From publishing books to integrating Google tools into them, S Chand & Company Ltd. has travelled a long way. Being one of the leading education content companies, S Chand has registered 720 cr. growth this year, aiming to grow even further. The Group is one of the market leaders in K-12 segment and has a strong foothold in the CBSE/ICSE affiliated schools, with an increasing presence in the state board affiliated schools across India. They also export printed content to over 15 countries and digital content to countries in Asia, the Middle East, and Africa, among others.
We interacted with Priya Malhotra, Group Head- Marketing of S Chand and Company Limited, to talk about some of the key brand activities they are doing. She also discussed their current marketing mix and the evolution of the segment. “In 2017, when the digital transition was happening, we were the first to integrate the digital medium by uploading our educational content videos on YouTube.” She said while speaking about the digital transition in the company.
With a career of 16 years of cross-industry experience, Priya has consistently delivered high-impact, consumer-centric marketing initiatives backed by a deep understanding of both B2B and B2C audiences. At S Chand, Priya has led several successful campaigns, including the conceptualization and launch of Learnflix, the company’s personalized learning app, overseeing its journey from strategy to market growth.
Excerpts here:
Q) As one of the oldest and leading educational content companies, how do you see the K-12 segment evolving over the years?
Priya: The K-12 segment is bound to grow due to the implementation of NEP, which is scheduled, and the digital trajectory. When I joined this industry in 2014, the industry was vastly different than what it is today. A lot has changed post-COVID. Now, there is a hybrid and digital influx in this segment. Another shift that we have witnessed in the last two years, primarily due to COVID, the digital audio online education model was predominantly promoted. There were times, we thought online education would be the future and print would gradually go away. It didn’t happen. We are a print publisher and now an online content generator. We are seeing changes in this segment, too. Online mode is now integrated with books. In our books, we have QR codes to take you to videos on our YouTube channel with lectures on concept clarity. In these changing times, we have been the first company in the industry to cross 720 crores this year. Though NEP has not been implemented completely in the country. Once that has been done, we will see an evolved version of the books and this sector will grow even more.
Also read: Google partners with S Chand to Integrate Google Lens in School Textbooks
Q) AI is becoming the powerhouse in the education sector. How is S Chand embracing the technology change?
Priya: The education industry has seen a huge technology integration. We are now coming up with books that are integrated with Google tools. Integrating AI completely would take a lot of time because it is also shaping up currently, and a lot has to be done in conjunction with the school. The school has to accept the change and deliver it. If the teacher is not AI-friendly/ not aware of how to deliver through AI, it won’t work. It is why a lot of teacher training is being conducted in different regions.
Honestly, I have not pulled up any marketing data with the help of AI. However, we are receiving feedback from the sales team that it is picking up pace. Now, teachers are also using ChatGPT to create lesson plans and do assessments.
Q) What are the recent campaigns you’ve done for the brand? How are they helping the brand to engage with users?
Priya: Our brand campaigns are primarily brand activities. The two brand activities over the past nine years have fetched us immense respect and ROI in terms of quantity, as well. One is for the children to explore the world of bookmaking with our printing press. We approached schools in Delhi and NCR and requested to visit their children at our printing press. We launched this activity in 2015. We have amazing testimonials and feedback coming our way since that time. Every year, we have a retention percentage of 30%. This year, the activity will start from July to September for the press visit. The location for this activity is around Delhi and NCR. As our press is located in Ghaziabad and Shahibabad, the activity is primarily restricted to nearby areas.
The second activity is to target the major stakeholders in our industry – teachers and school educators. In 2016, we launched a program for educators and principals and took 40 school educators to Finland and exposed them to the Finland education system, as it is considered one of the best in the world. Till now, we have taken 5 educational trips to Finland and 1 trip to Singapore. This year, from August 10th to September, we have our annual educational trip to Singapore with 100 teachers. This activity has added a lot of credibility to the brand, S Chand. Now our brand is not just about publishing books, it is contributing towards the overall development of the teachers and the education system.
Q) What is the marketing mix at the moment?
Priya: We don’t do much social media advertising. But we are on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. We primarily use YouTube as a knowledge distributor. We publish videos for people to consume the content thereon. We do email marketing for promotion. And also use WhatsApp because we have a lot of groups with teachers and educators. We don’t do conventional marketing like TV, radio and print. However, we used print media while promoting LearnFlex, a learning app targeting the B2C segment.
Also read: Examining young minds; How urgent is the matter?
Q) What are your International footprints?
Priya: We are present in Africa, the Middle East, Pakistan, Nepal, and to some extent in Bangladesh. We had a huge market in Pakistan, but due to trade and political issues, that market is dead now. Our majority stakes come from the Middle East. Then again, these markets come with their own turmoil. So a lot of numbers have dipped for us these days.
Q) You have been associated with the brand for 11 years. Tell us about your professional journey.
Priya: I started my career as a media executive in an advertising agency. Later on, I shifted to client management, where I managed Amar Ujala for some time. In 2008, I was hired by Amar Ujala as their brand manager. I joined the education industry in 2014. It has been an amazing learning experience since then. I learned to invest time in understanding the digital medium of marketing, and then went on to convince the brand to invest in the various mediums of social networks. Because in today’s time, even a popular and valuable brand should be reachable on digital platforms. And to connect with the educators, we have the two brand activities that I talked about earlier. In this journey as a marketing head, earlier there were difficulties as the industry was different for me, but I learned to sail, adapt and shine.
