Frequently Asked Questions

It is a fact that COVID19 has altered the business landscape extensively. Many of the changes in business are fundamental in nature. Also, the pace of change is unprecedented.

Even after the world overcomes this pandemic, it is expected that many of these changes will be permanent. Three key themes that are driving the change are:

• Going Digital
• Data-Driven Decisions
• Extreme Automation

In this background, Marketing being the area which is extremely critical for business is no different. These 3 themes will impact marketing more than other areas.

AI-Powered Marketing was designed as a programme for marketing professionals of the future. Being the first of its kind programme from a top management institution in India, the objective was to get marketing professionals ready for the future. However, the current situation has already moved us into the future. Hence, the need for marketing professionals to get armed with the power of AI is not just important but also urgent in today’s context

Technology adoption normally follows a curve of 5 stages as brought out in the graph below

Using AI extensively for marketing was in the domain of innovators like Google, Amazon, Netflix and was moving towards early adopters. Many startups and large retail organizations started testing out AI for their marketing. Given the current situation, the adoption rate is expected to fast forward and will not only cover the early adopters but also move towards the early majority.

If you are keen to be ahead in your career as a marketing professional with the power of AI, it is the right time to build the requisite expertise and this programme will provide the necessary edge towards achieving the same.

The safety of our faculty and participants is of utmost importance. Keeping in mind the same, we are starting the Programme on August 23, 2020 with interactive online classes that can be attended from the safety of home.

The last decade belonged to digital marketing. The next decade will belong to AI. According to a McKinsey report (2019) - AI is expected to have up to $2.6 trillion worth of business impact in sales and marketing alone.

But there is an acute shortage of AI expertise in marketing. 85% of AI projects fail due to risk, confusion and lack of upskilling among marketing teams (PwC Study). There is a considerable demand-supply gap for professionals who can use AI to influence, guide or take marketing decisions related to product positioning, competition analysis, customer sentiment analysis to enhance marketing yield and customer experience.

The Programme will help you reshape and relaunch your marketing career with higher relevance for your capabilities.

Given the current crisis due to Covid-19, we understand that participants may have a challenge with cash flows. In order to enhance the programme fee payment flexibility, we have increased the tenure of our interest-free (0% EMI) loans. As a result of this, your financial burden gets reduced. You may contact your Relationship Manager for more details.

You will need the following infrastructure to access our platform:

1. Device: A Desktop/Laptop/Tablet/Smartphone with camera and mic.
2. Internet: A regular broadband/wifi connection or a mobile 4G connection

Note: Proctored online assessments can be taken only on a Desktop/Laptop with a web camera and mic (not allowed on tablets/smartphones).

Groups can conveniently connect among themselves at an appointed time for group work, outside the online classes. This feature comes in handy during group activities and projects.

Students can also use the platform 24 x 7 to engage and learn from their peers using our interactive discussion forums available under each course of the programme.

Our platform also has the provision of group-specific discussion forums for offline discussion among the group members.

Our recorded videos have AI-generated Table of Content (TOC) to help easy and smart navigation within the videos. Students can click on the items under TOC to directly jump to the relevant section in a video. Video archives also have a Phrase Cloud of keywords/phrases used in the video. Students can click on a particular keyword/phrase to find yellow markers, indicating the points where the selected keyword/phrase was covered on the video timeline.

Improving marketing yield is a top priority of CEOs across B2C and B2B2C businesses. With the explosion of data gathered from leads, prospects, customers and the tracking of customer behaviour across websites, mobile apps and others, companies now have more data than before. Once paired with the power of AI, it can create real value for businesses.

66% of the marketing leaders believe that in 2020, AI is critical for their marketing success. Use cases in AI for marketing are likely to increase by 257% in the next two years. Hence professionals who can deploy AI to make marketing decisions will become highly valuable for businesses.

