Profile: Ambika Sharma: "We do not force-fit our offerings"

The COO of Jagran Solutions has been in love with the business of brand activation, right from her schooldays

It would seem to be an unusual business for a woman to be in, but Ambika Sharma, COO of Jagran Solutions, is in love with activation. And this love goes back 14 years.

Hailing from an army background, Sharma grew up away from the cities until, towards the end of her schooling, she came to Delhi. "I was clueless about my calling, but like many youngsters, wanted to do something different," she recalls.

In 1996, as she awaited the results of her Class XII exams, she made a friend who was then working with Kidstuff Promotions (today, it is the activation division of Mudra Max). After listening to many interesting stories on how brands were talking to students in schools and colleges, Sharma decided to try it out.

She got on-board as a member of the operations team (providing logistics support), working on promotional activities for brands such as Cadbury, P&G and Discovery, at a salary of Rs 300 a day.

It was here that she realised that activation was the thing for her. She continued to be a part-timer throughout her graduation years at Jesus and Mary College, Delhi University.

During the final year of her graduation in 1998, Sharma joined Kidstuff as a promotion executive. Sharma now worked towards understanding the intricacies of the business by understanding return on investments, comprehending different sets of TGs and zeroing in on what clicks with people on-ground. Each day started with a school contact programme, followed by another in a college by noon. Evenings were spent in either handling a road show or activation in an RWA.

This was followed by a brief stint with Candid Marketing, where she honed her skills in servicing and operations. In 2002, she moved to Encompass, whose activation business was not very strong then. "I was the only one there with a background in activation. But Encompass was willing to experiment with newer ideas and I had a great time," she reminisces.

In 2005, she joined Jagran Solutions, the newly launched activation arm of Jagran Prakashan, as regional manager - North. "My goal was to make Jagran Solutions the best activation agency. I continue to strive towards this. Being the best is a constant struggle," she says.

Within a month, Sharma was able to figure out a plan of action with a team of five people, all specialising in operations. As the agency had just started, there were hardly any credentials to boast of when she made her first presentation to TVS Scooty.

"All we mentioned was that the agency was backed by a strong group. Fortunately, we won our first account worth Rs 2.5 crore, where we reached the brand's TG across Uttar Pradesh and the new Uttarakhand," adds Sharma. Within a year of its launch, the agency had lined up work for brands such as Microsoft, Cadbury, Lux and Lifebuoy.

The major challenge in the initial days was to avoid being overshadowed by Dainik Jagran, and avoid treating activation as just an add-on to print. "It took me some time to realise the advantages of working with a group that is equipped to provide multimedia solutions to its clients. Initially, we tried not to force-fit our offerings," she explains.

Sharma remembers another memorable event, when the agency bagged the Indian launch of Windows Vista. They pulled it off against the backdrop of the Taj Mahal, something that no other brand has done till now.

Planning is the most important aspect of activation, and Sharma spends close to two hours everyday supervising her team. "The effectiveness of an on-ground activity can be measured then and there. Sometimes, the best of ideas do not work with the TG," she declares.

Discussing the changes in the industry over the years, Sharma observes that today, every brand wants to explore the might of activation. Fifteen years ago, brands that experimented with BTL were content with whatever little they achieved. Today, matrices are in place to gauge the effectiveness of an activity. Consumer profiling, too, has evolved considerably.

A workaholic, Sharma's hobby is biking. In fact, this proud owner of a Honda CBR 1000 is the only female member of GODS (Group of Delhi, Superbikers), a registered club of bikers in Delhi. Unusual? Well, that's Ambika for you.