SLOVENIAN ADVERTISING FESTIVAL – SOF
Words hold power. Vision provides direction. Focus pushes boundaries. SOF reveals how this trio creates results that are not just excellent – but extraordinary.
SOF will take place on May 15–16, 2025, at Magazin Grando in Portorož.
Ivica Kostelić will unveil the secrets of a winning mindset and share what drives champions when everyone else gives up, while Toni Vodišek will speak candidly about the price of top-level sports and the sacrifices needed to achieve peak performance.
Luka Bajs, Robert Bohinec, and Jure Korenč will explore how to recognize risk in the world of creativity and what it means to be boldly and innovatively creative. In a provocative conversation, Blaž Brodnjak and Dejan Turk will question the purpose of advertising budgets and reflect on the future of communication.
Petra Parovel and Patricia Šelih will share their journey from social media to successful companies and reveal the key to their success, while young entrepreneurial talents Katarina Lotrič, Miha Jagodic, and Alen Cvišić will present their experiences in conquering global markets with their innovative products.
Borut Pahor and Bojan Cvjetićanin will discuss how to discover and reach one’s full potential. Representatives of the 8th March Initiative will deliver a socially-driven message, presenting the European initiative My Voice, My Choice.
EXCLUSIVE: AMAZON DROPS COOKIELESS ADS AFTER GOOGLE’S REVERSAL
Just hours before Google announced it would abandon its plan to eliminate third-party cookies, Amazon sent an email to publishers inviting them to join its program that included a key part of Google’s cookie replacement: Privacy Sandbox. Now, however, the e-commerce giant has withdrawn from that initiative, confirming to ADWEEK that it no longer plans to continue with cookieless advertising – another blow to an industry struggling to pivot toward a privacy-focused future.
According to email screenshots obtained from two publishing sources, sent before Google’s April 22 announcement, Amazon Publisher Services had planned a broad rollout of an API that supports Google’s Protected Audience API (PAAPI) – a tool for retargeting users within the Privacy Sandbox that shifts ad auctions from servers to the browser.
SASHA SAVIĆ ANNOUNCED AS KEYNOTE SPEAKER AT THIS YEAR’S SEMPL
We are delighted to announce that this year’s SEMPL conference will host the remarkable Sasha Savic, a renowned leader in the global advertising and media industry. Over the past 35 years, Sasha has led several global media agencies, winning numerous awards for his visionary leadership and management excellence. His experience spans key moments in the industry’s evolution, including the rise of Google, the emergence of social media, the Internet of Things (IoT), and now the transformative impact of artificial intelligence.
Taking place on November 27–28 at Hotel Bernardin in Portorož, SEMPL is considered one of the best-organized and most meticulously curated business events in Southeast Europe. It is dedicated to media trends and serves as an invaluable knowledge source for professionals working in media agencies.
ONE WEEKEND, FIVE DIFFERENT WORLDS
This year, the Weekend Media Festival celebrates its 18th edition. From September 18 to 21, 2025, Rovinj will once again become the epicenter of creativity, knowledge, and networking. The coming-of-age edition will feature two brand-new festivals: Investment.Weekend and Finance.Weekend.
“This year we celebrate Weekend’s coming of age and are thrilled to announce the festival’s most ambitious edition yet. Weekend.18 will feature five parallel festivals, including two entirely new ones, expanding our content to meet the growing needs of the market and provide space for the latest investment and financial trends. All of this, of course, wrapped up with top-notch entertainment – as expected from the Weekend,” said Tomo Ricov, Director of the Weekend Media Festival.
EXCLUSIVE: MICHAEL KASSAN’S 3C VENTURE SPENDING $3M ON BEACH TAKEOVER DURING CANNES LIONS
One year ago, Michael Kassan founded 3C Ventures after a public split with MediaLink.
This year, Kassan aims to make a major splash in Cannes with a $3 million beach activation, part of a larger $5 million investment in Cannes.
In addition to networking spaces and programming, the 3CV Venue will feature a Mediterranean-inspired restaurant and café. The goal is to create an “exclusive oasis” away from the “over-commercialized activations” in Cannes, Kassan said.
One year after its founding, Kassan’s 3C Ventures is claiming its place on the beach at the Cannes Lions Festival with a multimillion-dollar takeover.
From June 16 to 19, Plage 3CV will gather brands, agencies, innovators, and famous names from the worlds of tech, sports, and entertainment for talks, networking, and tailor-made luxury experiences.
“The Cannes Lions activation is not just symbolic, but also strategic,” Kassan told ADWEEK.
GRAND PRIX WARC AWARDS 2025 GO TO INDIA, NETHERLANDS, SPAIN, AND THE USA
The top honors at the 2025 WARC Awards for Effectiveness, in partnership with LIONS, have been announced. These awards recognize the best marketing campaigns worldwide that demonstrate strategic excellence and effective commercial performance.
The United States leads with two Grand Prix awards. India, the Netherlands, and Spain each won one.
John Bizzell, WARC: “Selected from hundreds of entries from around the world, these five Grand Prix-winning campaigns set a high standard for effective marketing. These outstanding efforts, along with all the winners of this year’s WARC Awards for Effectiveness, will be a source of inspiration for future success.”
The five Grand Prix winners of the WARC Awards 2025 are:
- Channel Pioneer Grand Prix: ‘Find Your Summer’ for Magnum, agency Lola MullenLowe, Madrid
- Customer Experience Grand Prix: ‘Horror Codes’ for Uber Eats, agency Retink, New York
- Partnerships & Sponsorships Grand Prix: ‘Michael CeraVe’ for CeraVe, agency Ogilvy, New York
- Strategic Thinking Grand Prix: ‘A Piece of Me’ for KPN, agency Dentsu Creative, Amsterdam
- Use of Data Grand Prix: ‘Turf Finder’ for Gatorade, agency Leo, Mumbai
