22nd Ad Congress opens venue bidding

MANILA, Philippines - Choosing the ideal venue is crucial in mounting an ad congress that is value-packed with lots of learning and loads of fun. The organizing committee of this years’ 22nd Philippine Advertising Congress wants to bring the vibe of professionalism and efficiency in the conduct of the congress.

This is why, as early as now, the Ad Congress – the biggest event in the local advertising industry – has opened up the bidding among local government units for the location to hold the prestigious gathering in November. Interested LGUs may submit their bids anytime until Jan. 31, 2011.

“We would like to aspire to have a congress that spurs movement and change; a congress that will move the industry towards introspection and hopefully create the power to break barriers to growth. We can start challenging the current state of affairs – raise some issues, and ask the industry the hard question of Why? or Why not?” said Sandy Prieto-Romualdez, president of the Inquirer and chairman of this year’s Ad Congress.

With Sandy in this mission is a formidable team composed of Andre Kahn and Jose Sy for Oversight committee, Blen Fernando for Administrative, Margot Torres for Programs, Merlee Jayme for Creatives, Nonna Nanagas for Finance, Joanna Mojica for Ways and Means, Miguel Belmonte for PR, Emil Yap III for External Affairs, and Connie Kalagayan for Internal Affairs.

Held every two years, the event, organized by the Advertising Board of the Philippines, brings together the country’s top business, advertising and media firms. The event was hastily moved to Subic Bay Freeport in November 2009 after roads leading to Baguio City, the initial venue, were ravaged by landslides and floods caused by strong typhoons three weeks before the event.

This year, there will be seven criteria that would determine which city or locality is most fit to host the esteemed event, according to Belen Fernando, vice president for marketing for Alaska Milk Corporation and head of the organizing committee for the Ad Congress.

In a nutshell, the criteria include the following: the city or locality’s accessibility through various transport modes; infrastructure (such as conference center or plenary hall) that can support at least 2,500 to 4,000 delegates; affordability; availability of local suppliers; safety and security systems in place; and local government support.

“Aside from our usual criteria, we’ve also added in the list, for the first time, a city or locality’s value-added attractions to the delegates and guests as many of the participants view the Ad Congress also as a break from their usual hectic schedule,” Fernando said. For inquiries, please e-mail [email protected] or call Jennifer Enriquez at 0917-5042716. All bid letters should be sent to: The Admin Committee Chairperson c/o ADBOARD, 5th Floor, Dao Condominium, Legaspi Street, Makati City.

While all localities are welcome to submit their bids, cities with huge conference centers and a large number of hotels invariably have the advantage, she said.

The winning locality will be announced in February, after which another bidding process will ensue. The second bidding would be for the selection of the events company that would be responsible for the set-up and staging of the Ad Congress logistics. 

This is the first time that logistics demand for the Ad Congress (such as booking and registration of participants, transportation, and meals of delegates) would be outsourced.

“In the past, we’ve always had volunteers from the industry. And while we appreciate that, we believe outsourcing the logistics to more experienced people would best serve the interests of everyone,” Fernando said.

Like choosing the venue for the event, selecting the events company also presents stringent criteria to ensure that the Ad Congress runs as smoothly and as professionally as possible.

Fernando said they’d be looking at the company’s integrity, competence, track record, and completeness of service.

Fernando said: “We’ll definitely step it up this time around. Launching a truly first class Ad Congress this year starts with selecting the perfect venue so we’re hoping to get the best bids from cities and localities across the country.”