Indian and UK speakers to share stage at MLAF 2011

The Advertising Producers Association (APA) is organising the Mumbai London Advertising Forum (MLAF) from 7 to 9 November at the Blue Frog in Mumbai. Following the opening reception hosted by the British consulate on 7 November, the MLAF will feature presentations from top Indian and UK advertising agency representatives on 8 and 9 November.

The APA which is based in London with 170 member companies has developed the MLAF format created for its forums in Tokyo, Shanghai and Beijing, focussing on the needs of the Indian advertising market.

The event kicks off on 8 November, with an introductory speech from Steve Davies, chief executive, APA and TR Giridhar, senior trade and investment advisor, UK Trade & Investment.

This will be followed by a session by Roopak Saluja, co-Founder and managing director, Bang Bang Films and Jack in the Box Worldwide on Indian traits and work culture. He will also discuss how India draws in talent from all over the world and produces commercials globally to deliver creativity and value.

Giving an Indian advertising agency’s perspective Subhash Kamath of BBH India will talk about the latest thinking on advertising in India, and why India has emerged as a key market for his company.

Tim Katz, managing director, Knucklehead (London) will explain the expertise they bring to their work, and how working with talented people from around the world has kept London in the top rank of commercials production centres. Before heading off for lunch, delegates from London will present their company’s work to give Indian delegates a chance to know more about their directors and expertise.

Bobby Pawar, chief creative officer, Mudra Communications, will share his insights into advertising in India, how it is changing, and how Indian advertising agencies choose directors and production companies. These will be followed by sessions on budgeting by Luke Beauchamp, MD Compendium, creative effectiveness by Steve Davies, and by BMB India’s Pat Burns about how he has negotiated the steep learning curve that confronts a UK creative in transporting his skills to India. 

The last session of first day will be a discussion about the new media models for India by Damiano Vukotic head of sales and strategy, RSA Films and Esther Raphael, senior producer, Across the Pond.

Second day of the forum will have Agnello Dias, chairman and co-founder, Taproot India talking about growing a new agency in the Indian advertising market.  

In the next session, representatives from some of the London-based VFX companies, including Mark Benson and Josh King from MPC, Joce Capper and Anthony McCaffery from Rushes, and Simon Gosling from Framestore will  talk about the latest in visual effects and how they are utilising them to produce commercials.

This will be followed by KV Sridhar (Pops), national creative director, Leo Burnett will explain what he is seeking to achieve for his clients and what he needs of overseas production companies.

The post-lunch session will feature Daniel Sapiano, global head of client services, Primefocus, who moved from a senior position at the company’s London office to Mumbai office, will share his experiences and insights of working in both the markets. Similarly, Karan Singh, HTV, JWT Delhi will also share his experiences from both the markets as he has recently moved to JWT’s Delhi office following stints in London.

In a session titled, ‘Marketing for People, not Robots: Less Killer App, More Killer Experience’, Neeraj Nayar, president, Contagious Communications and chief creative of The FAB Awards in London, will explain how to create success with the new means of communicating with consumers. This will be followed by a session from Academy Awards winning producer, Andrew Ruhemann of Passion, who will talk about the variety of animation styles being used in commercials.

The forum will be wrapped up by a final session hosted by Steve Davies and other APA delegates sharing their thoughts on how to use the knowledge to strengthen working relationships with the UK and India and lessons learned from the forum.