1. In your opinion, how relevant/irrelevant is AdAsia to Pakistan’s marketing and communications industry?
2. As Pakistan’s marketing and communications industry moves into 2020:
i) What are the three biggest changes to have impacted your agency/brand communication efforts in the last decade and what concrete steps have you implemented to adapt to them?
ii) What further changes will you implement in order to ensure your agency/brand stays relevant?

CORPORATE HEADS

Nabeel Abdullah
Director, Sapphire Textile Mills

1 Relevant. AdAsia is essential to knowledge-sharing to help Pakistan’s marketing industry benefit from cutting edge regional marketing practices; especially in an age where technology is dictating the creative marketing process.

2 i) Increase in digital empowerment, consumer trust, relatability and authenticity over superficiality and demand for personalised experiences have led us to take measures to adopt approaches that include social listening, influencer marketing and data analytics.

ii) As our audience evolves, so will brand communication. Storytelling, meaningful campaigns, and selling an experience rather than a product.

Saqib Ahmed
Md, SAP Pakistan

1 Relevant. With a low median population age, Pakistan’s pace of adapting to trends makes such a forum relevant.

2 i) Surge of social media users and their influence: Implementing social listening capabilities. Shift towards alternate delivery channels: Building experience management capabilities and omnichannel tools. Incidence of mobile first: Developing native applications that give more power to the consumer.

ii) To ensure our brand and communication strategy stays relevant, we need the right set of tools and people to turn data into actionable insights.

Hadi Akberali
COO, Amreli Steels

1 Relevant. AdAsia offers a platform to showcase Pakistan’s unique marketing and communication based on the cultural fusion of Islamic values and sub-continental sensibilities.

2 i) Importance of branding has increased in the B2B/commodity category: We are working towards developing a unique positioning for our brand to differentiate us from the competition. Technology has disrupted the traditional purchase funnel: We are using technology to empower consumers with knowledge that facilitates decision making. Our market mainly comprises unorganised retailers who offer a poor in-store experience. We are working on enhancing this experience.

ii) The brand communication is still a monologue. We need to develop a dialogue between customer and the brand to create a deeper connection and resonance.

Sami Ahmed
VP, P&G Pakistan

1 Relevant. As the largest and most prestigious advertising congress in the region, AdAsia will give Pakistan’s marketing industry the opportunity to celebrate and learn from the most creative and inspiring advertising work in the region and the world.

2 i) The fundamentals of marketing remain the same, but the dynamics of connecting with consumers has changed with the evolution of digital and social media. Leveraging high engagement opportunities with creative content that connects with consumers, when and where they are most receptive, is a key focus area for P&G brands, in addition to influencer and cause-related marketing programmes. We drive engagement via relevance on key platforms while ensuring that we remain true to marketing fundamentals.

ii) Reinventing media to achieve mass reach with one-to-one precision fuelled by data and technology. Reinventing advertising through less advertising and more influencing and by using data and analytics to choose the strongest opinion leaders to start conversations with their social media followings. Reinventing agency partnerships by getting our hands on the keyboard, leading to better quality, more entrepreneurship and creativity. Reinventing brands and companies as good citizens of the world, so that marketing matters even more as a force for good. People want to know what brands believe in, the people behind them and our values and point of view on topics such as gender equality and the environment. We recognise that our leadership brands can impact these areas with our wide reach by using our brands’ voice for the greater good.