The 1st Busan International Advertising Festival, which constitutes the first ever international advertising festival held in Korea, was staged in 2008. In this regard, this study analyzes the current state of the international advertising festival market, the strategy employed by the planners of the Busan International Advertising Festival to enter this market, and the details surrounding the implementation of the first edition of this festival.
The future direction of the Busan International Advertising Festival is also discussed at length. In order to differentiate itself from existing international advertising festivals, the Busan International Advertising Festival adopted a convergence-based strategy that involved the use of both online and offline festivals. For instance, a 24-hour, 365-day advertising festival was held on the festival’s website. A final list of works was selected from amongst those submitted through this website by both specialists and lay people.
Thereafter, an offline festival was held in Busan, during which time the winning works were awarded. In addition, the Busan International Advertising Festival also attempted to strategically differentiate itself from other festivals through such means as the introduction of a product/service category. The use of an online submission system can be regarded as having rendered the 1st Busan International Advertising Festival a relative successful from a quantitative standpoint. However, there is room for qualitative improvements where the festival and exhibition are concerned. To this end, the stabilization and further development of the Busan International Advertising Festival within the relevant market will require additional emphasis on what differentiates it from other similar convocations, namely its unique status as the first convergence advertising festival in the world.