As the placement season unfolds in business schools across the country, companies start courting the management students on campuses. This year, the Tata group is going all out to make its presence felt in various management schools. It is aiming for the top 10 business schools including the premier Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs), Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies and the Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies.

Tata’s re-invention exercise at these institutes is being conducted through Tata Administrative Services (TAS), which is, perhaps, the only cadre in Indian business that recruits for life-long mobility across companies, industries and functions.

Explaining the rationale behind the move, Satish Pradhan, executive vice-president, (group human resources), Tata Sons, told Business Standard: “The most important thing on our agenda is to reposition the Tata brand in the marketplace. We also need to position TAS as a different entity.” The company is placing a special emphasis on TAS as an employment brand.

For the purpose, TAS has adopted various means of communicating with the B-school students. To begin with, the company is banking on its current batch of TAS summer trainees to talk about TAS among colleagues when they return to their respective institutes.

It has also instituted a Tata Leadership Award, 2002 for management students who participate in a contest and present outstanding case studies. The contest was launched across campuses in October 2001. The final round of the competition is scheduled to take place in Pune in January 2002.

TAS is also making its presence felt in the campuses by putting up posters in the 10 B-schools identified for the exercise. To reinforce its brand further, the company has provided accessories such as Tata Tea mugs to cafeterias at campuses.

Moreover, T-shirts branded Tata Leadership Awards are being distributed among students. Says Pradhan: “These simple things will make the Tata brand presence felt in campuses so that students connect with the ‘new’ Tata. The entire exercise is more brand driven today.”

So, is Tata finally hardselling itself to the elusive MBAs? Replies Pradhan: “It’s not hardsell but creating awareness among students.” The new campus exercise is, perhaps, driven by a research which showed that TAS as a brand has not been talking to the market the way it should have been doing.

Elucidates Pradhan: “The research showed that we are not perceived as people who are clever salesmen. We are seen as honest plumbers. Pradhan, however, claims that gradually the perception about Tata is changing and TAS is acquiring a savvy and global image.

While TAS has a clear presence on the campuses now, it is in turn banking on the Tata presence across industries, from infotech to automobiles to attract the best talent. This talent promises to work in different industries thanks to the cross-level functional ability from work-level study that has been implemented across the group.