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Tag: ADFEST 2015

  • Adfest 2015 lived up to its promise of providing a creative forum and stimulus for learning, reports Sanjeev Kotnala

    Sanjeev Kotnala@Adfest: Well-choreographed storytelling


    By Sanjeev Kotnala

     

    ‘Seamless Storytelling’, ‘You Are The Hero’ and ‘Jury Crossfire’ were the central thought pieces theme that ran through Day 2 and 3 at ADFEST 2015 Pattaya. Amply demonstrated with engaging presentations that ran like clockwork. Hats off to the team behind the scene.

     

    The thoughts that kept echoing long after the presentations were over and were too loud to be ignored, I share a few of them with you…

    ‘INVOLVING’

    If you tell someone – he will soon forget it, if you show someone he may remember it but if you are able to involve him – he will understand it. First coined by Confucius remains as relevant as ever. As communication heroes we need to be doing that.

    ‘STORYTELLING’

    To do that, we need to be able to use the art of storytelling. A smart beginning, introduce character, middle where things get complicated, a turning point and a satisfying end. Sound even though art of storytelling is a natural art not everyone is good in it. Get a good storyteller in your team.

    ‘MAKE IT MEMORABLE’

    You have your own world and if you look in your life, you will have few distinctly memorable points of reference. That is your world. And we should operate in our world.  Our job is to make things memorable. As in life you get more in return for surprises and unexpected than for doing the expected. It is true for the communication, event, trigger you press with the audiences. And while you are at it- try thinking how will you create personally unforgettable experiences for your own life to expand the world you live in. Go ahead and in the next 180 days – do what has never been done before.

    ‘THE NEW REALITY’

    ‘Virtual Reality’ and ‘Augmented Reality’ seems to be a medium that is set for explosions in terms of advertisers to adapt and the consumers to be delighted with. They truly engage the customer. In a way they have the capability of creating captive audience by drawing complete attention, focus and engagement. The way forward with software that is becoming of superior quality day by day and the ease of delivering it like- Google box- is giving that force needed to take it to another level.

    SELLING AN IDEA

    Clients live and die by how well their brands are ding in the marketplace. Empathize with them. Use logic and reasoning to back up your sell. Clients are really wanting to be assured that they are doing the right thing. Show them the case studies and trends to convince them how other brands have succeeded doing something similar and how we could lose out if the competition beats us to the idea. But reassure them with a contingency plan. At the same time, you must demonstrate how passionately you believe in your idea. If even you are not 100% convinced wit your work, why should the client believe in it.

    ‘YOU ARE NOT AN ADMAN’

    This was a title devised a long time back, when all you did was Advertising. Now you are hardly doing that. You are doing a lot more, lot more defined, at times niche but hugely more practical, relevant, engaging, involving and strategic. So, first change yourself in your approach to work. Try doing unexpected; bring in the most unexpected solution to an expected problem.

    ‘WORK LIFE BALANCE’ – Pum Lefebure Idea

    May not work till you see them as two compartments. Pum shared that at the start of the year she takes a cube and places the most important thing for her life (this year she shared it was health). On two sides she places two things that make her happy. Like Family and Creativity. Then on the other two sides she places the two things that make her professionally happy. Like Travel and something. And at the base she places her goal. Because it should be the foundation and not something you are trying to jump and access. And the most important thing should be at the top, without which nothing would really matter. She says she plays with that Cube a lot and it helps her keep her focus.

    Adfest lived up to its promise of providing a creative forum and stimulus for learning. By showcasing every entry (not just the shortlist), the great cultural diversity of work was available to be absorbed. Some of it was stunning and one believes will continue to get more applauded as the year goes by.

