International recognition for SLIM

Thursday, 4 October 2012 01:53 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Sri Lanka Institute of Marketing (SLIM) was a recipient of the ‘Most admired events for branding and marketing’, at the annual Asian Leadership Awards (ALA) held at Taj Palace Hotel, Dubai recently.

The ALA Awards is exclusively for business leaders and organisations, and is a platform that highlights, recognises and rewards the professionals’ ability to steer their businesses through turbulent times, applying the best of business modules to manage and keep their missions afloat. Over 20 categories recognise the achievements made by selected high profile corporate business leaders in Asia.

SLIM President Tilan Wijeyesekera and CEO Sanath Senanayake were present to receive the award at the gala ceremony that also recognises the brands which have made a significant achievement in performance, image and perception, and loyalty and has reached the pinnacle of their success in their respective categories.

Unilever Middle East, American express – Middle East, Qatar Airways, Harley Davidson, DHL Express, British Airways, ICICI Bank, Dubai Duty Free were some of the companies that received awards along with SLIM this year.

“This award is a confirmation of the quality and the standards maintained at the programs run by SLIM, namely Brand Excellence, NASCO, Peoples Awards and Marketing Roks. SLIM Brand Excellence being recognised as the ‘Most Admired events for Branding and Marketing’ by the Asian Leadership Awards 2012 brings pride to Sri Lanka, as SLIM has been able to outshine all the other Asian countries and proving that Sri Lanka has what it takes to be the best in the region,” Wijeyesekera said.

“This accolade was a testimony that our national level events are of high stature. We are extremely delighted to receive the first ever international award for SLIM of which lies the contribution made by all stakeholders. This award is an inspiration to achieve even greater heights in our future programs,” said Senanayake.

SLIM, founded in 1970 (then called Ceylon Institute of Marketing) with a view to harnessing the available skills in Marketing for the growth and development of the profession, was subsequently incorporated by Act 41 of 1980 of Parliament.

SLIM has created a professional educational career path in marketing commencing from the entry level, Preliminary Certificate in Marketing (PCM), Certificate in Public Sector Marketing (PSM), Certificate in Pharmaceutical Marketing (PharMa), National Diploma in Sales Management(NDSM), Diploma in Brand Management (DBM), Postgraduate Diploma in Marketing (PGDip), Masters in Business Administration (Buckinghamshire New University- UK) and Certified Professional Marketer (Asia).

In addition to providing professional Marketing education, as the national body for marketing, SLIM encourages best practices in marketing through national level events such as Brand Excellence which recognises the most successful brands, Effie awards, the most effective marketing communication, NASCO, the sales excellence and Peoples Awards which recognises the “people’s choice”. These events not only enhance the image of the marketing profession but also create pathways for more marketers to reach the boardroom level.