SLIM sponsors young marketers to attend prestigious Cannes Lions festival
Thursday, 22 May 2014 00:33
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Sri Lanka Institute of Marketing (SLIM) is providing a golden opportunity to two budding marketers to become the face of the Sri Lankan marketing field at the prestigious Cannes Lions 2014 festival, France.
SLIM, in partnership with International Advertising Asso-ciation (IAA) and Metal Factor, has provided a sponsorship to the winners Fathima Munazza Raffeek and Vidhushi Rambukwella from Unilever Sri Lanka to be a part of Cannes Lions 2014. Accordingly they will get the opportunity to rub shoulders with the most exciting young marketing talent from around the world in the famous city of Cannes.
Cannes Lions has been the world’s biggest celebration of creativity in communications since 1954 and benchmarks innovation in anything from mobile and billboards to design and branded content. Attending the festival is a dream shared by all advertising personnel. It has been three years since this festival has opened its doors to marketers as well and SLIM is best suited to promote this festival locally as the national body for marketing. In selecting the winners, SLIM conducted a workshop for participants and gaming sessions after which the team presentations were judged by a panel of judges from 8 to 29 April at SLIM. The panel of judges which included Etisalat Lanka Ltd. Snr. Manager – Marketing Gamika De Silva, Leo Burnett Solutions Head of Brand Planning Murtaza A. Tajbhoy, Bates Strategic Alliance CEO Sheron Jayasundara and Logiwiz Ltd. Manager Marketing & Business Development Leroy Ebert made the final selections and certificates were awarded to the winners. Including the winners the 1st runners-up Nuwan Anupama Rathnayaka and Aveen Sathishka Pathirage were from Keells Food Products PLC. The 2nd runners-up Ruwani Malisha Karunarathne and Prassanna Pathmanathan from Microsoft were adjudged.
Commenting on the conclusion of the local competition SLIM President Kalana Rathnayaka stated:
“The Sri Lanka Institute of Marketing is truly pleased to be associated with the Cannes Young Lions Marketer program for the third consecutive year. Taking part in this global competition is a once in a lifetime opportunity for young marketers because of the knowledge and skills they gain, which will certainly be a beacon of light in their careers.”
Vice President Events Dhanesh R. Jayathilaka noted: “Congratulating on the success of the winners I am content to see Young Sri Lankan Marketers’ vigour and excellence in marketing and this would be a great opportunity to showcase their talents in the international arena, where many young marketers around the world will get exposed to each other.”
Project Chairperson Sanjana Seneviratne stated: “It is encouraging to see more and more youth in the marketing arena eager to take part in the local competition. The opportunity to compete at Cannes Young Lions program gives them ample opportunities to enjoy very insightful and interactive workshops as well as a platform to network with bright young minds. I wish the Sri Lankan team the very best to elevate the perception of Sri Lanka on the international stage.”
SLIM CEO Sanath Senanayake said: “Through this competition SLIM is creating a pathway for young marketers to develop their skills and gain exposure to international marketing modalities. This will benefit our country as these marketers will contribute to the growth and advancement of the local marketing field in years to come.”
Since 1970, SLIM has been promoting marketing excellence and elevating the status of marketing in Sri Lanka and is a member of the Federation of Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Sri Lanka (FCCISL). Internationally it is affiliated with ESOMAR, the Federation of Marketing Research Industries and is a member of the Asia Marketing Federation, which is affiliated to the World Marketing Association.
