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Anshul Joshi
Class of 2012
Director − Product Strategy, PrecisionMatch
Previous Occupation: Senior Media Planner and Buyer, Lodestar UM, New
Delhi
Present Occupation: Director − Product Strategy, PrecisionMatch (a
division of SVG Media Pvt. Ltd)
Sector: Digital Media
Work Experience: 5.5 years
Interests – Professional/ Personal
Programmatic media trading and entrepreneurship
Gadgets, Hollywood movies and basketball
Can you tell us a little about your family background/ history?
I grew up in a nuclear family of just four people. My father is a self-made
entrepreneur who runs a boutique full-service advertising agency in the
traditional media space in Ludhiana. As a result, I was exposed to the
advertising and media industry quite early on in my life. I started helping him
out in creating artworks for print advertisements as early as age 10! I was
always quite sure about my long-term ambitions of making a career for myself in
the marketing communications space.
I grew up in Ludhiana but have also lived in Jalandhar, Melbourne, New Delhi and
Hyderabad for studies and work.
My mother is a housewife, and my younger sister teaches English for the
International English Language Testing System (IELTS) exam at a renowned
coaching institute and also helps our father in managing his business. My wife,
who I married after graduating from ISB, is a practising lawyer in Indirect Tax
with a top law firm in New Delhi. We're both based out of Delhi National Capital
Region (NCR).
Briefly describe your personal and professional achievements (including
recent awards/ special projects).
I consider it my biggest professional achievement to have been part of the
presentation team for the Coca-Cola media account pitch in 2010 and winning the
account from the more than a decade old incumbent agency. With just about three
years of work experience under my belt at that time, it was a big deal to be
included in the small team of 10, comprising primarily of the agency's top-level
executives (CxOs) from India and its global headquarters in the United States.
While we were on our way to the hotel where the pitch presentation was to be
made, I remember telling one of my teammates, "Just being able to present during
the pitch is a separate line on my resume ... and if we win, it would be a
paragraph."
I also played an integral part in launching and growing the PrecisionMatch
business from scratch and have worked across every major function since its
inception. PrecisionMatch is a division of SVG Media (formerly Tyroo), and it is
the first digital marketing data solutions provider in India, South East Asia
and the Middle East.
I captained the basketball team and also played water polo for the Raging Bulls
during the ISB Super League (ISL), which our team won. I'm also a competent
computer graphics designer.
Tell us about your profile pre-ISB, and recap your professional life after
ISB, including your career progression.
Pre-ISB, I worked for two years in Universal McCann's Melbourne office on the
Kmart account immediately after completing my Bachelor of Business (Accounting)
from Monash University, Melbourne. I started off as a Media Assistant, but
shortly afterwards got an out-of-turn promotion as a Media Buyer. After moving
back to India, I worked in their Delhi office on the Tata Docomo and Coca-Cola
accounts. I also had a short stint managing the family's ad agency business
during this period. All my experience until that point had been in traditional
media. After graduating from ISB, I have been working with SVG Media, initially
managing Tyroo's Retargeting business and later joining PrecisionMatch a month
before its official launch.
Describe your fondest memory of ISB.
My fondest memory would have to be the day we won the ISL. The team owners went
to each team member’s room with a personalised certificate that was pasted on
the door. These certificates had fun, personalised titles that were awarded to
each of us based on the sport(s) we played. Mine was "Calves of Steel" (in case
you're curious, I used to be able to jump very high despite just being 5’10",
and my calves are massive in proportion to my body). I remember the excitement
in the air as we contacted each other to find out what title each had been
given.
In your personal life, how have you changed post-ISB? Do you see yourself
doing something differently because you went to ISB? What has left a lasting
impression?
I feel more confident and more prepared to take on whatever life has to offer. I
managed to transition over to digital media quite successfully, which is
something I had always wanted to do. Overall, the ISB experience was very
rewarding and made me realise that there are so many smart and passionate people
that I can call friends and reach out to whenever I need help. It feels really
amazing to be a small part of a very privileged and revered community.
How do you think ISB has contributed to your career growth?
Just being part of the ISB alumni community opens a lot of doors in a lot of
organisations. I learnt a lot inside of ISB classrooms, but the learning outside
was also invaluable. I put a lot of these skills to use on a day-to-day basis.
ISB has definitely fast-tracked my career and made me realise my own potential
as well as my standing in the market.
If you have to sum up ISB in one word:
Humbling.
What was the main highlight of your programme at the ISB?
The one-year duration of my PGPM course was the main highlight. It teaches you
very valuable time management skills, in addition to saving a year that would
have been required in any other comparable MBA course.
Word of advice for the current class?
It is a collective responsibility to uphold the ISB brand name. Take pride in
being associated with the institute, but also stay rooted. Make the most of your
time at ISB by meeting as many people as possible and making a lot of friends!
What was your favourite course/ class at ISB and why?
Managing Complexity by Professor Edward Rogers. Not only is he a brilliant
professor, but I put the concepts I learnt in his class to use every day.
Was there anyone during your time at ISB who acted as a mentor for you? Tell
us a little about this relationship and why it was valuable.
I can point to no one in particular. I certainly benefited immensely from the
collective guidance of several of my professors in different subjects. I
personally feel that every individual is different and you can get a lot of
value from interacting with as many different people as possible — both
professors and students. Most of them are more than happy to help, which is
really great!
What are the areas in which you can contribute to ISB?
I am more than happy to provide any guidance to current students or alumni who
are interested in pursuing a career in the digital media industry. I can also
help prospective students by sharing my ISB experiences and helping them in
decision making as well as expectation setting. I'm also happy to be a part of
any "gyaan sessions," admission interviews or other opportunities whenever
possible.
What do you enjoy most about your current career position?
I love working in an entrepreneurial organisation because of the immense
opportunity for learning and growth. I not only work in an industry which is
extremely fluid, but also have a role that is loosely defined, which keeps me on
my toes. But best of all, digital media is in an industry that I always aspired
to work in!
What is the next new thing in the industry or vertical you are working in?
Any trends that you can see?
Programmatic trading has taken the industry by storm and is likely to be one of
the buzzwords for the next couple of years. The biggest trend I foresee is the
amalgamation of mobile and Web as one seamless digital media channel, whether it
be for search, social or display.