Trust Ted Royer to come up with a title that makes his talk irresistible.

In The Party You Can’t Go To and the Universe in Your Head, the CCO of Droga5 will explore two fascinating yet completely unrelated ideas – first, he’ll suggest a stance that brands can have in the world, then he’ll tell the story of an unsung creative who never stopped trying. Puzzled? Curious? You should be. Be there (or visit here next week for the summary) to be enlightened.

Bruce Duckworth, joint chief creative officer & chief executive officer of Turner Duckworth and D&AD President, will also join the program at ADFEST 2017 next week.

His session is titled, Design At the Centre. “It’s hard to think of a successful, modern brand who’s not putting design excellence at the centre of their world,” Duckworth noted.

He will explain why this is so, and he will reveal insights into the success of Turner Duckworth – the studio he founded in 1992 with David Turner, which now has offices in London, San Francisco, and New York.

Turner Duckworth works with some of the most culturally significant brands in the world, Amazon, Coca Cola and Google; entrepreneurial brands such as Elemis; and the band, Metallica.

Other sessions include:

• What’s Next? The Apocalypse Of Creativity by Alex Liu, associate innovation research director, Cheil Pengtai (Beijing). Thursday March 23, 12.15pm.

Will technology overrun creativity? Alex Liu believes he has found the perfect balance between technology and creativity in marketing: something called IoME or Internet of Marketing Experience.

• Decoding The Many Flavours Of Creativity by Pat Baron, chief creative officer of McCann Worldgroup (Melbourne) and Heok Seong Ng, chief creative officer McCann Worldgroup (Malaysia). Friday March 24 , 3:15 pm.

This presentation explores what makes a great creative from any culture and how cultural differences should be celebrated to get ahead in today’s globalised world.

• From Backpackers & Tuk-Tuks, To Diverse Culture & World Class Bars, by Asawin Rojmethatawee, communication & media director, Chang International (Bangkok), Luke Nathans, regional CEO, iris Worldwide (Singapore); Graham Van Der Westhuizen, managing director, iris Worldwide (Bangkok); Mark Hadfield, regional planning director, iris Worldwide (Singapore); moderated by Atiwat Manassarikan, senior planner, iris Worldwide (Bangkok). Friday 24 March, 4:45 pm.

When Westerners think of Thailand they inevitably think in clichés: The Hangover movie, backpackers and sun-kissed beaches. But it’s time for bold brands to change these perceptions. Beer Chang and its lead agency shows what to do to shift Western perceptions of Thailand to establish a new Thai identity.

Plus these:

And more. See the full line-up here.