IPOY: coveted award

BY IMPACT Staff

Industry leaders give us their take on the IMPACT Person of the Year award as a  benchmark, and tell us what they think of the exchange4media Group property

Accolades always spur achievement, and vice versa. Hence the Nobels, Oscars, Cannes Lions, Grammys, Abbys and the like are benchmarks of recognition worldwide for the most talented individuals in their respective fields. Cut to the world of Advertising, Media and Marketing in India, and we have the IMPACT Person of the Year award – instituted by the exchange4media Group in 2005 - that aims to felicitate outstanding individual achievement and contribution to the domain. Industry leaders look upon the property as an industry standard. “The IMPACT Person of the Year (IPOY) has been there for sometime now and over the years, it has become a great property. We all look forward to it, every year,” says Vikram Sakhuja, CEO, GroupM, South Asia and anominee himself in the past. Over the years, the award has seen the who’s who of the industry associating with it . Past winners include Peter Mukerjea (then CEO of Star India) (2005), Rajdeep Sardesai, Editor-in-chief of CNN IBN (2006), Dr Vijay Mallya, Chairman, UB Group (2007), Lalit Modi, Former Commissioner, Indian Premier League (IPL) and Raghav Bahl, Founding/ Controlling Shareholder & Managing Director –Network 18 (2008), Rajesh Kamat, CEO, CA Media (then CEO Colors) (2009). Last year, the award went to Uday Shankar, CEO, Star India. Like Sakhuja, CVL Srinivas, Managing Director, LiquidThread (APAC) & Chairman Starcom MediaVest Group (India), too feels that the date on which the award function is held is an important day in the industry calendar.

“It is good to know that the exchange4media Group is recognising people for their contribution to the industry and the impact they are creating in it. It’s a wellpublicised award, which every media person looks forwards to and waits for,” he says. Shashi Sinha, CEO, Lodestar UM, feels that the award is unique because the nominees as well as the winner are chosen by his or her peers. “It is in a way a defining moment for the person who has done very well in the preceding year because you are voted by your peers and contemporaries.

It is always helpful and a nice feeling to be recognised by peers,” he says. The nominees are chosen by an industry-wide poll carried out with the help of IMRB International. (see box for selection process) Ad guru Piyush Pandey told exchange4media earlier that he too feels awards are necessary to help one grow. “Every industry requires some recognition which happens from time to time. It becomes a benchmark for the junior guys to be on the list someday. It’s a motivation for others and to people who are nominated as well.” On a similar note, Sunil Lulla, Managing  Director & CEO, Times Television Network, said, “It is important to celebrate the success of the industry ensuring that it is free of any unwarranted control, and growth is measured in profitable and progressive terms.”

This year, the nominees for IMPACT Person of the Year include Agnello Dias, Chairman and Cofounder TapRoot India, Haresh Chawla, Group CEO, Viacom18 & Network18, Madhukar Kamath, MD & CEO, Mudra Group, Man Jit Singh, CEO, Multi Screen Media, Rajiv Verma, CEO, Hindustan Times Media Limited, Ronnie Screwvala, CEO and founder chairman of UTV Group, Sandeep Goyal, Non-executive founder Chairman, Dentsu India and last but not the least, Vineet Jain, Managing  Director, Times Group.

Although the list covers the industry at large, Lynn de Souza, Chairman and CEO, Lintas Media Group, feels that it is high time that the award looked not only at the impact on business but on society at large. “I would have looked to see the name behind the execution of campaigns by Team Anna. Looking at the difference and impact it made on the media as well as the society, we need to recognise the brain behind it. However, it doesn’t necessarily mean that I agree with whatever they say or have done,” she says. “IPOY is a great property and most nominees are well-known names of the industry. However, the only thing I would want from the exchange4media Group is to be more open about the various parameters one is chosen to be on the coveted list,” says Colvyn Harris, CEO, JWT India. We are just a few weeks away from choosing the most impactful personality of 2011. The person who has made maximum impact not just in his own business and space, but in the industry at large, will be honoured with the award at the end of voting by industry topguns. So, now that we know what the industry expects from the award, it’s time to block your diary – for December 8, 2011 – so that you do not miss the happening IPOY 2011 award night.

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