Date : 14-15th Feb 2013

Location: Hotel Le Meridien, New Delhi

Speaker: Ms. Anubha Sinha-Freelance Consultant

All India Management Association (AIMA) organized two-day 3rd World Marketing Congress at hotel Le meridian New Delhi. The Congress aimed to explore the future of marketing and to identify the challenges that marketers face due to  the changing market scenario. It highlighted the need for a fundamental change in marketing in the age of digital media and empowerment of the consumer

The theme of the congress was “Marketing Myopia 2.0”.The event was inaugurated by the Congress Chairman R K SWAMY BBDO.

Srinivasan K Swamy said, “The consumer today wants more for less and with fast service, which is making product lifecycle progressively shorter. In today’s scenario still there is  not enough consumer engagement. The marketers face significant challenges in this age of digital media.” The Congress took up several marketing issues for discussions, including the new age customers and grabbing their attention, extending product lifecycles, defining business based on customers and not products, using Internet to gain competitive advantage and the rising importance of earned media. Making a presentation on the occasion, D Shivakumar, President, AIMA and Senior Vice President, IMEA, Nokia Ltd, said, “Marketing has changed fundamentally. It’s an era of brand experience and not of product branding. Also, today, space is no longer only the physical location of business but a place where consumers can access it.” He also stressed that marketers could no longer treat the digital media as a niche. “In fact, digital media is becoming the main media to reach out to the youth,” he added.

The highlight of the event was the presentation of the AIMA’s R K Swamy High Performance Brand of the year Award, which was bagged by Apollo Tyres this year. Rajesh Dahiya, National Head, Sales & Marketing, Apollo Tyres received the award.

On the second and the final day of the event, the eminent speakers shared their insights on many important marketing issues, including big data and analytics, future relevance of the traditional media, the role of NGOs in marketing social causes and the relevance of advertising agencies in the new era. Ms. Shefalika Saxena, CMO, Microsoft India said,” Traditional media is not at all losing relevance. Media is only media and not new or old, which is constantly changing and evolving. It’s not about newspapers or television or any other media but it’s how one uses that media to engage with the customers to sell or to market a product.” “As world of marketing is changing rapidly every day, traditional media has to change ways of communicating with people and have to go where the audience is going rather than where media wants to take them,”  Ashok Venkatramani, CEO, ABP News, said while commenting on role and relevance of traditional media in current scenario.

Mr. Clifford Patrao, Director and Leader, Strategy & Transformation-Global Business Services, India/South Asia, IBM India Pvt. Ltd, said, “Analytics are for enriching customers experience and to make product branding more user friendly. We are seeing an era where data is empowering marketing and marketers.”

During the two-day event the participants also discussed the new age consumers, extending product lifecycles, defining business based on customers and not products, using Internet to gain competitive advantage and the rising importance of earned media.

The Congress was conducted in an experience-sharing, interactive mode, encouraging high level of participation by the delegates. The event format included presentations and experiences by some of the most renowned names of the marketing world. The Congress afforded the delegates an opportunity to learn from the experts and share branding experience and insights with their peers.

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Compiled by –Yogesh Kumar MBA L1S2, assistance from Ms. Neha Wadhwa