The “first ever” Philip Kotler Presidential Award by the World Marketing Summit India, that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was awarded on Monday, January 14 has become the butt of jokes as reports revealed how the event was effectively a self-congratulatory exercise.
According to a report in The Wire, sponsors of the World Marketing Summit India include GAIL India, Baba Ramdev’s Patanjali group, Republic TV (co-owned by BJP MP Rajeev Chandrashekhar) . The WMS reportedly has in the past, awarded achievements in the fields of marketing and advertising.
Named after the marketing guru who founded the World Marketing Summit (WMS) Group in 2011 , the “first ever” Philip Kotler presidential award is not even mentioned on the WMS Group’s website.
The WMS Group reportedly signed an agreement with Kotler Impact (its own marketing and sales partner) and n Aligarh-based company Suslence Research International Institute, to organise WMS in India for three years. In 2017, Kotler gave permission for his name to be used for awards to an organising committee comprising Kotler Impact and the Department of Management Studies at IIT (ISM) Dhanbad. This purportedly explains the certificate bearing Kotler’s signature given to PM Modi.
The Wire report added that many of the event’s partners also ended up winning some of the awards.
Even though Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Union Ministers publicly rejoiced at the announcement, Twitterati saw right through the charade and called it out.
India's PM Modi winning the 'First-Ever' Philip Kotler Presidential Award in New Delhi is as embarrassing as Nepal's PM KP Oli's involvement with the Moonie summit in Kathmandu last month.https://t.co/ajf4uul4k8 via @thewire_in
— Kanak Mani Dixit (@KanakManiDixit) January 15, 2019
What a joke! A Marketing Professor who has created an Award in his name to market himself gives that award to Modi, who does nothing but marketing. https://t.co/tpZabdq7OG
— Ashok Swain (@ashoswai) January 14, 2019
Bhakts going mad as if this the Nobel. No, Modi wasn’t competing with other heads of states. It’s an award randomly given by Kotler, a marketing guru. Last month, I attended their conclave in Delhi, where it gave similar awards to more than a dozen marketing professionals! https://t.co/abla2iOMyz
— Rifat Jawaid (@RifatJawaid) January 14, 2019
Pretty embarrassing when Modi who dismissed Harvard & his cardboard cut outs cabinet is going gaga over a dubious joke award
— Swati Chaturvedi (@bainjal) January 15, 2019