Kishan Kumar began his career with Amul in 2000 post his B-Tech in Dairy Technology from Gujarat Agricultural University. After working with Vasudhara Dairy, Valsad, for two years in the capacity of Quality Control officer & ISO: HACCP internal auditor, Kumar joined MICA for a two-year post graduate programme in Media Management.

It was in June 2004, after a small stint with OMS Delhi, that he joined Maxus Bangalore. At Maxus Bangalore, he started as a planner on Himalaya, Wipro Infotech and MTR Foods' accounts before adding Britannia and AMD to the list. While Britannia and Himalaya taught Kumar the rigours of conventional planning, Wipro helped him explore opportunities with an entrepreneurial bent of mind.

The biggest project, however, was Project Madagascar, where he worked on the team that created the biggest marketing campaign for AMD that year. A winner of Golden Planet Awards, the campaign was a mammoth seven-month project liaisoning with various stakeholders like AMD Global team, Dreamworks SKG Studio and HMV Saregama, apart from various media partners.

In 2006, Kumar was given dual responsibilities of doing planning and buying for a few Maxus clients. This profile helped him create integrated campaigns for clients by coupling planning wisdom with buying realities. However, over a period of time, he chose buying over planning and in 2007 was entrusted with the buying duties of the Titan account, which was a big leap in his career.

It was during this stint that he had a chance to link himself with some of the biggest associations like Titan Aviator and WWF Collection launches, renaming Radio One as Fastrack 94.3 FM, creating Tanishq Mirror on Femina's cover, Titan Antakshari, Titan of the day across platforms like Sa Re Ga Ma Pa and many more.

From January 2009 onwards, Kumar began heading the buying function at Maxus Bangalore. Some of the biggest recognitions on what he worked on came in 2009: A Cannes shortlist for the Fastrack Innovation, two shortlists at GoaFest, and a clean sweep at Bangalore Ad Club with 17 Awards. Kumar is also involved in a small way with GroupM's training programme for freshers, called MBrace since 2007, besides his involvement in business development across the South.

Kumar strongly feels that a successful media professional needs to be scientific as well as artistic in his/her approach. How effectively one balances the two decides the beauty of the media solution. He believes that that work is based on the three pillars of continuous improvement of the knowledge base, adaptability at any given situation and undying passion for the work one does.

Two decisions at different points in my career have been highly influential in shaping my career:
(a) The decision to join GroupM post my MBA in 2004
(b) The decision to shift to buying in 2006 and join Central Trading Group

The satisfaction from the work, the kind of people I get to interact with, the variety of problems that need solution, the exchange of ideas that happen, the possibility of making a mark in a niche field – all these factors keep me going.

There have been many: people like CVL Srinivas and Lakshmi Narasimhan were role models for youngsters like me when I started my career. Being with GroupM gave me the opportunity to interact, work with or listen to thought-leaders in this business, who shaped my outlook and approach towards communication business. Then there are challenging media partners and media-savvy clients, who always bring out the best in me. Also, the Maxus family has always been a pillar of support.

However, above all, I’ve been fortunate to have met my mentor, Prasanth, four years back, who instilled the passion for knowledge, role of information and networking and the need to raise the bar every time. He transformed me from an average media planner to an efficient communications’ solution provider.

The first signs were when scheduled marketing campaigns got cancelled or postponed. Retail getting affected had a big impact on lead generation medium like print. Emphasis on accountability and measurability changed media mixes, rates got revisited in anticipation of more business, digital got prominence while satellite TV was under pressure. Another sign was change in client business plans where a cautious-quarterly-approach replaced the usual detailed annual approach.

While various factors will push the growth of AdEx, the real challenge lies in enabling clients make informed decisions in the future. This could be adapting technology for better media solutions, using content in communications, thinking local solutions for brands, redefining role of media, inventing new methods of consumer engagement, etc.