IIM-A hires Leo Burnett to push executive programme

Indian Institute of Management-Ahmedabad (IIM-A) has struck a deal with Leo Burnett, one of the leading advertising agencies to prepare campaign for the institute's Post Graduate Programme for Executives (PGPX) to be launched in the 2006 academic session.

Meanwhile, during a visit by an eight-member senior level team from Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Friday, ADB's executive directors were requested by the IIM-A to hire manpower from the institute, even as talks are on with World Bank to hire students from IIM-A.

Leo Burnett has bagged the mandate to design the brochures for the course to be sold across the globe, create a logo for this specialised course meant for the working managers with atleast seven years of experience and also work out print and electronic media campaigns, even as IIM-A has put serious efforts for making PGPX a success.

"This is for the first time any such course is being launched by an IIM which will also solicit a significant presence of overseas managers as students and to bring in further professional touch in the marketing process of PGPX mainly abroad. We have decided to hire services of Leo Burnett. A meeting with top officials of Leo Burnett took place here on Friday and initial works have been assigned to the agency," Bakul Dholakia, director, IIM-A, told Business Standard, sharing the details of the development.

IIM-A has also decided to take help from its former students, at present working in various countries to sell PGPX among students overseas.

It has also sought the help of ministry of external affairs (MEA), and has already started talks with Indian embassies in these countries through which IIM-A would market the course, a full-time residential management package.

G Raghuram, chairman of PGPX, said, "While a cell has been created to handle admission process of PGPX and also marketing of the course in India and overseas, Leo Burnett will share its professional experiences with us to work it out better."

Meanwhile, six executive directors of ADB, Troy Wray, Masaki Omura, David Taylor, Chol-Hwi Lee, Ashok Saikia led by Emile Gauvreau made some observations and sought some clarifications on the issue of infrastructure development in India while exploring a long-term relationship between IIM-A and ADB.

The need for ADB to recruit MBAs and also sponsor research at IIM-A on managerial issues involved in the implementation of anti-poverty programmes was highlighted. Dholakia urged that ADB should hire Indian managers to ensure proper implementation of its programmes in India.

"We have also told them that IIM-A is ready to work together with the bank for various case studies across the world," added Dholakia.

Apart from Raghuram, senior faculty member, Sebastian Morris, instrumental in the India Infrastructure Report also made presentation before the ADB team.