Perfetti chairman Stefano Pelle tells IMI students about the importance of Internet marketing

During his lecture on Online advertising at International Management Institute, (IMI), New Delhi, on July 17. Mr Pelle was a driving force behind the rise of Perfetti India, where he joined in 1998. After a very successful stint at Perfetti India, he was elevated to a larger international role, although he continues to be the chairman of Perfetti India. Mr Pelle has been associated with IMI as an honorary adjunct professor.

During his lecture, he talked about the global perspective of online advertising; its advantages, formats, methods, the risks involved and its future growth in India.

Commenting on the growth of Internet in India, Mr Pelle said, In India, the Internet has grown by about 50% in the last two years. In the next few years, India will definitely have huge development in this sector. Online advertising in India has good prospects.

Mr Pelle pointed out that online advertising is a medium with no limitation in terms of space and size. At the same time, because of this flexibility, an online advertiser needs to be more cautious and responsible: Online advertisers must follow some rules to make sure that the image of the online product is enhanced and the content is relevant to the masses.

While commenting on the limitations of online advertising in India, he said, The major limitation is illiteracy and the low penetration particularly in rural areas of India. This is a good medium for those who want to target a specific audience At this time, it is premature for India to depend only on online advertising.

During the course of his highly interactive talk, Mr Pelle gave examples of how brands like Monte Carlo, Mentos and Happydent have used online medium. At the end of his presentation, students posed many questions for him.
Commenting on IMI, Mr Pelle said, Interaction of industry people with IMI students is a great initiative taken by IMI under industry-academia relationship. The unique thing about IMI is its faculty, its interaction with industry and its keen students. He has earlier lectured at IMI on different subjects.

Mr Pelle did his MBA with a Masters in Marketing from the Luiss University of Rome. He recently published a book on his India experiences titled Understanding Emerging Markets.