Leadership is a trait that transcends sectors, hence the adage "leaders know no industry" rings true. This means that genuine leaders aren't limited to showcasing their talents in a single field; rather, they can easily transfer their broad range of capabilities to each situation that arises. When looking for a new leader, it's not always necessary for a company to look just inside its sector. Instead, businesses should adopt a more holistic strategy by seeking out, and even partnering with, thought leaders from outside of the specific field. Suruchi Kore, who has extensive experience in the entertainment industry but is now the Head of Digital & Social Strategy, is a perfect illustration of this principle in practice. Suruchi has a wealth of digital expertise, which she is now employing in the corporate sector, and is advancing the Bajaj Group's heritage in the digital realm.

Suruchi is well-versed in content and influencer marketing, two areas in which she excels by introducing novel ideas to promote brands in a manner that piques consumers' interests. At the outset of her 15 year long career, Suruchi worked as an entertainment journalist for Star News, Zoom TV Network, Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited and there after, she joined ZEE5, where she has been instrumental in the transition of national and regional content from Zee Network’s 20 plus channels to their digital OTT platform ZEE5. Suruchi made the transition from the entertainment industry to the world of corporate communications in 2022, when she joined the legacy Indian corporate Bajaj Group. However, as was previously noted, leaders are not limited to any one field; Suruchi introduced a wave of digital communications revolution inside the company and brought together employees from across Bajaj’s group businesses through an interview series named Bajaj Talkies. This was a one-of-a-kind activity that had never occurred in the company's existence.

Engaging in an exclusive interaction with Women Entrepreneur magazine, Suruchi Kore described her professional journey so far.

To date, what innovations have you spearheaded as the company's Head of Digital & Social Strategy?

Kushagra Bajaj led Bajaj Group is an India leader in Sugar, Ethanol, Energy and Consumer Care businesses with a legacy approaching 100 years now. So after I joined as Head of Digital and Social Strategies in April, 2022 the initial task was to create a social media footprint for this group that has more than 15000 employees across two B2B and one B2C businesses. And to leverage the employee strength to build the brand perception, we first had to think of ideas to bring them together with a common interest. We started off with an internal launch of Bajaj Almond Drop Moisturising Soap for the employees at a discounted price in June, 22. People bought the soap hampers and gifted them to their extended families and neighbours in their society. It brought them closer to the brand and awakened their brand connect. Soon after that we launched an internal portal called Bajaj Samachar, we launched our WhatsApp Business account and made an activity calendar covering major events across businesses. Later in August ’22, we launched the interview series Bajaj Talkies that became a platform for sharing experiences of our long-term employees.

Bajaj Talkies not just covered the senior leadership team across businesses but also highlighted the CSR interventions undertaken by the company. All of this was done internally with a team of 3 people and zero paid marketing. I started receiving numerous testimonials especially from Sugar and Energy folks that they had never seen such open and interactive digital communication in their industries and that they are enjoying our content immensely. Yes, the love and respect for close to a century old brand has only strengthened in the heart of its employees under the current leadership of Chairman Mr. Kushagra Bajaj but for me to be able to drive the employee brand advocacy on digital in less than a year's time feels incredible. All thanks to the support for innovative communication, I received from my boss Mr. Neeraj Jha and the entire Group Corporate Communications team.

In your opinion what are some of the most significant milestones that you have achieved throughout your professional journey? What has been your success mantra?

The most formative years of my digital career so far were 2015 onwards, when I made the transition from creative programming to the digital world. I look back on that turning point in my career with fondness. And it was just about the time when OTT platforms started gaining popularity in India. As part of the core foundation team of ZEE5, it was my responsibility to create a lucrative content mix with the lakhs of hours of Zee’s library content and share the content marketing campaign ideas with the internal and external teams handling both advertising video on demand (AVOD) vs subscription video on demand (AVOD). My Content Head, Business Head and CEO, they all gave me a free hand to work with the product team and create an exciting user interface that not just helps our audience dive into their favourite content library but at the same time we also fed the AI powered content recommendation engines.

Ad sales requirements like branded content placement and gamifications were also thought through for all the landing pages on ZEE5. Everything I did on that journey, from feeding the brand, marketing and communication campaigns to monitoring and investigating the key performance indicators for content across 12 languages in various states of our country enriched me in terms of profiling the audience and understanding the content pegs that always resonate with Indian nationals. So yes, my career has seen two major shifts: first, from creative programming to digital entities; and second, from the screen to the real business world with Bajaj.

"For me, moving from media to business communication has meant stepping out of my comfort zone and taking newer challenges. At Bajaj, i’ve been able to demonstrate my abilities as a digital communicator by breaking the conventional mold of communications in manufacturing businesses and CSR"

Working with the Bajaj group allowed me the chance to demonstrate my abilities and introduce a new perspective to the company's corporate image that is only going to strengthen from here being the largest producer of green fuel ethanol. Our plan is to further strengthen our group employees by opening avenues for them to interact confidently and be lifelong ambassadors of Brand Bajaj. We are sure this will enhance Bajaj Group’s Brand presence and highlight the values, legacy and heritage of the brand bringing in better results for all our stakeholders.

How do you foresee the digital marketing space evolving going forward? In your opinion which industry trends will create the most impact soon?

In my opinion, experiential marketing is a field that is undergoing rapid growth across all industries at present. And in India, too, it has enormous potential. We have all seen those kiosks in shopping centres or at road shows where you can try out a product but now with the dynamic AI and ML features in digital marketing space one can also experience the product online and then make their choice to spend. Similarly, moment marketing has evolved and it definitely lends a lot of value to the brand or any individual who is able to strike the right chord with it's target audience.

Drawing from your experience as a business leader, what would your advice be to young women and girls who also aspire to become business leaders and entrepreneurs in the future?

Pursue your aspirations, keep up with the new trends and keep upgrading yourself. This is the right time where people are coming to terms with the fact that women are exceptional when it comes to multitasking at work and at home. All you need to do is prioritise! Follow you heart and you will succeed in everything you set your mind to. Don't push yourself into a career path unless you're passionate about it and that's how you will perform at your peak.

Suruchi Mahatpurkar Kore, Head Of Digital & Social Strategy, Bajaj Group

Suruchi has completed her bachelor's and PG Diploma in Mass Media and Journalism. In 2008, Suruchi began her professional journey with Star News and has been part of organizations like Zoom TV Network, Sahara Samay Network, Zee Entertainment Enterprises, and ZEE5 and is currently the Head of Digital and Social Strategy at Bajaj’s Group Communications Team.