Nissan Motor India Pvt. Ltd. (NMIPL) has announced the selection of 18 enterprising youth from across India as Nissan Student Brand Manager’s. Incidentally the Nissan Student Brand Manager (NSBM) Program 2011 managed to garner over 2,843 student registration from over 450 colleges across 15 Indian cities, in only its second year showcasing the popularity of this unique student initiative to promote the company’s brand in India.
The registration process that began on 30th May, 2011 received an overwhelming response from the four centres i.e. Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai and Bangalore. Delhi had the maximum number of registrations with 1,146 students, followed by Mumbai with 876 student applications. Chennai with 433 and Bangalore with 388 applications were the other two centres with a large number of applicants for the NSBM 2011 program.
Besides an array of key initiatives, the program will include creating unique events to create buzz about brand Nissan among the student community. Some of the short-listed Brand Managers are from colleges like IIM - Kolkata, IIM - Ahmedabad, IIFT - Delhi, K.J. Somaiya Institute of Management Studies and Research, Prin. L.N. Welingkar Institute of Management Development & Research (WE School), University Business School - Chandigarh, IFMR-Chennai, Loyola Institute of Business Administration- Chennai, SIBM - Bangalore amongst others.
Addressing the final shortlisted 18 youth, Dinesh Jain, CEO, Hover Automotive India (HAI), noted, “Enthused by the response to the program this year, we are sure that a larger number of institutes and students will vie for NSBM 2012.”
The jury for the NSBM 2011 comprised of eminent personalities like Prahlad Kakkar, Ad Guru, Genesis Films, Harish Bijoor, CEO of Harish Bijoor Consults Inc, V.G. Ramakrishnan, Vice-President, Frost and Sullivan India, all of whom played an important role in short listing the final 20-25 entries from every region with the final round in Mumbai comprising of 36 students. Selection criteria were purely based on their respective presentation skills, communication skills and the approach towards the project.
The 18-selected Student Brand Managers will now play a key role in bringing brand Nissan closer to both - the student community and the public in general through innovative marketing initiatives. After undergoing training, the students will work closely with company officials on a variety of initiatives.