PATTAYA, THAILAND — ADFEST 2024 opens this year with a lineup of stellar speakers on Day 01 to inform, unlock, and inspire success. Confirmed first-day sessions have a major focus on marketing’s greatest fascination right now, AI — the threat, challenger, ally, and tool for humans all rolled into one.
Each speaker on the topic will explore the battle between AI and the human brain from a new and insightful perspective. Other sessions include a voyage into the new wonderland of challenges and opportunities in 3D environments such as Meta Quest 3 and Apple Vision Pro and an examination of the new powerhouse for brands and gaming.
The first sessions to be announced for the first day of ADFEST 2024, March 21, are:
Topic: Say H.I. to Gaming X Marketing: Connecting with Asia’s Gaming Communities
9:30 to 10:05 am
Speaker: Rey Tiempo, Creative Gaming Brand Specialist and Gaming Columnist, Game On + adobo Magazine, Manila
Brands have entered the world of gaming with gusto, their agencies capitalizing on their power to reach audiences, especially in Asia — one of its biggest and most engaged audiences. The session, Gaming X Marketing, highlights the ever-increasing relevance and rich creative branding opportunities in gaming. The challenge is to stand out with work stemming from a strategic framework and creative thinking. The session will delve into powerful Gaming X Marketing works in Asia and globally and how brands can tap into this growing space with fresh new insights on connecting with the ever-increasingly complex gaming communities, turning them into passionate brand advocates.
The session will be led by Rey Tiempo, a veteran creative head at the industry’s biggest networks and also, quite possibly, the industry’s biggest gamer — a hardcore gamer since childhood and gaming columnist for major industry publications, as well as multiple global industry awards winner for a branded gaming work.
Topic: Good Tech, Bad Tech
10:05 to 10:40 am
Speaker: Nicole Ingra, Founder and Global Director of Insights and Strategy at & Ingra, Barcelona
It’s undeniable that technology has inherently changed how we communicate, connect, and create. But has it changed our values? Our core human needs? Recent conversations have made much of technology’s negative impact on human connection. This session will restore the balance, showing how technology is being used to foster and advance humanity and inspiring with an understanding of the good it has to offer.
Nicole Ingra is a Global Director of Insights and Strategy and Workshop Leader with a decade of experience building bridges between culture, business, and technology. She has worked with major brands such as WhatsApp, Uber, Beats, TikTok, Heineken, Johnnie Walker, and adidas, on projects with global and local reach in the US, UK, Europe, China, and Brazil, always with culture at the heart of it all.
Topic: The Art of Authentic Connections: Digital Persona Revolution 2.0
12:25 to 13:00 pm
Speaker: Nikola Stefanović, Director at The Mill, Shanghai
Nikola believes in harnessing and embracing the huge strides technology and AI took to tell very human stories for today’s ever-evolving world. The Mill Shanghai Director, Visual Artist, award-winning Colorist, and, above all, pusher of technological and creative boundaries, will share his understanding of how advanced technology can be used to foster genuine connection.
A native of Serbia, Nikola has worked in Asia for almost fifteen years and, during his time at The Mill, has been at the forefront of some of their most creative, award-winning, and visually striking campaigns. He has worked across a range of features, short films, and commercials with internationally acclaimed directors, including Gustav Johansson, Rob Chiu, Jovan Todorović, Paul Geusebroek, Wang LiMin, Dave Meyers, Kosai Sekine, Martin Werner, and Salomon Ligthelm, for brands such as Nike, Adidas, Levi’s, Mercedes and Apple.
Topic: Clash of the Titans: AI vs Creative
14:30 to 15:05 pm
Speaker: Christian Greet, Animation Director at Cirkus, Auckland
AI versus human is a crucial clash for the future of creativity. In the left corner is the challenger, latent diffusion, the latest generative AI model, which can improve the productivity of 61% of employees. By the end of 2024, it will give rise to 8.4 billion AI voice assistant units, exceeding the global human population. In the right corner stands the defender, the human brain, with 86 billion neurons and 100 trillion synapsis, perfected by evolution over six million years. The brain has taken humans from simple apes to a highly advanced species, now walking on the moon. This session explores AI versus the human brain to see who takes home the heavyweight title in creativity.
