4th edition of Pakistan’s biggest International Digital Marketing Conference, DIGIMARK 2015 was held at Royal Palm Golf and Country Club, Lahore. The day-long event covered different aspects of digital marketing to address the theme of “Digital Transformation.” The event was sponsored by Mobilink, Brighto Paints, DIC Pakistan. Media partners were Jang Media Group & GEO TV and official blog was Propakistani.
Dr. Umar Saif, VC Information Technology University (ITU) Chairman Punjab IT Board was Guest of Honor of the day. He was presented with Excellence in e-Governance award in recognition of his services for Smart Governance initiatives in Pakistan. He shed light on some astonishing projects by PITB for improvised governance.
Ms. Tania Aidrus Country Leader, South Asian Emerging Markets, Google spoke about the digital imperative for Pakistani businesses. She highlighted the trends in mobile usage in Asia.
Mr. Ben French Punjab Representative, Head DFID Lahore, British High Commission also gave an insight of how Pakistani businesses and SME’s are perceived and what’s future for them. He shared a comparison of Pakistan’s GDP and revenue of Google and apple. He also mentioned how social media is grooming the politicians in Pakistan.
Mr. Ehtisham Rao, Director Digital Business, Mobilink shared the insecurities and future plans which Telecos need to emphasis for upcoming era. He said that role of telecoms is emerging at a whole new level in the digital arena.
Banking sector is slowly joining the race of digitalization in Pakistan. Ms. Sara Abbasi, Head of Digital Marketing, HBL shared her perspective regarding the mesmerizing future of digital banking at the conference.
Young talented Entrepreneur Mr. Raza Saeed, CEO, Pakwheels gave a very strong session on how to work on growth of your market share and increase ROR. The most interesting fact is that he injected knowledge in the audience which showed that future of Pakistan is led by not just people with degrees but ideas and leading approach.
Mr. Zohair Yousafi, Global Growth & Performance Manager, SoloInsight introduced the technology (cloud gate) which is designed & developed as well as created by Pakistan which surely brings a lot of pride to the homeland.
Social media is a powerful medium that can make or break a brand. Making two way flow of information possible it helps brand to hear what their customers have to say and to respond to their queries there and then. Mr. Amin Piracha Head of Innovations & Insights Nestle, shared their approach towards data visualization for enhanced customer engagement.
Mr. Owais Zaidi Director Partnership & Platforms CM Pak Zong said,
“With high-speed 3G and 4G LTE the growth in proliferation of Digital services will catapult.” He also mentioned the significance of upcoming digital platforms and how mobile operators can target potential areas such as video calling, mobile broadband, location based services, surveillance and live traffic monitoring, and of course emails and office tools.”
Online shopping is still not widely accepted in Pakistan and thus changing customer’s mindset and ensuring customer retention is a great challenge for online shopping sites. Providing superior and flexible services is the only way to build the trust of buyer. Ms. Asma Khalil, COO Asia Daraz, explained their approach at Daraz for changing the trends in online shopping in Pakistan.
Mr. Kamal Faridi – Director Synnapps Pakistan, Mr. Mudasir Ajmal – Head of Digital Advertising Bata Pakistan, Mr. Salman Hassan -CEOTCS ECOM, and Mr. Tariq Siddiqui – Digital Business Manager Sanasafinaz Joined for a panel discussion about the challenges and the approach of their organization towards delivering premium experience to online shoppers.
Mr. Adam Dawood, Country MD Pakistan, Kaymu discussed the impact of increased mobile usage on e-commerce. He revealed some interesting statistics regarding the changing trends in online shopping in Pakistan. Most of the consumers use a handheld device for searching for a product and initiating a purchase, and the number will increase in the coming years.
Flexibility in payment modes has changed the approach towards e-commerce in the region. Even COD remains one of the preferred modes in Pakistan so far. Mr. Raza Matin, Business and Marketing Consultant Pakistan, Google stated the scenario of e-commerce in Pakistan.
Mr. Zain Majid, CEO TEC said,
“The amazing response from the industry and how leading marketers praised the initiative by showing interest to attend similar gatherings to promote Digital Marketing in the future. There is a high demand to conduct DIGIMARK in Karachi.”
Mr. Iftikhar Hussain VP Business and Strategy said,
“How relevant and strong content kept the audience interested and energized till the very end of the evening. This platform opened many doors for solutions and new ideas for many SME’s as well as large organizations.”
Despite being held on a week day, during work hours, the event held the interest of the 325-plus participants who remained engaged in the discussions through the lively question and answer sessions throughout.
DigiMark 2015 provided a platform to the titans of Pakistan’s digital arena to share their views on this rising industry. The event also provided a networking opportunity to the attendees for building strong long lasting connections for mutual uplift of the digital industry.
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