The Hindu Business Line : Disappointing fare

If AdAsia in Singapore two years ago was considered a serious comedown from the 2003 AdAsia in Jaipur, then the Jeju AdAsia has proved to be a bigger disappointment. The theme of the convention itself was not bad – ‘Beyond’, with the sub-themes adding clarity on what the overall theme of ‘Beyond’ meant – Beyond Advertising (attempt to broadbase and redefine advertising that would deliver superior marketing communication), Beyond Convention (ideas that transcend traditional or conventional thinking) and Beyond Asia (Asian advertisers looking at markets beyond Asia). Unfortunately it was the execution that was faulty. Not many top speakers; and it appears the organisers have taken the easy option of inviting more Asian speakers. Actually, I find this convention disappointing on three counts: Delivery of content, food and entertainment, the Jeju island itself.

Form impressive; content poor

The twenty-fifth edition of AdAsia at Jeju was held at a modern, well-equipped convention centre. The convention hall, from the look of it, could hold 2,500 delegates. The accompanying exhibition stalls were well-designed and the organisers had further provided ‘networking lounge’ facilities for people to transact business if they needed to. AdAsia is said to have had over 1,200 delegates, 600 of them from outside Korea. But this was far from evident from the first day. The conference venue did not have more than 600 participants on the first day and this came down to half the size on the third day. At break-out sessions where delegates were offered the choice of one of the three subjects to attend, the attendance was between 50 and 100.

Why the attendance was poor was not hard to understand. Over the three days of the convention, the delegates had very few quality speakers. On the first and the third day, the second half was devoted to break-away group meetings (‘Forum’) which made it difficult to listen to the six different perspectives, three per day, with equal interest. The six subjects covered under the overall theme were Marketing, Creative, Media, Business, Social & Culture and Below-the-Line.

The second day of the convention had just two main speakers and the bulk of the day was wasted to provide a platform to organisers such as AdFest, New York Festivals, International Advertising Association, Busan International Advertising Festival and Tobii Technology who promoted themselves. Overall, the three days of the convention offered a mere eight main speakers, with only three of them coming from the Western world and the rest from Asia. And the delegates did not get to hear from any major advertiser their perspective on how the industry should structure itself to serve them better (other than the lone local advertiser Hyundai Cards, whose marketing efforts were restricted to the Korean market). The ‘Forum’ speakers on the six subjects were not always known names and so did not bring in hordes of people to enthusiastically come and listen. In a convention, where content is the key, AdAsia Jeju fell short.

Lack of variety

For the 85-strong Indian contingent, food was a serious letdown. For a delegate group of the country that provided the largest support to the convention, this was very disappointing. As one delegate observed, “When we call a guest home, we take extra care to cook what the guest will like. This is not the case here.” The delegates who were non-vegetarian found the food very different and could not relish it. And vegetarians had very little option, that too only those who could brave the sticky rice (a delegate called this ‘Fevicol rice’) and some boiled or raw vegetables. The menu was virtually the same for lunch and for dinner.

The social evenings were generally lively and colourful. The welcome reception and farewell dinner were at the convention venue itself. The customary Dentsu dinner at AdAsia was at the nearby Shilla hotel. At none of the three social evenings or the opening ceremony was there any surprise element.

From the Oriental perspective, while the entertainment programmes were good, they offered little variety. The drumbeats were a common feature. The grand drumbeat of ‘Choi Sori’ at the opening ceremony, it must be mentioned, was full of vibrancy and energy. The drum show by another group the following evening was equally entertaining. To a group of people who are constantly exposed to quality variety entertainment, the fare provided was repetitive and ordinary. And not certainly one that would be remembered as time goes by.

Jeju island

Traditionally, Jeju Island has been named ‘Samdado’ – an island famous for three things: wind, rocks and women. The Jeju Province Governor Tae Hwan Kim highlighted the fact that Jeju is a safe place by stating that one will not find three other things: beggars, thieves and gays! The tourism brochure lists many tourist attractions. To many of the delegates from India who are used to better attractions, Jeju offered very little other than the salubrious climate this time of the year. The convention venue at Seoul would have made better sense and may have given the delegates a better opportunity to explore the capital city with its history and culture.

But there was indeed one fascinating thing everyone came back totally excited about. At Jeju, there are three hill locations in which a stationary car or bus (in neutral gear) would roll up on the incline! When water was poured on the ground, the water moved up the slope. When you ran up, you felt like you were running down. They call these ‘Mysterious Roads’ and these locations were truly enchanting.

India wins AdAsia bid for 2011

The highlight of AdAsia truly was the fact that India was declared the unopposed winner to host AdAsia in 2011. Colvyn Harris, CEO, JWT India, made a detailed presentation on the Indian economy and our strong position on the global scene, which made all Indians proud. On the day this presentation was made, one only wished there were more people to witness what India had to offer. And the entire Indian delegation attired in Indian costume was on stage to invite the other countries to India in 2011.

India plans to host AdAsia 2011 in New Delhi. The venue was chosen because of the 2010 Commonwealth Games when Delhi will be dressed up to receive thousands of sports enthusiasts. Further, it is centrally located to all the tourist high points of North India.

Another noteworthy aspect of AdAsia 2007 was the honour that was bestowed on Goutam Rakshit for his distinguished service, along with 10 others, to Asian advertising in general and AdAsia in particular. The occasion was to mark the 50th anniversary of the establishment of AdAsia and 30th anniversary of AFAA. Goutam was the Chairman of AFAA when India hosted AdAsia in Jaipur.

(The writer is the Chairman and Managing Director of RK Swamy BBDO Pvt Ltd. The views expressed here are personal.)