NEW YORK and SHANGHAI, August 18, 2026 — As the One Asia Creative Awards enters its sixth year, The One Club for Creativity continues to expand its investment in the Asia Pacific region through a series of strong industry partnerships and new initiatives.
This was best exemplified by the club’s recent extensive regional tour, designed to deepen relationships, better understand the diverse needs of APAC’s creative markets, and shape future opportunities for the region’s creative community.
Led by Chief Awards Officer Adam Izen and APAC Director of Growth & Partnerships Season Zhou Jiayao, the initiative began in May with Izen’s participation at GoaFest in partnership with The ABBYs, before continuing throughout July when the pair toured APAC and engaged with the creative community in Seoul, Tokyo, Shanghai, Bangkok, and Singapore.
Throughout the tour, Izen and Season met with hundreds of creative leaders representing agencies, brands, production companies, media organizations, and industry partners. Conversations focused on the rapidly evolving creative landscape across APAC, emerging technologies including AI, talent development, education, international collaboration, and how The One Club can continue creating meaningful opportunities for creatives throughout the region.
Regional Highlights
In Seoul, the tour was organized in partnership with BrandBrief, whose Editor-in-Chief SooKyung Kim helped coordinate meetings and accompanied the team throughout the city, providing valuable insight into Korea’s creative landscape.
Together, they met with leaders from HSAD, Planit, TBWA\Korea, Daehong, Cheil, SM C&C, and Musinsa, exploring Korea’s distinctive creative ecosystem and its growing influence across advertising, entertainment, and brand building. The visit concluded with community dinners celebrating Korea’s independent agency leaders and many of the country’s leading women creative executives.
In Tokyo, discussions with Suntory, Dentsu, AOI Pro., TBWA\HAKUHODO, CyberAgent, UltraSuperNew, and PUSH Japan examined creativity, craft, AI, education, and the enduring strength of Japanese brands. A highlight of the visit was an intimate dinner hosted by UltraSuperNew, in partnership with Black Cat White Cat, bringing together creative leaders from across the city for an evening dedicated to conversation, connection, and creative exchange.
In addition, Izen and Season enjoyed a dinner with representatives from the production community, including Black Cat White Cat, NION. Nakama, TYO Inc., Pyramid, GEEK GARAGE, Dentsu Creative Pictures, and Taiyo.
In Shanghai, the focus shifted toward knowledge sharing through presentations and discussions with teams from Publicis, BlueFocus, Havas Creative China, SG Group, Tianyukong, and SHAI Awards. Conversations reflected China’s growing interest in international creative collaboration and the next generation of creative talent.
The visit concluded with a community dinner hosted by Heckler, bringing together agency leaders and creatives from across the city.
In Bangkok, meetings with CJ WORX, JONGLUCKDEE, Sour Bangkok, and Yell Advertising highlighted Thailand’s vibrant independent creative community and its continued global ambitions. The team also joined members of the Thai Advertising Association for a lunch hosted by Ad Addict magazine, before ending the visit with a community celebration hosted by Yell Advertising.
The APAC tour concluded in Singapore, where conversations with Ogilvy, Publicis, TSLA, We Are Social, McCann Singapore, GOVT VCCP, Omnicom, LePub, and The LEGO Agency centered on the future of creative leadership, education, and developing stronger pathways for emerging talent.
APAC takeaways
While the structures, strengths, and priorities of each creative industry varied considerably by market, several common themes emerged. They include increasing interest in AI and new technologies, stronger demand for education and international connection, continued investment in young creative talent, and a growing desire to create more opportunities for collaboration across the region.
Building on these insights, The One Club will continue to invest in initiatives that strengthen connections between APAC and the global creative community.
Among them is its cross-cultural jury exchange program, which brings leading jurors from Europe and the Americas to participate in One Asia Creative Awards judging, and then during the same year having those jurors also judge The One Show. The initiative encourages greater cross-cultural dialogue while helping outstanding work from APAC gain broader international visibility and stronger global advocacy.
“Some of the world’s most exciting creative work is coming out of APAC, and this tour only reinforced that belief,” said The One Club’s Adam Izen. “Everywhere we went, creatives were eager to share ideas, build relationships, and shape the future of our industry. That spirit of openness is exactly why we’re committed to investing even more deeply in the region.”
The club’s Season Zhou Jiayao added, “Our goal is not only to recognize great work, but to create more opportunities for creatives across the region to connect, collaborate, and share their voices. The conversations we started during this journey will continue to shape how The One Club serves and supports the APAC creative community.”
The One Club’s engagement throughout APAC will continue this fall with appearances at DigiCon in Manila and One Asia Creative Awards judging in Kuala Lumpur, further strengthening relationships with the region’s creative community while continuing to build programs that connect APAC creativity with the global industry.
The 2026 One Asia Creative Awards is currently accepting entries, with the final deadline of September 18, 2026. The competition celebrates the best creative work from across Asia Pacific, while connecting the region through world-class judging, recognition, education, and creative exchange.
For more information and to enter, please visit the One Asia website.
The One Club for Creativity – home of The One Show, ADC Annual Awards, Art Directors Club of Europe (ADCE) awards, ONE Asia Creative Awards, Type Directors Club TDC competition and scholarships, ADC Young Guns, Young Ones Student Awards, Next Creative Leaders, WAATBP Esseenials career fair, Portfolio Night, Creative Week, and more – is the world’s foremost non-profit organization whose mission is to support and celebrate the success of the global creative community. Revenue generated from entries to its global awards shows goes back into the industry to fund programs that support industry access, creative education, professional development, and enhancement of creative careers around the world.
