Communication Summit 2016 – “Celebrating the Power of Idea”

The sixth edition of Communication Summit, an initiative of Bangladesh Brand Forum, was held at Le Meridien Dhaka on September 3rd, 2016. The theme of this year’s event was “Celebrating the Power of Idea”. Around 500 professionals from the creative communication industry and related sectors attended the summit. The daylong summit consisted of 5 global keynote speakers who shared their insight on the wide range of topics.
Organized in association with Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, the Communication Summit aimed to provide a dominant platform for peer-to-peer learning and knowledge sharing, bringing together leading communicators and marketing professionals from companies, creative agencies, and institutions to network and discuss ideas on the most cutting-edge tools and strategies in the field.
The distinguished speakers for this year were – Fazal Ashfaq, Country Head of Google Srilanka and Bangladesh; Fredrik Haren, Author and Key Note Speaker on Business Creativity, Innovation, Change and Global Business; Nirvik Singh, Chairman and CEO of Grey Group Asia Pacific; Bharat Avalani, Former Director, Regional Integrated Brand Communications and Market Development – Homecare Asia, Africa, Middle East and Turkey Unilever; and Kauhsik Roy, President, Brand Strategy and Marketing Communication, Reliance Industries Limited (RIL).
These poignant speakers provide their knowledge and insight during in-depth sessions throughout the day. In addition, the summit observed Cannes Showcasing and an intensive panel discussion comprising of both local and global experts, who discussed the key factors driving the industry and the measures that need to be taken. Communication Award, also known as COMMWARD, which honored the best creative campaigns run in the country across 25 categories, followed the summit.
The Communication Summit is an initiative of Bangladesh Brand Forum; it was organized in association with Cannes Lions and powered by the Daily Star this year. The summit has also been supported by a number of partners and sponsors namely Event Partner Le Méridien Dhaka, Strategic Alliance Roaring Lions, Knowledge Partner Marketers Society of Bangladesh (MSB), Media Partner GTV, IT Partner Aamra, PR Partner Masthead PR, Social Media Partner WebAble Digital, and Visual Partner Aatosh.

ICE Business Times had the pleasure of sitting with, Nirvik Singh (Chairman and CEO of Grey Group Asia Pacific) and Bharat Avalani (Ex-Director, Regional Integrated Brand Communications and Market Development – Homecare Asia, Africa, Middle East and Turkey Unilever). They provided further insight into their resourceful talks.

During your session, you mentioned the ideas connect, convert and charm. Could you elaborate upon those ideas?
When I mentioned converting, I meant that you want to change people’s perceptions, making them fans of the brand itself. This can be done through engaging the reader through charming stories in the medium that they want to engage in. Furthermore, you utilize the advents of technology to tell that story. If you do that proficiently, you have created brand loyalty.

It has been stated that your treat business like a competitive sport. What is the concept behind this theory?
My attitude has always been that we must try to win at anything that we do, therefore that is the sports analogy that I use. Additionally, sports require teamwork; collaborating with your team and how efficiently you conduct this is an integral part of business. You need to bring the best out in each other and inspire each other towards a high quality product.

In the past 10 tens year, marketing has drastically changed. What do you think is the greatest technology medium or social platform that has changed the way that brands build themselves?
It would be unfair to single out one brand or one platform. I think the phenomenon that has occurred is that the power has changed; the power is now with the consumer. They can post an opinion about the brand or the story even going as far as being a part of the creation of content.

You oversee the Asia Pacific side of Grey. Which Asian country do you think is flourishing in terms of branding?
Throughout Asia, there are many countries that are performing in noteworthy ways.  Japan uses technology and design in the most cutting edge manner. Korea has taken advantage of mobile use and implemented penetration in that stratosphere very well. India and Bangladesh have successfully taken the concept of telling stories for mass appeal. I am elated to see that Bangladesh has won its first Cannes Lion with a moving peace of work and I am sure this will inspire greater creativity.

Social media and digital media have changed the way that people conduct story telling. Can you, as a marketer, tell me about the advantages and how this trend has changed marketing dynamics?
Social media can work to both to your advantage and disadvantage. That is why I emphasize telling stories because there is a necessity to be authentic in order to leave a mark. You must also be honest as the consumer has the ability to research the market and gain significant knowledge. When you portray real truths, social media can make your recognition boom. As a marketer you have to work with social media. A buying decision can be based on an opinion that has been posted on review websites given that consumers are most likely to read these prior to making a decision.

Can you state a particular example of the effect of social media to a company’s disadvantage?
As I have mentioned, the power has shifted to the consumer. One example is the case of United Airlines breaking a customer’s guitar. There was a passenger who actually checked in his guitar and after the flight they returned it to him broken. For one year, he tried to get some kind of compensation and they kept him running. He channeled this into a song called “United Broke My Guitar” and that became a viral hit. He has also written a successful book with the same title. Today, he is a worldwide consultant who helps people seek compensation from companies that cheat you. This is the power of one consumer.

How do brands build trust?
It is imperative that you try to bring change to the person you are serving. As a marketer, the way you will thrive is through receiving a sense of gratitude from your client. Therefore if someone invests in your brand and they state that they have been served well, your brand will gain the leverage to survive.