SUBIC – After months of intense preparation, the first Ad Summit Pilipinas has launched, with the aim of bringing an ‘Age of Enlightenment’ to the advertising and marketing industry.
“When you talk about enlightenment, it’s really about learning, and learning is about renewal, and when you think about it, this industry is about renewal. It’s always about freshening ideas, freshening brands, freshening the business. So we think we’re on the right track, and we’re happy we’re finally here,” Ad Summit chair Matec Villanueva told adobo.
Over 2000 practitioners are expected to attend the four-day event at the Subic Bay Exhibition and Convention Center. Villanueva shared that organizing the summit had not been without its challenges.
“We’ve given birth to it finally. It was difficult in a lot of ways. There were times we thought we were not going to pull it through, primarily because of the time, people were not used to having it this time of the year,” she shared.
Still, the summit has gained much support from the industry, which Villanueva said was because everybody stands to benefit. “At the end of the day, the agenda is clear. There’s no agenda. We just want to keep people interested in learning, because that’s our responsibility to one another,” she said.
The summit features a speakers lineup of global and local luminaries such as Cheuk Chiang, Omnicom Media Group Asia Pacific CEO, Charles Cadell, Regional President of McCann Worldgroup Asia Pacific, Marcus Rebeschini, CCO of Y&R Asia Pacific, Louie Morales, chairman of Image Dimensions Inc. and CID Communications Inc., GILAS Pilipinas head coach Chot Reyes, DM9 JaymeSyfu chief creative officer Merlee Jayme, and advertising icon and Cultural Center of the Philippines Board of Trustees chairperson Emily Abrera.
Ad Summit kicked off with the opening of a colorful trade exhibit where VIPs, event officials and delegates mingled as they explored the various booths.
At the entrance, a charming outdoor setup greeted visitors, who were welcome to explore the Electrolux Mobile Home, which showcases different kitchen appliances. “Ad Summit is all about innovative and revolutionary ways of reaching out to Filipino consumers. The mobile home is an extraordinary platform which Electrolux uses to reach out to the Filipino market. This is why it is only apt to bring the Electrolux Mobile Home to an event such as this,” said Andrea Pionilla, marketing manager of Electrolux Philippines.
Ad Summit officials at the Electrolux Mobile Home
Inside the trade exhibit hall, visitors are drawn to the PLDT Home booth, complete with a white picket fence, a kiddie room filled with bean bags, and a comfy master bedroom. next door at the Convergence Now booth, visitors could charge their devices and play games for a chance to win a prize from TV5, Smart, and SMART Ads. As one of the major presenters of Ad Summit, Smart also made mobile connectivity viable on the conference grounds.
Meanwhile, Future Farm Asia showcased various innovative tools that brands can use in their marketing strategies, among them the eye-catching translucent box.
Visitors could also drop by booths of media outfits and organizations including ABS-CBN, Radio Mindanao Network, The Philippine Star, and TV5. At the adobo magazine booth, participants claimed free copies of the magazine and played games to win special prizes. A running promo at the adobo booth invites delegates to take selfies and tweet them to @adobomagazine with the hashtag #AdSummitPh for a chance to win flights from Air Asia.
During the trade exhibit launch, guests released balloons for luck, and Advertising Suppliers Association of the Philippines chairman Roy del Valle and Villanueva presented a symbolic key to the Ad Summit trade exhibit to Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority Chairman Roberto Garcia.
After the exhibit, the Philippine Star hosted a cocktail party to welcome delegates to the event and kick-off the “play hard” side of the summit.
The summit will be featuring several other events sponsored by brands, among them, a sponsored lunch by RMN, dinner by Media5, and after-party by adobo magazine on May 8; a sponsored lunch by Manila Broadcasting Corporation, dinner by ABS-CBN, and after-party by Solar Entertainment Corporation on May 9; and a friendly pick-up game of football by adobo magazine on May 10.
Also on May 10, the final day of the summit, is the Creative Guild of the Philippines’ Kidlat Awards, which Ad Summit intends to institutionalize as the country’s most prestigious advertising competition. “We assure you that Ad Summit won’t be a typical four-day event. We will all work together to empower each and every advertising and marketing professional to play a more valuable role in the society today,” Villanueva said.
For more information, visit Facebook.com/AdSummitPH and follow twitter.com/@adsummitph and @adsummitpilipinas on Instagram.
Follow @adobomagazine for live updates and check out adobomagazine.com for more news.
