Indian Magazine Congress 2010: A power-packed POA

September 6 and 7, will see the Indian Magazine Congress (IMC) 2010, organised by The Association of Indian Magazines (AIM). The venue for the two-day event is ITC Grand Central, Mumbai.

The keynote address will be delivered by the very renowned Aroon Purie, chairman FIPP, chairman and editor-in-chief, India Today Group and Nicholas Brett, editor-in-chief and deputy managing director, BBC Worldwide Magazines.

Other speakers at the event include a range of reputed names from the media and publishing industry such as Akila Urankar (Business Standard), Ashish Pherwani (Ernst & Young), L V Krishnan (TAM Media), Lynn De Souza (Lintas Media), Indrajit Gupta (Forbes Media), Nick Carugati (TimeOut, UK), Mohan Sivanand (Reader's Digest), Saira Menezes (People), Riyad Mathew (Malayala Manorama), Sandeep Khosla (Infomedia 18) and Tanya Chaitanya (Femina) amongst scores of other experts.

Day one of the congress has been slated to offer to those present, a plethora of knowledge and plenty of food for thought. Some of the stimulating topics of discussion in the line up include an address on how magazine titles can successfully become global and a presentation by Ernst & Young on the state of the Indian magazine industry. These presentations will be followed by four panel discussions that will address issues such as the various editorial challenges in a world of convergence, the power of social networks, the future of international magazine brands in India and the different drivers for growth in custom publishing.

Day two of the congress boasts of an equally interesting schedule. There would be talks on some of the smartest strategies used in the recent downturn and discussions on what advertisers want from magazine brands. The issues of delivering ROI in 2011 and growth capital for magazine businesses will also be addressed. A chat, on new reading habits and distribution challenges, is also part of the schedule. The day will close with a final session on re-inventing the B2B business.

It may be recalled that AIM is the first industry representation for magazines in India and was launched with the agenda of supporting and defending the freedom of the press. Along with promoting the cause of magazines, the effort is also to consolidate the industry as a united group. AIM, that represents the magazine publishers' interests in the country, helps inject energy into the magazine industry, both editorially as well as economically.

Establishing superior understanding, cooperation and unity amongst all magazine publishers has been an aim throughout. Consolidating the cause of these publishers with all key constituents of the industry, such as consumers, advertisers, print and production agencies, advertising agencies, market research companies and the government, is a consistent goal of this venture.

Watch this space for lots more on this year's IMC.