Advertising agencies gear up for Ad Summit 2018

After bringing their delegates to the “Age of Enlightenment” in 2014, and again inviting them to “Come Out and Play” last year, the Association of Accredited Advertising Agencies of the Philippines (4As)—otherwise known as the team behind Ad Summit Pilipinas—launched on July 5 the convention’s latest edition, with the theme, “DIY Your ROI.”

Set to take place on March 7-10, 2018, at the Subic Bay Exhibition and Convention Center in Subic, Zambales, the biennial summit aims to challenge how advertisers and brand marketers can go beyond the traditional definition of ROI, or return on investment.

“Too often we become obsessed with wanting to know with certainty the additional business a marketing effort will bring to a company. We ask ourselves, ‘how much will a campaign cost to execute, and what financial returns will I expect as a result?’ But is profit the only end goal of all marketing communication and brand activities?” said Norman Agatep, Ad Summit Pilipinas 2018 overall chair, at the event’s launch in Taguig City. “What if ROI could be redefined to mean a return on insight, or a return on intelligence, or a return on impact?”

With 12 speakers expected to join the summit’s plenary sessions, discussions are expected to center on the examination of ROI through the lens of “clever customization,” or the measurement of a brand’s performance against objectives that go beyond commercial success and cross over to other returns: brand love, behavioral change, social good, environmental impact, or pop culture influence.

“I suspect this will be the most mind-opening Ad Summit yet,” said Agatep.

Tickets are already available online through the Ad Summit Pilipinas 2018 website, www.adsummit.ph. Early bird tickets, which will be sold until Oct. 31, cost only P16,000 each.

Starting Nov. 1 until Feb. 2 next year, tickets will then be sold at the regular price of P19,000.

Those who will buy tickets after Feb. 2 and at the event itself will be charged the late registration ticket amount of P25,000.

Student delegates, however, enjoy a hefty discount; their tickets cost only P7,000 each, and for every 10 students who buy, one professor or school dean will be admitted for free.

Summit delegates will be granted access to all plenary sessions and talks, sponsored parties and other special events.

Hotel accommodations and transportation to and from Subic, however, are not covered by the ticket rates.

Labeled the “biggest marketing and advertising event in the Philippines,” Ad Summit Pilipinas 2018 will again include in its roster of events the Creative Guild’s Kidlat Awards Night, which celebrates the country’s most creative and excellently crafted campaigns. A trade exhibit will also feature new state-of-the-art technology and equipment.

“These are all in line with our mission to nurture a marketing communication environment that redefines creative excellence that’s in tune with an evolving industry,” Agatep said.