ADFEST’s “Made in Asia” Cry
Rallies Industry in Tough Times

With the advertising and marketing industries caught up in the global financial crisis, the organizers of ADFEST believe there’s no time like the present to keep up to date on the latest strategies for staying ahead of the curve in advertising and commercial production. 

As a result, they’ve organized a top roster of speakers and presentations for the upcoming three-day ADFEST event in Thailand, designed to make the experience both professionally rewarding as well as valuable.

First launched in 1998, ADFEST bills itself as the only regional advertising festival that originates in Asia, developed and organized by Asian ad professionals specifically for the Asian industry.  Formally known as the Asia Pacific Advertising Festival, ADFEST was created for the recognition, promotion and celebration of the diversity of Asian creativity.

In 2008, ADFEST attracted over 5,000 entries from more than 33 Asian cities. The top ten cities in terms of representation are a cross-section of the Asian ad industry, including Mumbai, Bangkok, Singapore, Tokyo, Kuala Lumpur, Hong Kong, Sydney, Manila, Shanghai and Seoul.

In just over 20 years the Asian region has powerfully exerted itself globally, with its rich diversity, creativity, ideas and innovation.  Work from the Asia Pacific region is increasingly dominating global awards presentations in all categories and disciplines, from traditional print and TV to new media and the exploding areas of mobile and social networking. ADFEST strives to deliver to delegates and entrants a unique forum of knowledge and exposure, featuring essentially the best works in the region and some of the best known advertising experts as speakers and presenters.  This year’s lineup of events includes presentations from top agency executives, as well as screenings from the Gunn Report and Contagious Magazine.

SourceEcreative recently caught up with ADFEST president Jimmy Lam, editor in chief and publisher of the prestigious Asian advertising journal Longyin Review and CEO of international advertising consultancy Meikao International.  Lam says that entries to ADFEST have been impacted this year by the global recession, and that he expects attendance to be off as well.  “It’s too early to conclude on delegate numbers, as there is always a last minute rush,” he says. 

Lam also expects that the quality of the creative work will similarly be affected by the economy, but won’t make any sweeping comments until he’s had a chance to review the best of the entries.  “I think what we describe as ‘the best’ will be rare this year,” he comments.

That said, he still believes that participating in ADFEST is well worth the time and expense for agencies and producers.  “ADFEST is the event that’s truly created by and for industry people in this region. Our mission is to provide a platform for young talents in our region to learn and to excel.  This is the one festival where you can learn and exchange insights with industry practitioners who have very diverse cultural backgrounds. And here at ADFEST, sincerity is a norm.   We’re doing everything possible to make this affordable to young practitioners in our region, simply because ADFEST is a non-profit entity dedicated to educating, elevating and celebrating Asian creativity.”

There are a number of events at the Festival that aim to do just that, with both the ADFEST Academy, a professional development course for young professionals, taking place, as well as an event sponsored by Dentsu Young Lotus Workshop.In addition, presentations will be made by such international and Asian ad stars from such agencies as Ogilvy & Mather, JWT, Cheil Worldwide, Leo Burnett Worldwide, DDB and BBH, as well as by the Berlin School of Creative Management. 

The Young Lotus Workshop will feature work from some of the region’s brightest young creatives, who will be working on assignments handed out in advance of the event and judged during the festival itself by the Young Lotus Committee, with the top work being presented at the closing ceremonies.  Five executives from Dentsu will leave the workshop, which is chaired by Dentus’s Akira Kagami.  The list includes Koichi Yamamoto, Senior Research Director, Communication Lab at Dentsu Institute; Omar bin Shaari, Managing Director, Dentsu Utama in Kuala Lumpur; Mike Wilson, Chief Creative Officer of Dentsu America; and Kazunori Miura, Creative Director for the Global Creative Division at Dentsu Tokyo.

Also on tap is the ADFEST Academy, a 2-day training program for young creatives to learn first-hand from world-class creative leaders and gain insights that will benefit them in their advertising career.  Open to creatives age 30 and under, ADFEST Academy will include lectures and a portfolio review.  Leading the ADFEST lectures will be Nick Souter, Resident Lecturer for ADFEST ACADEMY, and Tomaz Mok, Chief Creative Officer at McCann Erickson China.

Among the speakers lined up for the Academy are Santosh Padhi, Chief Creative Officer & Chairman/Partner at Taproot India Mumbai; Nils Anderson, Group Executive Creative Director for Greater China at Ogilvy & Mather China; Corey Chalmers, Group Creative Director at TBWA\Whybin in Auckland; and Lee Parkinson, Managing Partner at Newdialogue in Wellington.“This is a rare opportunity for ambitious young creatives to learn from the world's brightest minds,” says Lam.  

Sounds like a metaphor for the entire ADFEST program.

 Chapter 1: Mood & Motion       Chapter 2: ADFEST       Chapter 3: News and Views from ADFEST       Chapter 4: The Reel