FRIDAY, March 29, 2024
nationthailand

Creative Talk Conference 2022: What is in The Future for You?

Creative Talk Conference 2022: What is in The Future for You?

After the 'lost' two years of Covid-19, Creative Talk Conference, an acclaimed community-oriented knowledge-sharing meeting, is back to full power in a quest to figure out what the future holds for people. Vitaya Saeng-Aroon reports.

From a small meeting of 70 participants, Creative Talk Conference has grown into one of the most influential platforms for like-minded people to share their knowledge, with around 2,000 attendees expected this year on June 25-26.

Over two days, "Creative Talk Conference 2022" (#CTC2022) will see 61 sessions featuring 109 speakers taking up five stages plus workshops at BITEC, Bang Na. Creativity, innovation, marketing, entrepreneurship, and people skills are among the vast array of topics covered, while participants can attend each session in person or online.

Highlights this year include "immersive experiences" in dynamic graphic worlds, instant feedback in interactive livestreaming events, greater accessibility for wheelchair users, plus sign language with every session.

"We held conferences online during the Covid-19 situation. This year it's time to get back to an onsite meeting. However, we are also providing streaming and video for those who cannot attend at BITEC.

Our ticket buyers can watch video recordings of the meeting until September," said Sittipong Sirimaskasem, founder of Creative Talk Conference in an interview with Voice of The Nation.

Founder Sittipong Sirimaskasem: 109 speakers, 61 sessions, and five stages are set for the two-day conference.

Saturday’s first session saw 10 speakers take the stage, two for each of the five topics – Creativity, Marketing, Innovation, Entrepreneurship, and People Skills.

"The past two years were lost years, as people have said. But they have spurred us to question what the future holds for you. You may know that you need new opportunities. But that doesn't necessarily mean that such opportunities want you.

We adopted the theme of questions about the future because of the drastic changes we are witnessing around ourselves. We also want to see what the future offers. There are three important components for the future: Creativity, Generation Gap, and Creative Living.”

Sittipong: CTC is not an event, but a community-oriented meeting to bring like-minded people who want to look into the future together.

Topic: Creativity

The first topic of the morning session, "Creative", was redefined by the two guest speakers.

"During the Covid-19 pandemic, you can tell stories are more diverse. We have a lot more interesting stories to tell and, importantly, the stories are deeper in the telling. Previously, people may have enjoyed media as a form of entertainment. But now they enjoy watching and following stories as edutainment," actress and YouTuber Darisa Karnpoj said.

Damisa Ongsiriwatana, co-founder and executive creative director of Sour Bangkok, pointed out being creative is no longer limited to companies like advertising agencies. People used to think they had to be a specialist to become a creative. But now creativity is about mindset.

"Being creative means you have to have an ‘Eh?’ moment [curiosity]," Damisa said.

A panel discussion on creative with Darisa Karnpoj (Riety) and Damisa Ongsiriwatana of SOUR Bangkok: Being creative is for everyone.

As an example, she cited a recent work created by her agency. One of Thailand's oldest food brands, Mae Pranom, wanted to reach out to modern housewives. But instead of the creative team, it was her agency's media team that came up with the solution.

"Media team members experienced the ‘eh’ moment. After studying consumers and the market, they came up with the idea of making people want to chat with Mae Pranom so that the household dialogue could reach audiences.

The new marketing gimmick has changed the brand's fanpage, making it more lively and chatty, like a mum talking to her kids. The new conversational style and brand message have turned Mae Pranom chilli sauce into an iconic brand. And people love to communicate with the brand through its fanpage.

Darisa said that no matter what advertising tools are available, what works for people are emotions and experiences. Brands should always speak to their audience. Always think about the emotional impacts on people.

 

Topic: Future of Marketing

Paruj Daorai, chief executive officer at DATT, a digital ad ratings agency, said the pandemic has changed the way we live forever. People are now inhabiting two different platforms: the digital world and real world.

But the two worlds are never separate. To understand people, we can no longer rely only on focus groups or research. This is because their behaviours are no longer the same. Their behaviour differs on each platform.

Sutirapan Sakkawatra, senior executive at Siam Commercial Bank (SCB), said these days everything can be monetised.

"Over the past 10 years, people have been able to create their own skincare brands. By 2019-2020 people could own their [social] media. Now everyone can be media. In the old days, people thought only about banks, but now people can issue their own currency.

Tokenising or even giving advice for people to invest can be a business. In the old days, SCB used [marketing/ad] agencies. But now we can find influencers on TikTok or Tellscore. Envato is one place where I tell my staff to find creativity. Technology can be bought as well. But what's more difficult is finding talents and building a new culture.”

He added that managers and entrepreneurs are supposed to understand different business models. “SCB now has 15 business models. Some products are transaction-based. So they need a different business model. There is no straight line in this. Whoever sticks to the same old business model will be out of business." Sutirapan said.

Companies need to adapt if they want to retain staff. “Work from anywhere” was one model to offer to staff. Others include the talent model and the freelance model. Getting talented staff join to your team is not about salary offers at the end of the day. Some of them ask for incentives as a measure of the value of their work, said Suthirapan.

"People have to find out how to connect the dots as many people are working in their own silos," said Paruj.

"Make sure they understand one another and that they really talk to one another. Communication is key. Data analysis is helpful as well. I'm not talking about huge and complex data, but you need data to make a decision, not just your gut feeling.”

For marketers, personalisation is not enough anymore because people's needs are different. So you need to differentiate your offer, said Paruj.

