(29 March 2006 4:30 pm)

MUMBAI: Kidstuff Promos and Events managing director Pankaj Wadhwa has been selected to be a part of the jury of the Sales Promo Lions at the Cannes International Advertising Festival.

Kidstuff Promos and Events is Mudra Group’s specialised promotions marketing offering.

In its inaugural year, the new Promo Lions awards will be presented alongside the Lions Direct awards on 19 June. The Cannes Lions 2006 has included the Promo Lions as a new category this year. The Promo Lions will recognise the freshest creative ideas in the area of Sales Promotion from across the world.

As a jury member, Wadhwa will be judging promotional marketing entries from across the world along with 18 other colleagues, evaluating the creative excellence of the work presented. The five day judging process will see entries from 16 product and services categories and 14 categories for best use of media, from which the Promo Lions winners and the coveted Grand Prix winner will be selected.

Wadhwa said, “It is indeed an honour to have been selected to the jury. I am proud to be a part of this inaugural effort at recognising an integral component of the marketing communications mix. I see my selection as recognition of the industry as well as Kidstuff Promos and Events as the leading promotional marketing firm in the country.”

Mudra Marketing Services CEO R Lakshminarayanan added, “The fact that Cannes has included Sales Promotion as a category has proved that it has truly come of age. Integrated marketing is no longer a buzzword but the only way forward for brand marketing. In India, we find 30 to 40 per cent of marketing budgets are going towards experiential marketing, directly reaching the consumer and this is expected to grow over the next 12 months.”

“Promos are all about creative thinking finding the most unique way to connect with the consumer. India has a good chance at Cannes – some of the promo work done recently has been outstanding,” concludes Wadhwa.