“A research person breathes through the blood of the consumer”

Prior to joining Percept, Allied Media's parent , Preeti Mascarenhas was working with Mindshare India in the Strategy & Insights division.

During her 10 years in the industry, she has been associated with companies like ORG MARG, AC Nielsen, TAM MEDIA Research and Carat Media Services. Some of the brands that she has worked on include Jyoti Labs, Pantaloon, ABN AMRO, DTC, HSBC, Kellogs, Star Network, Godrej, IPL and Welspun.

What does strategic planning involve and what is your role as a strategic planner?
Strategic planning involves all the functions that are strategically aligned. (View: video)

Everything and anything is strategic in nature. We have to strategically align the resources in places where there are brand-oriented and marketing oriented queries. An entire brand is affected when a strategic plan is carried out. The role of the media, right from the media planning perspective, is towards the strategic planning perspective.

Apart from the implementation, from something as basic as release orders sent out at the ground level, everything about getting a product on air is strategic. The thought process itself is the beginning of a strategy.

Which new media tools do you plan to develop?
Multimedia tools are what we are looking at and we have already progressed in this direction. What does the consumer look for in different media to get the brand alive in terms of consuming? What are the multiple options to map a RoI? It must be looked at not just as a media agency, but as a partner in the growth of a brand.