Asuka Kobayashi and Mariko Kondo took part in the Young Lotus workshop at ADFEST 2019 – and won the Popular Vote!

The duo worked together at Beacon Communications in Tokyo – Kobayashi is an Art Director, and Kondo is a Strategist but left the agency earlier this year.

ADFEST’s Young Lotus Workshop is a mentoring program for junior creatives. This year’s teams were mentored by MullenLowe Group, while next year’s teams will be mentored by Isobar.

You won the Young Lotus “Popular Vote” this year, congratulations! What did you learn from taking part in the Young Lotus program?

Asuka: Through the workshop, I got to learn about global creative trends, outside of the trends in Japan. Also, it was great to know that my ways of concept building and the process/output of the executions of my daily work are competitive to outside of Japan, which gave me confidence. At the same time, further challenges were found and I appreciate that too.

Mariko: Thank you! I learned how young creatives around the region have the common goal of creating great ideas to solve problems, and the strong passion towards it. Young Lotus was not just a competition but also a community of collaborative young creatives!

You were given a real-world brief from Google. What was your idea and why do you think it was so popular?

Mariko: Yes - the brief was to reactivate the lapsed users of Google Home, and our idea was “Google KAN-PAI” - an additional talking function, which you could drink together with. Google Home can chat with you, recommend music and lighting, or food pairing while you're drinking at home.

The idea itself sounds fun, but actually it is based on two strategic perspectives. One, the idea needed to serve users who are not tech masters but fun experience seekers, which we knew from Google Trends analysis. Two, it turns Google Home into a platform for in-home data, where Google can collect real behavior data that search engines can never collect. For instance, it could collect what brands or products they use, how they combine those products, and how they feel.

The brief asked for an “Innovative Strategy” not a ”Creative Idea”. We believe we did our best to meet this brief with a flexible attitude.

Asuka: We think the reason we won the Popular Vote was that the idea was fun and friendly, but persuasive at the same time. The presentation was a big part of it – we planned a set-up with the serious strategy, and an enjoyable conversation to role-play the idea.

Our advice is to enjoy the workshop and have fun, and make others smile be it your partner, other teams, and the audience. The tight schedule and presentation in front of a big audience made us nervous, but we tried to have fun – we even brainstormed in a swimming pool, for example.

Any favourite memories of Thailand?

Asuka: Group dinner at an open-air beer bar before the competition. It was so inspiring hearing other country representatives’ stories of their local creative work and daily life.

Mariko: Spa before the big presentation. We told them we were having a big day tomorrow, and there was a special massage menu they gave us. If you are one of the candidates, I recommend you to go!

How long have you worked at Beacon Communications K.? Are you working on any interesting projects at the moment?

Asuka: It has been about a year and a half since I joined Beacon. One of the most interesting projects I’m working on at the moment is a collaboration of food and music. It is so inspiring to see the artists’ sense of music. I can't wait to see how the music will come out!

Tokyo is such an amazing, crazy city! How does it inspire you?

Asuka: I was born and raised in Shitamachi, a traditional area of Tokyo. Therefore, I am more inspired by the traditional and local side of Tokyo than the new culture. I believe that learning the history of Tokyo connects me to ideas and executions with the taste of Tokyo-ness.

Mariko: Tokyo is unique because it accepts any culture, new and old, domestic and international – and keeps becoming more and more chaotic. Recently I tried out a VR team sport called HADO and ended up drinking 1-liter of water and having muscle aches. Unexpectedly, it was a real sport! These new technologies and cultures always inspire me to think of new and alternative ways of seeing things.

Do you have any advice for junior creatives: is there a secret to succeeding/surviving in ad land?

Asuka: Be yourself. Have the courage to follow your heart and intuition.

Hang in there. Keep looking for great partners and a great working environment.

Mariko: Stay playful. Young creatives are expected to bring a fresh point of view to the table, which no other member can think of. We get busy and stressed so it's easy to become rigid, but try to be brave, enjoy and stay happy!

Would you recommend the Young Lotus program to other creatives?

Asuka: Yes, I would. The best thing about this program is the opportunity to meet great partners and people to work with. If you want to get connected with creators out of your country, I definitely recommend the challenge.

You will be able to see yourself objectively. And if you find a great partner, you will be able to achieve together what you couldn’t have done alone, by covering the shortcomings of each other. I believe meeting great people makes new creative.

Mariko: Totally! You will be able to challenge all your skills and capabilities: creativity, strategy, presentations, teamwork, time keeping, mental strength, language, etc. It is a week-long program with lectures, briefing, and presentation so it will be like a condensed rollercoaster, but if you like learning and challenging, definitely apply!!

If you are interested in taking part in the Young Lotus Workshop at ADFEST 2020, contact YoungLotus@ADFEST.com