subconsciously shaping my eye for how I could see and create meaningful stories as a marketer.
- 7th September 2018 (MICA Campus, Ahmedabad), New Beginnings:
Being the National Finalists of Sony Picture Network’s “The Next Big Thing 2018” Case Study Competition, I converted an opportunity to join the Summer Internship Program, 2019 in the coveted and one of the most sought-after Media & Entertainment companies across campuses.
Having worked and graduated in a sector specific field as Food Processing, I did have my doubts of venturing into an uncharted territory of Media & Entertainment, but the very ethos of conviction and diversity that I was exposed to at MICA, made me reinstill the faith that maybe past does not matter as much as what you have cumulatively built yourself to, in the present. And with that, I felt an upsurge of excitement to learn something new from the best at Sony Pictures.
- 1st April 2019 (SPNI head office, Mumbai), Initiation:
The awaited internship kickstarted with the orientation process which focussed not just on acclimatizing us with the culture, facilities and overall business landscape of the company but also actively engaged all the 10 interns from varied backgrounds across top B-Schools in getting to know each other better via unique group activities. The energizing start couldn’t have been better!
Post the orientation, I was assigned a project in the Sales vertical under the regional channel — Sony Marathi and was directly reporting to the Regional Head and National Head of Sales. Despite having an initial apprehension of not being fluent in the Marathi language, the support and guidance of my mentors and team members helped me in becoming comfortable with the content and enabled me to shape my efforts coherently beyond the language barrier.
The initial phase of my project focused on scouting regional clients for the channel and devising branding and pitching strategies to bring them onboard. The ambit for this task was upcountry Maharashtra areas where the relevance of regional content is most pertinent. I was assigned the responsibility to work on both the fiction and non-fiction channel properties, including the prime show ‘Kon Honaar Crorepati’ (KBC Marathi), which was to go live during the course of my internship.
Focussing on content research, competition benchmarking, branding synergies and stakeholder management, every working day demanded me to deliver results while amassing truckloads of information not just from within my team but across departments as well. As my internship gained momentum, I was finding myself working simultaneously with the content production, brand solutions, strategy and sales teams with equal vigour for a project whose deliverables were to have critical impact on the channel, especially with the launch of Kon Honaar Crorepati.
Post my mid-review presentation with the President of Network Sales, began the second phase where I was additionally assigned the responsibility to oversee corporate clients apart from the regional ones which, albeit challenging, gave me immense exposure to a hands-on understanding of media sales which was a different ball game in contrast to FMCG sales, something I was acquainted with.
Throughout the duration of my internship, the autonomy that I received in my project and the liberty to suggest ideas and take initiatives, motivated me to find an authentic purpose in my work. Moreover, the highly structured and well-defined internship program with regular mentor check-ins kept me on my toes and encouraged me to track my progress comprehensively.
While leadership honing was at the heart of the internship program, SPNI also gave me memorable moments of enjoyment and unique opportunities. Apart from the delectable food served at the office canteen and the engaging matches of TT and Carrom post working hours, the interns were even taken to the sets of The Kapil Sharma Show to have a live exposure to the ‘behind-the-curtains’ production of the popular show!
- 30th May 2019 (Boardroom, SPNI head office, Mumbai), Culmination:
The work that I delivered made me confidently stand in good stead in my end-review presentation, with the CEO and top leadership team appreciating the results and eventually conferring me with the ‘High Impact Project Award’. The moment was one of elation, satisfaction and relief especially when the 2 months of exhaustive work witnessed ups and downs, amidst a host of challenges. Had it not been the encouragement of my mentors, team members, supportive colleagues, friends and family, the journey wouldn’t have been the same.
- 26th June, 2020 (Working from Home during the New Normal), Reflections:
On a holistic note, from understanding the business from a sales & marketing vantage point of an altogether new industry to refining myself as a professional, the two months spent at SPNI were an unforgettable experience, filled with multitudes of learnings. My own experience became my lesson (and hopefully yours, too) of acknowledging the strength in diversity, which SPNI celebrates exceptionally.
Having received the Pre-Placement Offer and joined as a Management Trainee, I am eager to explore the challenges and learnings that the world of media and entertainment at SPNI holds in the currently evolving business landscape.
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