adobo surveyed some Asia-Pacific regional heads and this is what they had to say about 2015 in response to the following questions:
1. What events or campaigns in 2015 surprised you?
2. What events in 2015 were below your expectations?
3. What trends do you predict will take off in 2016?
Nils Andersson
President and CCO, TBWA\Greater China
1. I was surprised by how bad the air was in Singapore. Seriously Indonesia?
2. I am hoping it isn’t Spectre, which I can’t wait to see.
3. The China slowdown means all brands in the country will have to make better quality, more emotionally connecting work. Which means the slowdown is a good thing.
Matt Godfrey
Y&R
1. Donald Trump. I mean… really?
2. World Peace. The plight of Syria and the refugees needs world attention, not just Europe but Asia as well.
3. The end of lazy marketing. Growth is harder to find and we, as an industry, need to be sharper, smarter and more creative than ever before.
Paul Heath
Chairman, Ogilvy & Mather Asia Pacific
1. BBH left to “Keep Walking” after a successful 15-year partnership with Johnnie Walker.
2. Our industry awarding too much NGO work, and not enough big, involving, business building work.
3. The resurgence of generalists in what has become a specialist world – we need people who can pull it all together. And the new darling of social media will be Snapchat… now you see it, now you don’t.
Nirvik Singh
Chairman & CEO, Grey Group Asia Pacific
1. It would be #thedress (is it white-and-gold, or black-and-blue?). The speed with which the debate spread over a ‘dress’ demonstrated the power of sharing information on the Internet.
2. The economies of various countries in Asia Pacific – China, Indonesia, Malaysia and India – slowed down and their performance overall was below expectation. I think we are all hoping for a global recovery and a positive outlook for the future.
3. I would say it would be the Internet of Things (IOT) – machine to machine (m2m) communication with the ability to gather, measure, evaluate and interpret data. It will become substantially bigger and I do foresee it being an engine for innovating smart products and services in order to engage consumers.
JP Burge
CCO, BBDO Asia
1. It was a wonderful surprise that BBDO Asia remains the top performing network at Cannes, Spikes, AME’s and Effies for another year running. In this industry we have to check the ego and never take anything for granted.
2. Not enough purpose and emotion in the work at large out there, you can’t drive behaviour change without tapping some emotion.
3. I hope, whatever the media, more work that makes people feel something.
Ted Lim
CCO, Dentsu APAC
1. Honda Civic Type R ‘The Other Side’. Super engaging stuff I wish I had done.
2. Way much more than you’d allow me space to put in writing.
3. Fast Company predicts “Advertising Creative” to be among six jobs that won’t exist in 2016. I am waiting with bated breath.
Sven Huberts
Managing Director, APAC Isobar
1. How someone built a Satellite prototype in his garage and is now using 30 of them in space to photograph parts of Earth like never before. This is now allowing us to see global changes happening in real time from space. A great example of an idea without limits and how technology is the enabler.
2. There are still a lot of sectors which ‘suffer’ from old thinking. Healthcare, education, government. They just represent a fraction of opportunities for new thinking when it comes to designing innovative digital experiences that can change people’s lives.
3. Virtual reality will be a big trend next year, as will The Internet of Things creating highly connected everyday objects that make life easier. We’ll see some good stuff happening within marketing automation – making communication with people easier and more effective.
Erick Rosa
ECD, Lowe & Partners Singapore
1. There were two campaigns I saw while at the Cannes Jury that really stood out for me. One from my fellow friends at GGH Lowe in Germany, The Nazis against Nazis. Brilliant, powerful, relevant and just plain Good with capital g. And a very funny and smart idea called Hands Off from Marcel Paris for Marc Dorcell, a porn website.
2. Outside of work, I think there were a couple of events that were really below my expectations. The kid in me had been eagerly anticipating the new Avengers movie, a 200-million dollar event in itself. And I left the movie really underwhelmed. The same can be said for the new U2 album.
