Ad industry holds island awards

THE BRIEF
Established in 1986 by Media magazine, the Spikes Awards encourage and celebrate creative excellence across all forms of advertising. The awards aim to raise the bar for creative standards in Asia.
To build on its 20-year history, Media wanted the Spikes to incorporate an opening networking cocktail party, a one-and-a-half day creative conference featuring leading global creatives, and an exhibition of the finalists’ work.

CHALLENGES
One of the main challenges in organising the high-production event was the lead time.
Vendors required almost three days to set-up the staging and audiovisual needs for the
conference and awards event. Some of the signage and equipment had to be shipped
in from Jakarta or Singapore. This made any last-minute changes difficult and there was
little room for error.
The judging panel of 16 of the world’s top creative directors reviewed 4,000 adverts over
a period of three days. Once the winners were decided, the organisers only had one day to put together the awards show and the timeline for preparing the videos, slides and script was tight. By planning carefully and putting a big team to work, the awards could be executed within the tight timeframe.

EXECUTION
The Media Spikes opened with an evening cocktail party set on the Chandra Surya Lawn, overlooking the Indian Ocean at the Ritz-Carlton. It was a networking opportunity for all delegates, who met the judges and other attendees. After cocktails, guests toured the finalists’ gallery displaying the shortlisted work in all categories.
The conference, which started on the morning of the second day, was intended to be aspirational and inspirational, taking place over-one-a-half days at the hotel.
The speakers were selected to ensure the highest-calibre programme. Leading global
creatives featured showreels of, and comments on, the crème de la crème of advertising.
The highlight was the presentation of the awards at one of the world’s most stunning
beachfront venues, Ku De Ta in the fashionable town of Seminyak.
On day three, the conference’s second morning, the awards judges and delegates
discussed the winning work. There was also a surfing competition for delegates on
Seminyak beach, sponsored by Quiksilver.

VERDICT
“We wanted our attendees to feel that they were a part of something very special and
unique,” says Sarah Moore, events director at Haymarket Media.
“Bali provided a chic and exclusive setting for this event and, in spite of the challenges involved, this year’s Media Spikes Awards set a new benchmark for quality industry events.
“The feedback from sponsors and delegates alike has made our hard work worthwhile.”