With the theme “Creating Human Connection in the age of Digital”, Bangladesh Brand Forum (BBF) has held the 8th iteration of its flagship initiative BBF Seminar on 27th April. Presented by Beximco, BBF Seminar 2019 was powered by American International University-Bangladesh (AIUB), organized in association with Dhaka Bank Limited. The event took place at the Grand Ballroom of Hotel Le Méridien, Dhaka. Around 300 corporate professionals attended the seminar.
27th April also marked the 12th year anniversary of Bangladesh Brand Forum. A grand celebration followed the seminar, at the same venue. Business leaders and leading corporate professionals attended the celebration.
Inaugurating the seminar Mr. Shariful Islam, Founder & Managing Director of Bangladesh Brand Forum stressed, “Our future will be anything but what we can imagine or predict. Question is how we can prepare for such a future. Bangladesh Brand Forum’s next phase of journey will be to guide and shape our thinking and skills around that.”
Bangladesh Brand Forum’s Director Nazia Andaleeb Preema and Chief Advisor Professor Syed Ferhat Anwar also shared their valuable thoughts on the 12th year anniversary celebration.
Starting in 2008, BBF seminar has been sharing global insights among the local business leaders through keynotes, panel discussions, and interactive sessions.
BBF Seminar 2019 has consisted of 3 Keynote Sessions, 5 Panel Discussions, 2 Insight Sessions, and 1 Breakout Session. A total of 23 speakers talked across different segments of the seminar. Each participant of the seminar has received one paperback copy of the book “The 12 Powers of a Marketing Leader”.
The keynote speakers for the seminar were – Dr. Prem N Shamdasani, Associate Professor of Marketing and Academic Director (Executive MBA) National University of Singapore; Brian Collins, Ex-Chairman & CCO, Brand & Innovation, Ogilvy & Mather Worldwide, and CCO & Founder of Collins, which is AdAge Design Agency of the year 2019; and Thomas Barta, Dean of McKinsey Leadership Program and Columnist for Forbes Marketing Week. Thomas is also the author of a bestselling book – “The 12 Powers of a Marketing Leader”.
Five intriguing panel discussions took place during the seminar. Throughout the panel discussions, several issues were discussed such as – the digital transformation of brands; whether the brands should focus on purpose or positioning in order to place themselves in the minds of the consumers; finding the sweetest spot among data, creativity, privacy and value creation; short-term and long-term debate in the era of now moment; and the importance of brands in the sustainability battle.
The discussants of the seminar were – Nazmul Karim, Executive Vice President, Prime Bank Ltd.; Prof. Syed Saad Andaleeb Ph.D., Former Vice Chancellor, BRAC University; Reazuddin Al Mamun, Managing Director, Epyllion Group; Ashraf Bin Taj, President, Marketing Society of Bangladesh; Zakia Zerin, Head of Digital Marketing, eCommerce & Customer Engagement, Nestlé Bangladesh Ltd.; Yasir Azman, CMO & Deputy CEO, Grameenphone Ltd.; Harsh Chhaparia, Partner, McKinsey & Company; Khandoker Mahmudur Rahman Ph.D., Associate Professor & Director – BBA Program, United International University; Lutfi Chowdhury, Regional Head, Eskimi South Asia; Mizanur Rashid, Chief Commercial Officer, bKash Ltd.; Shahriar Amin, Head of Marketing, Beximco Communications Ltd.; Solaiman Alam, Head of Digital, Grameenphone Ltd.; Syed Tanzim Rezwan, Marketing Director, Reckitt Benckiser (Bangladesh) Ltd.; Tanzeen Ferdous, Marketing Director (Home Care, Foods & Refreshment), Unilever Bangladesh Ltd.; Nazim Farhan Choudhury, Managing Director, Adcomm Ltd., Shourav Islam, CEO & Founder, Unifox Digital Media; Chandan Polekar, Country Head, Godrej Consumer Products Ltd.; and Adnan Imtiaz Halim, CEO & Co-founder, Sheba.xyz.
The seminar was an initiative of Bangladesh Brand Forum, presented by Beximco and powered by American International University-Bangladesh (AIUB); organized in association with Dhaka Bank Limited; Official Carrier – Turkish Airlines; Strategic Partners – Marketing Society of Bangladesh (MSB) and The Daily Star; Event Partner – Le Méridien, Dhaka; Digital Partner – Applied Business Initiatives; PR Partner – Backpage PR and Branding Partner – Terracotta.
