MICA launches its annual festival MICANVAS

MICANVAS –the annual brand management festival of MICA– attracts participation from the leading B-schools across India and abroad. The communications institute has announced the theme for this year’s festival as ‘The Market Renaissance: Harnessing The Winds Of Change’

Each year, MICANVAS is centred around a theme that is indicative of the present and future business trends that the world is currently witness to. The winds of change blow around us today. Early introspection suggests the emergence of a new power base: the aware, educated, discriminating and knowledgeable customer, whose individual needs now need to be addressed by harnessing the change around us.

Is this emerging power of the consumer a threat to marketing as we know it, or is it an untapped opportunity waiting to be exploited? Is India, as the repository of this power, merely a developing market to push products into, or is it an intricate web of potential goldmines to be unraveled by the intrepid marketer? Is the market scenario as bleak as we make it out to be, or is it a canvas waiting to explode in its vibrancy, awaiting the touch of a maestro? Is going green just a fad or is it the only way forward if we hope to leave a legacy for future generations?

The crucial question is – will we be torn to shreds by these winds or will we harness these mighty forces to do our bidding? The need of the hour is a Market Renaissance – a revitalisation of business thought. There is a need for a sharper understanding of the emerging customer, a need to see the market for what it is, and what can be, to reactivate sense and sensibility, focusing equally on market share and mind share. There is a need to renew interaction with the consumers, using technology to bridge the gap and re-connect with them.

Most importantly, there is a need for the renewal and revival of learning, with an eye on the past while moving into the future, as the only framework to capture, and ride, on the winds of change.    

In keeping with these fast changing trends, MICANVAS 2009 – ‘The Market Renaissance: Harnessing The Winds Of Change’ promises to be a platform where thousands of aspiring young individuals will leave the beaten path to embrace success. It promises to be a celebration of the triumph of ingenuity over convention through the showcase of the evolution of marketing strategies in response to changing times. 

MICANVAS 2009 will present several opportunities in the form of formal events, informal events and panel discussions for students from select B schools, undergraduate colleges and universities abroad to showcase their ideas and innovations. 

Not to be missed are Colloquium, the international event and MindSpeak, the panel discussion which in the past has seen the likes of Mr. Tarun Tripathi (Director-Marketing and Content, MySpace), Mr. Santosh Desai (MD, Future Brands), Mr. T. S. Seshu (Head- Rural Marketing, ITC), Mr. Lloyd Mathias (Director- Marketing, Motorola), Mr. Raju Narisetti (Managing Editor, MINT), Mr. Tarun Katial (COO- BIG FM), Ms. Sonya Banerjee( Head- Marketing, Yahoo! India), Mr. L.V. Krishnan (CEO- TAM India), Mr. Madhukar Kamath( MD & CEO, Mudra Communications), Mr. Bhaskar Das (President, TOI Group), come over to the campus and engage the audience in enthralling discussions revolving around the theme of the year. 

MICANVAS 2009 will be held on the 6th, 7th & 8th of November this year at the MICA campus in Ahmedabad.