After India, B'desh in cyber war with Myanmar

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Leaders of tomorrow

New Age Xtra,
December 2, 2011

Syed Tashfin Chowdhury attends the Mosaic International Summit 2011 held in Doha, last month

Ghulam Jillani of Pakistan is a young administrative and logistics officer in Islamic Relief Pakistan’s Balochistan Provincial office at Quetta. Jillani had to overcome a serious hurdle to get this position at the non government organisation.
A few months back, while on the way to the job interview, he was shot in his back and head. Jillani recovered over the next two months.
As soon as he was able to walk properly, he went back to the Islamic Relief Pakistan’s office for the interview. After being recruited, Jillani is now a valuable member of the organisation.
***
Waisullah Mehrabi, an enterprise specialist working for Hand in Hand Afghanistan, suffered bullets grazing his skin and splinter wounds ever since his student life during various incidents. ‘Even before the US intervention in Afghanistan and the Taliban in the civil war, gunfights were very common in our country. One day, when I was 15, my friend abruptly fell in the middle of such a gunfight while on our way to school. Fortunately, we did not suffer any major injuries,’ he says.
***
Orthodontist Mostafa Qaysi from Iraq points out that explosions, gunfights and bloodshed has been the norm of the day in his country ever since the war. ‘One morning, while having breakfast, we were startled by a thunderous explosion. When we rushed out to see what had happened, we found that a missile had fallen into our lawn,’ says Qaysi.
***
It was really a pleasure to meet and learn from these three individuals, just some of the 80 delegates who attended the Mosaic International Summit 2011, held at Doha of Qatar from November 14 till 24, and aimed at inspiring and equipping delegates as responsible leaders in their local and global communities.
The delegates, between the ages of 25 and 35 and from a variety of professions, hailed from countries with predominantly muslim populations, including Afghanistan, Algeria, Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia, Iraq, Jordan, Kenya, Malaysia, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, UAE and the United Kingdom. There were also delegates from other faiths representing minorities in Islamic countries.
Each delegate had a unique story of their own, where they stood their grounds against odds that ranged from wars, racism, gender bias, discrimination to obstacles in family and professional life.
The summit is held annually with delegates selected through a gruelling selection process. This year’s summit, the third of its kind, was a bit different as it was organised for the first time outside the UK.
Mosaic itself is a charitable organisation, founded by the Prince of Wales, Prince Charles in 2007, with the mission to ‘create opportunities for young people of all backgrounds growing up in our most deprived communities, championed by Muslims and harnessing the power of positive thinking’.
Through the summit, besides aiding networking between delegates, Mosaic also brought together a number of individual speakers, who have each contributed immensely in their unique fields.
Also, the last half of the summit was dedicated to ‘leadership in organisation’ as groups of delegates visited three organisations, where delegates learnt from the experiences of the company as well as its staff.
Finally, the delegates were provided with the opportunity to present what they have learnt from the sessions and the project visits. The summit concluded with a closing ceremony at the Qatar Foundation on November 24, where the groups also presented their stories and newly-learnt leadership skills before an audience that included Sheikha Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, the daughter of the Emir of Qatar and a patron of the summit, along with guests that included the top officials of Prudential Corporation Asia, Qatar Foundation, Qatar Petroluem, Qatar Shell, Credit Suisse EMEA Foundation, Etihad Airways and others, who had supported the summit.
***
Around eight delegates from Bangladesh attended the summit. Besides me, there was Abdulla Al Mamun, a program manager of Manusher Jonno Foundation; ASM Belal, a research analyst from Bangladesh Institute of Pease and Security Studies (BIPSS); Afrin Sultana Chowdhury, associate officer from Action Aid Bangladesh; Remeen Firoz, programme officer from IUCN Bangladesh; Nazmul Haque, a project manager from British Council Bangladesh; Sadequa Hasan Sejuti, the managing director of Future Solutions Bangladesh and Korvi Rakshand, founder of JAAGO Foundation.
After two flights from Dhaka to Doha, we met delegates from other countries after reaching the Coral Hotel Doha, where we stayed during the entire summit and the plenary sessions were held. The delegates from other countries included a rare mix of professionals including engineers, NGO officials, graphic artists, doctors, lawyers, journalists, academicians and more.
The actual sessions began from November 15 with some interesting lectures focussing on leadership and its importance in the modern world which is afflicted by a plethora of problems, delivered by business psychologists Professor Binna Kandola and Stuart Duff, polar explorer and environmental spokesperson Robert Swan, Chief Executive of Business in the Community (BITC) Stephen Howard, philanthropist Farah Williamson, Senior Associate of the University of Cambridge Will Day and more.