The AI-powered Marketing Programme enables marketing professionals to adopt the power of AI in their decision-making process. The key benefits of marketing powered by AI include:

• Maximizing marketing yield
• Engaging customers with precision
• Leverage superior customer insights

If you are someone, keen on exploring the future of marketing, this Programme is for you.

The Programme equips professionals with both academic, research insights coupled with practical knowledge and helps navigate the fast-evolving world of marketing armed with the power of artificial intelligence.

Exposure to AI tools and applications to help influence, guide or take marketing decisions related to campaigns, budgets, creating marketing USP and more.

You will learn from the leading Faculty of IIM Calcutta and work on interesting use-cases and research projects.

Network and associate with current and future marketing leaders.

It is a dream of every marketer to personalize their message by understanding the needs of their prospects and customers. With an explosion in the availability of consumer data, deep insights can be derived into consumer behaviour, enabling to,

• predict sales
• understand customers better
• identify upselling/cross-selling opportunities
• enhance marketing yield
• Enhance customer experience and service

The Advanced Programme in AI-Powered Marketing is a first of its kind by an IIM. Launched by IIM Calcutta in association with TalentSprint, it helps professionals ride the newest wave of data-driven marketing practices and create highly personalized consumer experiences.

Ranked #3 in Asia, IIM Calcutta is well placed to launch this Programme for CXOs, Revenue Owners, Marketing Professionals, Tech Professionals in Marketing, and Startups who are looking forward to investing in some form of AI in their marketing practices.

Given its deep understanding of the deep technologies, access to industry experts, and a state of art technology platform, TalentSprint has been chosen by IIM Calcutta as the right partner for this Programme.

Current and aspiring CXOs, Revenue Owners, Marketing Professionals, Tech Professionals in Marketing, and Startups, who are either implementing or looking forward to investing in some form of AI in their marketing practices.

The AI-Powered Marketing Programme is for decision-makers who seek to take marketing and business decisions for enhancing yield, improving customer acquisition and driving business growth. The programme will enable participants to make informed decisions using data analytics, AI algorithms, allowing them to customize their messaging and campaigns based on customer preferences.

A typical Digital Marketing Programme is used to efficiently run digital marketing campaigns, use marketing tools and methods like PPC, SEO, SEM, social media marketing etc.

All participants are required to execute, before the start of the program, an agreement that consists of the standard Program Terms and Conditions. It has the following components:

• Part A: Etiquette and Platform Rights
  • Classroom Etiquette & General Policy Guidelines
  • Tools and Platforms in Use
  • Tools and Platforms: Terms of Use
• Part B: Honor Code
• Part C: Certification
• Part D: Program Fee, Refund and Termination Policy

IIM Calcutta conducts the selection process for the programme. Candidates will be selected based on the details of education, work experience and motivation submitted by you along with your application.

Candidates must have completed their graduation or post graduation with at least 50% marks and a relevant experience of at least 2 years

Scanned copies of documents required along with the application are as follows:

• Degree Certificate (indicating the percentage of marks obtained) and/or
• Marks Sheet

• Latest Pay Slip (indicating the Date of Joining) and/or
• Experience Letter and/or
• Offer Letter/Joining Letter

• You can apply for this programme online by submitting your duly filled application. Applicants will have to pay an application fee of Rs 2000 and submit documents (soft copies) confirming their Graduation Percentage and Work Experience as described in the eligibility criteria.
• Education Certificate should indicate the marks obtained confirming at least 50% of marks.
• Latest Pay Slip should specify your date of joining, confirming at least 2 years of work experience. If not, you will have to submit your experience letter(s) indicating the same.

Participants who are not holding an Indian Passport or are not residing in India will be considered as an International Participant.

Yes, the programme fee can be paid in instalments as indicated below:

Please refer to the fee section on the programme page to know all the important dates.

For Fee related details, please visit https://iimcal.talentsprint.com/ai-powered-marketing/fee.html

No, the application fee is non-refundable.

