‘For a work-life balance, you have to prioritise things at some point’

Sudeshna Roy is the Account Manager at Imagic Communications. She is an Apeejay School, Noida alumnus (batch of 2008), who went on to study Advertising and Marketing from Janki Devi Memorial College, Delhi University. Subsequently, she pursued her Post-Graduation in the same discipline from YMCA, New Delhi. In an exclusive interview, the skilled manager says how planning and efficient working can help ad agencies break the stereotype of working till late hours. Read edited excerpts:

An account manager must be having a lot of work at the ad agency. Brief us about your day at work?

An account manager is like the face of the ad agency. My work primarily involves coordination at a dual level. It has both coordinating with the clients as well as with my colleagues in the agency. As an account manager, I am responsible for the brand. The client completely trusts you, briefs you about everything that it needs to enhance the project. So, one has to give the client a plan that is proper in every way.

The work gets very taxing at times. We even have to work on Sundays sometimes, and the working hours often go beyond the set time. This, however, is very normal for an ad agency. This flexibility is necessary in an employee and is also the most common interview question when one applies for an ad agency job. (laughs)

What inspired you to choose this field of work?

Well my father Mr. Chandan Roy has always been my main source of inspiration. When I was a child, he would tell me these stories about the big clients and the work procedure in an ad agency. He himself worked for an ad agency in those days, and so he would often tell me about life and work there. This always made me fascinated towards working in this field.

These days in the ad agencies, we make our layouts digitally, and send them to the clients for approval. But I remember, my dad used to tell me that back in his day, the layouts would be drawn on paper with a pencil and then taken to the client for approval.

You have been an Apeejayite right from nursery to class 12.  Tell us about the journey?

Those were beautiful years. We had a huge playground and I absolutely loved playing there. We would often gossip as well as chat. We also had a great auditorium in the school.

But the most important thing I feel is that Apeejay Noida has played a major role in bringing discipline into my life. We used to have our class tests regularly in school, so one had to be a disciplined student. Then we were also taught values such as respect towards elders and people in general. Value-based holistic living was a part of our education at school.

An ad agency means overwork. How do you maintain the work-life balance? Any tips?

I am an avid reader and it does happen that sometimes I do not find the time to read books. So, that part is there. But currently, our agency is working from home, so I am finding the time these days, and am also able to manage household duties alongside.

But to achieve a proper work-life balance, I think one has to prioritise at some point.

A life mantra for current Apeejay students?

It’s just the basic things – self-belief, discipline and hard work. ‘Work hard- Play hard’ – rule is a must have in life.

Social media has transformed the work in ad agencies. Is it a welcome change?

Ad agencies now have totally shifted from printing brochures towards digital media. I feel this change is very nice. One gets a lot of time and there is scope to try new ideas. Also, it is very expensive to print an ad in any leading newspaper. The cost can go up to 25-40 lakh rupees. But in the same amount of money, one can plan an entire year’s social media campaign.

With social media, it becomes easier to reach the target audience as well. Social media has truly transformed work in ad agencies.

One change that all ad agencies should work towards?

The mentality that work in ad agencies should go on till late can be worked upon. Why should this compulsion exist that if it is an ad agency, the work must go on till late in the evening, way beyond the working hours. If we only plan our work properly and do the work proactively, targeting to finish it within the given time limit, then we can achieve this. People in an ad agency are just a little laid back sometimes, I feel.

Finally Sudeshna, where do you see yourself in the next 5 years?

Fingers crossed! As the owner of an ad agency.  Let’s see!