To facilitate learning, the entire class of 80 delegates were divided into eight groups, each consisting of ten members and headed by a leader who had participated in last year’s summit. Each group was given a task by the speakers which they later presented to the entire class.
***
The project visits began from November 20. Although the challenges grew as we had to present our findings from the visits to the rest of the class, the opportunity was far greater as two groups were now merged into one.
Every single member of the groups worked hard to jot down information they gathered during the visits while also taking snaps of the officials speaking to them and the sights they came across. Some even went as far as to interview the officials of these companies, which they used in their presentations later.
Our group went to Qatar Shell Research and Technology Centre on the first day where we learnt how Qatar Shell has overcome the challenge of extracting gas from sour gas and is processing it into GTL (gas to liquid), which is more eco-friendly.
On the second day, we visited the Aspire Zone, which recruits young sporting talents. While providing them education, the Zone also looks after their education, health and other essential needs. The massive zone is also dedicated at providing services to the people of Qatar.
We also visited the Grand Hyatt hotel at Doha in the afternoon and found out why Middle East is a rapidly developing market for the hospitality industry. The other groups visited Qatar Foundation, Al Jazeera, Four Seasons hotel and more.
The presentation session was held before the entire class on November 22.
On November 23, all the 80 delegates were taken to visit Vodafone’s Al Johara project. Johara means diamond in Arabic. The project, which has been running for 14 months, have initiated the campaign where Qatari housewives sell mobile phone packages and value added services, at their own time to change their family and their own financial status.
The project visits were educational for the delegates as they learnt that even within the limitations of differing cultures and other odds, success can be achieved if the will remains in a company or individual.
****
The graduation ceremony of delegates was held on the evening of November 23. As the name of each country was announced, the delegates of the country walked to the stage to receive their certificates.
While the delegates stood together to represent their country, the cheers and applause from the entire hall would have driven anyone to believe that this is all but one nation.
***
Finally, the closing ceremony was held on the morning of November 24 at the Qatar Foundation, where four groups presented to the audience what they have learnt from the entire summit.
Members of the audience were moved by the stories of each presenter.
Korvi Rakshand from Bangladesh shared about how he initiated the first JAAGO school in Rayerbazaar in 2007 with just a dream to provide education to the children at the slums. Despite being thrown out of his house and laughed at by his friends, Korvi held on to his dreams. Albeit two schools in Dhaka and one in Tongi now, JAAGO Foundation is still working relentlessly to educate these children.
A more personal touch was in the story of Nurzulfikar Ali, who despite suffering a nasty childhood, a tougher youth and little education, was still able to excel in his workplace at Prudential Corporation Asia through dedication and hard work.
Most people even looked into their inner selves after listening to the account of Asif Sadiq, a police officer in London. According to his doctors, Sadiq would have either died or been paralysed for life, following a devastating accident in Kenya, six months back.
The accident occurred as Sadiq, and his best friend, collided their vehicle head on into another speeding vehicle in Kenya. Sadiq survived as he was thrown out of the car while his friend in the driving seat perished.
Sadiq’s jaw was dislocated and his second cervical vertebra (C2) bone was broken. Kenyan doctors were sure he would die.
But that was not Sadiq’s concern. ‘I was worried about what I would tell God when I meet him in the hereafter,’ he said during the presentation.
Miraculously, Sadiq survived. His wounds are still healing and he was able to take part in the summit.
He concluded his presentation by pointing out to the audience that each and every moment in our lives are precious and we should be thankful for everything we have rather than lamenting on what we do not have.
***
Even after the closing ceremony, delegates were found hugging and bidding tearful goodbyes to each other at the Qatar Foundation and the hotel. The difference in races and boundaries seemed to have faded within a span of just ten days.
‘That is the spirit of Mosaic!’ says Mohammad Rizwan Sharif, general manager of Northbrook Consultants Limited and a delegate from the 2010 Mosaic International Summit held in the United Kingdom. ‘The relations established will remain forever with these delegates while strengthening the knowledge they have gained from the summit itself. This will drive them to actually contribute to the development of their local communities,’ he concludes.