    Learnings from: Andrew Petch, Executive Creative Director of Ace Satchi & Satchi Manila, Gosling of Happy Finish- Augmented reality, Jonathan Samway, Executive Producer at Moth Projects, Sydney, Katsuaki Hashida (Hakuhodo Kettle, Tokyo) & Takahiro Hosoda (TBWA Hakuhodo, Tokyo, Lotus News, Oz Dean, Creative Director- We Are Social Australia. Pun Lefebure, Co founder of Design Army and Sa’ad Hussein, Chief Creative officer & executive Director of TBWA\Kuala Lumper

     


    Sanjeev Kotnala is Head Catalyst at Intradia and believes the best way forward for an organisation is to enhance its interanal team’s potential and capabilities instead of depending on external resources. He is a Management, Marketing and Braand consultant and conducts specialised workshops in the area of IDEATION (Harvest and Liberate) and Innovation (InNoWait). To contact email sanjeev@intradia.in  or tweet at s_kotnala visit www.intradia.in  www.sanjeevkotnala.com.

     

  • Sanjeev Kotnala@Adfest: 20 Learnings from the Jury on How to Be Bad Enough

    By Sanjeev Kotnala


    Here is a summary of what the Jury at ADFEST 2015 PATTAYA said they were looking, wishing and at times missing. In simple terms in addition to being the bravest, smartest pieces of communication here are the 19 pointers for you to work on.

    1. The ultimate winners come from answering some simple questions. Which one had the biggest impact? What’s the contribution these ideas have to society? What is pushing the industry forward?

    2. Stop seeing mobile (or any emerging media) as a last-minute add-on.

    3. Designs not only needs to be pleasing to the eye but also must stimulate the mind by making you think, look twice or imagine.

    4. The best design idea might not be the loudest or the coolest, but it should be the most memorable, and it should be built to last.

    5. You will fail as a designer if you don’t build to last.

    6. Direct marketing has moved into new spheres, with a lot of new platforms and technologies. Develop ideas that are targeted, contextual and that evoke a direct response, rather than simply trying to use the latest tool.

    7. Do not simply follow tried and tested formulas.

    8. Work stands out when it is very different in thinking and is well executed. The most insightful pieces not only connect well with the audience but also are lauded by the jury.

    9. To succeed and be appreciated, always start with a strong, unique insight.

    10. The era of advertising as an awareness-building industry is over. The role is now much bigger. Question- what solutions are we providing? What actions are we encouraging people to take?

    11. Jury tries to look a work that is making a contribution to brands, to customers and to society at large.

    12. Do not force the use of technology. The best pieces are simple. There the technology is a tool that seamlessly supports an idea, rather than being the idea.

    13. Now, in the digital age, scam ads are about going to charities and promising them a wonderful idea with no long-term interest in the charity. If you’re going to do charity work for awards, make it meaningful. Otherwise it’s morally corrupt. Jury tries to award a work that is genuinely effective and created for genuine clients.

    14. Everything can be a medium now. But what it takes to succeed is the ability to use the medium to connect the brand to the consumer in a relevant way in bold new ways.

    15. Good branded content and entertainment pieces have to be entertaining and engaging in their own right, even if the brand is not prominently featured.

    16. The best pieces of work are not just immensely entertaining to watch, but also brings the audience closer to the brand.

    17. The more media channels diversify, the more overlap we will see the art is to ensure that every utilized media channels in innovative, targeted ways.

    18. Demonstrate an unexpected solution to an expected problem.

    19. The winning work is always distinctively inspired in and by the cultures in which they originate and address.

    20. The Jury must kick itself into asking: why the hell I have not done this.

    Various jury members contributed learning in this list. They comprise Bechara Mouzannar, Chief Creative Officer for Leo Burnett MENA, Beruit. Charles Cadell, Asia Pacific President of McCann Worldgroup Asia Pacific, Singapore. Mitsuyuki Nakayama, President of Dentsu Media Southeast Asia and CEO of Dentsu Media (Thailand). Norman Tan, North Asia Chief Creative Officer & China Chairman for JWT, Shanghai. Pum Lefebure, Co-Founder & Chief Creative Officer of Design Army, Washington DC. Rei Inamoto, Worldwide Chief Creative Officer of AKQA, New York & Global. Sonal Dabral, Chairman & Chief Creative Officer of DDB Mudra Group

