How to Make the Most out of Your 1st ADCOLOR Experience

By: Senna Bayasgalan

Last month, I attended my first ADCOLOR conference in Los Angeles thanks to Asians In Advertising sponsoring my attendance. Created 16 years ago by Tiffany R Warren, ADCOLOR champions diversity and inclusion in creative industries while rewarding diverse professionals and communities that support and celebrate one another and give back through mentorship. This year, being back in person for the first time since 2019, ADCOLOR encouraged us to build on the momentum and progress we have seen in diversity, equity, and inclusion over the last two years. The theme, Still Rising, echoed hope and solidarity.

(Gift bag, AIA team, and theme on the wall)

As a creative advocate on a mission to create a more equitable world for all, ADCOLOR felt like a fashionable space with diverse and inspiring people, thought-provoking and educational panels, and nonstop entertainment. Here are some things that helped me enjoy ADCOLOR to the fullest.

Before You Arrive

Create a ‘People to Meet’ list

Through the ADCOLOR app, I could see in-person attendees and speakers at the conference. Thanks to AIA co-founder, Jessalin Lam, one of the most organized people I know, we created a shared sheet with a list of people we wanted to meet and network with during the conference. Some of my favorite people I met at the conference include Tiffany Warren, Founder of ADCOLOR; Susie Nam, CEO of Droga5; Ericka Riggs, Chief DEI Officer at Omnicom; Marvin Chow, VP of Global Marketing at Google; Zeena Koda, Head of Global Community at 2K; Mimi Munoz, Global Culture and Operations Manager at Wieden + Kennedy and more. Meeting some of the top DEI leaders, advocates, and influencers and attending their panels made me feel inspired and optimistic about the future of the workplace.

Do your homework

To make things easier, I reached out to these leaders in advance to communicate my desire to meet them (if they were open to it). Unless they were there for a session or their plans to attend had changed, I did not receive any rejections. This also helped make the in-person interaction less intimidating.

There was no shortage of thoughtful and educational panels and entertaining programs across the three days of the conference. It helped me to research the details of sessions and reserve ‘can’t-miss’ events in advance. Some of my favorite sessions were “The State of Justice, Equity, Diversity & Inclusion 2022” moderated by Tiffany Warren and featured Bernice Chao, Towalame Austin, Michael Muñoz, Tanisha Sullivan, and Davianne Harris, “Cultural Intelligence: The Team Sport We’re Losing” moderated by AIA board member Sean Choi featured DANIELS, Sydney Lopes, and Danny Robinson, and “More Stories to Tell: Unifying Asian Americans Through Media'' moderated by Mimi Munoz and featured Thas Naseemuddeen, Zeena Koda, Rinchen Lama. There were concerts and parties every night, a rooftop brunch hosted by Meta, and fun programs like The Style Studio hosted by LinkedIn where you can reserve a haircut, makeup, and a brand-new professional headshot.

During the Conference

Make the most of it

One of the best parts of attending ADCOLOR was seeing a broad representation of Asians across speakers, the ADCOLOR Future and Leaders programs, and the ADCOLOR Awards. It was moving to hear Bernice Chao say that Asians are often not seen as a part of people of color because of the model minority myth, and that it is important to create allyship across diverse communities to create meaningful changes. It made me emotional to see ‘The Myth’ created by Mimi Munoz, Titania Tran, and Dan Koo win the Ad of the Year award. Thanks to Jessica Watson, I moderated Bernice and Jessalin’s Visibility Mindset book session for Publicis Groupe and met their inclusive leaders. This after-hours session was a great experience to learn that companies, agencies, and allies are listening and want to invest in creating spaces where Asians can be more visible.

Use technology

I was a big fan of the conference app because it lets you connect with attendees and speakers, read their bios, and access their socials and websites. Another great feature was the social wall where you can engage with attendees, organizers, speakers, and vendors. It was helpful to take pictures of people’s name tags to connect with them later rather than staring at my phone to find them on LinkedIn.

Network Everywhere

While it was enormously helpful to attend ADCOLOR with Jessalin and Bernice, both well-known leaders in the industry, I found that talking to people during downtimes or in lines, whether it is a hydration stand or a social event, is more natural than randomly introducing myself to total strangers. It gave me a common ground to spark a conversation and make a new connection. This is how I met Zander Van Gogh, Global Creator Programs Manager at LinkedIn and learned about his work, travels, and passion for creative problem-solving.

(Not me manifesting my panel at the future ADCOLOR)

After the Conference

Share recaps

A good practice to pay it forward is to share some of the highlights and learning points with your connections. I used my notes to create a post on my social channels to recall the energy and inspiration from the conference. Here are some of my favorite recap posts from Titania Tran, Rachita Vasan, and Jessalin Lam.

Stay connected

After returning from my incredible first experience at ADCOLOR, I reviewed my notes and followed up with my new connections while the interactions were still fresh. Meeting for virtual coffees with Vimal Patel of Meta, Jenny Huang of BBDO, Zander Van Gogh of LinkedIn, and so many others sparked ideas for future partnerships with Asians In Advertising. It was inspiring to connect with many incredibly diverse leaders in the advertising industry and discuss common challenges and ideas to create places of belonging.

I felt so seen and represented at ADCOLOR. I was not a minority or one of the few like how I usually felt at other conferences. Learning from movers and shakers of the DE&I world, networking with diverse leaders, and developing partnerships with both companies and allies were invaluable experiences.

I appreciate the Asians In Advertising co-founders, Bernice Chao and Jessalin Lam, for inviting me to my first ADCOLOR, pushing me to network with inspiring people, and encouraging me to learn strategic tools to grow inclusive communities and build meaningful allyship.

Finally, my favorite moment of the conference was getting to meet and form friendships with my fellow Asians In Advertising family: Sean Choi, Lina Chen, Prachi Priya, Suzie Bao, Jenny Huang, Nikki Lamba, Zeena Koda, Mimi Munoz, Titania Tran, Marvin Chow, Thas Naseemuddeen, and others.

I hope this post encourages you to step out of your comfort zone and fully enjoy everything ADCOLOR has to offer.