Colombo (14/8/2012) – More than 350 marketing heads and business leaders from Sri Lanka participated in the 12th CIM annual conference. Organised by the esteemed Chartered Institute of Marketing, Sri Lanka, this year’s theme focused on lean, mean and clean marketing as the best defense in challenging times. The event was held at the Waters Edge, Battaramulla and the conference was launched the Attorney General, Hon. Palitha Fernando.
Through panel discussions and engaging presentations, the conference sought to inspire deliberations on how marketers can meet the challenges of our times by balancing growth and ethical goals. Leading speakers who addressed these issues included:
- Dr. Hermawan Kartajaya, President of World Marketing Association, Indonesia and CEO of Mark Plus Inc. He gave a keynote address about “Marketing in a changing landscape”
- Dr. Igor Mann, Co- founder of the Russian leading publishing house Mann, Ivanov and Ferber, who spoke on “Marketing with zero budgets”.
- Mr. Lawrence Chong, Chief Executive Officer of Consulus and President, Design Business Chamber Singapore who presented on “How to create successful Asian brands by challenging the convention”.
- Prof. Uditha Liyanage, Director at Postgraduate Institute of Management (PIM), whose model of “From CSR to SRB” helped to highlight the value of ethical concerns in business strategies.
- Mr. Shiraz Latiff, Trustee of The Chartered Institute of Marketing UK and Chairman/Managing Director of Humming Bird International presented on “New media shaping new markets”.
- Mr. Sunil K Alagh, Chairman, SKA Advisors Business Strategy & Marketing Consultant shared his insights on “How to create market demand in a recession”.
- Mr. Uchita de Zoysa, Chairman Global Sustainability Solutions (GLOSS) and author, activist and leader gave a thought-provoking presentation on “Marketers role in creating global sustainability”.
There were two panels, one in the morning and the other in the evening. They were moderated by Mr. Rohantha Athukorala, Head of National Portfolio Development, United Nations (UNOPS) and Mr Ravi Jayawardena, Chief Executive Officer Sales and Marketing, Maliban Biscuit Manufacturing (Pvt) Ltd.
During his presentation, Chong shared that Asian companies must aim to build stronger business models so that they can be the platforms of the new world order. His presentation covered the following themes:
- Asian companies need to overcome the lack of confidence in Asian identity (Identity Poverty) and build more distinctive Asian brands.
- Asian marketers need to contribute to shaping a new Asia before it is too late.
- Asian companies need to be able to leverage on design and innovation to build stronger companies.
- Asian companies need to build better organisational culture through a clearer realisation of purpose in order to attract talents and drive innovation.
Chong presented case studies from Brunei, Singapore and Vietnam to demonstrate how a new Asia is rising. These companies were open to innovation and organisational change which enabled them to stand out. He concluded his presentation by inviting Sri Lankan marketers to take concrete steps and aim to build strong Asian brands.
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Lawrence Chong, Chief Executive Officer of Consulus and President, Design Business Chamber Singapore Presentation who spoke on “How to create successful Asian brands by challenging the convention” was accepted with much enthusiasm …[/related]
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The 12th Annual Conference of The Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM), Sri Lanka Region ended in a grandeur success, helping Sri Lankan marketers to prepare their best defense to face the challenging times…[/related]
“Lawrence Chong’s ppt was superb. It was uniformed & image driven.”
“Lawrence Chong, Sunil & Kartajaya should be the benchmark for speakers.”
“Mr. Chong & Mr. Alagh were excellent.”
– Delegates’ quotes from the conference evaluation forms.
