Dhanam Marketing and Branding Excellence Awards Announced

KOCHI:
Esaf Group chairman Paul Thomas has been selected for the first ever Dhanam Marketing Man of the Year 2015 Award. Cochin International Airport Limited will be given the Dhanam Brand of the Year 2015 Award.
While Aster MedCity will be presented with the NRK Brand of the Year Award, the Emerging Brand of the Year 2015 is Kitchen Treasures. The awards, selected by a jury headed by IIM Ahmedabad professor and former Federal Bank chairman Abraham Koshy, will be presented at the first Dhanam Marketing& Brand Summit to
be held on April 23 at Le Meridien, Kochi.
Esaf chairman Paul Thomas was selected for the award for building an innovative and revolutionary organization, based on the discovery that entrepreneurship is the best solution for poverty eradication in rural areas. His projects have attracted national international attention, and Esaf is the only institution from Kerala to get the Small Bank permission from RBI, the jury noted.
The jury selected CIAL for the Brand of the Year Award considering its trendsetting initiatives in the aviation scene, both national and international. CIAL which proved that a PPP model is feasible in aviation sector has recently become the first airport in the world to run its operations completely on solar energy, a fact that underlines its originality and power, opined the jury members.
NRK Brand of the Year 2015 Award will be given to Aster MedCity, the Kerala arm of the globally renowned DM Health Care headed by NRI businessman Dr Azad Moopen. It has already made its mark in the state’s healthcare scene through its facilities of international standards and marketing campaigns.
Kitchen Treasures was selected for Emerging Brand of the Year 2015 Award for establishing itself in a highly competitive curry powder industry within two years. The jury noted that the product found a place among the customers through innovative branding techniques.
The awards will be presented at the first ever Dhanam Marketing & Brand Summit to be held at Le Meridien Convention Centre in Kochi on April 23. The summit’s theme this year is ‘Marketing Challenges in Changing Times’, and the chief guest of the event will be Ashish Mishra, managing director, Interbrand India. The keynote address will be delivered by V Sunil, the master brain behind high-impact campaigns like Make In India and Incredible India.
A panel discussion by Dr. M. Ayyappan, Chairman & Managing Director, HLL Lifecare Ltd, George V Antony, Managing Director & Country Head, UAE Exchange (India), Santosh Nair, Internationally-renowned management trainer, Mumbai, V. Sunil Kumar, Managing Director, Asset Homes, and Paul Robinson, Marketing & Branding expert, is another highlight of the summit.
“Hot Brands of Kerala,” the latest book from Dhanam Publications, will be released at the summit. Along with the profiles of 150-odd brands, regional, national and international, this reference book and collectors’ edition also carries articles by experts in marketing and branding sectors.
First of its kind in the state, this summit is designed to be a memorable event in the corporate history of Kerala.