Eighteen creative teams representing 18 cities will soon arrive in Pattaya, Thailand to take part in the Young Lotus Workshop at ADFEST 2019, which is being hosted for the first time by MullenLowe Group Asia Pacific.

Here’s how it works: the Young Lotus teams will first enjoy a series of talks and workshops hosted by MullenLowe Group’s creative, strategy, analytics and technology leaders. Next, they’ll receive a real brief for a real client, Google – with just 24 hours to meet the deadline.

“I’ve seen first hand how challenging it can be to modify the behaviour and culture of an organisation. I believe the biggest change in our industry overall will come through this new generation of passionate, creative and adaptable digital natives. A mentoring programme like ADFEST’s Young Lotus then becomes critical. It helps nurture the industry leaders of the future and give them a solid grounding of the various approaches and strategies I believe are required to drive modern communications forward,” explains Vincent Digonnet, MullenLowe Group’s Asia Pacific CEO and this year’s Young Lotus Chairman.

Leigh Reyes, President and Chief Creative Officer of MullenLowe Philippines, is also joining MullenLowe Group’s team of mentors.

She says: “This generation of young creatives has most likely been tackling real-world client briefs since school. The hustle is real. What makes this experience exceptional is the chance to work on a brief from a client known for ubiquitous innovation. Because creative solutions aren’t necessarily limited to communications, this will be a crash course in the underpinnings of a future-ready career: data-driven creativity, user-experience design, and an analytical approach to strategy.”

The top Young Lotus teams will present their work on stage during ADFEST 2019 in a session called, ‘MullenLowe Group Presents Young Lotus Workshop 2019: Full Stack Creative’ on Saturday 23rd March at 11.15. Afterwards, delegates will have the chance to vote for their favorite team to determine the Young Lotus Popular Vote. The Young Lotus Winner and Young Lotus Popular vote will be announced at the award presentation that night.

The Young Lotus Workshop is one of the industry’s longest-running mentoring programs designed to give the next generation of advertising leaders hands-on, practical experience. The program is open to advertising professionals aged 30 & under, with teams selected by local representatives in markets across the region.

MEET ADFEST’S YOUNG LOTUS CLASS OF 2019

- Bangkok: Kusuma Arunanonochai and Supanat Wachiralappaitoon (Art Director and Copywriter, J. Walter Thompson Bangkok)

- Cairo: Ahmed Waheed Hamdy and Nourhan Megahed (Associate Creative Director and Art Director, FP7/CAI)

- Colombo: Anuranga Ehelapola and Harini Akmeemana (Account Executives at J. Walter Thompson, Sri Lanka)

- Dhaka: Imtiaz Kabir (Visualizer, Adcomm Ltd.) and Jannatul Ferdous Pinki (Copywriter, Mattra)

- Gurgaon: Dipani Neb and Nandini Pathania (Senior Visualizer and Copy Supervisor, Taproot Dentsu)

- Ho Chi Minh: Anh Nguyen Hoang Ngoc and Uyen Nguyen Linh Phuong (Graphic Designers, Renaissance International School Saigon and Aioz Pte. Ltd.)

- Hong Kong: Christopher Lui and Hody Chan (Strategic planner and Group Head, PHD Hong Kong)

- Jakarta: Beata Ayu Primana (Junior Copywriter, TCP/TBWA) and Cindy Raissa Wiyana (Art Director, MullenLowe Indonesia)

- Karachi: Khizra Ambreen and Merab Norris (Associate Creative Manager and Creative Strategy Planner, Orient Communications (Private) Limited)

- Kathmandu: Kiran Maharjan and Sanjay KC (Graphic Designer and Copywriter, Outreach Nepal Pvt. Ltd.)

- Kuala Lumpur: Carolyn Tze Lyn Chow and Zhe Yuan Chin (Creative Hybrids, Dentsu Malaysia Sdn Bhd)

- Manila: Arriane Veloso and Janine Bautista (Copywriter and Art Director, Publicis Jimenezbasic)

- Melbourne: Holly Burgess and Lucy Logan (Copywriter and Art Director, Leo Burnett Melbourne)

- Seoul: Sang Su Youn and Seo Yoon Chang (Assistant Managers, Cheil Worldwide)

- Shanghai: Eason Chen (Art Director, BBDO Shanghai) and Sheng Zhan (Copywriter, Energy BBDO)

- Singapore: Grace Wong (Junior Art Director, BBH Singapore) and Rachel Chew (Senior Copywriter, BLKJ)

- Taipei: Chun Peng Chen (Planner and Copywriter, YStudio) and Mei Shuan Wu (Senior Copywriter, Ruder Finn)

- Tokyo: Asuka Kobayashi and Mariko Kondo (Art Director and Strategist, Beacon Communications K.K.)