Santosh Singh, EVP & Global Head – Marketing and BE, Tata Technologies, feels that today’s marketers should treat generative AI as a friend as this would not replace marketers, but upskill them.
Singh also said that marketing professionals must spend as much time thinking about the distribution of marketing content as they spend in making the content. Because that’s when they can realise the value of the effort they have put in.
Edited excerpts:
What are some of your favourite quotes on marketing and leadership?
The first quote that I learnt from my senior about 10 years back when I used to work in another company was, ‘Good is not the enemy of Great. Good is the friend of Great.’
Often, our focus is on perfection. But, what we don’t realise is that we are chasing a moving goalpost. Most award-winning campaigns that we see today were run over a period of time, which had an impact, and thereby won approbation and accolades.
The second quote is about the fear of generative AI replacing jobs, specifically creative jobs, because of its ability to generate videos, images, etc. My view is that generative AI will only replace marketers who don’t know how to use the tool.
The third is about how leadership is about asking tough questions that have not been asked till now.
In your free time, what kind of marketing-related content do you consume?
In the last few months, I’ve been spending a lot of time looking at what the world is doing with AI. I spend 15-30 mins every night trying to understand what is happening in the world of gen AI.
Sometime back, Studio Ghibli was trending, which is an example of a great moment marketing. During a work call, we began discussing what Studio Ghibli means for Tata Technologies, which is about happiness and innovation.
We created four-five images in Studio Ghibli style, posted them on social media, and they turned out to be very popular. So, if you are unaware about what’s happening or trending, then I don’t think you’re alive.
Who are your favourite creators and why?
I follow Zerodha Co-Founder Nikhil Kamath’s WTF podcasts with entrepreneurs and innovators, where he discusses interesting topics. Through these, I learn what innovators are doing, how the future is likely to pan out, and what it means for me and the world.
Where do you get your social media fix?
LinkedIn is my go-to platform which I use for understanding what my peers are doing. I study leading brands like Nike, Unilever, etc, to understand what they are talking about from the perspective of consumer and brand impact.
I also use X (Twitter) to find what thought leaders like OpenAI’s Sam Altman and Perplexity AI’s Aravind Srinivas are talking about, and what it means for us.
What were the last few videos you viewed on any platform?
Roy Thomspon, a video marketer in the US, did a session for Tata Group chief marketing officers on generative AI, using which he created a whole video. I’ve been watching it to understand what realism can be achieved if we really leverage AI.
Kamath had interviewed Srinivas in his podcast, who spoke about how generative AI is going to change the world in the next three to five years. There were a lot of nuances that were discussed which are going to significantly impact the way we work, and the quality of work we do in the future.
What is your fitness / wellness routine?
I go for morning walks and in the evenings, I play pickleball for 30 minutes, followed by a walk.
On weekends, I try to play some sport with my daughter, go on long walks, and do some running on Saturdays.
And I’m very careful about what I eat.
What’s your typical weekend like?
My favourite weekend is at the beach, which doesn’t happen too regularly. On Saturdays, the first half is just lazing around, watching videos on social media, spending time with my daughters. In the evenings I step out with my family. I also visit temples, and shop.
On Sundays, we as a family try to have lunch together. In the second half, I plan for the next week, such as key meetings, key deliverables, etc.
What have you been watching?
I binge watch on Netflix and Amazon Prime. Last weekend, I watched the Bollywood film Skyforce, starring Akshay Kumar and Veer Pahariya.
Any work or life hack you swear by?
That the word ‘impossible’ can also be read as, ‘I’m possible’ has been my biggest life hack.
Another hack is about the concept of focus. For me, focus is all about saying ‘no’ to things that don’t really matter, which can free up time for things that really matter.
In the corporate world, one receives at least 100 to 200 emails a day. If one lacks focus, one would just keep jumping from one email to another, and not do anything productive. Hence, it is important to master the ability to say ‘no.’
What are you reading? Any recommendations?
The last book I read was Jamsetji Tata: Powerful Learnings for Corporate Success, by R Gopalakrishnan and Harish Bhat. The book shares how we can apply Tata’s principles every day.
What’s your advice to avoid personal and professional burnout?
Burnout is not about the number of hours we spend working. Burnout is linked to not enjoying what you’re doing. If you enjoy what you do, if you find purpose in it, then even if you work for 18 hours, you won’t burn out. But if you’re not enjoying what you’re doing, then I think one must pursue something new.
A piece of advice you would like to share with today’s marketers
My advice would be to treat Gen AI as their friend. Back in the day, we struggled to upskill because there were very few online resources. Today, a lot of the knowledge is available free of cost.
Also, marketers should spend as much time thinking about the distribution of marketing content as they spend in making the content. Because that’s when you realise the value of the effort you put in.
In marketing, one needs to think through who’s the person being targeted? What are his or her requirements? And what needs to be done to convert that person into a customer. Solutions and campaigns that do that is true marketing.
What’s the best advice you’ve got or heard in life?
The best advice I got was to never give up, and never stop dreaming. Because the day one stops dreaming one isn’t living. Make sure that you’re persistent, keep working towards your goals, and they will materialise. But don’t forget that sometimes they will happen as per your wish, and sometimes as per God’s wish.
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