Aviva Blogger Meet – Memorable Meetup with Amazing Kolkata Bloggers
Few days back when I was writing the post on MeetUp Magic , I was really really hoping for many more meetup experiences. In 2014 I took a resolution to take my Social Networking activities to offline meetings also. So when I got the chance to meet Kolkata Bloggers at a Bloggers meet organized by Aviva India, I was really very excited. Though I’ve met Twitter friends and Facebook friends earlier but never attended any blogger meet before. And as I am resuming my blogging after 3-4 years, I was bit hesitant also to join. But then again, as I teach people to get out of comfort zone, I followed my own advice and went there. Trust me the experience was beyond my expectation. Let me tell you the whole story.
Table of Contents
How did I get the invitation
I got to know about the event from my Twitter friend Anita. Thank God she told me about the event, otherwise I would have missed the chance.
I contacted Aviva India on Twitter immediately. Got a prompt call from Chitrakshi on behalf of Aviva India. She gave me more details about the event and officially invited me for it. When I checked the Kolkata #AvivaBloggerMeet Event page , I was really excited to see that bloggers from different ages and backgrounds were coming to the event.
Why was it double special?
I was excited not only to meet many Kolkata bloggers for the first time, but also to meet Anirban after 3 long years. He is among the first few friends I made online (specifically on Twitter). Over the years I observed this brother to grow and become a passionate human being. He is kind of my Social Media idol. I learn a lot from him. Though very young in age, but the guy is really inspiring. Why? You should read his interview.
How the day started
Probably you know that I don’t live in Kolkata. I live in Midnapur. So I took an early morning train to Kolkata. Reached Park Street as soon as possible. Had breakfast at McDonald (bad decision). Then waited for Anirban. Sitting there I was interacting with another Kolkata blogger on Twitter – Ramasish. Found out that he lives near my college – Shibpur BE college. This is why I love Social Media. How magically it helps you find interesting connections.
Anirban came near 11 am. We are connected online so well, that we didn’t feel like meeting after 3 long years. I was listening to his last few years’ experiences sitting there at McDonald. How gradually blogger meetups died at Kolkata. How some people’s ego killed the community. And most importantly I was amazed to see his determination to bring the community back together. I very well know how busy he is, but inspite of that he is really committed to elevate Kolkata Bloggers community.
Ramasish joined us after some time and then we left for the Kenilworth hotel to attend the event.
#AvivaBloggerMeet – The Event
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- Showing Aviva TVC featuring Sachin
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- Sharing table with Yash. Anirban and Ramsish
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- Anusree taking award for winning Speed blogging contest
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- Anirban taking award for winning Speed blogging contest
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- Anirban talking about Kolkata Bloggers initiative
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- Aviva’s gift bag for attendees
Photo Courtesy: Amrita & Aviva India
Got a warm welcome from Chitrakshi and her colleague when we entered. Settled down at the conference room. I was very glad to share the table with Anita, Amrita, Anirban, Ramasish and Yash ( a class 10 guy – youngest blogger there!).
Aviva Team
Along with Chitrakshi and her colleague, 3 more persons were present from Aviva:
- Rishi Piparaiya (Director – Marketing and Direct Sales)
- Jayaram Ramanathan ( Vice President – Corporate Communication)
- Gourav Sinha ( Manager – Marketing )
Honestly I didn’t have any good impression about private insurance companies or people working there. But trust me, these 5 people changed my perception quite drastically. I really liked some qualities in them:
- Humble, friendly and down to earth.
- Quite receptive.
- Willing to listen and learn.
- Open to criticism.
- Focusing on Branding not on selling
Aviva TVCs with Sachin
The event started with showing some TV commercials of Aviva featuring Sachin. As I don’t watch TV, I was watching those for the first time. What I noticed in all those TVCs , Aviva wasn’t trying to sell insurance policies there rather it was focusing on the importance of a secure future for children. In some ads, Sachin was teaching different batting styles in details to kids. In some ads named ‘Sachin Off-guard’ , Sachin was talking about his personal life and how family is most important for him. Though few ads were bit lengthy, but I liked the ads overall.
Feedback and Brainstorming – Lesson for every brand
I didn’t expect what came next. Aviva team asked all of us, what did we think about the ads and how can they improve their brand campaigns?
I knew that many global brands are imbibing this strategy to take feedback from the consumer and align future campaigns on those ideas. But I didn’t expect Aviva to do that in a Kolkata Bloggers meet. It was really smart move. And as I mentioned earlier, they were really receptive to the ideas and feedback we shared.
