We were making a silky smooth landing at Hanoi airport on November 10, 2013. Super Typhoon Haiyan was to make landfall off the coast of Vietnam that night, having left a trail of death and destruction across the Philippines. It didn’t look like an auspicious start to a Congress that had been plagued by doubts over the last 18 months.
I accompanied Pradeep Guha, Chairman, Asian Federation of Advertising Associations (AFAA, the body that owns and runs the prestigious AdAsia property) to an emergency meeting at the fabulous National Convention Center that was to be the venue of the AdAsia. Howard Draft, Executive Chairman of Draftfcb, had backed out, fearing the wrath of Haiyan. Tom Doctoroff, JWT APAC CEO/JWT Shanghai, was keeping us guessing and some last-minute visas needed to be organised. Journalists and members of the Indian delegation were calling frequently to know if the Congress would be held or not. The relentless television news had ensured that everyone had seen what Haiyan had done, and obviously feared the worst again. The emergency meeting went on forever. Contingency plans to pick up delegates from the airport were made. The show would go on.
The next day, the International Council and Executive Committee of AFAA were taken to meet the president of Vietnam. As a pilot car took us through the ornate gates of the presidential palace and we spent about 30 minutes with their First Citizen, I was struck by the informality of the person, his friendliness and the complete absence of security. Our pompous leaders should learn a lesson from his simplicity.
Till the storm passes by
By the afternoon of the 11th, Haiyan had veered to the North-East and was headed for South China, a much weakened storm, having lost steam over the South China Sea. The welcome party was indoors, a large flag was signed by delegates and hoisted to mark the beginning of the Congress. The Indians were there in all their colourful splendour dressed up in national attire. Sundar Swamy the leader of the 100-strong Indian delegation, was resplendent in a
November 12 saw the formal beginning of the AdAsia at Hanoi. Chairman Guha explained the role of the AFAA and its activities. The gavel was formally passed on by me (representing the organising committee of the 2011 AdAsia at Delhi) to the Chairman of the Vietnam Advertising Association. A huge drum was beaten and the Congress sessions began.
Pep Talk
Every Congress should manage at least one memorable speaker per day. More than that is a bonus.
The first day belonged to Don Peppers. Don spoke about the advent of customer-centricity over a product-centric approach that would not cut ice any longer. He emphasised the need to have ‘share of customer’ instead of ‘share of market’. For that, he felt, one needed to treat a customer very differently. Interaction, he said, creates relationships which are iterative. This gives the relationships context, and successful relationships generate trust. To sustain trust there is a need for competence and intention. Every 20 years, said Don, we interact a thousand times more with others. Increased interaction demands increased trust and transparency. He warned that in this connected world where customers have access to their own social media, untrustworthy behaviour will be exposed far more quickly. People demand ‘trustability’. And to be trustable, one needed to think long-term, share and let people contribute. He pointed out that a survey revealed that just 14 per cent of customers trust advertising. On the other hand 90 per cent of them are willing to trust reviews by strangers. And that’s what marks this new world around us. As he noted, one bad review or story about you and you are stained forever. You can’t “un-Google” yourself. And finally Don summed up by saying that integrity is not elastic. You cannot have “some” integrity.
Tom Doctoroff came and went in a blaze of oration. One was reminded of an earlier speaker Rose Tsou of Yahoo who spoke passionately about the importance of valuable content. Wish Tom had heard her speech.
The real David
The second day was billed as the day of David Aaker and Rahul Sharma of Micromax. In fact, a senior delegate from Indonesia told me that she was really looking forward to seeing how Micromax had played David in a world of Goliaths. She would be sorely disappointed as Rahul Sharma never made it to Hanoi. David Aaker, on the other hand, had no excuses. He spoke via satellite link about “building a winning brand”. His formula was that marketers should develop what he calls “must-haves” in their brands. This can only happen by innovation. Brands should aspire to be not just the best but to be considered the only ones who do what they do. Aaker urges marketers to create brand differentiators and energise the brands. A research study reveals that trustworthiness in brands has come down by 40 per cent over the last 15 years. To overcome this, brands need to aim for a higher purpose and an emotional connect through that.
The final day held some surprises. First, Indonesia made a brilliant presentation to win the bid to host AdAsia 2017 in lovely Bali. They easily beat Manila and Chiang Mai (Thailand). And then there was the presentation by Hermawan Kartajaya who has co-authored books with Kotler. Maybe I’m aging, but guys, I really do not go to a Congress of the stature of an AdAsia to be given a textbook-, classroom-style lecture. Between his 3 Cs and 4 Ps and 9 whatevers, all projected with crowded slides that showed a fine sense of geometric art, he lost me in just five minutes.
Takeaway or break away?
So what was the takeaway? Yes, the message that was being repeated by the gurus was clear. Brands and their marketers seem to have lost some of their sheen and a lot of their credibility over the years. The writing is on the wall. Smart messaging and cute positioning will not last forever. Brand managers need to accept that what is ‘good” is “good for business”. And digital was king. With social media set to occupy centre-stage for a few years ahead, at least.
Events like these are great occasions to meet old friends, make new ones and realise at times that your boss really sent you here for a holiday. Many in the Indian delegation realised the last point rather well. And as the sun set on yet another AdAsia, the hosts transported the delegates to a stadium where a live TV show was staged featuring some of their pop stars, celebrities, models and singers. And as the sky lit up with the brightness of a grand fireworks display, it was time to say au revoir and get down to some serious partying.
(Ramesh Narayan is an executive committee member of the Asian Federation of Advertising Associations.)