     

     

    Sanjeev Kotnala is Head Catalyst at Intradia and believes the best way forward for an organisation is to enhance its interanal team’s potential and capabilities instead of depending on external resources. He is a Management, Marketing and Braand consultant and conducts specialised workshops in the area of IDEATION (Harvest and Liberate) and Innovation (InNoWait). To contact email sanjeev@intradia.in  or tweet at s_kotnala visit www.intradia.in  www.sanjeevkotnala.com.

     

  • The theme BE BAD represents a dedication by creative professionals everywhere to produce great ideas that stretch boundaries and buck trends.

    Sanjeev Kotnala @ Adfest: India not Bad enough as Pattayafest kicks off

    By Sanjeev Kotnala

     

    Adfest 2015 started today in right earnest in Pattaya with the objective of celebrating and raising the standards of creativity. The theme BE BAD  represents a dedication by creative professionals everywhere to produce great ideas that stretch boundaries and buck trends. One must give credit to the organisers for taking that to heart with a ‘street graffiti’ style design using corrugated metal sheeting and spray paint around the event location . The Adfest 2015 icon, designed by Maud in Sydney, brings ‘Be Bad’ to life by showing that rewriting the rules can deliver surprising great  results. It will be interesting to watch how the 38 invited speakers integrate the “Be Bad” theme into the content for their sessions. If they are successful; in driving home the point it will be just great.

     

    As with any of the festivals the buzz centres around the LOTUS awards, where India hasn’t reported many shortlists. On the evenings of Friday March 20 and Saturday, March 21, the results will be announced and awards presented. This year, there are 18 different awards categories being judged, as well as Special Awards. One new Lotus Award category is announced this year for Branded Content and Entertainment. There are more than 3200 entries vying for the Lotuses this year with 56 judges, including 8 Jury Presidents from 19 different cities invited to join Jimmy Lam, President of Adfest and guardian of the Lotus Awards.

     

  • 'Be Bad' is the theme of ADFEST 2015

    Sonal Dabral to lead Direct Lotus Jury at Adfest 2015

    By A Correspondent

     

    Sonal Dabral
    Sonal Dabral

    Adfest has announced that acclaimed creative leader Sonal Dabral will be Jury President of the Direct Lotus category at Adfest 2015, which runs from 19th – 21st March in Pattaya, Thailand.

     

    As Chairman and Chief Creative Officer at DDB Mudra Group in Mumbai, Dabral was thrown into a career in advertising after studying Visual Communications at India’s foremost design school, the National Institute of Design.

     

    He has led three agencies to the No.1 creative position in three different markets across Asia. First, he joined Ogilvy Mumbai in 1991 and, in partnership with Piyush Pandey, drove the agency from creative anonymity to India’s top creative agency. He moved to Ogilvy Kuala Lumpur in 1999, which soon became the most awarded agency in Malaysia. At Ogilvy Singapore, Dabral led the team to become the No.1 creative office in Asia, and the third highest awarded office in the world at Cannes 2007.

     

    “I am looking forward to an intense round of judging with my fellow jury members and in keeping with the ‘Be Bad’ theme of Adfest 2015, I promise that we’ll be totally ruthless in sifting the best from the rest,” says Dabral.

     

    “With consumers having the power to respond like never before, across an unprecedented number of platforms, technology has made direct response advertising more exciting and challenging than it ever was. In a prestigious show like Adfest it’s sure to play out in some big path-breaking ideas.”

     

    “Sonal has a phenomenal track record in leading agencies from obscurity to the top of the creative ladder, so it is an honor to welcome him to Adfest again to lead next year’s Direct Lotus jury,” said Jimmy Lam, President of Adfest.

     

    Adfest 2015 takes place at the Royal Cliff Hotels Group in Pattaya, Thailand.