45th IAA World Congress 2024


Malaysia will be the destination of the next International Advertising Association World Congress, marking the first occasion the event is held in Southeast Asia.

Scheduled to take place from 06 to 08 March 2024 in the host city of Penang, the event is jointly co-hosted by IAA Malaysia, Penang State EXCO Office for Tourism and Creative Economy (PETACE) and Penang Convention & Exhibition Bureau (PCEB).

At the Official Signing Ceremony today at KOMTAR, the agreement for the hosting of the 45th IAA World Congress 2024 was concluded by The Honourable Yeoh Soon Hin, the Executive Councilor for Tourism and Creative Economy and Mr. John Doody Chacko, Chairman of the 45th IAA World Congress and President of IAA Malaysia.

“With our multi-faceted multi-cultural heritage and culture, Malaysia is a destination that offers much for Business Event visitors, covering pre, during and post event.

Indeed, Penang is proud to host the 45th IAA World Congress 2024, for it will further cement the reputation of both Penang and Malaysia as South East Asia’s most advantageous, preferable and safe Business Event destination’, emphasised Chief Minister Chow.

Caption: (Fr L to R): Mr. Prabha Nayar (Hon.Secretary), Ms Tricia Loh (Head of Sales, PCEB), Mr. Ashwin Gunasekeran (Chief Executive Officer, PCEB), The Honourable Yeoh Soon Hin, the Executive Councilor for Tourism and Creative Economy, The Most Honourable Chow Kon Yeow, Chief Minister of Penang, Mr. John Doody Chacko, Chairman of the 45th IAA World Congress (President, IAA Malaysia), Mr. Omar Shaari (Vice President, IAA Malaysia), Ms Ng Ooi Wah (IAA World Congress 2024) and Mr. Gary Tay (Head of Digital, IAA Malaysia)

In attendance during the ceremony was The Most Honourable Chow Kon Yeow, Chief Minister of Penang, The Honourable Yeoh Soon Hin, the Executive Councilor for Tourism and Creative Economy, Mr. Ashwin Gunasekeran, the Chief Executive Officer of PCEB, Mr. John Doody Chacko, Chairman of the 45th IAA World Congress and members of the IAA Malaysia Executive Committee including Mr. Omar Shaari (Vice President), Mr. Prabha Nayar (Hon.Secretary), Mr. Gary Tay (Head of Digital) and Ms Ng Ooi Wah (IAA World Congress 2024), Dato’ Dr.Ooi Kee Beng, the Chief Executive Officer of Penang Institute, representatives from Invest Penang, Digital Penang, Ms Tricia Loh (Head of Sales, PCEB), respected staff of government bodies and agencies, the valued media and honored guests.

As one of the most desirable destinations for meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions, Penang is aggressively marketing itself through BElong in Penang to attract world-class events that funnel high-yield tourism receipts, with knock-on effect across the various sectors of tourism both on the island as well as the mainland.

The 45th IAA World Congress is a significant happening in the celebration calendar of the 85th Anniversary of IAA Global and the 30th Anniversary of IAA Malaysia.

Chacko proudly declared, “It took over four years of intense effort against other more globally famous destinations and pandemic disruptions before IAA Malaysia emerged victorious in the decision to host the congress in Penang, Malaysia. It proves that the world is growing to recognise Malaysia and Penang as destinations that are not only attractive in thousands of ways, more importantly, are well equipped in all avenues to host events of world-class stature”.

In elevating the mission behind IAA being the Global Compass for the marketing communications industry, the theme of the 45th IAA World Congress 2024 is ‘Brand ReCode: Createch for Better Lives, Better World’, a theme that embodies the challenging times we live in and calls on brands and businesses to fuse creativity and technology for good to create better lives and a better world for all.