“Experience Marketing First Hand” – the slogan of Team Census, IIM Calcutta, resonated across Kolkata with Ulhaas 2011. Part of the Golden Jubilee Celebrations of the first IIM in the country, the 5th edition of Ulhaas conducted on 22nd and 23rd Jan at City Centre, New Town, was grander than ever. Ulhaas 2011 had something for everyone: a fun fair for the public of Kolkata, an in-depth analysis of customers for various consumer product companies and an opportunity for budding IIM-C marketers to get their hands dirty.
“How well do you know your customer?” – This question is at the heart of Ulhaas. Ulhaas is a disguised marketing research event conducted in a mall, where visitors to the mall are invited to play fun games. These games are carefully designed by teams of IIM-C students, selected after a competitive elimination round, trying to study consumer perceptions and behavior for live projects given out by various reputed companies. The event partners for Ulhaas ’11 were Godrej Interio, Nestle and CRY foundation.
Ulhaas 2011 was a huge success, with a footfall of over 10,000. It spanned over 2 days and livened up City Centre mall (venue partner of the event) with color, music, games and dance. It had enthusiastic participation and great reviews from all participants and partners. Radio One, the radio partners, engaged the crowd with games and conversations from Radio Jockeys Roy and Shelly. RJ Shelly praised the event and mentioned that she had never seen an event of this kind before. She commended IIM-C students on their initiative and creativity. While participants were waiting for their turn to play the games, they were entertained by various games like Antakshiri, Bollywood quizzes and Tambola hosted by students of IIM Calcutta. While an old couple sang a song together, children performed on stage to the tunes of latest Bollywood songs. Moreover, there were free gifts, goodies and coupons distributed to all participants of various games.
Team Census, the organizer of Ulhaas, is the experiential marketing club of IIM Calcutta. “With its strong foundation in ‘learn by doing’, Team Census encourages IIM-C students to explore marketing through live experiences via events like Ulhaas”[/i] says Prof. C. D. Mitra, faculty advisor for Team Census.