And wish I could tell you how amazing the brainstorming session was! The attendees came up with simplest to unique and groundbreaking ideas. Like:
- Making the TVCs shorter and more interesting
- Promoting that Aviva has a major partnership with a trusted brand like Dabur in India. (Did you know that? I didn’t!)
- Promoting that Aviva is 300 years old company!
- Promoting that Aviva contributes in uplifting of street children through an NGO.
- Participating in popular Bengali reality shows as sponsors.
- Sponsoring fun activities in schools and colleges.
- Organizing games and fun activities in Multiplexes.
- Publish magazines.
- Create innovative apps. … lots more!
Wish one day every brand learn to do this. Set aside their ego and ask for feedback from their customers.
I really appreciate Aviva for this step.
Speed Blogging contest
After the brainstorming session, we participated in a speed blogging contest. We were given a topic ‘3 Things about Sachin that inspire me’. We had to write a post in our blogs, publish and share it within 15 minutes. It was fun! If I am not wrong Manjari & Yash were the fastest to finish. Anusree won the competition.
Amazing Kolkata Bloggers who attended the event
How can this post be complete without introducing you to those amazing Kolkata bloggers who made the event so much fun? I had to leave early for some unavoidable reason. Wish I could stay a bit longer and interact with every single one of them individually.
But already, thanks to this event, developed a strong bonding with Ramasish, Anita, Amrita, Anusree and Preeti. Looking forward to know rest of these amazing bloggers better.
Here I’ve tried to mention all the attendees, their Twitter bios, their blog links and 3 tops posts from their blogs. Hope you enjoy connecting with them and enjoy their posts.
Anita
Top posts:
- Three things that inspire me about Sachin
- Bhag Milkha Bhag – 25 Lessons ( I got connected to her through this post)
- Winning means world to me
Amrita
Top posts:
- Three things that inspire me about Sachin
- International sand art festival, Chandrabhaga Beach, Konark, Odisha
- What winning means to me
Anirban
Find him on: Twitter Facebook His Photography Page His Blog
Top posts:
Anusree
Find her on: Twitter Facebook Google+ Her Blog
Top posts:
Preeti
Find her on: Twitter Facebook Google+ Her Blog
Top posts:
Sammya Brata
Top posts:
Titas
Top posts:
- 3 Things that inspire me about Sachin
- #Back2School – Reviving the South Point High school days
- To XYLOS and back
Yash
Top posts:
Depanjan
Find him on: Twitter
Manish
Find him on: Twitter
Shashikant
Find him on: Twitter
Ramasish
Top posts:
Manjari
Top posts:
- Three things that inspire me about Sachin
- Rosogolla (Recipe)
- Potoler Dolma (Recipe)
Avik
Top posts:
Reactions about the event
I really loved the event. But I was wondering what other attendees thought about the event. Let me show you:
If you had attended the event and now reading this post, please leave a comment mentioning whatever I missed here.
For others, have you ever attended any such meetups? Any blogger meet? I’d love to know your experience.
Shared the blog post with the album with photographs dropboxxed by Aviva.
Had a great day!
Hi Sourav! Thank you for the wonderful blog post and feedback! We had alot of fun hosting the blogger meet for you all and we are so glad that you have a good experience! 🙂 It was alot of interacting with you all on a personal level. Look forward to having many such interactions and activities with you all in future! 🙂
Thanks Chitraxee for inviting to the event and also for your comment here. This was my first blogger meet. Not only I learned, enjoyed but most importantly I made some really great friends.
I am also looking forward to many such activities.
Wow.. Fatafati likhecho.. It is amazing.. You worked so hard for this post! amazing! 🙂
Thanks sis. You all are worth all the hard work 🙂
Super work, Sourav! Really impressive! Well-expressed with all the points about the meet & all info about the Bloggers 🙂 Your effort & commitment shines through! 🙂
Kudos!
Thanks Anitadi! Way to go! Lot to learn from you. The way you write and do it regularly! Awesome! Thanks a lot for the appreciation. And without you this was not possible.
There’s no doubt on the content being good actually! The only thing I admire about this post is that you took out your time to admire people from the very beginning till the end!
Thanks brother. I live in a place where most people die knowing just a handful people. Never knowing how wonderful this world is and how amazing people are there. That’s why I consider myself blessed to know so many people. Each one of you made me a better human being somehow. Why wouldn’t I admire?
Thanks brother 🙂 You know I live in a place where most people die knowing just a handful people and a fraction of the world. So I consider myself blessed to know so many amazing people.
Each and every single one of you made me a better person somehow. Why wouldn’t I admire you?
Our Pleasure! 🙂