ADFEST is giving post-secondary students in the Asia Pacific and Middle East an invaluable opportunity to be mentored by creative industry professionals through its Lotus Seeds program.

“Our new Lotus Seeds program is designed to unearth and nurture the next generation of creative leaders,” explains Jimmy Lam, President of ADFEST. “The first Lotus Seeds program will be powered by McCann Worldgroup in partnership with Coca-Cola, giving students the rare opportunity to work with one of the world’s most iconic brands before they’ve even graduated.”

Alex Lubar, President, McCann Worldgroup Asia Pacific, says: “We are delighted to be supporting ADFEST’s inaugural Lotus Seeds, in partnership with our longstanding client, Coca-Cola.  As Campaign Asia’s Number One Network for People & Diversity, talent is everything to McCann Worldgroup. After all, our industry is built on people and the onus is on us to attract and secure the brightest and best minds.

“We hope this programme will increase the visibility of our industry to the next generation of talent and inspire them to make the leap into the agency world.”

In early January 2020, McCann and Coca-Cola will reveal a brief, and students will have until 31^st January to submit their responses online.  A jury panel consisting of McCann’s top regional creatives, plus key Coca-Cola clients, will judge their ideas and select 10 finalists. These finalists will be invited to travel to ADFEST 2020, where they’ll experience a full-day mentoring program, hosted by McCann, and an exclusive Q&A session with the Coca-Cola client.

Steve Llewellyn, Creative Excellence Head of Design, Coca-Cola Greater China, says: “We are excited to be partnering with ADFEST’s Lotus Seeds initiative to give young students a platform to flex their creative muscles and share their fresh, youthful perspectives on our brand. This is an important initiative as it is this next generation of creative talent that will help us in our thinking to push new boundaries of iconicity.”

ADFEST 2020 runs from 18^th to 21^st March at PEACH (Pattaya Exhibition and Convention Hall) in Thailand. On Day 4, all Lotus Seeds finalists will present their ideas on the Break Out Stage. The top three winners, as judged by McCann and Coca-Cola, will be presented with a Lotus Seeds awards certificate at the ADFEST Lotus Awards ceremony that evening.

To enter, you must be a post-secondary level student (design school, college, university or equivalent) currently enrolled in academic institutions in Asia Pacific or Middle East region only. There is no restriction on age limit or academic faculty, and the entry fee is THB1,000 (approx. USD$33) per entry.

The deadline for submissions is 31^st January. Finalists will be announced in mid-February. For more information, contact LotusSeeds@ADFEST.com