SINGAPORE — There’s a strong contrast between the Radio & Audio and Print & Publishing categories at the 2024 Spikes Asia Awards, according to juror Ng Tian It. While both are considered more traditional forms of media, the former appears to be thriving, while the latter is seeing some concerning numbers.
Tian It is currently the Chief Creative Officer at Publicis Communications, Beijing, and has led some of the world’s best-known agencies in Shanghai and Beijing. With over 300 awards to his name, he has brought a wealth of wisdom to the Spikes Asia jury, and has been a very welcome presence at the Awards being held this year at Swissotel The Stamford, Singapore.
The Radio & Audio category has been quite the surprise, he shared in an exclusive interview with adobo Magazine President and Editor-in-Chief Angel Guerrero.
“It has gone on to the next level,” he said, “Maybe because of technology, because of how we get to experience audio is now is moving to a lot of spheres. That really interests us.”
“Sound has become a large part of our lives is not just a radio broadcast, the audio is now clipped to their ear phones and they respond and react to it. It is now sensorial.”
Among the leading nominees for the category are “Comma and Em Dash,” both by VML Manila and Wunderman Thompson Makati for KitKat; “Hear My Last Wish” by Leo Burnett Taipei for the Taiwan Organ Sharing Registry and Patient Autonomy Promotion Center; and “Play It Safe” by The Monkeys Sydney for The Sydney Opera House.
The Print & Publishing category, on the other hand, appears to be in need of a significant boost. Tian It counted just around 43 entries this year, raising concerns that the medium may be stagnating.
“You just find that it’s still pretty much in a rut,” he expressed. “I’m not sure. Is it because [of] the restrictions of the media, or because they’re just not good enough, a lot of good enough people [aren’t] doing it anymore?”
He added, however, that despite the lower turnout, there were still a number of entries worth consideration for metals: “[We are] still able to find something, the ones that stand out are still the ones who retain the best of it, to craft, the idea of making print or a riddle for you to solve.”
Among those entries shortlisted for metals is “The Unwritten Stories” by Asiatic Marketing Communication LTD. for Bidyanondo Publication, which leads the category in nominations with three.
adobo Magazine is an official media partner of Spikes Asia 2024.
