Minds open at Prahlad Kakar's Brand & Media Workshop 2011

Saturday saw the culmination of two power packed days in the world of brands and marketing as the second edition of Prahlad Kakar’s Brand & Media Workshop 2011 came to its climax amidst the country’s top marketing minds. Led by ad guru, Prahlad Kakar, the two day workshop, presented by Cambay Tiger, saw marketing and media experts such as Josy Paul, Mark Manuel, Shivnath Thukral and Paritosh Sharma amongst many others gather on one stage at Mumbai’s Sunville Banquets to share their experience and learnings as they left the audience inspired to think differently.
Day one began with Prahlad showcasing the best advertisements of the last decade and the innovative minds behind them as he emphasized the need to think and do things differently. “The world belongs to the ones who see 2 and 2 as 22 and not 4” was the line that struck a chord with the audience. Shivnath Thukral the erstwhile face of NDTV Profit, now on the other side of the table offered his precious words of advice on the importance of brand positioning as an imperative factor in a brand’s equity. The second half of the day was dedicated to the power of youth as RJ Malishka captivated the audience with her wit and chutzpah, as she took the audience through the making of her brand ‘Bajate raho’. The day ended with Social Media being the buzzword on everyone’s mind as Paritosh Sharma, the Founder of Until ROI and a next generation social and digital media entrepreneur presented the strong prospects of the new media revolution, shaping the world around us.
Prahlad took the stage on Day 2 to articulate the difference between PR and advertising and how the two must coexist to build a strong and effective campaign. Mark Manuel shared some fascinating inputs on the workings of India’s largest daily supplement as Aarti Notiyal from Bubble communication which had conceptualized the event, provided some quick and easy tips for interviewees to keep in mind before they face the camera. Offering a vivid glimpse into some of India’s most creative advertisement campaigns was Josy Paul as he engrossed the audience with a variety of past ads and acts showcasing the values of creativity and out of the box thinking. Social media once again took center stage as Harshil Karia, Founder of Foxymoron took the audience though the developments in this rapidly burgeoning space. The workshop concluded with a consummate review of the dynamically changing PR space in India by Stuti Jalan, Co-Founder & Managing Director of Crosshairs Communication, the communications partner for the Prahlad Kakar’s Brand & Media Workshop 2011.
Elaborating on the purpose of the workshop, Prahlad Kakar said, “the aim of this workshop was to encourage students and executives in the brand and media space to constantly think differently and to push the boundaries of how they define success. We aim to make this into a much larger movement of minds as we prepare to host such workshops in many more cities in future.”