Just 3 weeks ago, when I was finding my way to the SocialCops office in Malviya Nagar, I remember how inhibited I was with petty worries. Will I be able to contribute? I’m still a university student from a pure commerce background. I’m not a tech genius. Will they let me work with music (because that’s my stimulant)? Am I up to date with everything that’s happening in case they start grilling me?

All these concerns weighed heavy on my mind. However, if there was something I didn’t have to bother myself with, it was my reasons to be a part of this organization in the first place.

My journey from being that brooding newcomer to the marketing chick aka jollygoodgirl that I am today at SocialCops has indeed been a memorable one. Yes, all this in just 3 weeks!

There’s a lot to tell of my experience up to now, but I don’t want to lull my readers to sleep. I’ll just stick to what has been a milestone learning for me at SocialCops. #MySHElfie was a Women’s Day special campaign that was crafted by the marketing team to crowdsource the faces and voices of everyday women inspiring us in their unique ways.

On 6th March 2014, sometime in the late evening, we were sitting in the office, jaded from the day, sipping chai, listening to Pataka Guddi, and venting our fatigue out on the dartboard. It was then that we decided to run a social media campaign around Women’s Day. Minutes later, we had come up with the voice of our campaign – SHElfies. As the campaign was being crafted, we only had 2 days to pull it off. But that was the challenge! Lesson number 1: The best ideas will come your way not at the time when you fetch them but at the most disconnected point of the day.

With the night-owl office that was 90/8 Malviya Nagar, staying up late to prepare the campaign teasers, partner proposals, social media content, etc was no surprise drill for us. Thanks to our in house kitchen, which kept us assured of a constant caffeine supply.

What was simply the International Women’s Day for most of you all was the D-day of my first-ever marketing campaign. Sitting through my college lectures was probably the tardiest stretch of the day as I was obsessing about the campaign response. #MySHElfie had gained momentum, was being reasonably lauded over social media, and had already crowdsourced some rather intriguing and heartfelt voices and faces by noon. But we wanted to make it even bigger and better. That’s when the marketing team at SocialCops decided to get out on the streets and engage with people. Lesson number 2: While technology is making it easier for us to run a puppet show sitting on a bean bag, there can be no match to the experience earned from delivering an on-ground user engagement drive.

When my colleague and I were out in Saket, celebrating Women’s Day with just about anybody and getting them to click SHElfies, the energy of the campaign was indeed exhilarating. From the neglected female security guards, restroom cleaners, and busy saleswomen to solitary tourists, gossiping girlfriends, romancing couples, family foodies – we had them all on our list. But, of course, what we definitely did not have on the list was the sheer idea of gatecrashing a live women’s conference with NaMo and getting a chance to share our initiative with the ever inspiring Smriti Irani. Lesson number 3: Yes it’s good to plan things and adhere to them as well but one should not forget to be spontaneous. As they say, “Innocence is bliss”.

After spending an exhaustive amount of time compiling and creating a visualization from all the SHElfies we crowdsourced, we happily patted our backs for pulling off the campaign in just over 1 day. Of course, there’s no denying we could have reached an even larger audience had we got certain things right, but what’s a first time without mistakes?

Social data reposted, engagement inculcated, awareness created, lessons learned, and a thumbs up rewarded… That was my first marketing campaign at SocialCops.