By Rafiq Vayani
KARACHI: Pakistan Public Relations, Event Management, Digital and Activations Association (PREDA) today successfully hosted PREDAXIS: Minus the Gatekeep, its inaugural industry conference. Championing open dialogue, knowledge-sharing and greater collaboration, the conference brought together some of Pakistan’s foremost business leaders, marketers, agency professionals, digital specialists, event experts, creators, academics and media practitioners for a day of thought-provoking dialogue on the future of the industries it represents.
Held at the Mövenpick Hotel, Karachi, the conference marked a milestone for PREDA, opening with a keynote by Academy Award-winning filmmaker Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy on connection, influence and purpose-driven collaboration rooted in trust.
Obaid-Chinoy added, “The greatest transformations I have witnessed have never begun with money, or technology, or power. They began with one person refusing to accept that the world had to remain exactly as it began. Every courageous woman, every teacher, every activist, every entrepreneur, began by imagining a different future before anyone had a clue that this was even possible.
“History is not only shaped by the decisions leaders make. It is shaped by the memories ordinary people choose to carry.”
“PREDAXIS was created to bring together the industries shaping influence, culture, commerce and public trust under one roof. As Pakistan’s representative body for Public Relations, Event Management, Digital and Activations, PREDA exists to raise professional standards, foster collaboration and build a stronger, more future-ready ecosystem. This conference marks the beginning of that collective journey,” said PREDA’s executive committee, which included Selina Rashid, Frieha Altaf, Shanaz Ramzi, Fareshteh Aslam, Sarfaraz Niazi and Hasan Rizvi.
The afternoon keynote was delivered by Imtisal Abbasi, Managing Partner at IAL Saatchi & Saatchi, who shared perspectives on the evolving role of leadership and creativity in shaping the future of the communications industry.
Across the day, delegates participated in seven panel discussions examining some of the most important shifts reshaping business and industry today, including:
• The Agency Client Nexus
• The Reputation Economy: How AI is Rewriting Visibility, Trust and Influence
• Influencers, Creators & The New Attention Economy
• Events: The Experience Economy
• The Business of Being Human
• The Pitch Room
• The Next Ecosystem
Together, the discussions explored the forces reshaping Pakistan’s communications landscape, from AI and the creator economy to evolving agency-client partnerships, experience-led engagement, human-centred leadership and collaborative innovation.
The conference featured an exceptional lineup of speakers and moderators representing leading organisations from across Pakistan and internationally, including Adil Ahmed, Dr. Adil Haider, Ali Habib, Afsheen Rizavi, Ali Rashid Khan, Aly Mustansir, Aman Hussain, Amina Rashid Khan, Aqsa Manzoor, Azam Jalal Khan, Fareshteh Aslam, Frieha Altaf, Hasan Rizvi, Jehan Ara, Madiha Saeed, Mehrunisa Azhar, Osamah Nasir, Qamar Abbas, Rizwan Ahmed, Sadaf Malik, Saira Awan Malik, Sarah Ahmed, Sarah Sadiq, Sarfraz Niazi, Selina Rashid, Shanaz Ramzi, Sherdil Khan, Shomaila Loan, Sidra Iqbal, Suleman Ansar Khan, Syed Usman Qaiser, Tehmina Khaled, Umair Kazi, Umer Ghumman, Usman Arshad Khan, Zeeshan Sikander, Zofeen T. Ebrahim and Zubair Mallick, among many others.
Reflecting on the evolving brand-agency relationship during The Agency Client Nexus, Aly Mutsansir, Brand Consultant and Trainer at AlyM Brand Consulting, highlighted the need for stronger partnerships built on trust, transparency and shared business objectives, noting the challenges agencies face.
Frieha Altaf, CEO Catwalk, observed, “We don’t get paid for the pitch, so we put all resources into the planning phase ourselves. Often, the client comes back asking for changes, or changes the brief itself, which builds frustration. And then you realize the ideas that you pitched are being replicated by some other agency or the brand itself.”
Sarah Sadiq, Director Marketing at FrieslandCampina, remarked, “Trust in the entire ecosystem needs to be transparently driven.”