Has TV advertising finally come of age?

New Age
Xtra
December 1, 2006

Syed Tashfin Chowdhury charts how a new generation of professionals are inciting a revolution in TV advertising with imaginative concepts, catchy jingles and breathtaking cinematography

As a trawler wades through the murky river, one of its young passengers is missing his mother. A flashback takes the audience to the man’s early life and moments he had shared with her. As he wipes his tears, for the millions looking on, through their television sets, the moment is intensely emotional. The slow yet captivating tune in the background reinforces the images.

Ten years ago, when satellite television first came to Bangladesh, these were the kind of images we would see on foreign channels, and then have to endure the tyranny of low-budget, unimaginative, cheaply made ads that were on the local channels. Pan to present times: and the Bangladesh advertising industry has undergone a revolution.

An old man moves frantically through a crowd looking for mustard oil. The expression on his face and his indifference to the rest of the world intrigues the audience. They wait till the end of the commercial to find out that the search for the oil is a mixture of paternal love and individual triumph as he has been successful at finding residential plots within the bustling Dhaka city that his expatriate children were looking for. The embedded humor, the actor’s performance and the direction in the commercial clings on to the audience’s heart.

Television adverts are undergoing a dynamic evolution, a trend that has been persistent in the industry since the last five years. While ingredients like melodrama, humour, animation and others are being constantly experimented and used in these commercials, audiences from all classes of life are appreciating this new trend.

‘I loved the ‘Maa’ ad by GrameenPhone because of its uniqueness and the emotions,’ says college student Naveed Rahman, who believes that an ad like that can truly influence your choice of something as mechanical as a telecom company.

‘The fisherman ad by BanglaLink has great photography and an upbeat message to give to the audience,’ says Naila Hossain, a student of a private university.

Overall, the entire television experience for the average Bangladeshi seems to have changed. Its not just big money that is funding big-budget ads, say industry insiders. Suddenly there is a flux of creativity and a trend to tag ads to local culture (as opposed to mimicking foreign advertising) that is all too apparent.

Adverts for PHP glass, LabAid, Citycell, Nasir glass, Mojo and many others are being talked about, and inspiring subcultures across the country.

‘When the Citycell ‘Hello Rejwan’ ad came on tv, it was a huge hit at my office, and everyone started calling each other Rejwan and saying ‘etai to boyosh’ if they did anything wrong, if they did anything right, if they did anything at all,’ says Al Amin, an executive at a Dhaka-based chemical company.

Leading advertising firms are competing against each, pushing each other’s abilities to come up with the next great idea, the next great jingle, the next great image, say advertising industry insiders, through massive budgets, scenic locations at home and abroad, heart-wrenching stories and of course, creativity, innovation and extensive research.

‘Without creativity and extensive research, this new trend would not have been born,’ says Rajeev H Chowdhury, Creative Director of Cogito Marketing solutions. Rajeev who was initially a part of the creative team of GrameenPhone (GP), was the forerunner of the ‘Neel Doriya, ‘Maa,’ ‘Moyna Pakhir baccha’ and ‘Ei bhodrolok network khujchen’ ads that became huge hits. Rajeev left GP and started Cogito Marketing solutions in October 2005. The company has already established a name for itself through ads like ‘the fish seller’, ‘Joyeeta Chowdhury’ for Banglalink and the recent cricket commercial for GP.

