As the first executive creative director and then chief creative officer of Dentsu Creative Taiwan, Alice Chou used her unique brand of storytelling to bring her clients long-term value in 2022. 

Building on the successful brand film “In Love We Trust,” which won Taiwan’s first Cannes Lions Grand Prix in 2021, Chou created “In Love We Trust 2” last year for Taiwanese real estate firm Sinyi Realty. The film received more than 13 million views and 21,000 shares in one week. For Activision Blizzard’s juggernaut World of Warcraft franchise, Chou dug deep into Taiwanese culture, bringing the game to life through traditional-style Taiwanese puppets, a handcrafted recreation of the set and an authentic Taiwanese Hokkien voiceover.

Chou’s dedication to the craft has attracted numerous long-standing client partners including Toyota, McDonald’s, Taiwanese beverage brand Hey Song and e-commerce platform Momo. She has secured 30 new clients for Dentsu Taiwan—its greatest number of new wins to date—including New Taipei City Government and Kingston.

Chou shares much of her experience with the next generation of marketers, some of whom are among the ranks of Adfest and Young Lions winners. 

What advice would you give your younger self? 

Many of the things that seem to make you nervous and frightened just suggest to you room for growth, so don’t waste an opportunity!

What’s the biggest risk you’ve ever taken? 

Entering the advertising world. When I first entered the industry, it was a bit like Alice in Wonderland. I had no relevant knowledge (I majored in Russian at university), no friends in the advertising industry, no concept of copywriting. It was purely on the basis of my love of writing and an unrealistic imagination that I gave up the stable job in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs arranged by my father and plunged headlong into this industry, which was very low-paying at the time. (Think of the people who used me; that was the real adventure.)

If you weren’t doing your current job, what would you be doing and why? 

I would be a scholar or a fantasy fiction writer. If these two have anything in common, I think it is curiosity, a deep appreciation for imagination, a passion for making up stories, a love of thinking and writing, a lion-like rush to endlessly study something of interest, an addiction, a state of black hole where time and space are forgotten until the moment when all the confused thoughts suddenly come to light—whether it’s exploring intellectual pursuits or getting lost in a fantastical world.

What should the industry do to encourage more women and people of color into its ranks? 

Gender and racial equality means treating women and people of color equally, not giving them more. As a member of the Women’s Empowerment Task Force in Dentsu Taiwan, we strive to create a workplace where women can excel. We supported new mothers with childcare, flexible work hours and emotional support through the “Super MOM Movement” last year. This year, we will propose a new program to empower senior female executives.

How do you expect emerging tech like Web3 and AI to impact your job in the future? 

I will realize my dream of having a hundred doppelgängers, and my imagination and creativity alone will be enough for a music recital, a movie or a show. There are no longer physical-strength, age, technical-threshold or tangible boundaries.