The Confederation of Asian Advertising Agency Associations (CAAAA) elected Mr. Nagesh Alai of AAAI (Advertising Agencies Association of India) as the new Chairman at its Annual General Meeting held on 21st April 2016 at Intercontinental Singapore. He replaces Mr. Harris Thajeb of PPPI (Advertising Agencies Association of Indonesia) who has completed his two-year term.
Mr Alai who is also the Vice Chairman, Global of FCB said, following his appointment, “The challenges faced by advertising businesses are similar across countries in Asia (and the world), only the degrees differ. Unbundling of services years ago lead to commoditization of advertising services and now disintermediation is leading to disruptive changes. Remuneration and recruitment continue to be hurdles to the growth of the advertising industry. The industry’s relevance is and never will be in doubt regardless of the rapid technological advances; but the business model is slowly and surely undergoing seismic changes. Those who recognize this will do well; it will be a survival of the fittest.”
Mr Alai added, “CAAAA will continue to focus on these issues and help navigate these challenges by changing mindsets. A key focus for us will be to remain relevant at the macro level and render practical services at the micro level. For e.g., facilitate cross border movement of talent across the region, this will help in splicing and grafting of new ways of thinking and working. The CAAAA team is all charged up.”
The full line-up of the new Executive Committee are:
Vice Chairman – Mr Tateo Mataki, Japan Advertising Agencies Association, Japan
Treasurer – Mr Anthony Kang, Association of Accredited Advertising Agents, Singapore
Secretary – Mr Romie Chen, The Association of Accredited Advertising Agents of Taipei, Taipei
Mr Yang Hong Feng, China Advertising Association
Ms Angela Ng, Association of Accredited Advertising Agencies of Hong Kong, SAR China
Mr Jay Paik, Korea Association of Advertising Agencies, Korea
Mr. Harris Thajeb, Advertising Agencies Association of Indonesia, Indonesia (also Immediate Past Chairman)