Entertaining Inspiration: Brand Chakras study by JWT India reveals what Indian students seek from colleges
On the one hand, a clear demand for "entertaining education" and on the other hand a yearning for mentors and inspiring role models who can give them individual attention and prepare them for life. Typical of so many other Indian consumer groups, the Indian student too today is asking for a magical combination. They expect the ideal faculty to be knowledgeable, entertaining, friendly and inspirational. Faculty must do everything from “tell jokes, make learning fun with interesting and practical projects” to “inculcate competitiveness, encourage fearless exchange of ideas, give motivational speeches, and transform weak students”.
A joint initiative of JWT and SRM University, the study using the Brand Chakras toolkit, included qualitative Focus Groups Discussions and quantitative survey as well. The centers include Delhi, Chennai, Mumbai, Bangalore, Manipal, Pune, Coimbatore, and Ahmedabad. The students interviewed were spread across engineering, medical, science, arts and management backgrounds, postgraduates and undergraduates.
The study threw up three kinds of students.
- The Enjoyment Seekers, looking for Pleasure payoffs: Their most primary concern is the short term enjoyment derived from time spent in college. They views college as a “pleasure destination”, a time in life when they start romancing, drinking, smoking and colouring their hair. They lay great stress on extra curricular activities. “College should help us have a good time … lot of activities that are there beyond studies”. And more: “they should teach us new activities like golf, pool etc.” Part of this space is the desire for teachers who entertain, and make learning fun. Study is important part of life, we need this for our future; but when we sit in class for more than two hours, we feel bored. There should be enjoyment also and there has to be a balance between study and fun”.
- The Badge Value Seekers, looking for Power payoffs, whose primary concern is the power, they gain by studying in a reputed college. They value a college only for the respect it brings in society and are willing to do all that is required to get such a college. For them, it’s all about competitiveness, goals, becoming an influential person and feeling more intelligent that others around him “By studying in a reputed college, there is a good branding of the person, people will start respecting the person more because of the branding; they will start expecting you to have the calibre of the college and give you the feeling that you are really intelligent” says one, while another adds “we should always have the confidence that the good name of the college will always be advantageous for us”. And beyond that, the college actually inspires them to do well – “if we are studying in a reputed college, there is an inner satisfaction and pride that makes us want to do well ourselves”
- The Inspiration Seekers, who is looking for Survival, Power, Creative expression and Transcendence payoffs. They seek inspiration from college, not only in the academic arena but look for larger and long term life lessons. They value knowledge and all extra curricular activities equally “there must also be enough activities other than studies that will help us improve our thinking and communication skills”. There are lot of difficult situations that we face in college, like problems betweens seniors and juniors … by learning to handle these situations, we get a sense of how to handle such situations in life outside college”. “Independence in college comes with responsibility also … one learns to take care of himself as there is no one to run after you or give you special attention. You also learn a lot from your seniors’ experiences … how they are struggling … lessons useful in life are thus got from college. “They want the college to be a finishing school making one truly life ready- integrating academic knowledge and practical application skills, breading attitudes and values, and strengthening temperament
The combination of qualitative and quantitative Brand Chakra tools, led to some interesting discoveries. It revealed that students were personally low on Power and Transcendence, but when it came to what they from their education, Power and Transcendence is what they want the most.
A proprietary toolkit of JWT India, Brand Chakras is the first eastern framework for consumer behaviour and brand study and looks at everything through the seven life themes of Survival, Pleasure, Love, Creative Expression, Transcendence and Spirituality.
Download the report (pdf, 469 KB)