He explains that this new wave is a cause of an influx of creative ideas in the industry. ‘Although, the industry began thirty years back, it started to roll only ten years back,’ he says. He explains that the transition began with the ‘crisp look’ in advertisements. ‘These were achieved by some toothpaste, fans and household appliance advertisements during the early nineties when some good directors associated good photography with their advertisements,’ he says.

The next stage came in the late nineties through the jingles trend. ‘This went on for quite a while and some firms are still sticking to this trend,’ he says. Finally the ‘age of ideas and brand personality’ arrived five years back.

‘The GP ‘Neel Doriya’ advertisement was the beginning of this new phase,’ he remembers. He also points out the Citycell advertisement of the two children running around in the hill tracts and other scenic ones aided the revolution further.

‘Through these advertisements, these brands created their personality and platform for example GP became an icon of connecting relationships no matter what the distance,’ he says.

He explains that the ‘Maa’ ad was a sequel to the ‘Neel Doriya’. ‘Here GP was again the connector between the mother and her son,’ he says. He explains that platforms for brands are being used extensively currently. ‘That is one of the primary motives of advertisements even now. It is also present in our Banglalink advertisements where times are shown as changing for people from the slightly rural groups whose lives are changing through Banglalink,’ he says.

Under present market conditions, the concept of the brand personality is of utmost importance in increasing market shares, according to Nazim Farhan Choudhury, deputy managing director, AdComm Limited, an advertising firm with 35 years of experience in advertising and with clients like Closeup, Pepsodent, Nokia, Mojo and others. ‘There are so many brands out there selling the same product with slight variations. These brands need to stand out on their own in the minds of the consumers and that is where advertising comes in,’ explains Farhan, an advertising veteran in spite of his young age, and son of industry figurehead Geetiara Chowdhury.

He explains that corporate clients are getting smarter and most of them are seeking the help of advertising firms even before they launch a new product. ‘The whole process of television ad filmmaking has changed drastically and dynamically therefore,’ he says. ‘Earlier, clients came to advertising agencies with their product specifications, some clips of foreign advertisements in their minds, the celebrity they want in their advertisement and wanted the whole process done in as short time as possible. Such clients never cared about the picture quality, the story and other features of the advertisements,’ he says.

But now, the advertising firms are being given the latitude and the time to use their creative skills and experience to research into the brand first. ‘This helps us to obtain the brand essence after which, we visualise the advertisement,’ says Rajeev. At this level, some firms conduct ground work on the print and electronic media and develop an idea which they provide to the clients.

‘Once this is approved, some companies have a post production meeting where clients, the ad firm and the director sits down to discuss the advertisement. The success of this meeting is derived through the overall success of the commercial after its launch,’ says Farhan.

‘The success of the advertisement depends on the uniqueness of the advertisement,’ says Rajeev. He explains that ad agencies are currently able to experiment with humour, animation and emotions in an ad because of this underlying factor.

While explaining the link between advertising and brand personality, Farhan provided the example of Mojo, one of AdComm’s clients. ‘Mojo is just one out of 10 cola brands in the market today. But its success is largely due to the mixture of western style with Bangladeshi norms and culture portrayed in the television advertisement of the product,’ he says. He explains that the consequent ads of the brand had this ‘feel’ to them as well and the connection can be made in the product’s packaging. ‘This is a perfect example of brand personality,’ he says.

Farhan also explains that while ad agencies are being given the freedom to come up with brand personality and essence, that the explosion of television and media outlets, availability and lower prices of some technological factors and changing face of marketing are also a cause of the improving trend in advertisements.

Sharjeel Karim, Creative Chair of Interspeed advertising, a Dhaka-based advertising agency since 1968, however, feels that the changing scenario of television advertisements are due to an upcoming breed of local film makers. ‘Quite simply, the filmmakers are breaking free from the conformist shackles which has dictated the brief history of our films, advertisements and popular culture,’ says Sharjeel who possibly inherited his creative talents from father Enayet Karim, yet another figurehead of Bangladesh’s advertising industry.

