In your opinion, how relevant/irrelevant is AdAsia to Pakistan’s marketing and communications industry?

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?

Dr Zeelaf Munir
MD & CEO, EBM

1 Relevant. We bake inspirations: EBM was instrumental in bringing AdAsia to Pakistan 30 years ago. We are delighted to help serve inspiration again.

2 i) We have migrated from generic brand awareness to curated brand love. We have recast our heritage into a contemporary and resonant brand personality. We have empowered the communities in which we operate with a series of cause-based initiatives, commissioned flagship causes into multiple missions for good.

ii) We will deliberate at the crossroads of media, data, ideas and brands so that these potential collaborations lead to greater innovation and engagement, thereby building our credibility, authenticity and resonance.

Saad M Khan
Marketing Director, PepsiCo (Pakistan & Afghanistan)

1 Relevant. AdAsia is a fantastic opportunity to interact with and learn from the best around the world, allowing us to bust myths and redefine our world view of creative marketing and advertising.

2 i) Digitalisation has opened countless opportunities for brands, allowing for stronger data linkage to decision making. E-commerce has created a new and unexplored channel to reach out to the ‘always online’ consumer in the most relevant manner. Brand social purpose has become more and more important to gain long term loyalty.

ii) Have a brand purpose that allows the brand to give back something meaningful to society. Co-create experiences with consumers and retailers by leveraging social and technical capabilities to achieve a collective buy-in for your product proposition.

Raza Pirbhai
CEO, KFC Pakistan, Cupola Pakistan

1 Relevant. This is a prod towards competing with global communication standards. The world will see what we have to offer as opposed to outside perceptions and assumptions.

2 i) A generational divide in terms of demographic affinities; cluttered influx of countless channels, magazines and journals and the evolution of digital. We strategise to divide the communication so that every time the brand speaks, it is heard by the relevant audience.

ii) KFC’s audience in Pakistan are young people. We must be smart in choosing trends and avoid jumping on the bandwagon of each one that has its day under the sun. We communicate through relatable conversations with our distinctive brand voice on appropriate media.