‘The Apeejay School of Management is the most exciting piece in my life puzzle’

A Marcom Programme Manager with HP India, Siddharth Vishwakarma’s professional journey is a diverse mix of experience. He has traversed different domains of Marketing – from Below-the-Line Marketing to Digital Marketing – over the period of 12 years of his career. Well, there’s more! During a brief stint with an IT company, operating on TV Media Planning Analytics, he also launched his start-up, DanceOGraphy, in 2010. In fact, Siddharth has tried to keep a healthy mix of multiple play areas especially at the start of his career before he finally decided to pursue his career in one of the most interesting domains: Digital Marketing. 

Obsessed with the idea of unlocking how consumers interact with technology, in an interview,  Siddharth reminisces about his days at the Apeejay School of Management and shares tips for MBA aspirants.

Did you always want to be in the field of marketing communications when you were young? How did you choose this career?

See, it’s like growing up and finding which game you’re good at. Marketing Communication is something that I discovered over the years, and especially when I got into advertising. So, it was kind of a journey of discovery and then falling in love with it. And once you spend time, you get to know what you’re good at and what you’re not. What you can do for let’s say for the next 40 years. 

Share with us a few life lessons that you picked up at the Apeejay School of Management?

Apeejay had the right mix of students coming from all over the country. Plus, their selection process helped me identify the quality of curriculum they follow. It’s rigorous but is of high-quality and provides students with multiple opportunities. For example: we got to work on a project with students from a Canadian University. I personally got to work on three different internships or workshops. In fact, my first break in advertising was because of interactions with one of the senior leaders in the marketing fraternity. And he is still my mentor, till date. Isn’t it just amazing? As for life lessons, I think hard work has no replacement. You also have to continuously make great strides. It’s wired in me now. 

Please share with us a memorable anecdote from your ASM days

ASM is the most exciting piece in my life puzzle. I was very much into extra-curricular activities and so I had the best of the times inside the auditorium. It’s so huge and magical. I miss the stage sometimes and that’s why I keep visiting ASM. It keeps me grounded. I keep telling myself this is where I started from, this is what I am. 

What role did the teachers play in your life at ASM?  

I remember a quote, “Teachers make all other professions”. They run the world. I have been very fortunate to have been groomed by ASM teachers. A couple of teachers are still my mentors. I still take guidance from them. It’s a lifelong blessing to have them. 

Which skills help you to stand out as a Marcom expert?  

It’s the perspective! Perspective is everything. Once you get the other side or multiple sides to a story, you will not just be able to articulate it much better, but also appreciate it. Not sure if I should call myself an expert but I think I have cracked a code to this or at least trying to. 

Another very essential skill is empathy. It helps you appreciate the world and be open to ideas. Sadly, it’s an undervalued asset in today’s world, but show it as much as you can. 

What are those interesting factors that you like about your profession? 

The way we can shifttrends, behaviours is something that sometimes boggles my mind. It can change the discourse of a conversation or start a new conversation in a completely different way. You can change narratives which I think in today’s world are very powerful.