 The 11th Asia Pacific Advertising Festival (ADFEST) kicked off yesterday morning with concurrent screenings of 761 TV award entries and an expanded exhibition of numerous works, spanning three floors of the convention hall. As delegates and judges streamed through the venue at PEACH, Royal Cliff Beach Resort in Pattaya Thailand, the ADFEST Working Committee released a statement that ADFEST 2008 is the largest yet, although the first day was as usual less crowded than the later days.
Delegates typically arrive over the first two days and today should see a few more familiar faces appear.
A quick poll of a few delegates revealed they feel there are less Thai faces at this year's event, although there are more foreign - especially Japanese - ones. One delegate put the reason for the difference to the increase in this year's delegate fees to around US$685 from last year's US$600.
A few new additions were made to the event, such as new areas set up to offer delegates more opportunity to mingle and share knowledge. One of the areas is the Page One Knowledge Hub, located at the new extension wing of PEACH, borne of a partnership with retailer and publisher Page One Group. The area was created to provide ADFEST delegates with a one-stop service for various publications and is where they can enjoy special subscription rates.
A Production Corner was also put up to display the skills and talents of the Asia Pacific production industry.
The latest Gunn Report, a global ranking of creative success, was what kicked off the four-day conference as usual, and was presented by founder Donald Gunn.
The ADFEST speaker sessions concluded with three speaker sessions in the afternoon, starting with Vinit Suraphongchai, chairman of ADFEST, updating delegates on the CUP. He said the inaugural event was held in Valencia Spain in November 2007 and Asian agencies fared well against competition from Latin-American and Eastern European entries.
Ralf Langwost, creative trainer & founder, IdeaManagement, Frankfurt, also presented insights into how great ideas work even harder in the advertising industry and revealed his secrets for developing effective creative campaigns worldwide.
Last but not least, Nick Souter, author and ex-creative director from Sydney, talked about "right brain thinking for left brain people".
To end the day, delegates turned up in their relaxed best for a poolside welcome party to officially kickstart the festival. This year's set up was markedly larger and more impressive than last year's with many more dining tables and areas for delegates to mingle throughout the buffet dinner.
(Source: Marketing magazine)
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