PATTAYA — As ADFEST turns 21, it tackles the transformation happening in the industry and how creativity and technology can help businesses succeed and remain relevant in a highly digital economy. The first day of the festival held at ADFEST’s home in the Pattaya Exhibition and Convention Hall (PEACH) featured talks that tackled the many forms of creativity and how agencies and companies can take advantage of them.
For the first talk of the festival’s first day, delegates were welcomed by Marko Klijn, Ringmaster of Cirkus from New Zealand, who showcased the possibilities of CGI for brands and agencies. According to Klijn, storytelling and direction comes hand in hand with CGI to create a great ad or visual material.
Yet, while CGI can make possible what cannot be done live, Klijn also emphasized the juxtaposition of real elements and CGI to make the film as seamless and believable as possible.
From CGI to real photos, the next talk in the programme featured the visual trends that will dominate 2018. Global photo and video portal Getty Images’ Kumi Shimamoto, Vice President, Asia and Ravinunt Nena Putthibavornkul, Bangkok Country Manager took the audience through three trends that have and will shape not just visual styles but cultural and social discussions as well.
An overview of @GettyImages Visual Trends for 2018 #ADFEST2018 pic.twitter.com/wk2Tf2wXHu
— adobo magazine (@adobomagazine) March 21, 2018
Getty Images identified the trends as “Second Renaissance”, “Conceptual Realism”, and “Masculinity Undone”. Second Renaissance pays homage to imagery from art history and blends in the styles of yesterday into today’s world. The emergence of social and digital media has spurred the demand for “real” imagery mixed with conceptual images, which made photographers adopt Conceptual Realism. Finally, Masculinity Undone shows the changing visual definition and depiction of masculinity — embracing more of male emotions, vulnerability, and complexity.
With the ever-growing call for diversity and women empowerment, Greg Attwells, IP Strategist at production company FINCH believes that “more women in STEM means more possibilities”. This belief made the company develop a high school creative technology curriculum for girls.
According to Attwells, FINCH found two hurdles to getting more girls and women into STEM and creative technology: confidence and perception. More than giving lessons in developing technology, FINCH’s curriculum works to increase girls’ passion, self-belief, confidence, empowerment, and creativity to make them realize that they can excel in STEM.
Music and sonic cues do not only enhance stories and creative material, but also create a sonic identity for a brand. MassiveMusic Business Development Manager Tamon Fujimi was out to push for the integration of music with brand identity.
His case studies of MassiveMusic’s work with the English Premier League and Philips were testaments to the power of music and sound in building brand recall and equity.
Next up in the programme was Adams Fan, Founder/CCO of F5, a young independent creative agency from China which specializes in combining technology, human insights, and creativity to create heartfelt stories and campaigns. As China continues to push and support tech companies, more funding comes into R&D, especially in AI and machine learning.
NOW at #ADFEST2018 #Transform: Adams Fan of F5 from China talks about China’s Tech Revolution and its AI technology. FB Live: https://t.co/cJvI1b5xvL pic.twitter.com/nDybr2Ct2N
— adobo magazine (@adobomagazine) March 21, 2018
But more than just developing tech, Fan emphasized the role creativity plays in the process. Even tech giants Alibaba, Tencent, and Baidu create campaigns and products to make tech more accessible and ultimately, more helpful and valuable to consumers. Fan rounded off his talk by saying that the combination of creativity and tech produces innovation, which will help brands and companies survive the tech revolution.
In the penultimate talk for Day 1, Barry Greaves, VFX Supervisor at MPC Shanghai, mused, “we take pride in confusing our audience with CGI even if for just a few seconds.” His session on CGI was a demonstration on creating characters for branded material.
While CGI inspires many possibilities for imaginary worlds, Greaves stressed the need for realism to further give life and believability into the character.
The duo of Yuchi Toyoda and Subun Khow of Dentsu One Bangkok tackled going beyond just advertising and expanding creativity to produce better and more innovative business solutions for clients and brands.
The case studies presented by Toyoda and Khow showed the combination of both technology development and campaign messaging to create solutions and relevance for brands they worked with.
