4 - Internationalist

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More of the world’s marketing attention is
turning to Asia these days, particularly with the
Beijing Olympics around the corner and with
ever-increasing interest in the powerhouses of
China and India. AdAsia, the biennial
gathering of the Asian advertising community
under the organization of AFAA (the Asian
Federation of Advertising Associations), was
held this October in Jeju Island, Korea.
Although a remote locale, Korea is certainly
one of the world’s centers for global brands,
especially in the electronics and automotive
categories.
The event also marked the 50th Anniversary
of the founding of the AdAsia conferences.
One of the individuals who played a role in the
initiation of AdAsia in 1957 was Hideo Yoshida,
then the fourth president of Dentsu, Inc.
Certainly, the presence and sponsorship
appreciation of this event by supporting
Japanese companies —particularly Dentsu, but
also Hakuhodo — was one of the marked
features of this year’s Korea-hosted
conference. Dentsu Night, long a
tradition at AdAsia, reflected a
sensitive cultural balance of both
Japanese and Korean performances.
It was both a generous and
respectful evening,
which underscored how these two important
Asian countries, responsible for many of the
world’s top brands, could mark time to honor
each other and their industry, despite any
competitive realities in the world marketplace.
In an interesting programming decision,
the Jeju organizers did not showcase the
leaders of their Korean branding world.
Instead, they chose two local keynote addresses
that were characterized by innovation. The first,
Ted Chung, President and CEO of the Hyundai
Card talked with uncharacteristic frankness
about his challenges in launching the
successful Hyundai series of credit cards. The
second Korean speaker was not from the
advertising or branding arena, but rather from
the design world. Youngse Kim,
Founder and CEO of INNODESIGN, who
divides his time between Seoul and California,
discussed how in an “all about me” world,
design may be the first step in understanding
the consumer.
However, the key presenters at AdAsia
were top advertising executives from outside of
the region, which suggests that AAFA
continues to see the multinationals from the
U.S. and Europe as leading the overall direction
of the industry. Of these addresses, two were
particularly notable — “Wildfire Brands: Ideas
that Spread and Sell” by Michelle
Kristula-Green, President, Leo Burnett Asia
Pacific and “Creativity” by Jean-Marie Dru,
CEO of TBWA Worldwide.
38 inter national ist magazine