It’s ironic that one of the most publicity-shy people in the industry happens to be the overall chairman of the 20th AdCon. No one can dodge adobo more adroitly than Yoly Villanueva-Ong. But now that the country’s biggest biennial event is over, Yoly is more than happy to talk, “at the risk of sounding self-serving.”
adobo: Going in, what were your expectations of the 20th AdCon?
Yoly: We organized the Ad Congress as if we were setting up a start-up business. After studying best practice models of the past two congresses, we set our targets in all areas: attendance, program, finance, etc. All the committees agreed on their objectives. We committed to be at least 20 percent higher in revenues than the 19th PAC.
adobo: And were they met?
Yoly: [The] final audited report has yet to be completed but YES, all targets were met and surpassed beyond all expectations!
We had the largest delegation to date, almost 3,500 attendees. Despite some former sponsors’ decision to limit their participation, most of the sponsorship packages were sold.
As I said, the final report has to be submitted, but all indications are pointing to the biggest profit to date. A new record has been set.
adobo: Sounds like a pocketful of change and then some. How are you going to spend it all?
Yoly: The best part about the Congress proceeds is that this will be equitably distributed among all the working organizations under AdBoard, following a previously agreed formula. So all AdBoard organizations will have money to spend on worthwhile projects. I will ask that a monitoring report be made as to what the money was spent on.
adobo: What did you think of the program?
Yoly: Honestly, I thought we had the best program ever, and the roster of speakers was quite impressive. That’s to the credit of Susan Dimacali and Pat Go, the Program committee co-chairs.
adobo: Of the 20 speakers, did you have a personal favorite?
Yoly: I’m now a bonafide Neil Gaiman fan. But I enjoyed a lot of the other sessions. Mr. John Gokongwei is always an inspiration, and almost all the topics were very informative.
Even as a veteran of this industry, I still learned a lot of new exciting trends and once again, got energized for the challenges we face.
adobo: The theme of “New Order” was quite ambitious. Do you think the AdCon did justice to it?
Yoly: Actually, one of the reasons the program was so cohesive is because all the speakers linked their topics to the theme.
adobo: If you could change one thing about this AdCon, what would it be?
Yoly: I would have made sure more clients and marketers attended the Araw Awards.
adobo: Is there one moment in this AdCon that will always stay with you?
Yoly: I enjoyed the keynote address immensely. But as a matter of trivia, I liked my surprise entrance during the opening night. The audience got some thrill from my sudden reveal. I liked that I avoided being strung up from the ceiling like the floating mermaids as was the initial joke.
adobo: What’s the toughest challenge facing the PANA in the next AdCon?
Yoly: Modesty aside, PANA has a very big challenge in 2009. Many say that the 20th PAC was the best ever yet. So it’s a tough act to follow. I’m hoping that PANA will rise to the challenge and raise the bar even higher. That will be good for the Industry.
adobo: How do you think the AdCon will grow in the next decade?
Yoly: The Ad Congresses of the past was deemed mostly as an industry junket. But the recent ones have consciously balanced knowledge and entertainment, giving it real value outside the social and networking opportunities it offered before.
I believe this should continue to be the direction that future Ad Congresses should bear in mind. This is the New Order.
