When Adman Prahlad Kakkar visited AIM for ‘Mantras of Successful Branding’ Session
How do you define a personality who refuses to age? Unstoppable is the word and it goes synonymous with Mr. Prahlad Kakkar. Yes, this is how the creative genius addressed the management graduates while introducing himself. A young at heart, rebel, spontaneous and a creative mind is how we know this eminent personality. But there is more to him and this became evident from the time when he shared his unique ability i.e. never to grow old with the students.
During the first few minutes of his speech, he laid emphasis on how being young at heart keeps him going and why it is necessary to have a curious mind for an advertising firm. The man is a believer of things like learning and unlearning. What keeps you refrain from learning is the sentence that ‘I already know a lot’, adds the creative genius. It is only when you show keenness in learning new things that you grow in life. He also talked about self-belief and why it is important in the clustered world. He opened a school ‘The Prahlad Kakar School of Branding and Entrepreneurship’ where he teaches students on how to come up with excellent branding solution and leaving an impact through advertisements. After his immense contribution to the advertisement industry, he gives back to the society through teaching the concepts of marketing and this is what he enjoys the most at the moment.
The basic of advertisement is all about dreaming :
This was the time when he started explaining the students about the importance of dreaming in which lies the creativity of an artist. He further adds, ‘If you can tell a story about a dream, you not only sell the product, you sell a concept’. He inspired students by inculcating the thought of risk-taking which is essential to have a fulfilled life. As an entrepreneur, he never shies away from taking risks and we all are witnessing the history and a life that he has created for himself. Mr. Kakkar also adds, ‘After passing out from the college, number crunching becomes a base for students to satisfy their self-belief. But what is interesting to know is how many people are actually willing to take a hard path or a path of their choice and rebelling against the short term goals in order to achieve greater heights’. Real marketing concepts lie in dreaming and in making a better tomorrow. Sharing his views on the presentation skills, he adds, It is the first 6 seconds that decide the success of your presentation, if you make an impact in the first 6 seconds, there is a greater chance that the audience will be hooked to your speech’. A story should be funny, engaging, open and real enough to make a place in the hearts and minds of the audience.
‘Dreams set you free’ is how he moulded the speech adding if you don’t risk anything, you gain nothing. It is only when you dream that you realize your true potential. What made the students applaud was the line on handling rejection. The adman adds, ‘If you are versed in handling rejection, you become fearless’. Entrepreneurship is all about facing your fears. Taking an example from the movie ‘Queen’ starring Kangana Ranaut, he adds, self-experimentation and courage are the two things that shape up your personality. It is the risk that the character takes in the movie that work wonders for her. Relating it to a life of a common man, he explains why guts are necessary to achieve what you aim for.
Another beautiful thing he explained to the students is that owning a job and doing a job are two different things. If you own your job, you become possessive about it and do it without fear. And when it was the QnA round, he was asked questions on branding on which he replies that branding does not require ROI but the value it creates. This value comes with passion, intelligence and commitment. Another element that makes a brand better is detailing. When you go deep down into the nuisances of brand building, you are successful in relating with the target audience. When asked about his previous ads that had an impact on the audience, he added, ‘The shelf life of an ad is 6 months as your dream and thinking changes after a while, so it is important that you build and promote a concept rather than an ad’. In his own humorous way, he showcased all his favourite advertisement; each giving a lesson on one thing or the other.
In a nutshell, this session was described as ‘one of the best sessions’ that students had and thanked the institute for organizing such an event. AIM heartily thanks adman Prahlad Kakkar for visiting the campus and enriching lives of the students with his inspiring words.