Speaker Christian Greet is the Creative and Animation Director at Cirkus. He was the first director to join the Cirkus at its very beginning back in 2006, bringing a fresh approach to mixing styles and executions to achieve the best visual outcome within budget. Christian’s real passions are storytelling and using real-life tools where possible, together with all sorts of animation. This brings a unique, fully integrated style to his work.
Topic: Creative Shift
15:05 to 15:40 pm
Speaker: Mariko Kondo, Strategy Director at I&CO, Tokyo
Businesses in all industries are adopting AI increasingly, which has already significantly impacted content creation and the environment surrounding brands. The accelerating advancements of Generative AI have placed the marketing industry amid a profound structural change. This session will analyze the implications of AI, the changing roles of humans, and paradigm shifts that brands need to embrace to remain relevant in the evolving landscape of AI.
It will be led by Mariko Kondo, Strategy Director at I&CO, the business invention firm founded by Rei Inamoto and Rem Reynolds to create an impact on the future by building new products, brands, and ventures. Mariko brought her experience as Senior Strategist at beacon/Leo Burnett and Project Manager For Digital Product Development at Hakuhodo i-studio, to lead projects at I&CO that create the ‘next’ for clients, whether corporate purpose or digital brand experience.
Topic: Battle of Talents: Human versus Machine
16:15 to 16:50 pm
Speaker: Valerie Madon, Chief Creative Officer APAC at McCann Worldgroup, Singapore
Who is winning the battle of human versus machine? Does it even need to be a fight? Creativity is a complex human trait, says Valerie Madon, Chief Creative Officer for Asia Pacific at McCann Worldgroup. It’s a product of emotions, culture, and experiences. Just as we harnessed word processors to make our work lives more efficient, she adds that AI should have a role in the creative department.
Valerie’s session will take attendees on a world tour to see some ground-breaking campaigns that have used AI to add new dimensions and scale that humans could only dream of. In Valerie Madon’s over 20-year career, she has built a presence and found creative solutions for major brands such as Zespri, Caltex, Hewlett-Packard, Procter & Gamble, Singapore Airlines, HSBC, Burger King, VISA, Singapore Tourism Board, Changi Airport, Central Provident Fund, Shell and GSK. This has earned her a reputation as one of APAC’s top creatives. Previously the Director of Creative Shop, SEA & Emerging Markets at Meta, Valerie is responsible for creative product across the region. She also chairs McCann Worldgroup’s APAC Creative Leadership Community.
Topic: Is Spatial Computing the Key to a New Wonderland?
16:50 to 17.25 pm
Speaker: Ty Curtis, Founder and Managing Director of Activate Studios, Brisbane; Immersive Specialist at Fin Design + Effects (Asia)
The quest to find new ways of engagement and storytelling for brands in the age of Meta Quest 3 and Apple Vision Pro has discovered a new tool. Spatial computing is a major shift from 2D screen interfaces to immersive 3D environments, opening up a new wonderland of creative possibilities. This session will explore this technology’s profound impact on the advertising industry, revealing how it blends physical and digital worlds to forge deeper connections between consumers and brands and examining its role in evolving strategies and narratives. Its speakers will guide attendees on how to play, test, break, and explore the potential of spatial computing to create immersive campaigns that seamlessly merge the physical and digital worlds. The session will reveal how spatial computing calls for a rethinking of traditional approaches and will address the challenges and opportunities presented by this technology, encouraging attendees to experiment and innovate.
Ty Curtis, Founder of Activate Studios, has been designing and producing extended reality (XR) experiences since 2012. His ability to forecast future trends, coupled with a knack for risk-taking and commercial execution, has led to collaborations with global brands such as BMW, Free Fire, Suzuki, Lendlease, and Jimmy Choo. For the presentation, Ty joins forces with Fin Design + Effect (Asia), a company celebrated for its highly crafted VFX and compelling storytelling. Ty was instrumental in establishing Fin Design + Effects’ immersive branch, Imperfect Circle, in Shanghai and later played a pivotal role in managing the Shanghai studio’s business operations.
ADFEST 2024, under the theme “Human Intelligence,” is open for delegate registrations. Celebrate the best creativity the region offers, and grab your tickets here.
adobo Magazine is an official media partner of ADFEST 2024.
