After what looked like a dull fest what with hardly any energy and vibrancy, Adfest 2015 seems to be warming up and that is because the speakers are making relevant practical points. The audience is usual a tad laidback and there are hardly any questions and that helps the show go on schedule. I have at least not seen any sign of technical glitch which I am so accustomed to back home. 
Brand strategist Sidharth Loyal in his sharp talk on Circle of Trust poked the audience to “Be brave” in widening their circle of trust, giving people credit and sharing ideas. It is his belief that a majority of client-agency relationships suffer from acute trust deficit. Clients do believe that agencies are slow in response and do not really understand their business environment and needs. They are willing to go to anyone and everyone who can show them the next wave and step, he said. In this situation, the advent of creative hotshops and independent freelancers who are showing the next wave and way to clients are one of the reason. But there is really a need to look inwards and question this change in order. Maybe the agencies need cool hunters who have the toughest job that demands them to be interacting across markets with the consumer in the brand product usage environment and work as the first point of reference, trust and insights.
We will fix it in Post was a real visually driven presentation by the team at Juice (Poland). It was a well-planned and orchestrated relay presentation between Adam Tunikowski (CEO and Creative Director), Michal Dwojak-Hara (Head of Animation & Creative Director), Michal Misiński (Art Director) and Natalia Lasota (Producer) where everyone had something different to contribute. They did venture to point out that Trust between each part of the development team is one of the critical ingredient. If the three verticals end product triangle are Time, Quality and Money, then Trust is the core. The point was simple- Yes, it is now possible to do the correction and enhancement in post. But if we keep the old tradition of detailing and shooting the best way possible and include the post-production teams in the initial stage, then the enhancement will be that much enhanced. It will also be faster and need lessor funds. Point taken. This is one area where within the agency complacency has been growing as we know, we will fix it in post.
Cheil Worldwide’s resident expert on Brand Experience, Chung Su Ko, weaved his magic with the a seamless evolving presentation. The idea was simple. Bad is contextual. And the context is defined by Economic Viability, Connect with local community, brand power Marketing strategy, and most of all Timing.
The most energetic PERFORMANCE ( using presentation will be demeaning it ) was the last session before coffee break. The Good, The Bad and The Punk Rocker turned Music Supervisor by Marcel Wiebenga of Sizzer Amsterdam. His take: create relevant music, stretch boundaries, use real instrument and above all don’t go by the notes and the music that the CEO or his wife likes or approves. Push and go for what is best for the film and or the brand. And I somewhere heard the word Context while he said that. Oh, by the way, I saw adaptation of lot of Indian work done by agencies in Thailand and Australia and sometime for different brands too.
The article was first published in MXMINDIA.COM as coverage to Pattaya Adfest2015. You can read weekly column in mxm under KOTMARTIAL and they are also reproduced in the blog. Check published articles.
