Digital Asia Festival Announces Jury Line-up Preliminary Judging gets Underway

8 October 2012 – With just over four weeks until the Digital Asia Festival kicks off, the organisers have announced that over 600 entries from 14 countries have been received into the 2012 awards.

Preliminary judging has commenced ahead of the Festival with 25 jurors, 12 of which will head for the final stage at the Grand Millennium Hotel in Beijing to judge Media and Sector entries into categories which include Mobile, Viral Advertising, Media Innovation, Best Use of Social Media, Gaming, Online PR, Travel/Entertainment & Leisure, Financial Services and Corporate Information. The judging criteria will be based on Strategy, Creativity & Innovation, Execution & Results.

The jury will be led by Matias Palm-Jensen, European Chief Innovation Officer, McCann Erickson. Making up this year’s jury are:

Preliminary and Final Stage Judging in Beijing:

• Amy Chen, Director of Digital Marketing, Coca-Cola, China
• Benjamin Condit, Digital Partner, Mindshare, China
• Manny Fernando, President, Megamobile, The Philippines
• Andrew Knott, Vice President Digital, McDonald’s APMEA, Singapore
• Matthew Lumb, Brand Building Integrated Communication, Asia, P&G, Asia
• Ryuji Mitsuishi Banderas, Director of Digital Strategy, Beacon/Leo Burnett Tokyo, Japan
• Rudi Ramin, Platform Lead Asia, Kraft Foods Asia Pacific
• Patrick Rona, President of Tribal DDB APAC and Chief Digital Officer of DDB Group Asia Pacific, DDB, Asia Pacific
• Sandipan Roy, Regional Strategy Director, Isobar Asia Pacific, China
• Lee Smith, Chief Executive Officer Platforms and President, Annalect, Omnicom Media Group APAC, Singapore
• Susana Tsui, Vice President, OgilvyOne Worldwide, Asia, Hong Kong

Preliminary Judging:

• Melissa Bell, Marketing Director, Volkswagen Group, China
• KiKi Chen, Managing Director, MediaLand Digital Strategy, Taiwan
• Valerie Cheng, Executive Creative Director, JWT, Singapore
• Joel Clement, Regional Creative Director Asia, Saatchi & Saatchi, Thailand
• Damien Cummings, Regional Marketing Director, Digital & Social Media, Samsung Asia, Singapore
• Christer Eriksson, Regional Planning Director, R/GA, Asia Pacific
• James Hacking, Vice President, Blue Current, Hong Kong
• Navin Kansal, Group Creative Director, Grey Digital, China
• Seong Ng Heok, Executive Creative Director, EuroRSCG, Malaysia
• Yoo-Shin Lee, Creative Director, Cheil Worldwide, Korea
• Leigh Reyes, President & Chief Executive Officer, Lowe + Partners, The Philippines
• Olly Taylor, Chief Strategy Officer, Host, Australia
• Wendy Walker, Chief Marketing Officer, iiNet, Australia
• Daniel Wright, Digital Creative Director, Colenso BBDO, New Zealand

Commenting on the appointment of this year’s jurors, Myriam Coupard, Festival Director of the Digital Asia Festival, says, “The digital communications field is one that is fast-paced and working across multiple platforms from social media to mobile. The 2012 jury is an incredibly strong collective of experts from this area who have the expertise to identify those entries that are forward-thinking, ground-breaking and worthy of winning a Digital Asia Award.”

The two-day Festival, taking place across 7 and 8 November, will see an unmissable series of content and networking opportunities which will conclude with the Awards Ceremony, where the jury’s chosen winners will be revealed and honoured on stage. www.digitalfestivalasia.com can be visited for further details on the Festival and information on how to register to attend.

The Digital Asia Festival
The newly launched Digital Asia Festival, incorporating the well-established Digital Media Awards, is a learning, networking and celebration of the best that Asia’s digital marketing industry has to offer. Now in its sixth year, the awards continue to showcase and honour the expanding digital media and entertainment industries. At a time when digital expertise has never been more important, the Digital Media Awards offer clients, agencies and media owners the chance to display their digital offering. The annual awards receive over 800 entries and are judged by an independent jury consisting of leading client marketers, digital media practitioners, agency strategists and other experts in the digital field. The Digital Asia Festival presents a compelling programme of seminars, digital showcases, networking and awards and offers a great platform for brands and the online community to reach into new media and markets. The Digital Asia Festival is organised by Lions Festivals and Haymarket Media Asia. www.digitalasiafestival.com

Haymarket Media Group
The Haymarket Media Group established in 1957 is the largest privately-owned magazine publisher in the UK, and one of the fastest growing media companies globally. The principal business is centred around its consumer, business, professional and customer publications. These are complemented by digital platforms and live events, including extensive exhibitions, conferences and awards. The Group’s global expansion comes from wholly owned subsidiaries, joint ventures and extensive licensing of key magazines to other publishers. In Asia from their offices in Hong Kong, Mumbai and Singapore, Haymarket Media Ltd publish market-leading titles Campaign Asia-Pacific, Finance Asia, Asian Investor, CEI Asia Pacific and Campaign India. In addition Haymarket organise a number of the region’s leading industry awards and conferences relating to the communications and finance sectors. For more information about the Haymarket Media Group see www.haymarket.com.

Lions Festivals
Lions Festivals is the organiser of Cannes Lions and Eurobest as well as co-organisers, with its joint venture partners, of Dubai Lynx, Spikes Asia, the Festival of Asian Marketing Effectiveness, and the Digital Asia Festival.

Its flagship festival, the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, is the world’s leading celebration of creativity in communications. Founded in 1954, the Festival takes place every June in Cannes, France, and brings together professionals in the film, media, technology, PR, design and marketing industries to attend a week-long programme of exhibitions, screenings and talks by worldwide thought leaders. The Festival also awards Lions to the best work of that year across a variety of sectors and media. A Lion is regarded as the most coveted award in the creative communications industry and a global benchmark of excellence.
Lions Festivals is powered by Top Right Group
www.lionsfestivals.com

Key 2012 Dates
Digital Asia Festival Dates: 7 & 8 November, Millennium Hotel, Beijing, China