Mr. Hammad
Siddiqui, Deputy Country Director Centre for
International Private Enterprise Pakistan
A
Guest Speaker session on ‘The Use of Social Media for
Branding & Marketing’ was held on Friday June 07, 2013
in the Seminar Hall, Abdul Razzak-Tabba Academic Block
at IBA Main Campus by the Alumni Department. The session
was organized exclusively for the alumni and attracted a
dozen alums from 70’s, 80’s, 90’s and early 00’s.
Mr. Hammad Siddiqui was the session facilitator. He
holds 24 years of work experience in the private sector
development, training, capacity building and designing
and facilitating advocacy campaigns. He is currently
serving as Deputy Director, Center for International
Private Enterprise (CIPE).
As is evident from the topic, the session centered on
how social media, once considered an informal
communication channel, is now being used by business
professionals and corporations all over the globe to
promote and market their products. Some of the senior
alums from the class of 70s and 80s who have started
their own businesses were present on the occasion to
advance their knowledge of using various social media
tools to market their brands.
Attendees were divided into two groups; those who were
skeptical of the use of social media and those who
supported the idea of utilizing this media for
constructive purposes. Almost all agreed that initially
they were slow to
respond
to this communication medium and construed it as a
‘waste of time’.
Mr. Siddiqui explained to the audience that social media
has changed the dynamics of how we think, speak, act and
consume. Calling social media “a true manifestation of
global village,” Mr. Siddiqui highlighted how we need to
change in this ever-changing global milieu or be left
behind in the race for survival.
The novel idea of conducting a session exclusively for
Alumni was given by Muhammad Asadullah, Alumnus of 2003
who had attended Mr. Siddiqui’s guest speaker session to
EMBA students at IBA.
The session was followed up by refreshments which
provided a networking opportunity for alums from
different sectors and industries to interact and share
their thoughts.
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