Cairns Crocodiles, presented by Pinterest, brought a taste of the tropics to Singapore on Thursday evening, joining forces with Innovid to officially launch its 2027 festival and celebrate the best of creativity from across Asia-Pacific.
Held at Artemis Grill, overlooking Singapore’s skyline, the invite-only gathering brought together senior figures from across the region’s advertising, marketing, media and creative industries.
The guest list featured representatives from some of the industry’s biggest names, including Omnicom Media Group, Dentsu, Publicis Groupe, WPP, Ogilvy, VML, Monks, Stagwell, 72andSunny, Havas, Salesforce, SAP, Google, TikTok, Samsung Ads, The Trade Desk, Amazon Ads, Teads, Mastercard and Air New Zealand, among others.
Guests were treated to a showcase of standout work from the 2026 Cairns Crocodiles Awards, celebrating some of the region’s most exciting creative campaigns.
The launch party also follows another exciting announcement for Cairns Crocodiles this week, with the festival welcoming former Cannes Lions executive Helen McManamon as strategic partnerships manager, JAPAC. McManamon joins from Cannes Lions International.
McManamon was also in attendance at the Singapore event, as part of her broader focus on building relationships with agency holding companies across the region.
The event also saw the unveiling of the Cairns Hatchlings Round 1 brief for 2027, developed in partnership with Citizens of the Reef. The competition gives emerging creative talent across APAC the opportunity to tackle a real-world challenge, with finalists flown to Cairns to crack a live brief from the United Nations Foundation.
Dave Hovenden, co-founder of The Misfits Media Company, said the Singapore launch marked another important step in the festival’s regional growth ambitions.
“There’s an extraordinary amount of creative talent coming out of Asia, and we want Cairns Crocodiles to be a place where that talent comes together, connects and gets the recognition it deserves.
“Singapore is such an important creative and business hub for the region, so it makes perfect sense to bring the Crocs energy here. We’re building something that genuinely connects the creative industries across Asia-Pacific, and the response we’re seeing is incredibly encouraging.”
The Singapore event is part of a wider push to strengthen Cairns Crocodiles’ presence across Asia, with the festival team spending more time on the ground building relationships with the region’s creative and marketing communities. Earlier this year, Hovenden and managing partner Rosie Oakshott travelled to Singapore and Japan, while content director Pippa Chambers visited South Korea, meeting industry leaders and exploring opportunities to bring more Asian voices and talent to the Cairns stage.
Rosie Oakshott, managing partner of The Misfits Media Company, said the response to the Singapore launch had exceeded expectations.
“We’ve been blown away by the enthusiasm for Cairns Crocodiles in Singapore,” she said.
“Demand was so strong that we actually had to increase capacity for the event to accommodate the level of interest. It’s a fantastic indication of the appetite for what we’re building across Asia, and we’re incredibly excited about the momentum heading into 2027.”
Georgia Brammer, general manager, APAC, at Innovid, said the company was delighted to partner with Cairns Crocodiles for the launch.
“Creativity and innovation go hand in hand, and that’s exactly what makes Cairns Crocodiles such an exciting festival to be part of.
“It’s fantastic to see the industry coming together in Singapore to celebrate great work, discover emerging talent and build stronger connections across the region. We’re proud to help bring that energy to Singapore.”
The Singapore celebration follows the festival’s recent Melbourne launch of its expanded Film & Screen program, as Cairns Crocodiles continues to build momentum ahead of its sixth edition.
Festival of Creativity, bringing extensive international experience and industry connections as Cairns Crocodiles ramps up its ambitions across Asia.
Cairns Crocodiles, presented by Pinterest, returns from 25–27 May 2027 at the Cairns Convention Centre.
