Advertising and the happening world of Digital Media - DigIt12

 In the swift moving world today, no brand or product can survive without vast advertising and marketing strategies designed and executed by professionals. Digital media is the significant necessity of the world. Marketing is an art, to formulate ideas and campaigns for the brand. Advertising being the technology, that transports the message forward. For the same cause, Digital Marketing and Advertising Conference was held in Karachi at Sheraton Hotel on December 18, 2012. The convention was titled Dig-It 2012 and was organized by the Pakistan Advertiser’s Society, PAS.

View of the audience at the conference

The conference had different sessions all day long. To commence the event, Mr. Abrar Hasan, Chairman of PAS and CEO National Foods, presented the welcome address. The framework for the following program was then laid by Mr. Javed Jabbar, Former Information Minister of Pakistan. He spoke about the Evolution of Advertising in Pakistan and the themes and trends which follow. “Advertisers have become shapers and controllers of Media content which isn’t really good. Media consumption has exceeded way above expectations. Ethics always constitute the stability of a society.” He was quoted as saying. 

Mr. Shakir Moin was called on to present the Digital Journey at the famous soft drink brand, Coca-Cola. Directing the audience through a visually strong and eye-catching presentation laden with statistics, info graphics, television commercials and campaigns; he said, “We've learnt over the years; if we do not create stories, we cannot reach our consumers.” He illustrated how a soft drink can change so many lives.

The convention further proceeded with sessions on Re-defining Brand Strategy and Positioning in the Digital Context, What is digital in Pakistan from a media buyers perspective, Audience measurement and digital marketing ROI and Building Skill sets in Digital. The audience present inside the sessions was connected to the people all around the world via social networking websites. Each fragment of valuable information was being quoted online, credits to the internet provided by Wateen Telecom.

“Smartphones are changing the way we approach Social Media. 1 of every 4 people in Pakistan have access to it.” quoted Mr. Farhan Qureshi, CEO Starcom, as saying during his session. He said, “Digital medium has been much more effective in comparison to the relative Media Medians.” The question was whether to pitch for traditional advertising or the digital one.

“Digital Media requires a lot of content; for which you require a lot of thinking. Brands fear taking risks.” said Aly Mustansir, Head of Brand Management and Marketing at HBL. While Mr. Amin Rammal, Partner of The Brand Crew was quoted as saying, “When Facebook and Google weren't there, we focused on banner advertisement.”

During a panel discussion with Yasmeen Malik, Naeem
Zamindar, Hassan Shahid and Bilal Farrukh.

 

The event witnessed speakers from all around the world, including USA and Australia. Richard Webb, CEO Effective Measure, Australia also shared with the audience the statistics of his venture. Alongside, Babar Bhatti, CEO MutualMind, USA said, “Business executives should not limit themselves to social media terms while pitching digital marketing ideas. Marketing has a lot of other sub lines such as customer care, consumer metrics, lead generation etc.”

While speaking about digital media, Mr. Monis Rahman, founder rozee.pk, was ashamed to say, “Pakistan spends 1.2% on digital advertising. It’s a sad number as digital is the key in this day and age.” The speakers emphasized on the need of knowing their audience. They advised to target the campaigns with precision to maximize the reach.

Mr. Salman Abedin, JWT and Program Manager for MS. Szabist said, “There is a need to increase engagement between industries and academia. We focus on skills required today but we don't focus on what's needed tomorrow!”

 Amongst all the sessions, the convention also featured a couple syndicate sessions on Social Media Revolution, Mobile Marketing and Digital Audience Measurement & Social Media ROI. One such quoted Adnan Shahid from Branding Bees as saying, “Stop thinking 'Campaigns.' Start making 'Conversations.”

A discussion on the inside story of Mobile Marketing was scheduled as well. The panel discussed about 3G and its challenges in Pakistan. The panel also had Naeem Zamindar, CEO of Wateen Telecom as saying, “3G is a desperate need of Pakistan.”

The conference eventually came to an end with a hot seat debate talking about the generation gap. On a concluding note, Mehmood Nanji, Advisor to Millac Foods said, “Social media is the way to go forward for brands but not 100%.”