V. Chandramouli, Director, Strategy, Innovation and International Business, Cadbury's

exchange4media Conclave 2005 in Mumbai saw participation from professionals of different walks of the industry like television, print, radio, media and creative agencies and various advertisers. While the sessions delved on the emerging trends of the industry, where speakers successfully pointed out hard realities that the industry faces and the way forward, experts delved more on this trade forum.

“It brings out some of the hard facts that the industry is faced with but is not ready to speak about yet. The subjects of Conclave 2005 in Mumbai are very relevant to the road on which the industry is headed today and it makes sense for us, from different organisations, to debate and discuss these topics together,” said Sharmista Rijhwani, MD, Taj Television,

A point that STAR India’s Yashpal Khanna agrees with. He said, “It is also necessary to note that these forums allow media professionals to arrive at collaborative solutions and not to mention it is a great opportunity to meet with professionals from other organisations.”

Experts also expressed that the manner in which the sessions flowed let the audience take something from it. “The session went as I expected it to and the speakers were clear in conveying to the audience that the marketer is resistant to change and his ability to experiment is inversely proportional to his job security or the size of his spends. The more he spends, the more he relies on the inefficiencies of mass media,” remarked, Meenakshi Madhvani, moderator of the first session on increasing media options.

Kaushik Roy, Head-Marketing, Reliance Infocomm

Kaushik Roy, a speaker on the same session, added, “It would have helped though if there was more time, there is much that can be discussed on a platform like this.”

Taking this forward, Anupriya Acaharya, President, The Media Edge, observed, “This is an excellent initiative for the media fraternity at large, which voices various issues but more debatable topics would help this endeavour further.”

Shariq Patel, Station Head, Go 92.5, added another dimension, “The initiative is productive for the fraternity at large. Also the fact that it allows everyone to get together is something that the industry requires today.”

Whether it was about tough marketers, a debate between integration and diversification, the exchange4media Conclave 2005 touched on too many points that are at the core of the growing media industry today.