Meet the new director of Spikes Asia

With Spikes Asia now open for submissions for its 2026 Awards, Campaign Asia-Pacific caught up with Spikes' new director, Melanie Speet to learn more about her, the new priorities for Spikes and how it's adapting to new market shifts. 

Speet joined Spikes, a joint venture between Haymarket and Lions, at the beginning of September. Drawing on past experience in client services and marketing partnerships, her focus is to lead the seamless delivery of Spikes, overseeing the ongoing success of the prestigious creative and marketing festival and awards, which this year has introduced a new Creative B2B Spikes Award category.
 

Campaign: Tell us a bit about yourself.  How did running Asia's preeminent creativity awards come to be your calling?

Speet: I’ve always been drawn to the power of creativity to connect people and drive change. I started out in marketing and creative agency account management, then spent over a decade in television across APAC - working on everything from MasterChef and the Olympics at Network Ten, to leading marketing for brands like E!, Bravo, DreamWorks, History Channel and CNBC at A+E Networks and NBCUniversal.

From there, I moved into the world of events at Branded, heading up marketing for events like All That Matters and CreatorWeek, which brought together industries like music, entertainment, sport, gaming and marketing to tackle the big issues shaping their future.

Spikes Asia brings all of that together - creativity, culture, and community. It felt like a natural next step, and I’m excited to help champion the best of APAC’s creative talent and be part of what’s next for the region.

What do you bring to Spikes from your past experience?

Across my career in media, marketing, and creative industries, I’ve seen how recognition can do more than celebrate great work - it can inspire teams, drive business outcomes, and push industries forward. In TV, we had the Promax Awards (now the GEMA Awards), and I saw how important it was to evolve with the times to stay relevant, especially as the industry transformed around us.

That experience taught me the value of staying close to the audience, embracing change, and building communities that can adapt and thrive. I’ve led large-scale events that brought together diverse industries to tackle big challenges, and I’ve always believed in the power of collaboration to spark new thinking.

At Spikes Asia, I want to ensure we’re not just reflecting the best of APAC creativity today, but also helping the industry navigate what’s next - whether that’s AI, new platforms, or the rise of the creator economy. It’s about celebrating excellence, yes, but also about supporting the creative community and helping it evolve for the future.

What can you tell us about Spikes this year. What's new? What will stay the same?

At its core, Spikes Asia will always be about celebrating the very best in creativity across Asia-Pacific; that doesn’t change. But as the industry evolves, so must we.

For 2026, we’ve updated the Awards to spotlight work that lives at the intersection of technology, data, and storytelling - areas driving the next wave of innovation.

We’ve introduced the Creative B2B Spikes to recognise outstanding work in business-to-business marketing. We’ve seen incredible momentum from the region’s B2B sector and an increase in entries from APAC-based B2B brands year on year. With APAC projected to comprise 80% of B2B market share by 2026, it seemed apt to give brands and agencies a dedicated platform to have their work recognised, raise creative standards and recognise the impact of this vital and fast-growing sector

Elsewhere, we’ve added a new Transformative Design section to the Design Spikes, celebrating design that delivers measurable impact through innovation. We’ve also evolved Glass: The Award for Change to highlight work that drives long-term, inclusive impact across a broader range of communities. And with the rise of the creator economy, we’ve evolved the Social & Influencer Spikes into the Social & Creator Spikes - recognising the increasingly powerful role creators play in shaping culture and brand storytelling.

The new Cultural Engagement sub-category recognises campaigns that understand and navigate cultural nuances thoughtfully, creating authentic impact while avoiding exploitative approaches.

Beyond the Awards, we’re excited to bring the industry together in Singapore in March 2026. We’ve been listening closely to the community and are building a programme designed to foster conversation, thought leadership, networking, and community building - while also nurturing the next generation of talent across the region.

What's the best part about your job as Director?

I’m only a couple of months into the role, but already I’m energised by the passion and creativity that runs through this region. There’s something so powerful about seeing how ideas are shaped by each country’s unique culture, values, and perspectives - it’s a reminder of the rich creative diversity that makes APAC so special.

I’m really looking forward to working with our jurors and creative leaders who are setting new benchmarks for excellence. Being part of a community that’s constantly evolving and reinventing itself is incredibly inspiring.

And perhaps most rewarding is knowing that the work we award and celebrate at Spikes Asia will go on to inspire the next generation of creatives across the region.

As AI plays a greater role in creative work, how is Spikes ensuring that AI-generated work enhances creativity instead of replaces it?

There’s no doubt we’re in the middle of a major transformation - and AI isn’t just the most talked-about topic in advertising. During my time at Branded, I heard it come up again and again across music, gaming, and entertainment. It’s an existential question that the entire creative landscape is grappling with.

On the Awards side, we introduced mandatory AI disclosure in the entry process last year, asking entrants to share if and how AI was used in their work. We know that this technology is being used in many ways across the industry, to both enhance the creative process and elevate creative output. This additional information provides transparency and helps our Juries understand the creative intent and human input behind the work.

There will always be a need for human-led storytelling - that emotional spark, that cultural nuance, that lived experience. As AI becomes more integrated into our creative processes, it doesn't replace those human elements but rather amplifies them, giving creative professionals new tools to push boundaries and explore unchartered territory.

As you talk to industry about the Awards, what other feedback are you getting? What's important to the creativity and marketing communities?

A key theme I’m hearing is around creative fragmentation. With so many platforms, formats, and touchpoints, the traditional “hero” campaign - like a 60-second TVC or a major outdoor execution - is no longer the norm. The challenge now is ensuring that creativity doesn’t get lost in the complexity, and that big ideas still shine through, no matter the medium.  There’s also a clear desire to see more diverse voices, perspectives, and storytelling traditions reflected in the work - something that’s especially important in a region as culturally rich and varied as Asia-Pacific.

There’s also a strong focus on speed and efficiency. As AI and data reshape workflows, many in the industry are asking how we can move faster without compromising originality or creative integrity.

And finally, there’s a clear appetite to recognise bravery - the kind of work that challenges conventions, takes risks, and pushes the boundaries of what creativity can do.

Entries for Spikes Asia 2026 are open until Thursday, January 29, 2026. Detailed information is available at www.spikes.asia.