ABBY the 40 year old premier brand of the AdClub is what it is today on account of the efforts of all those who have worked very closely on it be it the past presidents, chairperson of the ABBY awards function committee or the Adclub Secretariat.
Emotions run pretty high when ABBYs are discussed with those associated very closely with it. I am no exception. having been with the Ad Club for 8 years and done as many ABBY awards function in those years I have no hesitation in stating that I owe whatever little I have learned about events to this magnum opus of the Adclub.
There was a time when people knew about the ABBYs but not the Adclub in fact when I was new to the Club on introducing myself many a knowledgeable stated Oh! we know it is all about the ABBYs. The brand had become even bigger than the organisation.
Today the Club has such great properties like the EFFIEs, EMVIEs, MediaReview to name just a few but ABBYs has etched a special place in our heart. ABBY today is not India centric but has crossed its boundaries and has participation from south asian countries like Sri lanka, Pakistan, Nepal and Bangladesh.
Many thanks to all our friends from the neighbouring countries who leave no stone unturned in helping us get maximum number of entries. The PAPC team and Business Recorder are signalled out for special praise.
It is rightly said in cricketing parlance that no batsman worth his salt loves to play a great fast bowler but ABBY is one such bowler that I love to face. Believe me it is a high pressure job for the brand is becoming bigger, the scale on which the event is held is much higher the approach and treatment to it of each chairperson is different still I take pride in being the point person at the Secretariat for this premier advertising event of the country. You can only have admiration and appreciation for the fact that ABBY has been held for 40 years in succession add to it the fact that every year we keep on outdoing ourselves.
Be it getting the event related literature in time, answering the queries of the entrants, communicating with the fraternity, organising the judging sessions, be an integral part of the discussions, handle the most difficult job of lining up sponsors, liaise with the event managers, be a part of the brainstorming sessions on the event flow, administer the cash flow function, overview the event on the function day, handle the press it all seems like clock work but there is lot of stress & effort that through experience is countered with pleasure and enjoyment.
Am happy that over the past eight years I have been successful in building a great team at the Secretariat. They are a responsible and committed lot and we function as a family. This explains how an outfit of Seven people can handle events like ABBY, EFFIEs, EMVIEs and AdASIA. We have also successfully trained more than 200 students. Is Saal 3 March ko dekhna Holi ka Raang ABBY ke Saang.