Sri Lanka Telecom join hands with CIM at annual conference 2012

The 12th Annual Conference of The Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM), Sri Lanka Region will be held on August 13-14 2012, at the Waters Edge, Battaramulla.

Sri Lanka Telecom (SLT) has come forward to join hands with the CIM Sri Lanka Region as its Strategic Partner for the CIM Annual Conference for the 10thconsecutive year. The partnership was announced at a ceremony held on 06 August 2012 at the Sri Lanka Telecom Head Office.

This year’s Conference aims to help marketers rise to the financial and ethical challenges in 2012 and beyond and to win in competitive environments. The theme ‘Thrive with Lean, Mean and Clean Marketing’ has been broken down into two sessions, each featuring in-depth case studies and practical insights from industry experts and professionals.

The Conference will be a platform that would address how marketing can improve the bottom line and help businesses grow in the most challenging times. The inauguration of the Conference will take place on Monday, August 13th, at 6.30 p.m. at the Main Ballroom, Waters Edge, Battaramulla followed by cocktails. The intellectual sessions will be held on Tuesday, August 14th, from 9.00 a.m. to 5.00 p.m. at the Main Ballroom, Waters Edge, Battaramulla and will be facilitated by renowned international and local industry experts.

The Conference will commence with a keynote address on marketing in a changing landscape and the future by Dr. Hermawan Kartajaya, President – World Marketing Association, Indonesia. The technical sessions will be held on 14 August where The Founder and CEO of Mark Plus Inc. and Co- founder of the Russian leading publishing house Mann, Ivanov and Ferber, Dr. Igor Mann will speak on marketing with zero budgets.

Lawrence Chong, Chief Executive Officer of Consulus and President, Design Business Chamber Singapore will speak on how to create successful Asian brands by challenging the convention, followed by a conference paper being submitted by Prof. Uditha Liyanage, Director Postgraduate Institute of Management (PIM) on moving from CSR to SRB. Shiraz Latiff, Trustee of The Chartered Institute of Marketing UK and Chairman/Managing Director of Humming Bird International PLC, will speak about new media shaping new markets.

Sunil K Alagh, Chairman, SKA Advisors Business Strategy and Marketing Consultant will offer tips on how to create market demand in a recession while Uchita de Zoysa, Chairman Global Sustainability Solutions (GLOSS) and author, activist and leader shaping the Global Sustainability Movement will speak on the marketers role in creating global sustainability.

The sessions will be moderated by Rohantha Athukorala, Head of National Portfolio Development, United Nations (UNOPS) and Ravi Jayawardena, Chief Executive Officer Sales and Marketing, Maliban Biscuit Manufacturing (Pvt) Ltd. The moderators will help in creating the right balance of institutional, professional and academic dialogue.

Speaking about the Conference, Nadi Dharmasiri, Senior Vice Chairperson of CIM Sri Lanka Region and Co–Chairperson said, “The decline on profits draws an impact on budget allocations. Thus, the stringent application of marketing strategies plays a crucial role to ensure that the decisions taken are viable and profit orientated.