Sri Lanka's Marketing Leaders Gather for First-Ever Enterprise Social Intelligence Summit by Mark and Comm

Hootsuite and Talkwalker to Transform How Brands Listen and Lead

Mark and Comm (Pvt) Ltd, Sri Lanka’s leading boutique PR and communications agency, officially brought together two of the world's leading enterprise platforms—Hootsuite for social media management and Talkwalker for social listening—for the first time in Sri Lanka, convening 100 senior marketing leaders at NH Collection Colombo on February 3rd for an evening that redefined how brands understand and act on consumer conversations. 

The event, "Brands: Listen, Learn and Lead," marked a significant leap forward in Sri Lanka's digital marketing maturity as the country's 12 million active internet users generate millions of social conversations—most of which brands are failing to capture. The invitation-only gathering addressed a critical market gap: transforming social conversations into actionable business intelligence. 

"The conversation about your brand is happening right now, whether you're listening or not," said Thanzyl Thajudeen, Managing Director of Mark and Comm, the exclusive reseller and distributor for Hootsuite and Talkwalker in Sri Lanka and the Maldives. "What separates leading brands from the rest is their ability to capture those signals in real-time, understand their meaning, and act decisively."

Angel Calinisan, Client Growth & Innovation Director for Emerging Markets at Talkwalker, led attendees through the evolution from reactive monitoring to predictive intelligence. Her presentation explored how Talkwalker's AI-powered platform separates market signals from digital noise and predicts sentiment shifts before they impact performance. Case studies from global giants demonstrated measurable results: 75% misinformation reduction, 50% faster crisis response times, and 35% acceleration in time-to-insights.

Anubhav Khanduja, Strategic Enterprise Account Executive at Hootsuite, addressed the shift from AI as content generator to intelligent teammate. His presentation outlined 2026's critical trends: social platforms as primary search engines, the obsolescence of follower counts, and employee advocacy's power in building trust and driving revenue. He demonstrated how Hootsuite centralizes multi-platform operations while preserving platform culture, and shared ROI measurement frameworks.

The presentations were followed by a 45-minute panel discussion, "From Insights to Impact: Building Data-Driven Brands in Sri Lanka". The panel brought together Calinisan and Khanduja alongside Muhammed Gazzaly (Co-Founder, DAT – The AI Company) and Amitha Amarasinghe (Co-Founder & CEO, Asia Pacific Institute of Digital Marketing), moderated by Thanzyl Thajudeen.

The conversation tackled pressing questions facing Sri Lankan CMOs: using AI-powered listening to predict market shifts rather than react; detecting reputation threats before they escalate; identifying metrics that genuinely impact revenue rather than vanity metrics; balancing AI efficiency with human creativity; and proving social media ROI.

The discussion examined Sri Lanka-specific challenges. Gazzaly explored the gap between having data and using it—whether the blocker is technology, talent, or culture. Amarasinghe addressed critical skill gaps and the difference between digital executors and strategists. The panel tackled balancing AI-powered content at scale while preserving cultural authenticity, and examined employee advocacy as an underutilized amplification strategy.

Research shows companies using social listening effectively achieve 10% faster revenue growth than competitors, yet many Sri Lankan brands still rely on fragmented tools and reactive crisis management.

Mark and Comm, celebrating its 15th anniversary this year and recently named as Rest of South Asia PR Agency of the Year at Campaign's 2025 Awards, is the exclusive partner for Hootsuite and Talkwalker in Sri Lanka and the Maldives.

Hootsuite, used by over 25 million professionals and 800 Fortune 1000 companies, was recently named by G2 as the number one platform for Social Media Management, Analytics, and Suites. Talkwalker's AI-powered platform monitors 150 million sources across 187 languages. Together, they provide end-to-end capabilities—from listening to managing brand response.

"These platforms represent a fundamental shift from 'What happened?' to 'What's about to happen?'" Thajudeen explained. "The ability to act on intelligence—not just data—is what defines market leaders today."

The evening brought together CMOs, marketing directors, brand managers, and communications leaders from banking, telecommunications, FMCG, retail, hospitality, and media—one of the most significant concentrations of Sri Lanka's marketing leadership in recent memory. "What we introduced wasn't just better social media monitoring," Thajudeen reflected. "It was empowering Sri Lankan brands to compete globally with the same intelligence capabilities that drive decision-making in New York, Singapore, or London."