Saharath Sawadatikom is Managing Director, Creative and Partner at CJ WORX, one of Thailand’s most famous agencies. CJ WORX is already famous in Bangkok thanks to its parties and incredible offices, but in 2017 it became even more famous globally thanks to the phenomenal success of ‘The Unusual Football Field’.
 

We asked Sawadatikom to share the tale of how CJ WORX brought ‘The Unusual Football Field’ to life. Here’s what he said…
 
Can you tell us about making The Unusual Football Field: what were the biggest hurdles?
 
The Unusual Football Field was the most unusual project that we ever did. We faced a lot of problems with people, community, time, weather and authority. The project started with “how to describe AP Thai brand’s idea”. “Think space” was the brief that needed to be translated into consumer language.
 
The Unusual Football Field project described how we turned unusable space into usable ones. This project tricked people to think more on their space and make the most use of it.
 
It took seven months to execute the project, to talk to several authorities for space approval, and to talk to the nearby community for the agreement. We waited several months for the rainy season to pass. We asked the production house to stay with us, and we tried to calm down clients to keep them hanging with us. Finally, it was worth the wait with 8 Grand Prix awards won worldwide.
 
Last year, CJ WORX launched two new agencies: Rocket Cat and Submarine. Why did you launch these businesses and how they are doing?
 
We were so excited when clients asked us to find more people to serve them. We started with 11 people in 2011 and now we have reached 190 staff with 5 companies. Rocket Cat and Submarine are our new creative agencies to serve more clients. They are located in the new separated building nearby. The two companies’ employees are award-winning creatives with strategic planners, client service and social teams.
 
You have over 400 advertising awards. But what is your proudest achievement?
 
The best one is absolutely winning 8 Grand Prix awards for “The unusual football field”. This is a new form of idea that we describe as a new ad type that juries are looking for.  We did not create this work for awards that do not give any benefits to the client. We are looking for a work that answers the brief, solves a client’s problem for their business, and finally we also achieve awards. These are the real proud achievements that I am looking for.
 
I have heard that CJ WORX has the most serious parties in the industry. Is ‘play’ an important part of your own creative process?
 
 I try to break the norm of ad agencies that I used to work with in the past. Other agencies host a party once or twice a year, but we host parties bi-monthly (it used to be monthly until we got bored and slowed it down).
 
The joy is the key integration in life for us. I believe in being hardworking, doing things with passion, but joy will balance all those things out. Actually, joy did not just come from the party but it should come from the way we live our life every day. We are the office that will not stay late. Most of our people leave around 7 P.M. while others agencies might stay until midnight. We are the agency that has the best outings in the industry i.e., Paris, Amsterdam. Our office design is one of the best that adds joy to our life (you can see our office design www.cjworx.com).
 
 It’s a new year, so I have to ask: what are your goals, personal or professional, for 2018?
 
 We are independent agency and we do what we love. Last year, our goal is to pin our company into the top awards ranking and luckily, we reached the point we never thought of. This year, our goal is to expand more companies and offer new services that others don’t.
 
You started your career in Direct, and you are judging Direct and Promo categories at ADFEST 2018. Why are these categories still close to your heart?
 
Direct and Promo are unique and they have fascinated me since I was young. I grew up as an art director in Direct Marketing and I liked to earn awards in Direct. Direct is a small category – in the big world of advertising it was segmented by intention. It involved specific targeting with an idea. Promo is all about a limited period of time with an idea. These two categories are different from any others. The challenge has increased since the introduction of digital marketing in the industry.
 


www.cjworx.com