Date: 3rd-5th September 2015, Kochi

The preparation for the IAA Silver Jubilee Summit started from May 2015 with the formation of the core committee and Pradeep Guha being elected as the Summit Chairman. He explained the theme adopted thus: We live in a dynamic world where change is shaping the way we consume media, the way we define media, the way we build brands, the way we understand technology, the way we address our consumers and the way we even live. Technology has acted as a major partner in our lives and has played a key role in shaping change itself. Those who fail to recognise the impact of change cannot sustain for long. The need of the hour is to not only stay aware of the constant changes happening around, but to also look ahead into the immediate future and see “What's Coming Next".

This singular thought defined the agenda for the IAA Silver Jubilee Summit. It was a thought that professionals in advertising, marketing and the media needed to address urgently. Hence, the theme for the IAA Silver Jubilee Summit was “What's Coming Next" with a sub-theme of “Crossroads: Where Change is shaping the Future".

Among the speakers were a spiritual leader, a celebrity news anchor, a cricketing legend, a film industry icon, 11 international speakers, two business leaders, a successful young entrepreneur, and two celebrities - all adding to an eclectic mix of entertainment, knowledge and serious engagement.

Over 1000 delegates attended the summit.

Three important milestones achieved:

a) The first time over 1000 delegates attended any IAA India event

b) The first time IAA organised a three day event in its 25 years history

c) The first time IAA trended on Twitter with 15000 + tweets over three days, peaking at 16.62 tweets per minute

The social media reach garnered need special mention:

- Total reach - 29.7 Million

- Attracted 200+ new followers on Twitter during the three days

- #IAASummit was continuously trending in Kochi from September 3rd-5th, 2015

- #IAASummit was among the popular twitter trends in India

The keynote speaker on the first day of the conference was Shri Amitabh Kant, Secretary, Industrial Policy and Promotion, Government of India. His department has been actively promoting the ‘Make in India’ programme and the man himself is considered the driving force behind the ‘Incredible India’ campaign. “Branding is not about advertising... It's important to build a brand that converges with what's on the ground,” said Kant. He left the audience with an important message: Brand India will rise if India continues to grow.

Amitabh Kant’s point was reinforced by Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev, when he talked about how collective experiences can be synthesised and then channelised to achieve individual goals.

The inaugural session saw Shah Rukh Khan being awarded “Advertising Icon for 25 years". His speech was witty, and he enthralled the audience with the famous ‘lungi dance'. The citation read brought to life the various advertising categories he was involved in and how King Khan made an impact on their success.

The IAA Silver Jubilee Summit recharged the advertising fraternity. IAA President, Srinivasan Swamy, aptly summed it up when he said, “The Speakers have ensured that we get different set of insights coming in across social media, technology and branding.”