Addressing AI’s growing influence during The Reputation Economy: How AI is Rewriting Visibility, Trust and Influence, Hasan Rizvi, CEO, BBPR, highlighted the need to rethink visibility, credibility and stakeholder trust. “How do you evaluate reputation?” Receiving a response from Fareshteh Aslam, CEO of Talking Point, who remarked, “The key for an AI prompt is to add your own values to it.”
During Influencers, Creators & The New Attention Economy, panelists explored how authentic storytelling and evolving audience behaviours are reshaping creator-brand partnerships. Rizwan Ahmed, Founder & Chief Storyteller, Viral Edge, also called for “greater government recognition and transparency around the growing creators’ industry.”
During Events: The Experience Economy, the discussion highlighted how immersive experiences drive audience engagement, brand affinity and lasting connections, with AI playing an increasingly important role. “AI helps with coming up with new ideas to keep people engaged,” added Amina Rashid Khan, partner RAKA Events.
The afternoon keynote speaker Imtisal Abbasi of IAL and Saatchi & Saatchi fame, founder of Digitz made these valid points.
- Technology doesn’t destroy value. It relocates it.
- AI changes the question.
- Discernment becomes the new competitive advantage.
Moderating The Business of Being Human panel, Selina Rashid, CEO Lotus PR & The Lotus Advisory, highlighted the enduring importance of empathy, authenticity and human-centred leadership as technology reshapes the way we plan, design events, execute, lead PR and amplify digital.
Qamar Abbas, Executive Director, PAS added, “The biggest strength of being a human is our emotions, which make us extremely powerful. A machine cannot do that. But unfortunately, even us humans are not being as empathetic as we should be.”
During The Pitch Room session, the discussion explored evolving brand-agency expectations, highlighting the need for transparency, collaboration, shared accountability and measurable business outcomes.
Saira Awan, President of the TCS group of Companies said, “The agency needs to know a client really well. When we call for a pitch, sometimes the agency is not even competing against other agencies. It is competing against what the company may want to spend in other areas. We may want to spend that money, not on what is being pitched, but on a CSR activity, or a billboard campaign. That’s what an agency has to be very mindful of – exactly what the client is looking for.”
Madiha Saeed, GM Foods Pakistan & Bangladesh Unilever said, “Before the pitch comes the brief. The brand needs to be clear of what they really want. And when I say brief, I mean, the best briefs are delivered in person.”
Syed Usman Qaiser, CMO J. highlighted, “When you’re hiring an agency, you’re hiring a partner. So you have to be mindful of their expenses, too.”
Looking ahead, the panelists highlighted the importance of collaboration, innovation and cross-industry partnerships in building a future-ready communications ecosystem for Pakistan. They also explored AI’s potential as both an enabler and a limitation to human advancement.
“In the future, it will not be a company vs another company. It will be an ecosystem vs another ecosystem”, commented Dr. Adil Haider, Founder & CEO, Boston Health Al, Chief Al Officer, CIMED, “However, the scary part is that a lot of job loss is expected as a result of the expansion of AI”.
The panelists further discussed the possibility of collaboration between startups and the government sector working together to enhance innovation. Jehan Ara, Founder & CEO at Katalyst Labs, addressed the question, saying, “Assessing the market, a lot of the startups do not get funding from local investors. They can’t go out and market themselves beyond the borders because they are not allowed to carry the money outside the country. Also, a lot of the companies are not willing to invest in startups and AI Solutions.”
She further remarked, “Pakistan has incredible talent!” The conference offered an unprecedented opportunity to various leaders from diverse sectors to come together for an exchange of ideas and meaningful dialogue.
PREDAXIS was hosted by PREDA, with Pinnacle X serving as Organising Partner and the Pakistan Advertisers Society (PAS) as Exclusive Strategic Partner. The conference was supported by the Institute of Business Management (IoBM) and MiTE Institute as Academic Partners, Istehari as Founding Partner, PWL (Padel Walay Loug) as Community Partner, TownEvents as Registration Partner, Pak Vision as Technical Support Partner, Pepsi as Beverages Partner, and Tapal as Tea Partner.