Can marketing help solve social, economic problems?
LAST DecembeR 7, 2011, Professor Philip Kotler invited the Senior MRx-er to speak at the World Marketing Summit (WMS) to take place in Dhaka, Bangladesh on March 1-3, 2012.
The WMS 2012 is jointly hosted by the Government of Bangladesh and the Kotler Center for Marketing Excellence, Bangladesh. For health reasons, the Senior MRx-er was forced to decline.
But we wish to extend an invitation to our fellow marketing professors, practitioners and students to the WMS. Here is an opportunity to witness that finally there is this growing recognition that your discipline, Marketing, can help solve social and economic problems not only in our country but in the world.
Let us share with you the pertinent details of the WMS event.
“The theme for the Summit is Creating A Better World Through Marketing. Its objective is to bring together global leaders in marketing and branding to discuss how marketing philosophies and insights can find effective and innovative solutions to some of the biggest challenges of the contemporary world. The WMS is designed to have a place alongside other leading global events such as the World Economic Forum in terms of bringing together leading social thinkers and activists.”
In conferences and meetings among businessmen and professionals, we’ve often noted that speakers at gatherings of world economic leaders such as the World Economic Forum are almost all exclusively financial experts. This is in spite of the fact that leading business authorities and media had pointed out that the lingering global economic crisis has aside from financial also a demand and marketing side to it. The WMS is signaling that the time has finally arrived to now give due recognition to Marketing’s potential contribution.
What’s the coverage of the WMS event and who will be coming?
“The four areas selected for deliberation at the 2012 WMS are:
· Human Resource Development
· Health
· Food Security
· Green Clean Economy
“The WMS will involve a highly specialized group of experts to explore marketing solutions to the challenges in these areas. Suggested solutions will be piloted subsequently in business incubators at renowned universities and institutions around the world before being scaled up.
“The WMS will feature leaders in a broad range of fields covering business, entrepreneurship, academia, public sector, science and technology, health, media, communication, and environment. In addition, a number of global political leaders are expected to inspire the forum and enrich its deliberations. We are confident that the Summit would help us find and then test concrete solutions.”
We should say something about the WMS’ idea of a “Field Incubator.” We won’t talk about the many proposed “Field Incubators.” We’ll mention one of them so that you can have a taster of the flavor of what an incubator is all about. This one is the Field Incubator under the Kotler Center for Marketing Excellence:
“Proposition: Micro insurance for health is an unsought service which can be made sustainable by using need based approach for changing behavior of people at the bottom of the pyramid. Bangladesh has been the leader for promoting micro credit and therefore is the best place to experiment with the concept of micro insurance. At the same time, Bangladesh is the second largest apparel exporter of the world which represents 85 percent female workforce. Thus, it is a perfect setting to unfold micro insurance in this segment. This will result in creation of a healthy society, health for all and opportunity for businesses offering insurance.”
To those who wish to participate, please contact either Professor Kotler or his Associate in Charge for WMS, Professor Fahim Kibria at [email protected], or [email protected].
Keep your questions coming. Send them to us at [email protected] or [email protected]. God bless!
