Spikes Asia to invest in the future of the creative comm.!

The Spikes Asia Festival of Creativity is set to invest in the future of the creative communications industry with four academies that will run throughout the 2013 Festival: the Young Creatives Academy, the Young Marketers Academy, the Young Media Academy and the Young Account Executive Academy.

Launching this year, the Young Media Academy will offer media professionals, aged 28 or under, the chance to be part of a structured three-day programme. Themed around creativity in media, the academy will demonstrate the value and execution of creativity in media channels, whilst providing a greater understanding of Asia Pacific’s media and advertising community. The programme will be led by mentor Philip Talbot, outgoing CEO of ZenithOptimedia APAC and Founder & CEO of Asia Communication Expertise. He has had over 25 years advertising experience and is widely regarded in the industry for his breadth of knowledge, strategic insight and leadership.

Another new academy for 2013 is the Young Account Executive Academy which will be led by course mentor John Wright, whose career spans leading agencies J. Walter Thompson, Young & Rubicam, Ogilvy & Mather, Chiat Day Mojo, The Campaign Palace in Australia, the UK, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain. He is a part time lecturer/tutor in advertising strategy, principles and practice at the University of Technology Sydney. The programme, intended for account executives aged 28 and under, will focus on how to build stronger client relationships but also provide a deeper understanding of how creativity is making a difference for both client and agency. Attendees will benefit from three days of bespoke learning experiences incorporating exclusive presentations from industry leaders.

McCann Worldgroup will sponsor the inaugural Young Account Executive Academy and speaking about their position, Charles Cadell, President McCann WorldGroup Asia Pacific, says, “Given the ever growing scarcity and thirst for talent in Asia, it is critical for the success of our industry that we treat talent development as a primary mandate. McCann is determined to be a leading creative powerhouse across the region and one element of this is to ensure that our suits are as committed and driven as our Creative teams to achieve this goal.”

Open to 15 students aged 23 and under, the Young Creative Academy will once again return to Spikes Asia. Across three-days, students will immerse themselves in a tailored programme that will include dedicated tutorials from recognised industry figures. Noor Azhar, Senior Lecturer in Visual Communication and Media Design at the Singapore Polytechnic Design School, will mentor the students. Before lecturing, Noor practiced advertising as an art director at CreAds Advertising and Batey Ads and then went on to set up integrated brand communications agency Just Media (now JM Asia). Noor has tutored the Academy since 2009. Cheil, sponsors of the academy since its launch in 2009, will sponsor the academy for the fifth year.

Completing the academy line-up, the Young Marketers Academy will offer marketers and brand managers who are working at client companies and are aged 30 and under, an exploration into the importance of why creativity matters to brands today. The programme includes identifying trends, exploring how creativity increases effectiveness and discussing the client/agency relationship. The group will be mentored by Joe Talcott whose marketing experience stretches nearly three decades, including seven years at News Corporation in Australia, most recently as Chief Creative for NewsLab, a creative division of News Limited. He has also worked for 17 years with McDonald’s in markets across the world, including Chicago where he worked on the launch of the ‘I’m lovin’ it’ campaign as global marketing and director. Today he heads CREATISM.IS, a business that helps marketers and their agencies to connect to produce superior communications.

Sponsoring the Young Marketers Academy will be Dentsu. “At Dentsu, we believe creativity is key to driving long-term customer engagement for brands. As a 112-year old company that was built around innovation, we are committed to investing in talent as the future of our industry for tomorrow. The ability to successfully apply creativity in every aspect of marketing is extremely valuable to young professionals today,” says Dick van Motman, Chairman and CEO, Dentsu Network/Asia. “It’s a skill that will never grow old because of the role it plays in the success of a campaign, career or an organisation. The Young Marketers Academy will give participants a fresh perspective on creativity through experts who have been successful at harnessing it in their careers.”

About the academies, Steve Latham, Director of Talent & Training at Lions Festivals says, “Year on year Spikes Asia has been growing and we believe it important that investment in the future of the industry should be part of this growth. These academies represent four key areas of the industry and offer an unbeaten opportunity to not only learn from unique presentations, but to do this against a backdrop of intensive creativity whilst benefitting from all that the Festival has to offer.”