Smart Media felicitates Vision Awards winners

On the theme ‘Taking the Business of Annual Reporting International’, Smart Media – the Annual Report Company held a ceremony last evening to felicitate and recognise its Sri Lankan and international clients who had won awards at the League of American Communications Professionals (LACP) Vision Awards 2011. The event – dubbed SmartConvention 2012 – was well attended by Smart Media’s clients, ambassadors, trade counsellors from embassies, industry professionals as well as dignitaries from Sri Lankan business. Central Bank Governor Ajith Nivard Cabraal was the Chief Guest.

Speaking at the event Cabraal said, “Smart Media’s success in winning international business as well as top notch awards is an example of the heights that Sri Lankan enterprise could reach. It is a major achievement by what would be classified as an SME...something that other specialist service providers may also want to emulate when they venture out.”

Cabraal wished to equate Sri Lanka to a start-up company with immense potential. He requested all Sri Lankans – individuals and corporates to believe in that potential and convert that energy to something tangible, thereby transforming the country to a new Sri Lanka. Compared to unpleasant descriptions of the past, Sri Lanka is now being described with encouraging expressions. These augur well for the country and the journey towards becoming a middle income level country. The day we achieve that milestone, many of Sri Lankan companies will have great stories to share with the rest of the world. What better way to do that than the annual report, he remarked.

In his address, Smart Media Chairman Dr. Vijith Kannangara touched upon the uniqueness of some of the winning annual reports. He went on to add that it was an ongoing journey that also required a great degree of daring and innovation, as reporting had to keep pace with the needs of a fast changing world. In a lighter vein, he then shared an interesting piece of research carried out by an environmental marketing company in the US on the subject of greenwashing. “As corporate reporting increasingly embraces ‘sustainability’, how can we ensure that we are not unwittingly or otherwise succumbing to some form of eyewash?” he asked.

The 67 awards won by Smart Media’s clients at the Vision Awards 2011 include five Platinum, 13 Gold and 11 Silver Awards. Three of Smart Media’s clients – including the only two from Sri Lanka – made it to the Global Top 100. They are NDB Bank ranked at 32, Hayleys at 36 and Qatar Financial Centre Regulatory Authority (QFCRA) at 43. Audi AG of Germany took the top slot. Seven Sri Lankan companies came within the Top 50 Annual Reports of the Asia Pacific Region, of which six were Smart Media clients – namely NDB Bank, Hayleys, NSB, Commercial Bank, People’s Bank and Dimo. HNB was the other. Panasonic Corporation of Japan came first in this category. Two overseas clients, QFCRA and Ithmaar Bank of Bahrain, were ranked within the Top 50 of Europe, Middle East and Africa Region, a category that was totally dominated by Europe which secured 47 slots.

Established over 15 years ago, Smart Media is today a leader in producing world-class annual reports for companies in Asia, Middle East and North Africa. It is now setting the stage to expand its footprint internationally.

The LACP was established in 2001 in the US to create a forum that discusses best-in-class practices while recognising those who demonstrate exemplary communication capabilities. The LACP Vision Awards 2011 attracted over 5,500 entries from more than 25 countries.