Representing the Sri Lankan ad industry in the 2010 Young Spikes Media Contest to be held in Singapore between 19-21 September are a duo from Bates 141 Strategic Alliance’s media and digital specialization units Mediaedge and 141D, R. Gopi Krishna and Udara Hettiarchchi. Gopi & Udara outshone their peers in the industry with their demonstration of great ideas in the traditional and emerging media fields, to win their place to represent Sri Lanka in the Spikes´ regional media contest for young advertising professionals.
“We are proud to have won the very first Media Spikes Contest, and are extremely grateful for the opportunities we have at Bates to get involved in the innovative areas the Agency in getting into and the training and mentoring we get on a regular basis, which helped us immensely in winning this contest” said Udara Hettiarchchi. “We are now looking forward to competing with other teams from the region and testing our mettle and ideas against ad people from other countries” added Gopi Krishna.
23 year-old Udara is a Bishopian and an Academy of Design graduate with a Higher National Diploma in Fashion Design. Now a CIM student, Udara is enthusiastic about her future career in brands and new media. 24 year-old Gopi, an alumni and sportsman of D.S.Senanayake College, switched from the banking sector to work in advertising, and is also studying for his CIM qualifications.
Nimal Gunewardena, Chairman & CEO of Bates stated that the duo were a part of a team of young professionals the Agency had brought together to drive their newest offering in digital and social media. “The way we communicate is changing with the advent of these new media options and we want to be in the forefront of experimenting with these valuable tools and bringing them to bear on marketing communication programmes for our clients” he stated, adding “Our team of young Internet-savvy professionals will lead the way in uncovering opportunities and generating ideas for our clients to be way ahead of their competitors through the use new media for building their brands and marketing programmes.”
Side by side with their WPP affiliated media specialization unit Mediaedge led by Namalie Herath, Bates will soon officially launch 141D, its digital and social media cell, extending the Bates network´s regional initiatives also to Sri Lanka.
(Photo caption: R. Gopi Krishna and Udara Hettiarchchi)
