Top Takeaways from Breaking Barriers 2023
Keynote Speaker Eric Toda
Last week, Asians in Advertising held its second annual Breaking Barriers Summit, themed “Find your community, find your light.” This full-day virtual event brought together nearly 700 attendees, including many esteemed speakers who sparked inspiration. The attendees were treated to exclusive views at new ad spots, among the first to hear about upcoming AIA initiatives, and even had the chance to participate in raffles. If you weren’t able to make it in person, here are some of the top takeaways from the day.
Keynote speaker Eric Toda, head of Meta Prosper, kicked off the day with an emotion-filled talk on how he got his start in advertising, and what it was like to join (at the time) the small start-up Facebook as an Asian son of immigrants. His story resonated with many, and throughout his talk, Eric got emotional multiple times reflecting on his journey as well as thinking of the legacy he would leave for his son. In response to an audience question, Eric emphasized the importance of being authentic, a theme that resurfaced several times throughout the day, stating “there is nothing more brave than being your authentic self.”
The first panel, “Get Paid!” aimed to empower members to feel confident, valuable, and get fairly compensated. The panelists, all of whom experienced negotiating and finding their worth, shared insights on how to overcome challenges in the workplace regarding getting paid fairly. One piece of advice given emphasized the importance of asking questions and forming connections with colleagues, as sometimes asking seemingly unrelated questions can reveal areas where you can add value to your company, thus adding value to yourself.
Throughout the day, attendees remained highly active in the chat, asking questions to the panelists as well as forming connections within themselves. Many of our panelists stayed for the duration of the summit and interacted with attendees as well, even answering questions directly.
The next panel, “Getting More API Stories Made,” featured 3 distinguished speakers who had produced award-winning ad spots featuring API narratives and talent in front of and behind the camera. The conversation was lively and passionate, especially as the panelists shared personal stories of times when they were successful in their vision, and times when they experienced barriers, such as being told that their casting choices were “too diverse” and needing to be “ethnically neutral”, which prompted many in the chat to chime in with their own stories. One takeaway that resonated was the importance of highlighting not just Asian trauma, which can be easy to fall into, but rather focusing on Asian joy, and other aspects of our experiences and history.
For the mid-summit break, participants engaged in the highly anticipated Networking Hour, a version of AIA’s annual Matchmaking event. The attendees had the opportunity to meet face-to-face after several hours of digital interaction and connection and share what they were hoping to get out of the summit. Valuable networking tips were shared as well, such as having a readily accessible LinkedIn QR code and screenshotting it or having a printed version behind your name badge, especially for in-person events where wifi can be spotty.
Following lunch was the panel “Move From Talk to Action.” This panel discussed the importance of not just talking about issues, but taking action in the workplace by engaging BRGs, programming, and finding allies. There were mentions of hate crimes against Asians such as the Monterey Park shooting and even a personal incident, but all the panelists had a positive story to share of their workplace being a safe space for them to express their needs, and tips on how everyone can get that kind of support. A reminder was shared, which is that “It’s okay to not be okay,” when an incident like that occurs, and that our workplaces should hold that sentiment as well.
Next was an engaging session titled “Embrace Your Awesome”, which focused on imposter syndrome and how to combat it. Accompanied by informative slides, this talk briefly explored its prevalence among the Asian community, and, more importantly, provided actionable strategies to combat it and discover what makes you awesome. This panel in particular had several quotable moments from our panelists, many of which the audience wanted merchandise of. Below are some standout quotes from the panelists:
"What if it's your ancestor's wildest dreams that you do what you love?" -Cathy Chan Butler
"If you don't peacock, you can't project that value. If you don't believe in yourself, no one else will." -Denny Tu
"Make a ton of money. Eat a lot of dim sum." -Denny Tu
The last quote in particular sparked some dinner party meet-up inspiration among our attendees 👀
The final panel, “Get Seen in Your Career,” focused on visibility and strategies for gaining recognition. Despite it being the last session, it was a high-energy and engaging panel filled with a diverse group of professionals at various stages in their careers who had all successfully promoted themselves and had great tips on how to do so yourself. Being unafraid to experiment was emphasized, with one member saying “I don’t think you try cool stuff without exposing yourself to silliness.” It was a good reminder to be open to trying new things and not knowing what can come from taking risks.
Authenticity, and the power of being true to yourself, emerged as the recurring theme throughout the day, which, though unplanned, was serendipitous and made for a great and memorable summit. Many audience members expressed that this event was the first time they had seen themselves represented or met others in a professional setting whom they could relate to, which truly embodied the theme of “Find your community, find your light.”
Panels and Speakers
“Get Paid!” - Gordon Ho, President Xpertainment, Former CMO Princess Cruises & EVP Disney Studios, Syma Mian, US Agency Lead @ TikTok, Caroline Gomez Grann, Founder/EP @ Creators Residency, and Jody Octavio Thomas, Group Director, Brand Experience Strategy @ Dentsu Creative. Moderated by Joy Zhu, Data & Tech Partnerships @ Google.
“Getting More API Stories Made” - Mimi Munoz, Global Culture + Operations Manager @ Widen + Kennedy, JJ Augustavo, Director @ M SS NG P ECES, Xavier Teo, Former Executive Creative Director @ R/GA. Moderated by Liz Kim, Senior Art Director @ M Booth.
“Move From Talk to Action” - Brian Pang, Product Director @ Electronic Arts, Genie Lara, Associate Director Project Management @ MullenLowe, Kerou Chang, Director, Groupe Media Solutions @ Publicis Groupe, Bhavik Shah, Owner & CEO @ Bhavik R. Shah LLC. Moderated by Senna Bayasgalan, Managing Director, Marketing & Communications @ GPCA.
“Embrace Your Awesome” - Denny Tu, CMO @ IMAX, Chris Lin, Group Marketing Manager @ Google, Ji Bowlus, Sales Director @ G/O Media, Cathy Chan Butler, CEO @ Organic. Moderated by Sean Choi, Sr. Strategist @ The Martin Agency.
“Get Seen in Your Career” - Lily Zheng, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion speaker, strategist, and consultant @ Zheng Consulting, Bonnie Wan, Partner, Head of Brand Strategy @ Goodby Silverstein & Partners, Mars Nevada, Art Director @ Arnold New York, Komal Kapoor, CEO @ SpeakerPost. Moderated by Ariba Jahan, VP, Product Experience and Innovation.
