'Sense of urgency required to drive better ‘Return on Information’’: IBM’s Virginia Sharma, chairperson, DMAi Convention 2013

Virginia Sharma, vice president, marketing and communication, IBM India South Asia, will chair the second edition of the DMAi (Direct Marketing Association India) Convention.

As chairperson, her role entails selection of an advisory, content and speakers, besides overseeing strategic goals of DMAi for the Convention scheduled on 4 and 5 June in Mumbai. The theme for the second edition of the Convention is ‘Power of i’.

Sharma said, “DMAi is going to bring a fresh perspective to the marketing and advertising fraternity in India by championing big data to make marketing ‘smarter’. In today’s environment, there needs to be a sense of urgency in our ecosystem to collect, manage and use data effectively to drive better ROI.”

Vatsal Asher, chief executive officer, DMAi , noted that Sharma has been actively involved over several weeks on shaping the event. He added, “We are confident of the Convention becoming a landmark event for all real time marketers.”

The two-day Convention will be spread over four tracks. Besides keynote presentations and panel discussions, there will also be expo centres, informed an official statement from organisers.

The stated aim of the Convention is to create a forum for the audience, which will be a mix of CMOs and agency professionals who want to leverage data and associated insights.

The first edition of the DMAi Convention in 2012 claimed participation from over 100 companies from India and abroad.