A media mega-event

Returning to Singapore for the second time in 25 years, the biennial AdAsia conference brought together over 1,000 advertising, marketing and media professionals from over 20 countries to a congress aimed at bringing insight into global industry trends. From November 20 to 23 2005, 1,353 delegates from the industry gathered at the Suntec City convention centre to listen to and offer their perspectives on issues surrounding the conference's theme 'Winning in Asia'. It also aimed to be more than just a platform for major players and decision makers to learn but more importantly, also provided participants with an ideal networking opportunity. The event kicked off on the Sunday evening with a 05 Welcome Gala party sponsored by MediaCorp and was held at the beautiful set- ting of the old colonial style Government House. The party had dancers mingling with guests and a traditional Indian drummer group and fireworks were set off by sponsoring company MediaCorp's Chang Long Jong, Singapore's Minister for Education, Communication and the Arts, Dr Lee Boon Yang and AdAsia's Lim Chin Beng. The conference was structured around topical presentations from speakers and panel discussions with participants from a varied range of seminars, workshops and sharing sessions. Content of the three-day congress examined how brands successfully extend their appeal to a regional level while also making their mark in the Asian market. The Channel NewsAsia experience and those of budget airlines Air Asia and Jet Star Asia were used as case studies to provide delegates with a deeper look at some of Asia's most successful international brands and how they have made their mark on the global market. As part of the AdAsia conference an exhibition hall gave 343 leading marketing, media and advertising specialists the opportunity to display the full variety of their offerings. Different strategies were used for the stands of companies like Singapore Press Holdings, BBC World, D&AD and Moove Media, which had a specially commissioned taxi cab in its stand. The event this year drew a larger than usual South Asian contingent with 150 delegates flying in from India, Pakistan, Nepal and Bangladesh. A contingent of young professionals and students was also granted access to the conference at discounted prices. "Singapore is both an advertising hub and of course a business hub so it was a good opportunity for us to converge and share information on how to win in Asia," said Eric Teng, deputy chairman of AdAsia 2005, "Some of the new things that we talked about in Asia in the last five to seven years have changed so tremendously that people don't realise that doing business in Asia is very different from what it originally was." However, the conference was not just all work and no play. The organisers also hoped to showcase Singapore's cultural diversity, vibrant nightlife and artistic talent with a series of after hours events and parties. Each evening's activity was hosted by a different media or an agency group with the first night hosted by MediaCorp, the second night hosted by SPH who enlisted the help of the Crazy Horse Cabaret to entertain delegates, and the third night hosted by Dentsu with a full-moon style party on the beach. Woon Tai Ho, CEO of MediaCorp News and vice chairman of AdAsia 2005 said: "Because AdAsia is to be held in Singapore, we have put all our competitive differences aside and said let's just make this one of the biggest advertising, media and marketing events that Asia has ever seen." Hosting the event reportedly cost Singapore approximately US$2 million but organisers believe that the multiplier effect from a congress of this scale, in terms of industry networking and marketing potential, will run into tens of millions of dollars. Managing editor of Magazine World Malaysia, Margaret Sebastian said of the AdAsia experience: "This was my first time to AdAsia and I will be taking away a fair bit from what has been shared. The speakers have generally been good, especially Tham Kai Meng whose presentation was informed, lively and easy to digest with lots of great visual stimulation. His points were really driven home. Being in editorial with a view to increasing my marketing skills, it has predominantly been a learning experience." Some criticism of the conference included softer subject matter from previous years that didn't reflect the current advertising and communications environment. "It would be far more beneficial to all involved to talk about new media and what will happen in the next five years," said Syed Asad Rizvi, regional director, Orient McCann Erickson. Delegates also mentioned that the exhibition hall was small and the number of displays limited. AdAsia 2005 deputy chairman Eric Teng said he was happy with the way the conference turned out and that he hoped Korea would provide a good follow up venue. "I don't recall AdAsia ever before covering issue such as legal issues and blogs," said Teng. "We have been able to put together a good show highlighting how our advertising and marketing market has changed in Singapore in the last five years." The next AdAsia conference in 2007 is to be held on the Korean island of Jeju and will focus more on the links between digital and traditional media. Marking the event's 50th year the slogan 'Beyond…'has been adopted and Korea chosen for its advanced technological environment.