3. I think that the idea of people moving from being passive consumers of content(i.e.: watching TV) to a more active/interactive (i.e.: Hulu, Youtube Red and Netflix) will increasingly become the norm globally.
Joji Jacob
Group ECD, DDB Singapore
1. Jim Riswold’s second career as a compelling and provocative artist. http://jimriswold.com/
2. Facebook’s 3-second video view standard.
3. Content producers like Buzzfeed setting up advertising agencies.
Tay Guan Hin
Global ECD, J. Walter Thompson
1. When Mr. Lee Kuan Yew passed away in March 2015, what surprised me was the overwhelming response by Singaporeans from all walks of life, who queued for more than nine hours to view his casket. Thousands endured heat and rain just to pay their last respects.
2. I was expecting Apple to change the face of wearable technology when they launched their watch in April. It’s been a big disappointment. Perhaps I was expecting the watch to do a lot more than just another glorified iPhone stuck on my wrist.
3. As we become interconnected with our devices and the environment, tapping how data will affect the way we live is going to be increasingly important. For example, how cars are connected to our phone, an app can tell if the car needs gas even before you drive and can even locate the nearest station or how our tablets can activate the air-con before we arrive home. Seamless integration between everything, everywhere in real-time will allow consumers to experience a lifestyle like never before.
Susana Tsui
CEO, Asia Pacific PHD
1. The excellent quality of strategic thinking in gender equality campaigns leading to great success (#likeagirl, #touchthepickle)
2. The crackdown on spam.
3. Data driven marketing will take on a stronger lead to drive accountability.
Vishnu Mohan
CEO, Havas Media APAC
1. P&G’s #LIKEAGIRL
2. Apple Watch
3. Micro Storytelling
Ali Shabaz
CCO, Grey Group Singapore
1. The rise of “Causevertising” was more dramatic than I expected.
2. Overall, I expected Asia to perform better than it did. Wasn’t a great year for Asia.
3. Branded content will be the new wave. Brands will create stories with content designers. Ads, as we know them, will start to decline.
David Mayo
CEO, Bates Chi & Partners
1. Donald Trump emerging as the Republican frontrunner. Is American politics really out of ideas? The Indonesian Haze and the total inaction of anyone in authority anywhere to say or do anything about it.
2. • The ASEAN response to the haze from Indonesia
• The Advertising Industry’s response to the Haze from Indonesia
• Brand involvement and celebration in Singapore’s SG50
• The US response to gun law reform
• Cannes content was still one step behind the real world (instead of one step ahead)
3. • Collaboration of skills rather than agencies to answer briefs
• Clients owning their own optimization apps
• The rise of ‘video online’ ads
• Increases in Influencer and Celebrity endorsement to support VOL
• Cannes More automated, location-based marketing with new-style creative agencies to answer this cris de coeur
Charles Wigley
Chairman Planner, BBH
1. Not much I’m afraid.
2. Our continued need to award ourselves perspex trophies for ever smaller achievements.
3. We’ll actually start believing in the power of advertising again. Our industry has spent the last decade mired in doubt and self criticism – broadcast is dead ! mass marketing is dead ! ideas are dead ! Nonsense. The hard evidence suggests it is all very much alive. So cheer up everyone – you still have jobs.
Bob Hekkelman
Chief Executive Officer, J. Walter Thompson, South East Asia
1. As a father of three daughters, I say the ‘Like A Girl’ campaign for Always. But also because of its insight, meaningfulness and empowerment.
2. The Dutch soccer team’s failure to qualify for Euro 2016. Shockingly bad.
3. I would say the virtual reality of everything. Have a look at the promovideo for Oculus Rift which will launch in 2016. It has great potential for storytelling, shopper marketing and applications.
Jim Moffatt
EVP, R/GA
1. The launch of iwatch. Lets hope the next generation lives up to the hype.
2. The Pacquiao fight. He should have won.
3. Mobile payment through messaging apps. Already commonplace in Kenya and China – wake up the rest of the world!
