“BIG IN YOUR LIFE” as the slogan conveys it out loud; Aditya Birla Group (‘ABG’) has an impact over all the major aspects of our lives. From connecting India to the world to being the world leader in cement, from styling our wardrobe to protecting our finances, ABG has touched and empowered our existence to a humongous extent. One particular incident that stands out in my flashbacks is when my father was reluctant to become an entrepreneur due to the uncertainties of volatile markets and the lack of financial security that comes along with starting from scratch. Despite the hindrances faced by him, he went ahead and perused through various available insurance schemes, ultimately mustering up the courage to commence his own business because of the support and trust he procured from Birla Sunlife Insurance.
My words will resonate with everyone when I say that ABG has been paramount in bringing to us the world of fashion. They have enhanced our shopping experience to a whole another level by introducing brands like Simon Carter, Ted Baker, Ralph Lauren in the Indian market, giving us the space in the niche sector of affordable luxury brands. The wide array of Forever 21 outlets opened by ABG in almost all the prime locations has brought immense joy to those of us who ardently follow the global trendsetters and were patiently waiting for such a launch.
Their recent ad campaign “Game of Choices” has made me contemplate on the stereotypical behavior displayed by our generation of ignoring health in order to achieve success. Their intention was to provoke people into questioning their priorities and encouraging them to choose health as a priority life goal. The empathy, trust, and sympathy that they exhibit make them the most endearing and preferred brand.
BREAKING THE STEREOTYPES
Being born in a stereotypical Indian society, I believe my challenges would be similar to a lot of others. As a student, I had always been expected to follow the mad rush to enter into an esteemed engineering college, score high grades and end up working in an MNC. Following the conventional conditions, I did get into an engineering college, but the dreamer in me was still a little reluctant to go by the norms of society. By the end of last year of my engineering college, I finally decided to find a path to be myself. It wasn’t easy since I never really had given a shot to anything except for Structural Design textbooks and surveying equipment. But being brought up in a business family, I possessed preliminary business acumen. Delving a little deeper I figured out the various verticals that I could experiment with. Out of all the choices I had, Sales & Marketing stood out as the most appealing field to me.
After spending a couple of months with this thought, I started my job hunt to be the professional I wanted to be. Interview questions became repetitive after a while - Why do you want to be a marketer if you have an engineering degree? What if after joining the company you stop liking marketing? Why do we hire an engineer for a non-engineering field? Now, I had reached the stage where I couldn’t find creativity to my answers. I was eagerly waiting for someone to believe in my desires and offer me a job for my face value. And, someone did. No, not a job, but an internship as a Business Developer. My eyes sparkled to glory when I held the offer letter in my hands. Since then there was no looking back, I kept escalating in the field of sales & marketing. Taking up this unconventional step was not a piece of cake for me. While all my peers were joining huge MNCs offered with big fat packages, I was contended to join a startup as an intern. Overcoming the fear to stand out and follow my heart was the biggest challenge that I have faced in my life so far. And, there are no regrets about making this decision.
