At Hindustan Times, we challenged most orthodoxies: Rajan Bhalla
Bhalla, Group Chief Commercial Officer, of HT Media Ltd, opens up about his eventful tenure at the company and his plans to move on after 15 storied years
“I strongly believe, when you work with a company, you draw out a professional balance sheet. On one side it’s about what you learn from the company, the different assignments, the knowledge, leadership and skill sets you acquire, and on the other side is what you contribute back to the company in terms of its growth. When the two truly balance out, you know it's time to move on,” says Rajan Bhalla, Group Chief Commercial Officer, of HT Media Ltd, as he discusses moving on from the company after a storied 15 years.
And there are a lot of stories, with Bhalla having worked across the company’s businesses, helping ideate, build, and refresh a cornucopia of brands and platforms across the media spectrum. From nurturing alliances with the likes of The Wall Street Journal, MIT, Apollo Global, Northwestern University, Star TV, News18+CNBC, and Channel News Asia – Singapore, to creating brands like Radio Nasha, Desimartini.com, htcampus.com, and shinelearning.com to conceptualising and executing multiple big brand refreshes, recent ones being Hindustan Times and Hindustan across print and digital platforms.
And then, of course, there is HT Mint, the baby of Bhalla and luminary journalist Raju Narisetti, along with one of the best international media designers, Mario Garcia. “When I joined, there were only four people, myself, Raju, the marketing head, the HR head and pretty much no one else, and thus started the journey in July 2006. And it was a fascinating journey of launching Mint in a record seven months, and a story I love to tell,” recalls Bhalla.
With HT not having a business news brand in a media landscape populated by brands like Economic Times, Financial Express, Hindu Business Line, Business Standard, DNA Money, the idea was to provide readers with refreshing clarity in business - something new, disruptive and engaging. “We challenged most orthodoxies. We questioned, why do financial papers need to be pink, why can’t they be colourful and simple with infographics, smart images and easy-to-read fonts? Why does it even need to be a broadsheet, why not a Berliner format that’s easier to handle, Why should the brand name have ‘financial or business’ as a suffix ” elaborates Bhalla, even as he chuckles over the pains of having to find a solution to printing a Berliner format in India at that time.
While Mint became a byword, with the likes of Narisetti and Sukumar R. at the editorial helm, Anup Gupta on design and Bhalla navigating the brand journey and commercial optimization, he also had his hands full with all of HT’s many pies. As a Group CMO, he developed and or executed multiple Intellectual Properties like HT Leadership Summit, HT Unwind, OTT Play Awards, HT No TV Day, HT Kala Ghoda, HT GIFA, HT Friday Jam, India’s Most Stylish, Mint-MIT Innovators under 35, Emtech India, Mint Luxury Summit, Mint Clarity through debate series, Hindustan Shikhar Samagam, Pratibha Samaaan and more, were refreshed and or established, even as existing brands were retooled.
“I was part of the core team in expanding and building the Hindustan brand in the heartland, especially in UP. We did a lot of work around product differentiation and consumer-focused brand initiatives. We used to pick a strong locally relevant issue and build a huge campaign around it, as everything boiled down to the brand’s positioning. It was 'Taraki ka Naya Nazariya’ as the Hindi heartland was all about aspirations and progress,” says Bhalla, noting he came up with that particular motto in close working with the Hindustan editor Shashi Shekhar.
While helping deliver the company’s strong IRS results for many years, Bhalla was also part of the Innovation Board at HT at one point and worked with international partners like Ideo & Innosight to create processes and structures that drive an innovation culture in the company. He also worked with industry bodies and was part of the MRUC Tech-Com for many years.
“The last 15+ years at HT have been professionally very enriching, with never a dull moment. I feel proud of all the work we have accomplished as a team. It honestly never felt like a job, it was amazing to come in and create, ideate, and transform every day,” he says, adding, “HT gave me an opportunity to not just build brands and businesses but also build lifelong relationships both within the company and the industry. I will always wish the best for HT Media and am sure it will go from strength to strength.”
“I have been working for over 30 years across multiple industries – advertising (Contract), durables (Whirlpool), FMCG (PepsiCo) and media (HT). Now I want to take a pause and think about the next exciting phase of my life. I want to do something that will inspire me and help leverage my strengths built over years of working with some of the finest companies and people. For now, it’s time to sit back, reflect and plan a new meaningful future,” he concludes, sitting in his office, surrounded by a surfeit of awards and industry recognitions.
The sheets have clearly been balanced.
