The day long seminar divided into two sessions where panellists discussed the evolution of Brand Tamil Nadu, the image of Tamil Nadu across the media spectrum and the relevance of Brand Tamil Nadu. The speakers at the seminar were eminent personalities like, Mr Vasanth (Director) Mr. Raja Krishnamurthy (Actor), Mr. Vijay Thiruvengadam (Former AIR Director, Chennai), Mr. Dharan (PR Executive), Mr. Kevin d’Souza (Senior-Vice President, Lowe Lintas), Mr. Satyan Bhat (Prism PR) and Mr. Bhagwan Singh(Chief of News Bureau, Deccan Chronicle).

The morning session was kick started by Mr. Raja Krishnamurthy who introduced Brand Tamil Nadu to the audience using panoply of adjectives that best suit Tamil Nadu. The words he used ranged from subservient, loud, cacophony, kaavi (ochre), conservative, obedient, auto-wallahs, dhoti and ‘tamizh’. The key-note address was followed by a talk on Tamil Radio by Mr. Vijay Thiruvengadam who stressed that though Chennai Radio has its own accent, it still conveys a national message. His address was complimented by Director Vasanth who spoke about tamil cinema’s character and how it has evolved to be a surviving art which gives space for both commercial and parallel cinema. To give a feel of the real tamizh he also recited poetry from the Thirukural and Kannadasan’s verses.

The second session was Brand Maker’s take on Brand Tamil Nadu. Both Mr. Kevin d’Souza and Mr. Satyan Bhat spoke about the present status of Brand Tamil Nadu and how it is growing and where it would reach at its present growth rate. The common idea was that Brand Tamil Nadu has been only flourishing since the days of Mehmood in Padosan and now is represented by people like Dr. A P J Abdul Kalam.

The valedictory address was given by Mr. Bhagwan Singh who spoke about the burning issue that most journalists these days are forced to talk about, ethics and values of the press. Though these are issues that are topics of discussion everywhere, his quips and pragmatic approach to the topic were educative.

The charged up audience pelted every speaker with a barrage of questions, one of which also got the typical ‘Can you repeat the question please?’ from Director Vasanth. The audience was mainly from M O P Vaishnav College for Women and Madras Christian College. What emerged from the day long seminar could be wrapped in one statement ‘Local Accent, Global Achievement’.