AI summit links Philip Kotler with local professionals

Professor Philip Kotler, known as the father of modern marketing, connected with Bangladesh’s marketing and branding professionals through a special Facebook Live session on Thursday.

More than 50,000 professionals and students registered for the ‘AI for Marketers Summit’, while the live session drew more than 100,000 online views.

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According to a press release, this marked the professor’s first such engagement with the country’s marketing community.

Mark Anupom Mollick, founder and executive consultant of iDEAN Consulting, moderated the session. Prof Dr Waldemar Pfoertsch, co-author of ‘B2B Brand Management’ and an international business expert, also joined Kotler.

Kotler presented “AI in Marketing”, while Pfoertsch conducted a masterclass titled “AI in the Age of Branding”.

Both noted that while AI can accelerate marketing, it can never replace customer emotion, psychology and human trust. Leveraging technology to reach customers on a deeper level and create meaningful value remains a core challenge for brands.

The summit also featured the announcement of a Bangladesh edition of ‘B2B Brand Management’, with Anupom Mollick joining as co-author. The book will feature real-world B2B case studies from leading organisations in Bangladesh and is set to launch in January.

A panel discussion titled ‘AI in Marketing: Hype, Reality, and Bangladesh’s Potential’ followed Kotler’s segment. Moderated by Mahadi Faisal, director of Marketing and Growth at Shwapno, it featured Dr Rezwanul Haque Khan, professor at the Institute of Business Administration (IBA), University of Dhaka; Nafis Anwar Chowdhury, head of Brand Marketing at Grameenphone; Md Azwaz Khan, general manager and head of Marketing at Prothom Alo; Binoy Das, director (Marketing and Sales) at SKF Pharmaceuticals; Md Tajdin Hasan, chief business officer at The Daily Star; and Shuvashish Bhowmik, managing director of Attech Global.

The panellists said access to AI tools alone would no longer provide a long-term advantage, with local data, brand distinctiveness, results-driven marketing, and effective applications of AI becoming increasingly important.