No, the programme fee is non-refundable and non-transferable, under any circumstances.

Building deep-tech expertise is an absolute necessity for professionals in this fast-changing world that is constantly disrupted by technology.

Professionals have multiple options for funding.

1. Sponsored by employer
2. Self-funded

Based on our experience in enabling 3000 professionals who have participated in our executive programs, self-funding seemed to be the most preferred option with over 80% choosing this.

Three key reasons why professionals opt for it:

1. Freedom: To opt for a program of their choice, at a time of their choice, with an institution of their choice and not be restrained by organisation’s policy.
2. Flexibility: To pursue greater career opportunities well even beyond their current employer or to nurture their entrepreneurial ambitions.
3. Funding: Access to flexible EMI schemes (Paying as low as Rs. 5,550 per lac per month).

We have also observed that the commitment levels were higher among self-funding participants.

1. Data-Driven Marketing Decisions

• Introduction to the program
• Digital Disruption in Marketing
• From Digital Marketing to AI-Driven Marketing
• Data-Driven Marketing Decisions
• Basics of Market Research
• Capstone Project: AI Applications in Marketing (Examples)
• Case Studies on AI: Case Analysis and Presentations

2. Fundamentals of AI and ML

• Introduction to AI and ML
• Linear Regression and Logistic Regression
• Support Vector Machines
• Decision Trees and Random Forests
• Neural Networks
• Deep Learning for Time Series Predictions

3. AIML using R

• Setup and Basics of R and R Studio
• Data Preparation and Linear Regression in R
• Web Application Development (using Shinyapps)
• Logistic Regression
• SVM and Grid Search in R
• Decision Tree and Random Forests in R
• Neural Networks in R

4. AIML Applications in Marketing

• Case Study on Clustering (Segmentation)
• Case Study on Predicting Sales and Churn Modeling / Ensemble Methods
• Convolutional Neural Networks and Applications
• Time Series and RNN Forecasts
• Case Study on Forecasting Demand
• Capstone Project Proposals

5. AIML in Digital and Social Media Marketing

• Search Engine Marketing – Fundamentals
• Web Design Frameworks and Landing Pages (A/B Testing)
• Case Study on Feature Importance and Feature Selection
• Case Study on Digital Journey & Dealing with Imbalanced Data
• Case Study on CRM in Ecommerce Site
• Ecommerce: Market Basket Optimization and Recommendation Systems
• Ecommerce: Upselling/Cross-Selling (User-based and item-based collaborative filtering)
• Case Study on Product Recommendations
• Social Media Marketing – Fundamentals
• Social Media and User Generated Content: Consumer Sentiment Analysis: Case Study on User Reviews – Text Analytics
• Predicting Effectiveness of Social Media Posts (with data)

6. Futuristic Marketing

• Blockchain and Smart Contracts for Marketing I
• Blockchain and Smart Contracts for Marketing II
• IoTs, Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality for Marketing I
• IoTs, Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality for Marketing II
• Enhancing Customer Experience: Bots and Robotic Process Automation

• Participants are evaluated on the basis of an appropriate combination of examinations, assignments, projects, and class participation during the Programme. For every course the participants are given any one of the following grades: “Excellent”; “Good”; “Fair”; or “Poor”.
• Participants with not more than two “Poor” grades will be awarded with a certificate of successful completion of the Programme and the course-wise grades scored will be mentioned in the certificate.
• Participants with more than two “Poor” grades will be awarded with only a certificate of participation in the Programme. In such cases, the grades shall not be mentioned in the certificate.

Online sessions will be held twice a week as given below:

Tuesdays - 6:45 PM to 9:45 PM
Sundays - 2:00 PM to 5:00 PM

In case a participant fails to maintain minimum attendance criterion or is unable to complete the Programme with the current batch, he/she will be given an opportunity to re-join with one of the upcoming batches after paying the requisite fee, provided the Programme is being offered at that time.

