PATTAY, THAILAND — ADFEST has made a comeback with its first live event since 2019. Happening from March 23 to 25, the festival has found its home this year at PEACH, part of the Royal Cliff Hotels Group in Pattaya. Over 762 delegates from 44 cities are expected to participate at this year’s talks and workshops,
The 2023 theme, RISE, signifies optimism and confidence for an upbeat future and eager anticipation of the continued growth of creativity in our diverse region, including Asia Pacific and the Middle East.
Vinit Suraphongchai, Chairman of ADFEST explained, “ADFEST was conceived as an event to celebrate and encourage the diversity of culture and creativity in our region. We have our Lotus awards which reward and provide exposure for the best work, but our ultimate focus is to be a source of learning and inspiration for all our delegates from Asia Pacific and the Middle East.”
To keep delegates inspired and open to fresh ideas, ADFEST has lined up a crew of 33 insightful speakers from creative agencies to production specialists, across media categories and spanning the world for its first live event in four years. In addition to offering interactive workshops, the Production Hut Craft Hub as well exhibitions and film screenings of all the Lotus Award entries, the three-day event will culminate in two awards shows on March 24 and 25, where the winners of the ADFEST Lotus Awards, Young Lotus Workshop and the Fabulous Five New Directors will be announced.
ADFEST LOTUS AWARDS AND GRAND JURY PRESIDENT
ADFEST has announced that Grand Jury President for ADFEST 2023 is Ali Rez, Chief Creative Officer for Impact BBDO Group MENAP. Named Creative of the Year twice by Campaign magazine, Ali Rez is the most awarded creative leader in the Middle East and currently leads output for the IMPACT BBDO Group across the Middle East, North Africa, and Pakistan region. Rez’s work has been instrumental in Impact BBDO Dubai being named the No.2 Creative Agency in The World on the WARC report, while winning 10 different Agency of the Year accolades in 2022 for bringing tremendous business success and creative excellence to the Group, and positive impact to social causes.
When asked what he will be looking for from the work entered for the Lotus Awards, Ali Rez replied, “The aim [of the work] is to dazzle. We should be amazed by original thinking, astute problem-solving, and incredible craft. It is always a joy for a jury person to come across thinking they have never seen before, and I believe that’s going to be what we will be looking out for.”
Including Ali Rez, ADFEST has invited 63 jurors led by seven Jury Presidents who will oversee 20 awards categories, including the new revamped Commerce category, which now includes Offline Commerce as well as ecommerce. This year, ADFEST has also renamed the Digital category, which is now called Digital and Social Lotus. It includes various new sub-categories to reflect the fast-changing landscape of the digital world and social media.
This year, ADFEST has recorded 1,699 entries to its prestigious Lotus Awards. The worthy winners will be announced at two awards shows on March 24 and 25.
WORLD PRODUCERS SUMMIT
ADFEST is hosting the Worlds Producers Summit, bringing the region’s top producers together again to gain valuable insights, brainstorm possible solutions to common issues and explore new ways of working. It is chaired by Steve Davies, Chief Executive of the Advertising Producers Association (APA) and Executive VP of the Commercial Film Producers of Europe (CFPE) together with Valeria Berezhna, a spokeswoman for the Young Director Award.
ADFEST APP AND CONNECT
The ADFEST app is an on-the-go guide to what’s happening where and when at the festival. It is designed to help people get the most out of this year’s event with a complete program guide, all the latest news, photos, and videos, real-time notifications, plus access to ADFEST Connect.
Delegates can scan QR codes in various places at PEACH to download and view all speakers and juries, finalists, and winners’ announcements and read the latest news on the Daily Buzz all at their fingertips.
ADFEST Connect is available to all registered delegates of ADFEST 2023: it allows anyone who registers to search for other delegates by name, company, city, or country and email them to connect or see if they’d like to meet up.
