LIA’s Creative LIAisons alumni Chandra Suteja on his unforgettable week in Vegas
Chandra Suteja attended the Creative LIAisons 2015 and is currently a Creative Group Head at Flock Creative Network. Before this, he served as a copywriter at Leo Burnett, J. Walter Thompson and Lowe Jakarta.
His work has earned recognition at international award shows including D&AD, Cannes, Spikes, Gold at AdFest and Grand Prix at Ad Stars.
He has been instrumental in helping Flock Creative Network secure Citra Pariwara Indonesia Agency of The Year in 2020. In 2015 he was selected by Campaign Brief Asia – and the only creative from Indonesia to attend the London International Awards Creative LIAisons program.
Creative LIAisons 2015: Six years ago, after a very long flight from Jakarta, I arrived at the SLS hotel in Vegas. Despite feeling weary and jet-lagged, my week in Vegas was unforgettable. LIAisons was the most impactful event in my career, because I had a chance to be in the same room with world-famous chief creative officers, watching them judge great works from all over the world.
It taught me that small details could make a big difference. It determines whether you bring home gold or nothing at all. That became one key that shaped how I approached work. A great work couldn’t be determined by only one or two things. It’s like Snowpiercer, a perpetually moving 1,034-car train. Each train carriage should be taken care of precisely and passionately. We can’t just fall in love with one process and ignore the others.
Above all, it’s impossible to do things alone. We need a solid team that shares the same goal. I distinctly remember a speaker talked about how important it is to be surrounded by a tribe of people who care about advertising and are willing to do whatever they can to make it as great as it can be. He also reminded us to always build a good relationship with clients because it is the most important thing to create great ads, and good clients come based on our works.
I am always challenged to refine my skill, open up my eyes to another interesting creativity journey in fulfilling my ideal of grabbing people’s attention and speaking to their hearts. It matters, because our 60- second content should feel just like 3 seconds on a telly or video-sharing platform. People have a lot of priorities in their lives: a lot of movies to watch on Netflix, a lot of YouTube channels to subscribe to and we’re none of them. We need an element of surprise to grab their attention, making sure it fulfils the purpose and can be a use for those it’s intended for.
View my latest works: McDonald’s Happy Meal, Last-Minute Souvenir, Sasa Bontabur.
Beyond fantastic interactive workshops, panel discussions and on-site judging, LIAisons is a perfect place to meet with other amazingly talented people, exchange information, opinions and a bit of casino experience. Without a doubt, LIAisons is a golden opportunity for young creatives to learn from some of the most experienced people working in the industry.