Sachidanandham L., second-year MBA student at the Amrita School of Business, Kochi proved his mettle as an efficient brand manager by winning the fifth place in the Nissan Student Brand Manager Contest 2012.

The winning Amrita student will now have the opportunity to guide Nissan dealers based in Kochi and Coimbatore in their marketing activities, for the next six months.

“The case study we received discussed the problems Nissan faced in being a new entrant in the Indian market. We were asked to devise a market entry strategy, and contribute two big marketing ideas for Nissan’s new hatchback category of vehicles,” Sachidanandham shared.

“In India, people generally consult mechanics before they purchase a vehicle. Conducting a district level search for locating talented mechanics and certifying them as Nissan Master Mechanics after suitably training them, could help Nissan with effective entry,” Sachidanandham explained.

The Nissan Master Mechanic was one of the two big ideas that he proposed; the other was having a tie up with banks that could provide customers with low-interest loans to buy the vehicles.

Sachidanandham also proposed that Nissan Service Centers be established in each district, maintenance insurance be introduced for the cars, the warranty period be increased to five years and rural India be targeted as well, in the advertising.

The contest received participation from nearly 600 colleges across 25 Indian cities. Students from top colleges including the IIMs; IITs; Faculty of Management Studies, Delhi; Mudra Institute of Communications, Ahmedabad; Xavier Institute of Management and Entrepreneurship, Bengaluru and Delhi University in addition to Amrita, participated.

Sachidanandham was first short-listed for the Zonal Round. He was one of the 41 contestants who cleared this round to make it to the National Grand Finale.

At the Finale, he was asked to explain why he should be chosen as the Nissan Student Brand Manager 2012.

“Most students studying in a business school have the desire to become the brand manager for a particular product. I feel that I am very innovative and can understand what a brand needs from the marketing point-of-view,” Sachidanandham answered.

At the Finale, Sachidanandham also created a brochure for Nissan.

“Sachidanandham is completely dedicated to his work. He is very proactive and completes his task well,” shared Sandhya G., faculty at the Amrita School of Business, Kochi, who taught Marketing Concepts to Sachidanandham’s MBA class.

“We, at ASB are really proud of Sachidanandham and his winning this prestigious event with his focused efforts and by Amma’s blessings,” commented Prof. Sunanda Muralidharan, Chairperson, Amrita School of Business, Kochi.

“His achievement will motivate other students as well to participate and bring laurels to the institution and the school,” she added.

August 9, 2012
School of Business, Kochi