Airtel Lanka pulls off a hat-trick at CMO Asia Awards 2019

August 18, 2019 August 18, 2019

Upul Weerarathne - Zonal Business Manager, Jinesh Hegde - CEO and Managing Director, Charith de Chickera - Head of Brands Strategy and Communications and Chandrashekhar Singh Chauhan - Chief Marketing Officer — Upul Weerarathne – Zonal Business Manager, Jinesh Hegde – CEO and Managing Director, Charith de Chickera – Head of Brands Strategy and Communications and Chandrashekhar Singh Chauhan – Chief Marketing Officer

Recognized for innovations in Brand Leadership and HR
Crowned Sri Lanka Best Employer Brand by HRD Congress

Consolidating its reputation as one of Sri Lanka’s most dynamic telcos and the preferred brand for young Sri Lankans, Airtel Lanka announced another exceptional performance at the recently concluded CMO Asia Awards 2019, bringing home a total of three awards.

In addition to being presented with the coveted Sri Lanka Brand Leadership Award by World Marketing Congress, Airtel was also crowned Sri Lanka Best Employer Brand, by the World HRD Congress, while the company’s pioneering Field Sales Executive (FSE) Retention Programme won resounding praise as well as the award for Best Innovation in Retention Strategy.

“Customer engagement and satisfaction are our number one priority at Airtel Lanka, and neither of these goals are possible without effective marketing and an enthusiastic and motivated team to back it up. The success we are enjoying as the fastest growing telco in Sri Lanka is a direct result of the investments we have made in our people, as well as understanding and communicating with our customers. Given the exciting developments taking place at Airtel to provide even greater value to our customers, we are confident that more success is around the corner,” Bharti Airtel Lanka’s Chief Executive Officer and MD, Jinesh Hegde said.

The Sri Lanka Best Employer Brand Awards are an annual regional event organized in the lead-up to the World HRD Congress Global Employer Brands. Attracting participation from Sri Lanka’s most exemplary leaders in HR, award-winners do not present submissions for the awards, but instead are selected on merit following intensive evaluation of strategies deployed by organisations to recruit, retain and hone the best talent in the industry.

Similarly, the Sri Lanka Brand Leadership Awards are presented to those corporates that are able to achieve extraordinary impact and reach, leveraging on innovative brand marketing and communications strategies to drive positive social changes that are aligned with organisational values. The awards are evaluated by a Special Jury and supported by a research in partnership with World CSR Day and World Federation of Marketing Professionals.

Particularly over the recent past, Airtel’s connection with young Sri Lankans has been on the rise, supported by products that are uniquely suited to the needs of Millennials and Gen Z, as well as unique engagements like Airtel Fastest – a pioneering contest to seek out and showcase Sri Lanka’s greatest undiscovered fast bowling talent.

Airtel Lanka is also ranked among the Top 25 Best Workplaces in Sri Lanka by the Great Places to Work Institute, and is committed to instilling a workplace culture that is: ‘Alive, Inclusive and Respectful’. This commitment is also extended Airtel Lanka’s prized Field Sales Executives, who have been pivotal to Airtel’s rapid growth in market share. Aiming to increase engagement with these vital teams, over the past two years, Airtel has invested heavily in training and professional qualifications in marketing in order to improve their effectiveness, while also establishing opportunities for career development; strategies which have drastically enhanced FSE retention over the two years that the programme has been active.

Having commenced Sri Lankan operations in 2009, Bharti Airtel is the island’s fastest operator to reach 1 million customers. A subsidiary of Bharti Airtel Limited, which is one of Asia’s leading integrated telecom services providers with over 100 million mobile customers, the brand has been featured in Forbes Asia’s Fab 50 list, rated amongst the best performing companies in the world.

CMO Asia is dedicated to high level knowledge exchange through leadership and networking amongst senior CMOs and brand decision makers across Industry segments. CMO Asia is organized and run by full-time professionals who are also committed to encouraging marketing professionals to share knowledge and experiences. Through this network, CMO Asia aims to generate high level thought leadership and peer networking amongst decision makers across industry segments in Asia.