By A Correspondent

There are awards and awards and awards in the marketing services and media domains, but none which are purely for marketing, as against advertising-led marketing. The Advertising Club (TAC) India hosted the inaugural edition of its “Marquee Awards” last Friday with Information & Broadcasting Minister Smriti Irani as Chief Guest. The awards saw brands being recognised for their excellence in marketing, building sustainable and pathbreaking brands.

Hindustan Unilever won the Green Marketer Award, which honours brands that have been successful by keeping a close focus on environment sustainability. The Special Award for “Conquering an impregnable fortress” was won by beer brand Bira 91. Pro Kabaddi League was recognised as the brand that “Traversed unchartered waters” and Paytm was recognized for “Riding on an emerging wave”.  Honda Motorcycle & Scooter was awarded for “Breathing new life into a category”, Restaurant brad Indian Accent was recognised for “Creating a Global Impact” while Oppo was recognised for “Carving out a Niche” for themselves in a highly competitive category.

Said the minister for the first time at an M&E event after assuming charge of I&B: “It fills me with a sense of deep gratitude and privilege that I stand here today as the Minister of the Information & Broadcasting. I am what I am today thanks to this industry,” adding: “The advertising industry inspires millions across this nation.  Having been a part of this journey, I have just one appeal this evening – while we sell dreams to the nation and world, there are many amongst us who wither away with the passage of time. All I implore today to the industry stalwarts is that we now, in a systemic fashion, build a platform that takes care of those who need help, specially from the creative faction of the industry, so that the world does not accuse us selling dreams but living a lie.”

Speaking about the success of the Marquee Awards, Raj Nayak, President, The Advertising Club said: “Marquees 2017 has emerged as the gold standard in marketing awards. I thank the Honorable Minister for Textiles and Information & Broadcasting, Smt. Smriti Irani for gracing the maiden edition of Marquees 2017 as Chief Guest ad enhancing the prestige of the Marquees. I also thank the Jury Chair Sanjiv Mehta and the distinguished Jury for their indulgence and commitment in making the awards robust, transparent & credible.”

Talking about the scale of Marquees 2017, Partho Dasgupta, CEO, BARC India who headed the Marquees organising committee said: “The debut edition of Marquees has set a new benchmark of excellence by recognising brands that have challenged the communication archetype in the industry, thus appealing to the evolved consumer of today. These awards through their differentiated scope, right from the jury panel to representation to categories has ensured that they are a marketer’s dream.”

The Awards had News18 India as Presenting Sponsor and was powered by Colors and MTV and was partnered by print consortium One India. Said Avinash Kaul, Managing Director, A+E Networks | TV18 and President – Network18: “We take great pride in associating with the first edition of Marquees, and congratulate the winners. At News18 India we identify with the spirit of celebrating brands that drive positive change.”

The awards are as below