Back From ESOMAR Asia-Pacific Conference 2008 @ Singapore!!!!

hey all dear Asbians...

I was so skeptical initially when i came to know about this MR conference being organised by ESOMAR to be held in Singapore. between assignments I was not sure if I wanted to go through the selection procedure, but well thanks to some special friends i decided to go through it...and guess what ended up being the only person being selected from India for the conference!!!!

Well I landed in Singapore on the 7th of April 2008. it was an exciting yet unnerving experience to be all alone at the huge Changi International Airport of Singapore!!! But I guess the excitement and the thrill of being in a new place all alone killed the fear. I stayed at my aunty's place throughout my visit... On 7th first thing i did was meet up with similar representatives as me from other countries for lunch as we were supposed to report at Ritz Carlton - the venue of the conference only at 2:00 p.m.

It was so nice to meet 5 other kids like me from 5 different cultures...we all became great friends within no time enjoying the similarities that we shared and laughing off the dissimilarities. Our liking each other was important as we were to be together throughout the conference. From left in the picture its me, Ronaldo (China), Amy (Taiwan), Iin (Indonesia), Neil (Phillippines), and Jason (Vietnam)

Well myself and my fellow friends from other countries had a simple role to play at the conference - help out in a small way the ESOMAR representatives and most importantly LEARN from the eminent speakers who had come for the conference from across the Asia-Pacific region. The actual conference started only on the 8th and went on till 9th evening after which we were left free to enjoy Singapore...My flight was for 10th evening so I had plenty of time to enjoy!!!

Well before i talk about the enjoyment part let me share a few learnings i had from the conference... Firstly I felt very proud and lucky to be an Indian as more than 50% of the papers discussed were on India, how India was growing faster than most economies around the world and how to successfully attract the changing Indian consumer. China was next highly discussed topic, in fact there was even a debate as to which country is going to lead the future!!!!

Most discussed topics were the different ways to segment the Indian consumer and looking beyond the traditional demographic or income segmentations. it was discussed that segmentation has been so overused that it has led to hyper-segmentation and death of mass market concept!!! One form of segmentation discussed was

1. Partition Generation (The consumer who witnessed the partition and freedom from British rule)
2. Transition Generation (The consumer who witnessed the liberalisation reforms of the 90's)
3. No Strings Generation (The consumer born with the silver spoon in his/her mouth. The consumer of the growing India)

This segmentation for instance categorises consumers in a different way and helps the marketer sell goods with the right message. For e.g. the no string consumer would expect from the marketing communications about the product not just info but imageries as to how the product will add to his style and lifestyle... this was just one of the segmemtations discussed.

Further there was a growing emphasis on the huge youth market in countries across the Asia pacific region, particularly India and China, how their needs are different from traditional youth in these countries, how internet has become an important part of their lives and how they are moving more towards the western culture!!! All this implying adoption of totally new strategies for marketers to reach these new gen consumers.

Also discussed were new form of techniques to gather info on consumer behaviour like video ethnography where a video camera is used to capture a consumers lifestyle to gain insights about his behaviour and attitude to products.

there was a lot more discussed which i shall share with all of u once I reach planet e. It was a great learning experience and has only further increased my passion for marketing. i would like to thank Mr. Pravin Shekhar of dexterity who sent the invite to our college among others and Deepak Sir who actually made things happen!!!!

Finally about my fun in Singapore...Its a great place...very clean and just about every place is air conditioned even the cabs (generally Mercs or BMW's). I guess there is no concept of stairs as there are escalators everywhere. its a small city, well managed and very very safe:) there are some great places to see and I managed to see most of it in the little time I had...

For the record there are places like China Town which resemble a mini China, Little India which closely resembles india, and the best one Santosa a little island a total fun place...in santosa u have a huge Merlion structure, an underground waterworld, cable car, a clean beach and a lot more...with some great friends Singapore is a place worth visiting!!!

Finally Singapore was:
A time I will never forget
Moments i will forever cherish
Learning I will always treasure
and Friends who will remain very dear....