On 9th August 2007, 90 Pinstormers got onto 2 buses and headed for Kamshet for our annual offsite. The 2005 Pinstorm annual offsite was also held in Kamshet but the difference was that we were 3 times the number of people this time around.

We decided to have a theme around which our organizers could plan activities. ‘Innovation and Creativity’ became the focus of our offsite. Our organizers ‘The Elementz’ decided that the most fun method would be the ‘Out-bound Management Development Methodology’ which is why we picked the venue to be YMCA Camp Lakeside, in Village Nilshi in Kamshet.

The location was beautiful with a picturesque lake and hills around. We had dorm like style of accommodation which was fun because it put 8 – 10 of us in one room.

The highlight of the whole trip though was the activities (all outdoors except when it rained too much) and of course the unofficial parties at night ;)

And obviously which offsite is complete without a few skits of the bosses and colleagues.

Needless to say after so much fun and learning, we all were saddened to get on the bus back to Mumbai, but the memories of the offsite will be with us forever because the experience was such that no one would forget the trip.
Offsite pics at gallery.pinstorm.com

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by Kalpana Pathak

Education institutes are using a new technique—search engine marketing (SEM)—to spread awareness about their programmes and to create a niche for themselves in the students’ minds.

SEM is the technique of placing any website in the first few pages of an Internet search engine after a strategically defined set of keywords are typed-in.

SEM leads to an increase in hits by the targeted traffic to any website, thus resulting in greater visibility.

In the past, the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad used the SEM technique to market its Post Graduate Programme for Executives (PGPEX) programme, the Xavier Institute of Management (XIM) Bhubaneshwar also used SEM to generate interest in one of its online programmes last year.

Other major SEM users in India are Amity University, Rai University, IMS coaching centre, Career Launcher and Whistling Woods International. In general, Indian institutes are just waking up to SEM. International players have been using SEM for quite a while now.

In India, of the top 50 education institutes, 10 spend on using SEM. Abroad, virtually every university uses this technique.

For instance, U21 Global, one of the largest online universities in Asia uses the SEM company, Pinstorm to reach out to students in India and the rest of the world. Pinstorm’s other major clients are Whizlabs, INSEAD, National University of Singapore and Thomson Education.

“A lot of international universities are targeting Indian students. U21 Global is a huge player in this area for which we do work in 11 countries. Career Launcher is also one of the major advertisers through the web,” says Pinstorm founder Mahesh Murthy.

“SEM helps the advertiser capture targeted traffic and offers a much better return on investment compared to other ad campaigns ,” says Suresh Reddy, founder Ybrant Technologies.

Ybrant technologies has partnered Integrate Media in Mumbai to enter the Indian SEM market.

So, with the Internet enabling marketeers reach a wider range of students, online presence has become a must for the institutes. “Today, the entire decision making process on where and what to study, starts online. Not only students, but parents also search on the net for higher education options,” says Murthy.

Beside contributing towards brand-building exercises, SEM gives the institutes an option to publicise their non-performing or lesser known programmes through SEM. IIM-A, for instance, advertised its Post Graduate programme for executives (PGPEX) programme using SEM. The programme has now become a popular one among working executives.

An advantage of SEM to international institutes, however, is that they do not need a physical presence in India.

The cost of SEM varies from course to course and is different for bulk advertising (read a bouquet of courses). XIM-B for instance, paid around Rs 4 lakh to advertise for one of its courses. Advertising for more than one course can cost up to Rs 8 lakh or more.

Overseas institutes spend in excess of $20,000-$25,000 (Rs 8 lakh-10 lakh) in India per month to leverage the SEM advantage.