SINGAPORE – It isn’t every day that one can fly to Cannes. It isn’t every day either that you can travel while representing issues pertinent to one’s whole gender. That’s what Knox Balbastro, Regional Associate Creative Director of DigitasLBi in Singapore will get to do at the 2016 Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity.
Knox was one of 15 women selected from over 500 applicants to support and develop the advertising and creative industry’s underrepresentation of female creatives through the See It Be It initiative.
“It’s interesting because I was encouraged to join by a girlfriend and female creative – Leah Mababangloob,” Knox shares in an exclusive interview with adobo. “For me (See It Be It) cements the notion that having empowered female friends is a career booster. Being surrounded by equally driven women means you are privy to their experiences and learnings, so you get to level up your game together.”
Having worked in Singapore for the past three years, Knox shares that, “I’ve lived in many different cities, but I have to say Singapore spoils you. I’m grateful every time I go for a walk by myself late at night. The freedom to roam does wonders for your creativity.”
Asked how she made the trek to the Lion City, Knox recalls that it was a friend from her local agency days that opened the doors to Digitas LBi. “I was asked to join by my former partner at BBDO Guerrero, Corey Cruz,” she says. “We started our careers together so she knows how committed I am to doing great work. I think she also hired me because of my diverse background – having done direct mail to films, radio to an interactive vending machine, print to a live social media campaign, I’ve had the opportunity to work on something interesting on all known forms of advertising! I’m scrappy and in this day and age, you just have to be that versatile and ready to improvise.”
As for the See It Be It initiative, Knox notes that her being chosen is actually a lesson in persistence and being in the right place at the right time. “I believe there a lot of qualified women globally but probably a few are as persistent as me,” she relates. “This is probably my seventh time to join a Cannes competition. What that’s taught me is that in advertising and in life, you fail a lot. But you have to show up and turn it on every opportunity you get, because you just never know when it’s your turn – and a lot of failures develops your grit which is what counts in the long run.
Knox’s excitement about going to the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity after those previous attempts is palpable when she says, “It’s my first time so I’m hoping to get really lucky. Maybe I’ll run into Mindy Kaling – the writer, producer, and actress of The Mindy Project. She’s a strong Asian-American woman succeeding in an industry dominated by men. Also, she’s insanely funny.”
She adds that, “I can’t wait to meet the other See It Be It women from all over the world. It’s a huge honor to be included in the group and to be given the kind of mentorship See It Be It promises.”
“Being a Filipino, I took female creative directors for granted,” Knox relays before heading for the festival. “I was lucky enough to work under some amazing women like Trixie Diyco, Tin Sanchez, and Pia Roxas Ocampo but when you start working abroad you realize that female heads of creative are scarce. I’ve actually met some women who have never even worked for a female creative director. That’s sad because female creative directors can make advertising a more nurturing place to be in, they also provide different insights and ways of expressing ideas. I think everyone – men and women can benefit from having a strong female creative director.
As someone who has stretched her wings beyond Philippine shores, Knox’s enthusiasm over what See It Be It wants to achieve shines through when she concludes that, “I want to see what happens when women actively create a girl’s club – one that works together to give the female point of view stronger presence in advertising.”
