PATTAYA, THAILAND — In an industry that never hits pause, the fear of being left behind is real. That’s why COLLiDE at ADFEST 2025 is bringing together the sharpest minds to decode what’s next in advertising. This second wave of sessions dives into the pulse of now – where content thrives by riding cultural currents, where creativity ignites at the intersection of contrasting forces, and where brands find their true voice in a world oversaturated with messaging. Plus, a look into the future: how visionary storytelling can captivate audiences and shape what’s to come.
THURSDAY 20 MARCH | 14.30 – 15.05
Drowning in Content: Embracing the Era of Abundance
Alexei Golob, Creative Leader
Paul Copeland, Creative Director
The Mill, Shanghai
In a world overflowing with content, creativity and production are in a period of dramatic change, sparking debate over what truly matters and how we can evolve. In this session, two seasoned industry voices will explore the past, present, and future of the creative industries, tackling some of the most pressing questions facing the industry today. Those questions include: How do we navigate an era where demand for content quantity often overshadows demand for quality; what happens when algorithms, automation, and flawed metrics redefine creative success; and can artistic vision continue to be realised in a world dominated by shrinking budgets and timelines?
The conversation will explore how businesses and creators can adapt to a world where meaning is being drowned out by noise with sharp insights, candid experiences, and a forward-looking perspective. It will challenge attendees to rethink their roles in shaping the future of creativity and production.
Alexei Golob is a Canadian creative leader with a lifelong passion for visual storytelling and a fascination with the art of communication, who has built a career that bridges the worlds of agency work, large-scale production, and brand-side leadership. After starting his career in Toronto, Alexei moved to Shanghai, to work at renowned production houses such as RadicalMedia and Digital Domain, and producing high-profile campaigns that demanded both technical precision and creative vision. Arriving in Shenzhen, he led the creative charge at OnePlus, shaping the global identity of the brand and launching over 45 products in under 5 years before joining The Mill.
Paul Copeland began his career in London as award-winning creative in legendary agencies such as Fallon, Bartle Bogle Hegarty, Grey, Leagas Delaney and Lowe Lintas. His standout point of difference is a brand of humour and outlook on life allows him to craft stories that are intrinsically human, equally able to make audiences laugh and cry. Since moving to Asia, Paul led global and regional accounts as Regional ECD at Saatchi & Saatchi in Shanghai & Regional CD in Singapore before taking up his current position at The Mill.
THURSDAY 20 MARCH | 16.50 – 17.25
The Power of Fast, Flawed and Fierce Content
Pei Ling Ho, Executive Creative Director
Publicis Chemistry, Singapore
This session explores how the rules of polished advertising are being broken to drive culturally relevant work that hits fast, hits hard and shapes conversations while the world is still listening.
Fast, fluid, imperfect content is everywhere today. It’s easy to dismiss this digital content as disposable noise, the real issue isn’t what’s being created, it’s how we perceive them. The belief that only high-budget, long-lead, meticulously crafted work can create impact is blinding creative teams to the potential of designing for the moment to intercept attention before it’s gone. The truth is that raw, scrappy, fast-turnaround content is thriving where traditional campaigns struggle. Because it’s immediate, culturally tuned, and unpredictable it has the power to ride the pulse of what’s happening right now.
With 15 years of awarded advertising experience at Publicis, Ogilvy and R/GA in her arsenal, Pei Ling leads a team of creative specialists whose focus is to find strategic opportunities to navigate the messy middle of brand building and performance marketing. Prior to joining Publicis Chemistry, Pei Ling served the Asia Pacific region as the Global Creative Director for Google Creative Works, leading work with top brands such as Unilever, P&G and Mondelez and their agencies to drive creative effectiveness in an increasingly omni-channel world.
Before social was even a thing, Pei Ling’s award-winning SOS ambigrams for suicide prevention were already taking the world by storm, and continue to live in popular culture today as one of the most replicated tattoo designs in the world – as well as being featured by Korean supergroup BTS and in TV dramas in Hong Kong and Taiwan.
FRIDAY 21 MARCH | 15.05-15.40
What Are We Drawing?
Yun Jeong Jang, Global Creative Director
Cheil Worldwide, Seoul
Until recently, leading global brands built their excellence by emphasising refined design, high-quality materials, and artisanal visuals. However, as technology, culture, and societal diversity evolve at a rapid pace, the landscape of premium branding has shifted. High-tech products, once perceived as distant, are now icons of everyday luxury. Brands are increasingly using cutting-edge innovations to align their identities with futuristic themes that resonate with today’s tech-savvy audience and emphasise its smooth integration into daily life. Futuristic displays such as floating or transparent screens, newly launched AI-powered devices and features, are building a future vision that is no longer abstract. It’s tangible.
Yun will show how as creators working with world-renowned tech brands, Cheil’s recent projects have focused on visualising a vivid near-term future instead of far fantastical one, communicating the experience of “What is possible soon” to the audience. She will take her audience through an exploration of how creativity is at the forefront of this transformation.
Yun Jeong Jang is an innovative creator with extensive experience working with global brands, including leaders in technology and luxury sectors. She excels at crafting seamless brand experiences across lifestyle and design products, from digital strategy to retail and social promotion. Her background in visual communication and luxury brand management in Milan, combined with a deep understanding of consumer behaviour, led her to specialise in experiential design, a field where she bridges the gap between products and their users.
Register now at www.ADFEST.com to be part of COLLiDE at ADFEST 2025, Thursday 20 to Saturday 22 March 2025 at PEACH, Royal Cliff Hotels Group in Pattaya, Thailand.
As well as star-studded speaker sessions, ADFEST 2025 offers workshops, mentoring programs, screenings and networking events, and is the region’s only original and most celebrated creative festival. The three-day event brings together the industry’s top minds, rising stars and most innovative ideas.
Find more information on all delegate fees and packages, here.
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