The Festival of Media Asia 2011: A promising line up of Indian speakers

The two-day festival will be packed with conferences, exhibitions, networking sessions and an awards ceremony. The event will take place at the Marina Bay Sands Hotel at Singapore from November 13-15.

Indian representation at The Festival of Media Asia 2011 seems promising enough, as do the sessions that Indian experts are slated to be a part of. Dedicated to the business of media, the event will cover sessions on topics that revolve around Asia -- the world's growth engine.

The two-day festival will be packed with conferences, exhibitions, networking sessions, as well as an awards ceremony. The event will take place at the Marina Bay Sands Hotel at Singapore from November 13-15.

Indian speakers who will speak at the event include several prominent names such as Jayant Murty, director, strategy and integrated marketing, Intel Asia-Pacific, D N Prasad, head, people technology and operations and people brand, APAC, Google, Rahul Welde, vice-president, media, Asia, Africa, West Asia, Turkey and Russia, Unilever, Namrita Sehgal, director, internet marketing, Taj Hotels Resorts & Palaces, Sarajit Mitra, global head, marketing and client experience, HSBC Global Banking and Markets, Vishnu Mohan, chief executive officer, Asia-Pacific, Havas Media, Ashutosh Srivastava, chief executive officer, Mindshare Asia-Pacific, and Babita Sharma, presenter, BBC World News. Incidentally, all the experts, barring Mohan and Srivastava, will speak on Day One of the two-day event.

Session One

The very first session of Day One is a unique series of presentations dealing with the future of human experiences and the nature of the business. Mitra will be the second speaker in the series. Titled 'The Future of Finance', the presentation will revolve around the global economic meltdown and the Eurozone crisis. Mitra will provide delegates with an insight into how the world's second-largest banking entity HSBC, with its roots firmly in Asia since its formation in Hong Kong and Shanghai in 1865, is planning for a new era.

Sharma will speak during the last leg of this series. She will chair a debate titled 'Strategies for Survival'. The topics addressed by the panellists will include questions such as:

What do the themes uncovered by the speakers mean for marketing in Asia?

The future of media across the region, and

How can brands 'future-proof' their businesses?

Session Two

Sehgal will speak in the second session titled 'Asia: Looking Out'. To be hosted by Marc de Swaan Arons, chairperson, Effective Brands, and author of 'The Global Brand CEO', this three-part session will bring together some of China and Asia's leading companies. Topics that will be discussed will include issues such as:

What techniques are they (Asians) employing to create brand stories that challenge Western competitors?

Will the rise of the Asian brand continue to be a defining factor in the rebalancing of the global economy?

Specifically, Sehgal will speak during the first part of this three-part session. She will share the stage with Michael Hobson, chief marketing officer, Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group, and Luca Deplano, vice-president, marketing, Banyan Tree Hotels & Resorts. This particular sub-session is titled 'Asia accommodates the world: Hotel heritage'. The session will focus on how luxury hotel brands from Asia are setting new standards for global high-end tourism. The speakers will also talk about how Asian-born companies are managing their global growth without losing sight of their origins and core Asian values.

Session Three

Murty's session will be the third one titled 'Asia: Looking In'. The session will explore the issues faced by leading brands across the region as they seek to identify and exploit consumer changes and media opportunities. Delegates will get to hear about some media and marketing ideas that have emerged from the region and have created a global impact. Accompanying Murty in this session will be Lance Diaresco, vice-president, marketing, Global dENiZEN, Levi Strauss & Co.

Session Four

In the fourth session, Prasad will discuss how Asia's advertising and media industry can respond to the talent crisis in the region. Titled 'Facing the Asian Talent Gap', the session will also include talks by two other human resource executives besides Prasad, namely, William Manfredi, executive vice-president, global talent management, Wunderman/Y&R, and Shaun Ruming, vice-president, human resource and training, McDonald's, Asia-Pacific, West Asia and Africa.

Each of the three speakers will focus on one area of the talent debate, which will include recruitment, development and retention, and will highlight their experiences in their chosen area. The session will provide the latest insights on development of human capital and the strategies media executives can apply to improve staff skills. It will also include discussions on whether the perception of the media industry is partly to blame for the battle to attract the best talent.

Session Five

Welde is slated to speak during the fifth session titled 'Beyond Advertising', which will explain how the fundamentals of communication and budget setting are changing across the world, and what this means for the media economies of Asia. Welde's session is titled 'Driving value through innovation'. He will share the stage with Maarten Albarda, vice-president, global connections, AB-InBe, whose presentation is titled 'A red card for television?'

Mohan and Srivastava will present the last session of Day Two. The presentation is titled 'Media innovation in Asia'.

The Festival of Media Asia is a premier marketing and media event, targeted at communications professionals across the Asian market. The event is positioned to bring together Asia's influential marketers, media owners and media agency networks. Media and marketing professionals will utilise the opportunity to share knowledge and celebrate achievements in media innovation within the Asian context.

The event promises to be the region's meeting place for the exchange of ideas and insights for global, regional, and local brands operating in Asia.