Ad awards 'BAD to the Bone'
Amid tough competition and rising production costs in recent years, companies have had to tighten their belts on marketing budgets - though their demand for quality and effectiveness of advertising remains unchanged.
Suvit Jaturiyasajagul, executive creative director at Grey (Thailand), and Wichit Jiamsirikarn, who with Suvit is co-president of the Bangkok Arts Directors Association (BAD), explained that these realities had stirred the advertising industry to become more creative. As well, ad agencies' creative teams have to work closely with their clients, advising them how to maximise value from an advertising spot.
"It seems to be a tougher situation for creative crews, but it is possible to deliver on the promises," Suvit said.
Use of new media on the right platform is one smart approach. For example, agencies should offer clients marketing campaigns through social media such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube with out-of-the-box ideas based on consumer insight. Meanwhile, people's lifestyles and behaviour have also changed: they spend less time at home consuming traditional media, so out-of-home media are playing a key role for advertising. This enables clients to use their marketing budget for more efficient communication.
Given this opportunity, creative ideas are very important for developing pieces of work to hit the right point of the consumer's mind.
This changing landscape gave Suvit and Wichit the idea of a "BAD to the Bone" theme for this year's BAD Awards. Suvit explained that "BAD" in this context meant "cool idea". So "BAD to the Bone" should be the message sent to the creative industry not to give up. "We need to strive to produce what we can really be proud of, so we know that underneath the humorous and fun ads, there is core creativity with brilliant ideas."
The BAD Awards are Thailand's biggest event recognising creativity in advertising. This year marks the 27th anniversary of the awards, which will be handed out on December 9. The event will reward creative works in different categories for those in the ad industry and university students who attend workshops during the event. This year two more categories will be included. The "direct" category takes in campaigns of direct marketing, while the "promo" category is all about sales promotions.
"In a changing world, we want the industry to realise that the work produced must be outstanding and mind-blowing. We have to remember the core of true creativity," Wichit said.
The duo want the BAD Awards to be an inspiration for young professionals and others so they will continue high-quality work. And this will put Thai ads on par with the best in the world.
