ADFEST 2024: Unveiling ‘Hi’ Lights
ADFEST 2024 is now gearing up at PEACH, Royal Cliff Hotels Group in Pattaya, Thailand. This year it is welcoming 747 delegates from 55 cities who have been streaming through its doors since the start of the three-day festival. ADFEST 2024 runs from 21st March to 23rd March and is hosting is a full program to keep eager delegates busy, including 51 back-to-back speaker sessions, broadcasts at the breakout stage, interactive workshops, Production Hut hub and an exhibition of all the entries submitted for the Lotus Awards as well as presentations for the awards themselves.
PROGRAM SESSIONS
On the second day of the festival, the main stage was the place to be for a full agenda of speaker sessions and films.
Napapatch Kantasil and Arthit Naidu from Meta kicked off the stage with “Build to Connect: Human x AI Synergy”. Meta’s session examined a collaborative framework where AI informed strategy with data-driven insights, while human creativity applied empathy and relevance to create campaigns that resonated deeply with customer values and aspirations.
Michał Misiński and Mayu Yamashita from Juice presented “Against the Current with Game Advertising” Gaming titles advertising is not just eye-candy 3D any more. It’s movie magic for gamers. This session was a backstage pass to witness the ultimate gaming storytelling.
Pooja Manek from Talented Agency then delivered “AI Can’t Get Angry. You Can.”
Without being able to feel emotions such as anger, AI can never replace human intelligence (or human stupidity). His session was packed with actionable insights and case studies that showed how creative folk used their rage and turned it into a fine advantage for the advertiser.
Continuing the power of emotion in creative work, people rarely act because they want to solve a brand’s problem. Most often, it’s because they are moved by instinct or emotion. Dentsu’s Yoshihiro Yagi, and Mariko Fukuoka, shared the thinking behind their Grand-Prix-winning work, and how they used creative thinking to touch people’s hearts with “The Creative Journey: Building an Emotional Infrastructure”. They also demonstrated how delegates could bring a human touch to brands in this age of AI.
Before lunch, delegates were privileged to see “Short Films for ADFEST 2024 by the Fabulous Five”, A panel moderated by Emma Daines, CEO, Founder & Executive Producer at Fin Design + Effects, Sydney included new directors, Fumiya Hara, Natsuki Urayama, Pak Hin Phileas Cheung, Ryotaro Nishi and Tanjeel Sultan Khan Turja.
Koji Suzuki from Hakuhodo Inc. and Poppy Sun from Medialand Digital Strategy Limited kicked off the afternoon sessions after lunch with “Play with Your Aspirations. A Key to Rock The World”, closely followed by Abel Sim from Landor with “Brand Experiences & Expectations: The Automagical Era of Scannable Brands”.
Next onto the stage is the duo of Josy Paul and Guan Hin Tay from BBDO, who presented delegates with “Human-AI Collab: Cultivating Emotional Intelligence in the Digital Landscape”.
How do advertisers share the stories they want amid an audience that doesn’t want to listen? What’s the conversation strategy for those who don’t want to hear? Seulki Leefrom Cheil Worldwide shared her view in “Making Advertising for People Who Don’t Like Advertising”.
The final session of the day, Dissara Udomdej from Yell Advertising took to the stage with “AIderdog: How Indie Agencies are Redefining the Game?”. The session unveiled how Yell harnessed the power of AI for personalised strategies, rapid adaptation and creative solutions that set them apart in the market, as well as building strong client relationships to thrive in the digital age.
BREAKOUT STAGE
On Day 2 of ADFEST 2024, the Breakout Stage was reserved for delegates that wanted to view “Juries Insights” – footage of award discussions, straight from the judging floor.
In the morning, juries shared nuggets of information for Digital & Social, Digital Craft, Mobile, Design and Print & Outdoor Craft Lotus Award categories.
After lunch, delegates were able to view the inside story from juries for Film Craft, New Director, Brand Experience, Commerce, Direct, Entertainment, Media and PR.
WORKSHOP
Two interactive workshops took place on Day 2 of the festival, attended by delegates who pre-registered for each event.
Throughout history, creative conflict has been the most critical tool for innovation, discovery and invention. The first workshop, “Collide. Embracing Conflict to Boost Creativity” was the workshop with the power to revolutionise attendees’ creativity. Led by Guan Hin Tay, Creative Chairman of BBDO Singapore, it was all about exploring the power of conflict to birth new ideas that create new realities.
On Friday afternoon, “Unlock Winning Ideas” was an Interactive Workshop with the CEO of D&AD, Jo Jackson. She presented answers to, “What does it take to go from good to great?”, following up with how delegates can make their own inspiring and impactful award-winning work.
On Friday afternoon, McCann Worldgroup hosted “Shape My Portfolio”, a workshop designed to give aspiring creatives the rare opportunity to elevate their portfolio. The one-on-one mentorship allowed young creatives the opportunity to present their portfolios to creative gurus and in turn, receive invaluable constructive feedback for self-improvement.
LOTUS ROYALE LOUNGE
The Lotus Royale Lounge at ADFEST is a meeting space for the festival’s most loyal delegates who have attended the festival at least three times. VIPs will have access to the VIP Delegate Registration line, VIP zoning at the award presentations, a VIP table at ADFEST parties and priority registrations for workshops. At the Lotus Royal Lounge, they can enjoy benefits including scheduled massage services, coffee, soft drink, and snacks. The Lotus Royale Lounge is located at the 2nd floor of PEACH, to the left of the escalator.
Follow all the latest news and events via #ADFEST2024 #HumanIntelligence and #HI on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and TikTok (www.tiktok/@adfestofficial). To view the full program, visit www.ADFEST.com