Ad landâ€™s Young Guns: Chetna Negandhi, Gozoop

Chetna Negandhi, Senior Account Manager, Gozoop, has over 7 and a half years of experience in Online/ Social advertising, Campaign Management & Product marketing with renowned brands across diverse business clients.

She comes with a holistic understanding of the overall digital ecosystem from various perspectives and for diverse business categories.Working on different facets of the digital media business, she has been involved in planning campaigns and strategy role alongside managing core performance marketing campaings for her brands. Negandhi believes these give her an edge with a functional understanding of the execution side thus helping brands by delivering cohesive online media strategies aligning to their business objectives.

How did you get into the role you are serving?

The world of advertising has always excited me! It all started when I got the chance to work at a mid-size digital marketing agency during my post-graduation in Advertising. I learnt so much “on the job”, which created the path which took me from Planning Associate to Senior Account Manager. Since then, there’s been no looking back…

What particular skill sets do you think you bring to the table?

For me, the most important skill for an individual is INTEGRITY. My intention is to do good, quality work – one skill that sets me apart from other people is perseverance. It’s what gets me through my day, achieve my goals and deliver consistently while having fun doing it.

One campaign that you have worked on that you are particularly proud of? Please take us through the making of the campaign.

Over the years, I’ve worked on countless campaigns from start to finish. Some have been large-scale ones with a pure product-push objective and some have been more about creating a big impact. One such campaign, we curated was #DellAntiRoteDay – a digital property which is 5 years strong now. This property is part of Dell Aarambh – 360° PC for education initiative with on-ground activations of trainings + competitions and a digital knowledge hub with articles.

Objective of the campaign - To create and sustain an on-going property for Anti Rote Day and drive conversations among the tech-aware audience in support for “Anti Rote Day” on social media.

Idea - The core thought of the campaign was to get the Tech Aware audience to drive awareness and educate/reach out to the Tech Unaware audience with the help of social media. Due this initiative - Last year, we helped provide a school with a PC lab with the help of 10,000 tweets, a major moment of pride for me.

While working on the creative how do you prepare yourself? What goes on in your mind?

Understanding the brief thoroughly and asking the right set of questions is the most important thing, which helps me deliver the best for my clients. The main and the most important part our job is to understand the brand ethos and the main objective of the campaign. Once our objective is clear it further helps us to target the right set of audience. Lastly, it’s my brand’s personality. Who are you speaking to and the brand pillars each creative stands for. When it comes to briefing my team, support is key. I ensure they’re well-informed and aware about my brand + competition.

Icons in digital you look up to and how they have influenced you and your work?

I’ve been very lucky to have both clients and seniors who mentored me to be the best marketer I can be. Every day is a new day – I learn a little, unlearn something and work towards my goals.

What are the five most productive things that you do in your everyday routine?

There’s a reason why #AgencyLife has some of the funniest memes. It’s amazing how over time, we build systems to work around the unique demands of our clients, here’s mine:

I come on time, come rain or anything
I don’t start the day without my handy, hand-written to do list
I always delegate work as per my team’s strengths and what they want to learn
I am a big planner – keeping things ready in advance is my forte

Do you think a career in advertising is a viable one in the long term?

Of course, it is! Can’t imagine doing anything else! This profession is super dynamic and keeps changing. It keeps me on my toes.

Communication, medium, platforms will change and evolve, but overall marketing will remain the same.

What does it take to succeed in a career like digital?

Like any career, you have to evolve over time. I try to up-skill myself every day and strive to learn something new. My mindset is to transform every obstacle into an opportunity.

Another thing is networking. I can’t stress how important it is, even though it sounds clichéd.

Last but not the least, is maintain cordial and healthy relationships and build an amazing rapport with all my stakeholders, right from my client to the team and even third-party vendors who are essential for my deliverables.

What would be your advice to youngsters planning to enter this industry?

There’s a lot of conflicting advice out there. My advice is to be mindful of every decision you’re making – think of the long-term consequences of everything you do. Next, be open to learning and your authentic self no matter what comes your way.

Never forget your passion and give your best to whatever you do, your results will do the talking.

Where do you see yourself in five years’ time?

This is such a job interview question! In five years, I would do the same – building effective solutions for brands and create impactful campaigns which people will not forget.

Is there any agency/ organisation that you would like to work within the future?

Currently, I am happy where I want to be. Gozoop has enabled and empowered me with adequate opportunities that have aided in my career growth and it has been an exciting journey so far.