Advertising Week APAC Returns After Two-Year Hiatus

Marketing industry event Advertising Week APAC (AWAPAC) is back after a two-year absence, returning to its home of Luna Park in Sydney across two action-packed days, Tuesday 2 – Wednesday 3 August.

AWAPAC is purpose-built to bring the marketing, media, technology and creative industries together to drive change. The flagship event will feature a festival-esque program full of insightful keynote presentations and workshops, immersive brand experiences and hands-on activations from industry leaders including Meta, TikTok, Twitter and Amazon.

For the first time, there will be a dedicated sub-program focused on supporting the next generation of communications professionals integrated throughout to address the very real resource crunch that threatens to cripple the industry.

A daily careers fair will be held and emerging practitioners can book in for ‘speed-mentoring’ with some of the industry’s most senior experts as Luna Park’s famous Ferris wheel is transformed into the AWAPAC Mentoring Wheel presented by The Daily Mail.

Advertising Week’s global president Ruth Mortimer said the event will also give young attendees the tools and practical advice on how to upskill and elevate their careers, something that is critical in the current Australian jobs market.

“Australia is currently undergoing one of its worst skills and staffing crises on record following the impact to the creative and communications sector during COVID-19 and ongoing challenges to move talent around the world,” said Ruth.

“AWAPAC presents an opportunity for the next generation of talent to make those invaluable connections through networking and mentorship and get a foot in the door. It is also a great opportunity for those already in the industry to learn new skills and keep up with trends and changes.”

AWAPAC 2022 will see Luna Park be transformed across four main areas:

• The Great Minds Stage
• The Tech Lab Stage, presented by Yahoo!
• The Innovation Factory Stage, presented by News Corp Australia
• The Amazon Ads Studios, a virtual broadcast studio streaming original content from Luna Park

Each space centres around a core theme chosen in response to the changing landscape of media and consumption, as well as broader societal changes experienced during COVID.

Commenting on the program curation of AWAPAC, Mortimer said: “The media industry has undergone a fundamental shift in recent years, and it has significantly impacted how and where consumers access news and entertainment. To continue to understand and reach consumers with relevant information, big brands need to be aware of this shift and be proactive in how they change communications.”

Brands and speakers at the event represent a diverse range of backgrounds and topics, including Meta, Twitter, Volvo, Amazon, L’Oreal, Samsung, TikTok, Paramount ANZ, Twitch and more.

Some of Australia’s most newsworthy events will be on the stage with Adelaide United midfielder Josh Cavallo joining Twitter to talk about his decision to live openly and authentically as a gay man in a sport that has traditionally left LGBTQIA+ players feeling unwelcome.

News Corp will have a flagship panel, which will see panelists discuss diverse investigative topics, and controversial detective Gary Jubelin, who investigated the William Tyrrell case will be part of the discussion.

Content creators will be represented by a TikTok lunch featuring musicians Forest Claudette and Ūla. On the Great Minds stage, YouTube, Twitch and TikTok creators Elliott Watkins, Taylor Morgan and Jordan Barcley who will discuss how to effectively work with brands.

Meanwhile Jonathon Hart from legendary Australian indie band Boy & Bear will be talking about how to authentically tap into culture. TRIBE’s Jules Lund will be drawing on his TV and social media experience to help brands turn all their staff into content creators.

Joining the event live virtually will be Rupen Desai, chief marketing officer at the Dole Sunshine Co, recently acknowledged as one of Forbes’ most influential marketers in the world and Raja Rajamannar, chief marketing and communications officer at Mastercard and president of the World Federation of Advertisers.

The Amazon Ads Studio will be hosted throughout the event as a live TV-style broadcast from Luna Park by Dan Monheit, who hosts the Bad Decisions podcast, popular in more than 90 countries and whose book ‘Terrible Advice for Excellent Marketers’ is due out later in 2022.

AWAPAC will be held from the 2^nd – 3^rd of August at Sydney’s Luna Park. Tickets start at $199 for a Digital only pass and from $599 to attend in person.