ABCI is known , since it's inception for holding interactive Seminars for it's Member fraternity so as to mould and train the future generation of Business Communicators who would be the face of Communicators of India for the next few decades.
A Seminar was held on the 16th. May 2012, at The Ambassador Hotel in Mumbai on ' HOUSE JOURNAL - A powerful instrument for Internal Communication for Today & Tomorrow'.
The Idea of holding such a Seminar stemmed from Members itself as we found during the ABCI Annual Awards Nite, members would approach us with request to hold a seminar on House Journal, as every person would want to see his House Journal get a coveted trophy in the ABCI Awards, but not all manage to get one as the best of three in each category bag the trophies as we all know. So with the Good Wishes of all we managed to host the Seminar which we hope will prove to be fruitful and create an awareness of Content & Design that go to make a good House Journal win a prize in Competitions all over India.
The Seminar was hosted by one of our regular and familiar Host Mr. Deepak Bhandarkar who has the honour of having hosted 'COMFEST' a Seminar ABCI hosts every year for one and half days prior to the Award Function since it's inception in 2001, a feat in itself, which may land Mr. Deepak Bhandarkar with a mention in the Limca Book of Records of having hosted continuously a Business Seminar for a record breaking 10 years at a stretch. Kudos to Deepak on behalf of ABCI for achieving this feat and we hope he will continue to contribute his services to ABCI in future too.
Our Host for the day Shri Deepak Bhandarkar,at the outset welcomed all the participants to this wonderful Seminar in his very casual but unimmitative style. Shri Yogesh Joshi, President in his Inaugural address mentioned about ABCI & the pivotal role of Shri Deepak Bhandarkar and his valued association with ABCI.
After the Presidents inaugural speech Mr Bhandarkar our host mentioned of the unique distinction conferred on Shri Yogesh Joshi President ABCI, as he was invited by The World Communication Forum - Davos, Switzerland in February 2012, to address the World Forum on 'Internal & External Mission of a Large Communication Organisation'. He is the first Indian to have been invited at Davos & also has the distinction of being rated amongst the three top speakers. He has also been inducted in the Assembly of Forum of Speakers. And to add more sweet to this already sweetened news is the fact that he has also been inducted for overseeing Communication activity for India & South East Asia. We at ABCI are overwhelmed with this News and wish Yogesh the best in his new endeavor. Yogesh you have made us all proud at ABCI and this news was applauded by all the participants..
With the inauguration over it was time for the eminent Speakers who would dwell on the various intricacies as regards perspective and overall overview of communication & especially in house journal.
The first Speaker to speak on what does the Management expect of House Journals Shri Jayant Pendharkar - Cunsulting Adviser, Tata Elxsi & Former Vice President & Head Global Marketing & Communication, TCS Ltd.
Shri Jayant Pendharkar mentioned in particular his work of TCS especially in Internal Marketing and the world of Global Communication 'Spectra' the In House Journal of TCS was mentioned and the rapid strides in Print Version so wonderfully done and its varied features were high lighted.
The next Session by Ms. Anjali Mathur- Director and Chief Operating Officer, The Information Company Pvt. Ltd. was a very open and inter active session. She suggested that an Editor has to be polite and diplomatic and should inculcate the habit of motivating the right or like minded people in the Editorial Committee. Replying to the query of Vinayak Yedery of The Shamrao Vithal Co-Operative Bank, Dr Mathur said that the periodicity and Time frame of the Magazine had to be properly chalked out. Back up, Co-ordination & Team work are also essential Mrs. Fanny & her colleague Farida from RBI also sought finer points just as ACC In house Journal `Parivar` focused on threadbare issues. Mr. Khan of Bank of India also sought clarifications on their In House Journal `Taarangan` Ms Shobha assisting Anjali Mathur summed up the essentials of an In House Journal with an AV which was well appreciated by all the participants.
Post Lunch session had Shri Edwin Fernandes, GM & Editor, Shree Vayam, IDBI as Speaker. He spoke at length on ``The Agony & Ecstasy of Publishing In House Journal``. He also mentioned about editorial views to be in sync or in consonance with the present times. Mr. Fernandes demonstrated on important case study of Aditya Kiran to drive home his point for development of an in-house Journal as a vital role of communications. He also mentioned to meticulously adhere the Do`s & Don'ts for an in-house Journals.
Shri Milind Ghaisas, Director, Adived Advertising was the next Speaker. A multi faceted personality he has over two decades of experience in advertising and branding with over 100 plus clients who range from Pharma, Foods, Finance, OTC, FMCG Brands etc. He is also a pioneer who has devised the ``e Directory``. He gave various examples of House journals prominently mentioning HUL's HAMARA. He says that when you take a house magazine it should be a master piece in its own way. Which means that right from the logo designing to its content to layouts and photography every aspect has to be properly blended and matched. So content and design should be complementing each other. He also gave tips on how to go about it.
The last session had Shri Amey Mahant from L&T Infotech as Speaker. He has experienced in e-learning, content creation, market research & marketing communications at L&T Infotech. In addition to playing a crucial part in the design process, Amey is responsible for researching existing/upcoming technologies and helping e-zines become more user-friendly.
He told the august gathering that Employee Communication as a PR activity is changing rapidly as new social media tools evolve & impact the work place. Employees and other internal audiences are key ambassadors and reaching them today is both challenging & rewarding when done right. He further emphasized that we are today coming into the age of Virtual Communication. Organisations throughout the world are looking for new & innovative ways to communicate. For many, the integrated Communication & information sharing system, that inexpensive Blogs & Wikis provide are just what the doctor ordered. Many Corporates have started making efforts in moving from the print to the digital media. The digital media is gaining momemtum. There will come a time when digital will overtake the print media in a very short time. Though just a beginning it's the right time to shift gear to the digital format and to get acquainted with the digital media he said. In fact the participants were so engrossed with Amey's talk and wanted him to go on but due to time constraints he had to rein in his speech.
Mr. Deepak Bhandarkar host for the day proposed a vote of thanks to all the sponsors, the speakers and to the participants for responding so overwhelmingly in the deliberations.
Mr. Yogesh Joshi, President ABCI thanked all eminent speakers, participants for their valued inputs. He also thanked Deepak Bhandarkar for the service he renders to ABCI. He requested one and all present to participate in ComFest 12 in October 2012 at Taj Mahal Hotel and also for the Annual Awards Nite.