If a participant fails to complete the Programme within the next two batches, his/her registration will automatically get canceled.

No placement assistance is provided to the participants. This Programme caters to working professionals who aspire to hone their skills to better adapt and grow in the constantly evolving AI-Powered Marketing sector.

A large part of the programme will be delivered through faculty-led interactive live classes on TalentSprint’s direct to device platform.

Reading material (pre/post session) will be shared regularly through the Online Learning Management System.

Applications closed for Batch 4.

The total duration of the programme is 6 months, excluding Key Takeaways.

Upon a successful completion of the Programme, participants will receive an IIMC – Executive Education Alumni status.

The programme will be conducted online through Faculty-led Interactive Live Classes.

A certificate of successful completion is provided upon completion of all requirements of the Programme. All examinations and evaluations related to the certification are carried out by IIM Calcutta.

The batch size for the Advanced Programme in Artificial Intelligence Powered Marketing will be 50.

All sessions are conducted by IIM Calcutta faculty. Industry experts may be invited for sharing their valuable experience.

A 3-day visit to IIM Calcutta campus has been planned towards the end of the programme. The campus visit will be held depending on the pandemic situation. A decision on the same will be taken once the programme starts. In case the campus visit is not held, the on-campus sessions will also be held via live interactive classes.

The campus visit is a crucial part of this programme. It facilitates the in-class experience of face-to-face sessions. Participants not only get the opportunity to meet the faculty members and network amongst themselves, they also get a chance to immerse in the rich academic environment of the Institute.

There are study areas and social spaces open to the entire community on the campus. The participants can also avail the library facilities while on campus.

Yes, the campus visit, if scheduled, will be mandatory for the successful completion of the programme. However, if the campus visit is not held owing to Covid-19 situation, the on-campus sessions will be delivered via live interactive classes.

Accommodation to participants staying on-campus during the IIM Calcutta campus visit will be provided in the Management Development Centre of IIM Calcutta, which has well-furnished air-conditioned rooms, all provided with seamless internet connectivity, intercom facility, private verandas, and en-suite bathrooms. There will only be 75 rooms available on campus and the accommodation will be provided on a single-occupancy basis. Participants who choose to stay off-campus during the 3-day IIM Calcutta campus visit have to arrange their own accommodation.

Campus fee will be ₹24,000+GST (@ ₹8,000+GST per day) for participants staying on campus and ₹15,000+GST (@ ₹5,000+GST per day) for participants staying off-campus during the campus module. There will be a cap of 75 rooms for on-campus accommodation.

You will be given one-time access to watch the missed session. This recording will only be available for 21 days from the day of the actual session.

Yes, participants need to maintain attendance criterion during the Programme.

An internet-connected device, Computer/Laptop/Tablet/Smartphone, is enough to access the platform.

Web-camera and Mic with necessary power backup will be needed for proctored online assessments.

The Indian Institute of Management Calcutta (IIMC) was established as the first national institute for Post Graduate Studies and Research in Management by the Government of India in November 1961, in collaboration with Alfred P. Sloan School of Management (MIT), the Government of West Bengal, The Ford Foundation, and the Indian Industry. Over the years, IIM Calcutta has grown into a mature institution with a global reputation, imparting high-quality management education. It has been playing a pioneering role in professionalizing Indian management through its Post Graduate and Doctoral level Programmes, Executive Training Programmes, Research and Consulting Activities. It is ranked at #3 Management Business School in Asia and under Top 25, globally. For more information, please visit www.iimcal.ac.in.

TalentSprint, a National Stock Exchange (NSE) Group Company, brings transformational high-end and deep-tech learning programs to emerging and experienced professionals in partnership with top academic institutions and global corporations. Its patent-pending, AI-powered, digital learning platform enables a perfect blend of high-end academics and industry-leading practitioner experience. Its programs have consistently seen a high engagement rate and customer delight. For more information, visit www.talentsprint.com.