This week, Dörte Spengler-Ahrens (chief creative office of Jung von Matt), Ted Royer, (CCO of Droga5 New York) and John Merrifield, (CCO of Google Asia-Pacific) were all announced as speakers at the London International Awards 2015 Creative LIAisons program. The join a heavy weight line-up of industry figures speaking at this year’s program, including Matt Eastwood, Emad Tahtouh, John Mescall, Ralph van Dijk, Pum Lefebure, Taras Wayner, Chris Smith and Keynote Speaker Daymond John. They are set to speak to the more than 100 young creatives attending the fourth annual Creative LIAisons program, which as formerly known as “Creative Conversations”. The mentoring program runs concurrently with the LIA judging in Las Vegas and is LIA's way of giving back to the industry. It is fully funded by LIA, encompassing travel, accommodations, rewarding speaker presentations, a peek into the statue deliberations and various networking opportunities with jurors and speakers in a relaxed social setting.
Dörte Spengler-Ahrens pictured above
Spengler-Ahrens is one of the most awarded German creatives, presiding member of the Art Director’s Club (ADC) and board member of the ADC Festival and Congress Hamburg, as well as a judge for many important international award juries within the communication sector. She started her career as a Junior Art Director and in 2000, founded her own company MARIA, which specialised in products and advertising for women. In 2001 she came back to Jung von Matt, and established the agency Jung von Matt/Spree in Berlin as Executive Creative Director with two partners. Afterwards, she founded the first international branch of Jung von Matt, Jung von Matt/9. She founded Jung von Matt/Fleet, where she was responsible for clients such as Zalando. She said of her role as speaker: “I love to speak at the Creative LIAisons. It is not just about meeting the best young creatives from all over the world, it is also the unique atmosphere of being in that room together with 100 crazy ones talking about the best job in the world: being creative.”
Dörte Spengler-Ahrens, Ted Royer and John Merrifield have been announced as speakers at the London International Awards 2015 Creative LIAisons program
Royer has been at Droga5 since the agency’s early days and has seen the agency grow to over 450 employees. Along the way, Droga5 has received countless accolades, including being named Creativity’s Agency of the Year in 2007, 2011 and 2014, Adweek’s Agency of the Year in 2012 and 2014, one of Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies in 2013 and most recently, Cannes Lions’ 2015 Independent Agency of the Year. He has won more than 100 major awards in the industry, including Pencils, Cannes Lions, Webby's and even Facebook Studio’s inaugural Grand Prix, and has also been on the worldwide creative boards of both Ogilvy & Mather and Publicis Groupe as Executive Creative Director and regional Creative Director. He said: “It’s important for agencies to set a precedent on empowering creatives to stand up for their own ideas, even down to the most junior art director. Programs like LIA Creative LIAisons are great because they teach the next generation of talent that any brief can be dominated with amazing ideas. I’m looking forward to joining some of the other ad greats to present to the up-and-comers in the industry.”
Ted Royer
Merrifield, meanwhile, is the only person to ever be named Asia’s Creative of the Year twice, in 2004 and 2008, and has been asked to judge and speak at almost every major award show on the planet. Based in Singapore, he joined Google in late 2012 as Chief Creative Officer for Asia-Pacific and leads a team that is based in Singapore, Tokyo and Sydney. He has won multiple gold lions at Cannes, multiple gold pencils at the One Show, the grand prix and multiples golds at the Clios, twice best of show alongside multiple golds at AdFest, multiple golds at Spikes Asia, multiple golds at AWARD and the ADC prize in Tokyo. He said: “The Creative LIAisons is rather unique and could well end up doing more good for the future of our industry than the efforts of larger shows. They spend a great deal of time and money on the very people who'll be creating that future: one hundred of the world's brightest young creatives.”
All three chief creative officers are set to speak to the more than 100 young creatives attending the fourth annual Creative LIAisons program
The LIA 2015 Entry System is accepting entries throughout August. Judging will take place from October 1 to October 10 and the shortlists will be announced as each judging session concludes, with winners being announced on November 10.
John Merrifield
