Asia Rising - Fresh from the APAC Cannes Lions Jury

There were a few key trends taking place this year.

One popular trend was the number of 'good cause' projects being entered. They were of high quality and wide variety - most brands tended to do 'good cause' branding in different ways, unique to their brands.

A few years back, it was tricky to keep up with the trend of doing good. Most of the attention ended up being more about the brand's name associated with the entered works

However this year, I noticed that brands weren't just being a part of the 'good cause' superficially, or supporting a cause with minimal intrusion.

My believe is that this trend will continue, since the younger/upcoming generation is definitely not interested in intrusive marketing or advertising. You need to do more as a brand through cultural relevance by being part of the people and their lives.

However, I feel it will take a few more years for Asia to catch up with this growing trend.

Another trend I saw in Cannes this year was that there was much less product, straight forward advertising and more branding spots then ever. I've observed these trends growing for a few years and I'm sure this will continue worldwide and at Spikes Asia this year.