Student delegates from UA&P
Advertising and marketing practitioners, including students, gathered for the annual Adobo Festival of Ideas last November 30, 2016 in Resorts World Manila. The whole day event is directed towards the youth wherein the icons of the industry share their experiences and tell their success stories. This is to inspire the next generation of practitioners and aspiring practitioners who may become the next icons of the industry, locally and globally. Adobo Magazine brought speakers from all over the world to talk directly to the youth and answer questions they have about the industry. They also talked about all the changes, creations, and innovations happening in the world that affect the industry as a whole. Through this, the industry that seems intangible for some aspiring practitioners was opened up to them, and by the big icons they look up to, no less.
Angel Guerrero, Editor in chief of Adobo Magazine, Wain Choi, Anna Meloto Wilk, President of Human Nature and Caloy Sambrano, Managing Partner of OgilvyOne Manila
This year’s theme, “Create. Innovate. Or die.” is as daring as what the speakers talked about. They wanted to tell the youth that creating and innovating in this fast-paced world is necessary to survive. That’s the current situation of the advertising industry at the moment. The changing market affects how everyone sees advertisements that used to be predictably successful (or unsuccessful). If the industry is not able to keep up with this changing market, it’s going to die. But it’s not the end of the line. With the potential the youth is showing and the open-mindedness of the icons and big bosses, the industry does not seem like it’s going to disappear anytime soon.
Melvin Mangada, Managing Partner and Chief Creative Officer of TBWA\Santiago Mangada Puno
One idea shared that became my favorite was what Mr. Wan Choi, the Senior Vice President & Chief Creative Officer of Cheil Worldwide, said about today’s marketing. He said that marketing today must be humanized. Ads must not be made for the sake of being made. They must have purpose and consumers should be able to connect to them and be relevant to them personally. A generic TV advertisement no longer amuses people. They want something that will ignite fire within them and inspire them in any aspect of their lives. A brand needs to be able to do that to stay relevant to their consumers. Or else, someone else will.
Tuomas Peltoniemi, President of Asia & Innovation Director TBWA\Digital Arts Network Asia, Singapore
Another thing that struck me was what Mr. Tuomas Peltoniemi, President of Asia & Innovation Director TBWA\Digital Arts Network Asia, Singapore, said about the changing market today and how brands are being viewed by this market. He said that brands are now being defined by the consumers themselves. A brand is whatever the consumer think the brand is. This is because consumers are more connected through digital technology. We might think social media is only relevant to us in talking to our friends and getting updates on the latest trend, but it is actually causing so much change. It’s like saying that people have more power when they’re together. The more connected people are, the more powerful their thoughts become. That’s how the identities of brands today are being affected and shaped by the people.
Carlo Ople
The impact of social media not only affects the power of the market, but also the power of the social and mobile economy. The innovations in today’s technology paves the way for small business men to create something that will shoot them to success. However, it is still up to us to work hard towards that success. Mr. Carlo Ople and Mr. Arthur Policarpio talked about just that. Mr. Ople gave advice as to how to make the most of social media. It’s something we use everyday, but it takes a lot of work and a little bit of luck to be famous and make money out of it. One thing we need to do according to him is to “Start blocking those words in your head that says, ‘you can’t’.” It may take a long time before you make a big hit online, but don’t give up. Just like what Mr. Policarpio also said, “It’s hard to beat a person who never gives up.”
Marcus Rebeschini, Chief Creative Officer of Y&R Asia
Another message that Mr. Policarpio said is that the world that we live in today allows us to create things from the simplest grounds. For example, we can now create our own “app” through the simple messenger that we have today. We just need to know what problem to target or what consumer need we want to target and we can create something to address that. It may not be easy, but we should never back down.
With all the things that these icons have shared with the youth, I hope the event, in more ways than one, did inspire the youth to create and innovate as it is the hope of not only the advertising industry, but also the country. It may be a fast-paced world, but as long as we work hard and be creative, there’s no speed we cannot keep up with.
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