Industry innovators line up for This Way Up, AWARD’s signature creative festival ~ August 16-18

One of the most eagerly-awaited announcements in the creative community came today with AWARD officially announcing that This Way Up: Australia’s Advertising Festival of Creativity will take place in Sydney over three jam-packed days in August.

Held at The Ovolo in Sydney’s Woolloomooloo from 16 to 18 August, AWARD’s signature creative festival will host local and international speakers, interactive panel sessions and workshops, and industry nights that will push creative boundaries and celebrate the very best creative thinking in Australia and around the world.

Says AWARD chair Cam Blackley: “The response to This Way Up in Melbourne earlier this year was fantastic and it’s now Sydney’s turn to come together in person for three days of discussion, debate and immersion in the power of creativity.

“This is set to be an unmissable event, with some of the brightest minds in the business on stage as part of curated talks, panel forums and workshops that will provide inspiration and a chance to connect more meaningfully around the stuff that really matters to creatively-minded folks,” he said.

In headlining festivities, Accenture Song’s global chief creative 0fficer and jury president for the 43rd AWARD Awards Neil Haymann will take to the stage to cover The Evolving Art of Persuasion: How to build teams and sell work in an ever-changing creative industry, while Clemenger Group creative director-at-large James McGrath will appear in conversation with marketing leadership specialist Lea Walker to spotlight the power of ‘good worry’ in developing outstanding creative work.

They will be joined by a stellar line-up of speakers including The Aunties Founders Phoebe Sloane and Sarah McGregor, cultural capability specialist and BlackCard founder Mundanara Bayles, Meta global creative product lead, emerging technology Karen Maurice-O’Leary, Museum of Old And New Art (Mona) head of creative Jardin Anderson and director of marketing and communications Robbie Brammall.

Google APAC Creative chief Dave Bowman will present AWARD Work Behind the Work – two panel sessions that go behind the scenes to unpack the inspiration, creativity and process behind AWARD-winning advertising campaigns from the last year: Suncorp’s One House to Save Many with Leo Burnett and Volkswagen’s The Ad Break Championship with DDB Sydney.

While Mi3 executive editor Paul McIntyre will host a fireside chat with top marketers from blue-chip corporations and challenger brands looking at the trend in senior agency marketers going client-side, answering the question on everyone’s mind: Do ex-agency marketers do it differently?’

Attendees will get the chance to catch up with industry mates, marketing gurus, creative luminaries and rising stars at the AWARD Pencil Bar, which will host the announcement of the 43rd AWARD Awards’ Grand and Special winners as well as AWARD School’s national top student for 2022.

A series of educational courses such as AWARD Craft ‘Pitch Craft’ Workshop, AWARD ‘Great Work Needs a Great Producer’ Workshop hosted by CPC, and BlackCard Cultural Capability Training will also take place during the three-day festival.

EVENT DETAILS:

This Way Up: Australia’s Advertising Festival of Creativity

16-18 August, The Ovolo, Woolloomooloo, Sydney

Access the full schedule here.