World Effie Festival 2008 February 27, 2008

The World Effie Festival is the first event of its kind to be held anywhere in the world - a global celebration of creative effectiveness, where the brightest minds in creative, design and marketing will gather to analyse and inspire the very best in creative and effective communication.

More than 2,000 professionals from across the globe will converge on Singapore next February to attend the inaugural World Effie Festival, which will mark both the increased focus on the effectiveness of marketing campaigns – rather than just the creative genius behind the copy and the visuals – and the emergence of Asia as a global force in the advertising and marketing industry.

Drawn by a stellar lineup of speakers including industry icons Shelly Lazarus of O&M; Sir John Hegarty of BBH; David Droga of DROGAFIVE and Jean Marie Dru of TBWA, the event will bring together global agency heads, creatives, media planners, brand owners, business leaders and marketing gurus, together with a host of Gold Effie Award winners from around the world. More than 60% of the delegates are expect to come from overseas, primarily from across Asia Pacific, from Europe and from North America.

Singapore’s elder statesman, Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew, will make a special appearance to discuss the “Branding of Singapore”, while other globally-renowned business leaders and thinkers scheduled to appear include Lord Sebastian Coe, double Olympic gold medallist and leader of London’s successful bid for the 2012 Olympics; Simon Clift, Global Chief Marketing Officer of one of the world’s two largest advertisers, Unilever; Allen Olivo, VP, Global Brand Marketing of Yahoo; Larry Flanagan, Chief Marketing Officer of Mastercard, and Dr Vijay Mallya, Chairman and CEO of India’s United Breweries and Kingfisher Airlines.

The festival will feature simultaneous programming in a round-table format, giving delegates the widest choice of topics and discussions. Highlights include a series of provocative presentations by “Thought Catalysts” intended to agitate and challenge conventional thinking; Premier Master Classes in which top experts in their fields will share their insights and experience; and the Effie Winners Showcase, in which Gold Effie Award winners from around the world will present case studies on their winning campaigns.

The festival will conclude with the announcement of the 2008 Global Effie Award winners – the first time this has been held outside New York since the Effies began in 1968. There will also be a brand new award programme – the Asia Pacific Effies - to recognise the most effective campaigns developed and executed by agencies across the region.

This inaugural festival, which will be held at Singapore’s Suntec City Convention and Exhibition Centre on 28 th and 29 th February, will become an annual calendar event, with the next festival already confirmed for Singapore in February 2009.

A “virtual audience” of more than 10,000 people is expected to follow the first World Effie Festival over the internet, through live blogs and webcasts. The event is projected to attract more than 3,500 delegates by 2010.

The World Effie Festival is presented jointly by the New York American Marketing Association – creators and owners of the Effie concept – and the Institute of Advertising Singapore (IAS). The marketing and event management partner is Jade Apple Marketing.

Official Website: http://www.worldeffiefestival.com/