Interspeed advertising created and built great brands like Raja, Maya, Wheel and Horlicks in Bangladesh in the past. Currently, their key clients include AP, Banglalink, British American Tobacco, BBC World service, Bombay Sweets, Lafarge, Organon and Unilever Bangladesh.

Mohammad Tanveer Hossain, associate creative director of Bitopi Advertising Limited feels that competition with local and foreign media are also part of the reason for the change. ‘Viewers can now compare and rank local and foreign advertisements,’ he says.

Claiming to be the first advertising agency of Bangladesh, Bitopi has been a pioneer in the advertising industry since 1968. The agency currently has clients like GP, Djuice, Social Marketing Company, HSBC, Rahimafrooz, Singer etc.

Tanveer also points out that the inflow of young and talented people into the advertising profession has been a great influence. ‘Even seven years back, this profession was mostly ignored by the middle class. But this mindset has changed drastically,’ he says.

Samrat Das Gupta, general manager, Grey worldwide, pointed out that differentiation in advertising is causing the change. Grey worldwide is a Dhaka-based agency and part of the renowned Grey Global group. Initiated in 1996, the agency currently has clients like British American Tobacco (BAT), Nokia, Glaxo SmithKline, Dhaka Bank, Citycell and others. ‘Clients are demanding effectiveness while providing the budgets demanded. The success of a commercial depends on its creative execution and its appropriateness for the brand. The ad firms are trying to achieve this,’ he says.

Tanveer also points out that some clients are also opting for big budgets advertisements because of their huge segments. Rumor has it that some recent advertisements cost over Tk 1 crore. The average films produced and directed in the Film Development Corporation (FDC) costs from Tk 25 to 40 lakhs. ‘The corporations know that a successful advertisement will help them to gain a better impression in the minds of their consumer segments. That is why they venture with such budgets,’ he says.

The creative directors of various ad agencies also point out that while directors, concepts and photographers are helping, maximum budgets are being spent after the post-production activities. ‘The industry lacks technological prowess. ‘There is a dearth of 35 mm cameras which happen to be one of the best cameras for ad-film making,’ says Tanveer.

Rajeev explains that while most successful advertisements of this time are shot in village locations, the post-production activities are always done abroad. ‘This is because Bangladesh lacks the technology required to ensure the crystal clear and crispy look in the recent advertisements,’ he says.

Asif Akbar Khan, Creative Head of Mediacomm, another Dhaka-based advertising agency, says that most advertising firms are still sticking to the traditional ad-film making style. ‘They are blocking the revolution of ad-film making in Bangladesh. These people should finally realise that advertising is a game of ideas,’ he says. He further urges motivated and talented advertisers to challenge themselves through better work. ‘Only when one tries to outdo their best work can he or she excel,’ he says.

So will the change continue in the next five years? The talented media personnel all agree to this through varied opinions. ‘Currently, an advertising firm makes 80 per cent of its revenue through print and electronic media advertising. But within the next five years, these media will be saturated. New media will evolve, like cellphones, FM radio, the web, public relations, direct marketing and so on,’ speculates Farhan.

Sharjeel is confident that things will continue to improve. ‘This will occur not just because of better “film-finish” but also because of better creative writing that results from better understanding of brand building on the part of agencies and clients. FM RADIO is going to be the next big thing,’ he says.

‘Grey has already taken up the challenge of adapting themselves to non-traditional advertising. 20 per cent of our advertising is done through this media currently. In the next five years, this amount will increase to 50 per cent,’ says Samrat. He also hopes that agencies will break into other avenues.

Rajeev, however, feels that television advertisements will continue to stay and undergo the next phases. ‘Television advertisements are still successful in the West. Referring to the theory that Bangladesh is ten years behind the western countries, it’s likely that television advertisements will not die out in the next ten years,’ he says. He speculates that the next phase in television advertising will include more humour and creative stories rather than melodrama.

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