MAKATI, PHILIPPINES — Over 160 young creatives, 15 speakers, and 31 mentors gathered at the Ayala Museum for the Digital Young Creators (DYC) Bootcamp and Competition by the Digital Marketing Association of the Philippines (DMAP) held last October 03. This marks the biggest young creative boot camp at DMAP yet, with over 100% increase in participation, while welcoming 15 companies who have joined for the very first time.
“Last year, we turned the usual competition into more than just besting each other out, we held a boot camp with learning sessions and mentoring breakouts to help nurture and shape the next generation of young digital talents,” DMAP DYC 2024 Chairperson Raymund Sison shares as he opens the program. “This year, we’ve partnered with two international festivals Adfest for Young Lotus and Mad Stars for New Stars to give young talents more opportunities to shine.”
The program featured 15 speakers who gave all of the tips, tricks, and tools that young creators need to show the best of what they have. On the Main Stage, we witness engaging talks from “How To Find The Spark” by BBDO Guerrero’s Chief Strategy Officer Peach Natividad, to “How To Find the Idea” by VML Manila’s Executive Creative Director Maan Bautista, to “How to Present Your Idea” by BDO VP & Head of Branding Brandie Tan, all the way to “Getting to The Competition Mindset” by Propel Manila’s Executive Creative Director Jao Bautista.
On the Breakout Stage, Nrusingha Choudhury, Meta SEA Creative Strategist, gave a schooling on how to hack Reels, while independent Creative Director Nikki Golez talked about how to get the case board right.
“We approximate how the international competitions are conducting their competitions (Mad Stars and Adfest) so we are as close as possible to the competitions we’re sending our winners to,” said DMAP DYC Competition Director Roman Carlo Olivarez.
During the competition briefing, DYC Very Young Creators Competition Leads Cams Sta. Ana-Tuason and RJ Espatinez revealed multiple briefs for Very Young Creators, along with Jollibee’s Luis Berba, Nestle’s Kurt Santiago, Unilever’s Mark Matibag, and Ayala Foundation’s Paul Vincent Mercado, mimicking the Mad Stars New Stars competition; and Young Creators Competition Leads Kim Patria and Roman Carlo Olivares reveal one brief from Investing in Women for Young Creators taking off from how Adfest Young Lotus conducts their competition.
“We’ve also curated an impressive lineup of mentors to equip our young creators with tips and tricks and tools on how to make the best out of the program,” said DMAP DYC Coaching Director Rizza Garcia.
The mentors for Young Creators included Peach Natividad of BBDO Guerrero, Maan Bautista of VML Manila, Brandie Tan of BDO, Kim Patria of Investing in Women, Nikki Golez, Bia Fernandez of DDB Manila, Rayna Reyes of Ogilvy, Arri Veloso of TBWA-SMP, Apol Sta. Maria of Maya, Mela Advincula of Leo Burnett Manila, and Shackie Caccam of Oddefy.
The mentors for Very Young Creators included Nrusingha Choudhury of Meta SEA, Jasper Ilagan of NJYN, Marcel Lacap of Octopus & Whale, Peach Orbe of Meta, Issang Ceballos of Meta, Leslie Cua of Gigil, Luis Berba of Jollibee, Gelo Jongo of Meta, Jerika Vila of Meta. Cams Sta-Ana-Tuason of Meta, Melissa Manay of Meta, Dionie Tanada of Leron Leron Santa, and ER Alviz of Elesi Studios.
The country’s first robot coffee barista, Ella Coffee, also graced the Bootcamp giving free cups of coffee to fuel the participants, mentors, and speakers all throughout the day, while DJs Romano, Cupcakes, and Hideki brought the house down with after-party beats.
The DMAP Digital Young Creators 2024 is co-presented by Investing in Women, Ayala Foundation, and Meta. Sponsored by Jollibee, Enchanted Kingdom, The Pod Network, Prodd, Oddefy, Emperor, and Ella Coffee. In collaboration with Industry Partners Adfest, Mad Stars, and One Asia; with adobo Magazine as its official media partner.
