Financial Times

Phoenix hosts ad giants meet

Phoenix Ogilvy, one of local advertising giants, is for the first time hosting an Ogilvy Regional Conference bringing creative directors, accounts planners and regional business directors from 20 countries across the region for a five-day meeting to evaluate strategies, creative concepts and share the latest trends in advertising across Asia.

"This event is of huge significance for a number of reasons. Firstly from a national perspective it means people around the world are willing to put behind them negative perceptions brought about by decades of insurgency. They now recognize the potential of the Sri Lankan market and are giving it due importance as a market of reckoning in the future," said Irvin Weerackody, Chairman Phoenix Ogilvy Pvt. Ltd.

There will be various speakers from among the planners in the region, including three visitors from Ogilvy New York - Tony Wright, Worldwide Head of Planning, Emma Gilding who runs the Discovery Unit, and Richard Welch who recently started Crystal, an Ogilvy company monitoring leading edge trends. Piyush Pandey who led Ogilvy through trail blazing success at the Cannes Awards for Advertising will be in Sri Lanka to attend the Ogilvy Regional Conference for Creative Directors.

Among the invited speakers is Malcom McLaren who established the band, Sex Pistols and Seminal Punk image in the 70's. He has been involved with the music, film and fashion industries for over 30 years.