B-schools open up to 'subtle marketing'

When a foreign executive searches the web for an executive management education programme, it is more than likely that the top entries will be linked to some of the top Indian Institutes' executive programmes.

It is the possibility of attracting foreign professionals with a minimum of five to seven years of experience that is leading the IIMs, Indian School of Business (ISB), SP Jain, Institute of Management Technology(IMT) and others to slowly open up to the idea of 'subtle marketing' for their post graduate programmes in management.

For the first batch of IIM-A's PGPX, the institute had held road shows to market the programme in UAE and China. This was the first time the institute had done so for a programme. IIM-A had also taken up Internet marketing considering that for most executives across the world, the web would be the first information access point. It had also designed separate brochures for Indian students and for those overseas along with contacting media representatives in neighbouring countries.

Similarly, the Indian School of Business (ISB) Hyderabad, participates in a World MBA tour travelling to the US and UK. It also conducts 'Inside India' programmes where it invites students from foreign universities to visit its campus in Hyderabad.

For, most of these institutes, the aim is to create a brand. "While our first criteria is always quality, brand visibility definitely helps a programme. Otherwise who do people want to go to universities like Harvard?," asked Arvind Sahay, Chairperson of PGPX at IIM-A.

IIM Bangalore says that they do not have any executive study programmes for foreign executives and therefore do not need to advertise abroad. " Foreigners that apply for our programs are NRI's and not really people of foreign origin and they get all the information they need from our website," an IIMB spokesperson said.