GECs
PromaxBDA India Unveils First Set of Conference Speakers
MUMBAI: PromaxBDA is pleased to announce the first round of sessions and speakers for the 2014 India Conference in Mumbai. This year’s programme takes place on 27 and 28 May 2014 at the prestigious five-star Westin Mumbai Garden City Hotel and includes sessions by Kendrick Reid – Senior Vice President & Executive Creative Director of Brand Strategy at BET Networks, Tom Palmaerts, Trendwatcher at Trendwolves, Hugo Moss, Designer amd Motionographer at Huge Designs and Ian Wormleighton, Creative Director at Red Bee Media.
Marking its 11th edition this year, the two-day annual conference by the PromaxBDA Association is India’s largest gathering for entertainment media marketing, design and promotion professionals.
Themed ‘Evolution’ – a concept by Official Creative Partner, Ink Project – the conference presents informative and inspiring sessions on critical trends and topics needed to stay relevant in today’s fast changing media and marketing environment.
“The Promax BDA Conference in India brings together some of the most creative professionals in the entertainment media scene. With a decade of experience under our belt, we look forward to once again presenting to attendees two days of inspiring dialogues and specially curated sessions by renowned speakers from the industry..,” said Ms Rajika Mittra, Country Head (India) of PromaxBDA Asia Pte Ltd.
Senior Vice President & Executive Creative Director of Brand Strategy at BET Networks, Kendrick Reid will open the conference with a keynote session on innovation, inspiration and how it leads to brand rejuvenation. Kendrick is responsible for developing breakthrough, brand-building creative marketing strategies and executions for all BET branded businesses. Prior to joining BET Networks, Kendrick led Comedy Central through two successful innovative re- designs and oversaw the branding for the networks multi-platform initiatives as its Vice President and Creative Director.
Presenting a topic on ‘youthwatching’, Tom Palmaerts will reveal how young people are building the future. A Trendwatcher at Trendwolves, an agency specializing in youth intelligence, Tom conducts future trends research on youths for major brands Clariant, HP, Microsoft Innovation Center, Palm, PwC, and Universal Music, amongst others. In 2008, he was awarded ‘Youth Trend Specialist Of The Year’ by the Dutch trendwatching platform Second Sight, and was awarded ‘Trendwatcher of the Year’ in 2013.
The [PRO] Series panel discussion sessions are back again this year with a 3-part series. Leading the [PRO] Series and moderating the panel sessions are prominent and highly renowned industry superstars and veterans such as Tarun Katial, Chief Executive Officer of Reliance Broadcast Network, Rajiv Bakshi, Vice President of Marketing, South Asia of Discovery Networks, and Gaurav Seth, Senior Vice President and Head-Marketing of Sony Entertainment Television. In this year’s [PRO] Series, speakers will discuss and examine topics such as ‘The Evolution of Branded Content and The Future of the Television Business’ and ‘Marketing to Millennials – Do You Speak Their Language’.
Opening the conference, and coming onboard once again as the Conference Chair is Mr. Raj Nayak, Chief Executive Officers of COLORS.
“Promax brings together the largest pool of mainline and online marketing, promotion and design professionals in the Indian television and entertainment media. It pits vital questions against expert answers. It inspires action based on insight, and not mere trial and error. The creative, the inspiring and the stalwarts meet in one place across two days from across the industry. Information updates, trends and conversation buzzwords – if you’re in the TV industry for the long haul, mark your calendars for the PromaxBDA India Conference 2014,” said Mr Nayak.
Additional speakers as well as the full PromaxBDA India 2014 conference schedule will be announced in the coming weeks.
Interested attendees can now register for the conference at www.promaxindia.tv. Registration closes on 19 May 2014.
GECs
Asianet Television Awards 2026 celebrates women power in Malayalam TV
“She is the Colour” theme honours icons as ceremony airs on March 14 and 15 at 7 PM.
MUMBAI: If television lights up living rooms, this year Asianet decided to let women provide the colour. The Asianet Television Awards 2026 turned the spotlight firmly on women empowerment with the theme “She is the Colour”, celebrating the strength, resilience and achievements of women who continue to shape society and the Malayalam entertainment industry.
The ceremony honoured several distinguished personalities whose journeys have left a lasting cultural imprint. Among them was legendary playback singer Vimala Varma, widely recognised as the first Malayalam playback singer. The evening also paid tribute to Padma Shri awardees Devaki Amma and Vimala Menon for their exceptional contributions in their respective fields.
Leading women from the Malayalam film industry were also recognised during the event, including actor Shweta Menon, who currently serves as president of the Association of Malayalam Movie Artists, and National Award winning actor Surabhi Lakshmi.
The awards ceremony brought together a glittering lineup of actors and industry figures, including Jayasurya, Vijay Babu, Asha Sarath, Lena, Esther Anil, Anumol, Akhila Bhargavan, Sarayu Mohan, Prajod Kalabhavan, Gayathri Suresh, Sabumon Abdusamad, Swasika, Tini Tom, Sijoy Varghese, Kailash, Veena Nandakumar, Sabareesh Varma, Ansiba Hassan and Dinesh Prabhakar. Kishan Kumar, executive vice president Malayalam at JioStar, was also present at the event.
Beyond individual recognitions, the awards celebrated excellence across Malayalam television, acknowledging artists and technicians whose work continues to drive the industry forward.
The evening also offered plenty of spectacle, with elaborate dance performances, stunt acts and comedy skits performed by popular television and film personalities, turning the ceremony into a full fledged entertainment showcase.
Viewers will get to watch the celebrations when the Asianet Television Awards 2026 air on Asianet on March 14 and 15, Saturday and Sunday, from 7 pm onwards, bringing the star studded tribute to homes across Kerala and beyond.