Marketers should stop thinking about consumers in terms of generations, said Suthirapan. Stages of life may be a better way of understanding consumers these days.

Creative Business Awards for 2021 and 2022 for the following brands: 2021, 1. Wendays 2. Laika 3. Moreloop; 2022, 1. Vulcan Coalition 2. Qualy 3. Jones Salad 4. Nanyang Marketing.

 

Future of Innovation

Jomsab Sittipitaya, CEO of Exy, a hybrid working solutions platform, said many organisations are now undergoing transition.

The challenges lie in replacing people, changing location, and changing process. For the work, companies have three options to offer staff: hybrid working, office working, and work from home. For the location, workspaces have been reduced by 30-40 per cent while many companies are adopting new technology to manage the space, he added.

"If you come to the office and need a desk, you have to book one. Booking a desk is important. Without it, you have no electricity supply. Satellite offices are also on the rise. They are not only serving employees but also open for customers to utilise the space, which helps create engagement with customers," Jomsab said.

On the trend of the metaverse, people should view it from different perspectives, he said. The metaverse can be built as a virtual factory to test out what works before building the real thing, he added.

Meanwhile, decentralising finance technology is still at an early stage, explained Nirand Pravithana, Group CEO at AVA Advisory.

"It's a process of trial and error. So we will eventually see how people get along with finance technology. Another aspect that we are keen on is using AI to develop a model. For example, I used a simulation to sample my voice to read text. You can read text with your own recorded voice.

This is not about a celeb's voice being hacked in a crime. Instead, think about AI helping sick people to speak when they cannot do so by themselves. AI developments are extending the boundaries of what is possible. AI and automation will become more precise and more humans will be cut off from the process of work. So this triggers questions about the future careers of the new generation," he said.

Another area of interest is "alternative proteins" as food. Nirand said the world now has two big problems. While the population in some developed countries is dropping drastically, it continues to rise elsewhere. How to produce enough protein to feed these growing populations is a big question.

"Plant-based protein is getting more palatable. And new protein sources don’t have to come from plants – stem-cell technology can grow a piece of meat like growing plants, and we also have protein from insects and other sources," Nirand said.

Jomsab said multiple technologies are now more integrated with each other. For example, voice and face technologies are linked. And as the Metaverse develops, workers to create 3D models will be in high demand.

"Labour is more valued. The metaverse will use a lot of 3D modelling. Their value is getting higher and they should be upskilled," he added.

In addition, key drivers in the future are people looking for equality, the increasing number of people retiring late, and climate change concerns. To adapt, innovators need to be courageous. Find people who disagree with you and learn from the alternative way of thinking, is Jomsab’s advice.

 

On Entrepreneurship

Pichayen Hongpakdee, founder and CEO of Smart ID Group, cited motivational author Simon Sinek's famous TED Talk asking entrepreneurs to reflect on their purpose, as well as his book "Start with Why”.

"In times of difficulty, you may need to reflect more about your purpose. But purpose alone is not enough, you need the word ‘care’. Care for society, care for the world, care for people you walk by. And the last thing is to learn to "inspire". You cannot get things to happen unless you inspire yourself and your team to work.

Dhazzaphak Lertsavetpong, Founder and CEO of Trick of the Trade Co, said this year Gen Z is getting into the workforce market for the first time and it's interesting for how generationin a workplace can manage diverse genderations of workforce.

"We need skills to manage diversity. Entrepreneurs must understand diversity," said Pichayen.

On entrepreneurship, Pitchayen Hongpakdee of Samart ID Group and Dhazzaphak Lertsavetpong of The Trade Co.: Understanding ourselves and consumers need to clarify your purpose.

 

On People Skills

Apichart Khantavithi, managing director of QGEN and creator of HR The Next Gen Page, said "DEIB" was the key to the future of human resources.

"Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging will create a new phenomenon in hiring and building talent. Belonging means your employer being aware of your existence, so the organisation knows how to manage and cultivate you.” he said.

Apichat Khanthavithi, Managing Director, QGEN Consultant, an HR practice provider: Diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging are the future of work environment.

Methavee Thansana, CEO of Vulcan Coalition, said diversity involves many aspects. For example, External Diversity is influenced by the external environment – such as city life or provincial life. People from these two locations have different perspectives. Meanwhile Internal Diversity is something that creates impacts. Organisational Diversity affects title, different types of employment, different types of workforce, and how to get work done. World View Diversity may trigger conflicts in your organisation.

Apichart added that remote working is important. If a business allows remote working, candidates will be interested in joining. But without that choice, they may turn down employment.

New skills now are about going “deep and wide”, Apichart said.

"If you are in HR, you must have deep knowledge of HR work. A measure of your depth is whether you are able to teach others or not. Meanwhile, wider knowledge is gained by people who want to grow. Find out if they desire to grow or not. If one person wants to become CEO and another person only wants to be director because he does not want the workload, you can plan better how to manage them.

Another thing is that the world is changing faster, so we have less chance to make a wrong decision. We can prevent wrong decision via data literacy. The last key is leadership and people management. We have to bring this up because ways of working have changed because people’s perspectives have changed. Problem-solving skills are needed. We encounter more difficulties in making decisions in hard situations."

Methavee added that managers should learn the skills of "inclusive leadership."

"Those at the management level must have the ability to include team members and overcome differences. Generation gaps are a concern for many organisations. Some now have staff from four different generations – so they need inclusive leadership. According to a study by Deloitte, inclusive workplaces boost performance by 30 per cent. People now care more for equality. Leaders are required to understand this.

#CTC2022

nationthailand