Adfest has opened for entries into the AdFest 2019 Lotus Awards.. Next year’s festival and Lotus Awards ceremonies will be held at Peach Royal Cliff Hotels Group, Pattaya, Thailand from March 20 to March 23.

AdFest has introduced four major changes to next year’s Lotus Awards categories:

• The eCommerce Lotus category has been introduced, recognising the rise of retail innovators and brand campaigns.
• The Promo Lotus has become the Brand Experience & Engagement Lotus.
• The Radio Lotus has become the Audio Lotus to reflect the innovation occurring within the radio category through podcasts and digital technology
• The Branded Content Lotus has become the Branded Entertainment Lotus.

Everything you need to know to enter is here.

AdFest is also re-launching its Fabulous Four program as Fabulous Five, giving five emerging directors the chance to premiere their short films at AdFest 2019.

Everything you need to know about Fabulous Five is here.

Jimmy Lam, president of AdFest, commented, “The decision to introduce the eCommerce Lotus category recognises the rise of eCommerce in this digital era and we believe the sector will continue to grow as consumers’ behaviour increasingly shifts to a cashless society. The renaming of some Lotus categories next year is also reflective of their more inclusive and up-to-date definitions.”

The deadline for categories that will be judged remotely is Friday January 11 2019. These categories are: Audio Lotus (formerly called the Radio Lotus category), eCommerce Lotus (*NEW category), Effective Lotus, Film Lotus (Internet Film & Other Film sub-categories only), INNOVA Lotus, Interactive Lotus and Mobile Lotus.

The deadline for all other categories is Friday January 18 2019. These categories are: Branded Entertainment Lotus (formerly called Branded Content Lotus); Brand Experience & Engagement (formerly called Promo Lotus); Design Lotus; Direct Lotus; Film Craft Lotus; Film Lotus (excluding Internet Film & Other Film sub-categories); Integrated Lotus; Media Lotus; New Director Lotus; Outdoor Lotus; Press Lotus and Print Craft Lotus.

AdFest’s most prestigious categories are the Innova Lotus, recognising the region’s most innovative ideas, and Lotus Roots, which is the only award in the world celebrating the creative impact of local culture.