Goafest, 2022, the 15th edition of this much-awaited advertising and marketing event took place from May 5 to 7 at Grand Hyatt Goa. After a hiatus of two years, the Goafest returned with a series of Knowledge Seminars, Master Classes, Award Shows, and a host of entertainment. Talking about the normalcy gradually returning to the post-pandemic world might well have become a cliché for many, but this edition of the Goafest really made us realize what it means to come together, to learn, celebrate, and exchange ideas. The Goafest’s motto for this year was, ‘The Superpower Within.’
The festival saw industry bigwigs come together, as it brought in a total of twenty-eight highly accomplished, power-packed speakers who shared their insights on content, creativity, strategies and stories from the new-age mediums. From Kapil Dev, Dr. Kiran Bedi, PV Sindhu, to Vikrant Massey, and Madhuri Dixit, the Goafest had world-renowned names in attendance. These iconic personalities from Sports and Bollywood inspired the participants by sharing their insights on information, communication, and creativity. The festival had a special focus on India, and the power of Digital reach. The sessions, presentations and the prestigious Abby Awards offered a learning opportunity for young professionals.
Winning back Credibility?
Several years ago, a questionable JWT entry for Ford sort of marked the beginning of the downfall of The Abbys which was considered as India’s answer to Cannes Lions, the world’s biggest advertising awards. It led to many big advertising agencies keeping a safe distance from the awards which they claimed lacked ‘credibility’.
Some of the agencies which over the years stopped participating in the awards include Ogilvy, McCann, MullenLowe Lintas Group, Creativeland Asia etc. For several years the absence of these agencies has been a sore point for the festival and The Abbys. This year through the association with The One Show, the Goafest and The Abbys organisers made an attempt to bring back some of that credibility, also establishing the intent to make it an award show of global standing. It didn’t go unrewarded, we saw agencies like Leo Burnett, TBWA, CLA, BBH making a beeline for the awards.
However, the biggies of the game like Ogilvy, MullenLowe Lintas Group, McCann were still at an arm’s length from the awards, even Dentsu and DDB Mudra didn’t participate this year. “While we did see some show of strength, Goafest is hardly emblematic of an industry award, considering the bigger, influential chunk of the industry which makes the most number of ads, still refuses to participate in it,” says the head of an ad agency who participated this year but didn’t want to be named. But many others however feel that with The One Show and global standards of judging here, the ‘scam’ related past associated with the Goafest is now really history. We definitely saw more entries this year, but did Goafest really get an image makeover this year, well that would be an early assumption to make.”
Jaideep Gandhi, Chairman of the Goafest 2022 Organising Committee said, “This time we also sweetened the pot by bringing in many firsts to make the festival grander and inclusive. In the spirit of going green, and doing our bit towards it, we went paperless for the very first time, and also took a Digital approach for the presentation of the awards. We also celebrated Goafest’s 15th anniversary; our journey began in 2006 and we are so thrilled to be growing.”
A new logo of the Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI) was also unveiled at the festival. Anupriya Acharya, President of AAAI said, “Goafest 2022 was all about inclusivity and celebration. Given the Digital expansion over the last two years, we reinvented some parts of the festival in anticipation of an extensive number of new individuals and contemporary themes. Also, we brought in more mainstream work into the event to increase coverage across functions and specialisations.”
Ace Badminton player PV Sindhu in conversation with Sameer Kochchar, TV Presenter, Actor and Anchor
Yami Gautam with Rana Barua of Havas Group
Goafest was launched as India’s response to Cannes. Over the years the response from the big agencies kind of dwindled, even as this year we saw some agencies who had stayed away for more than five years return to Goafest and The Abbys. Some of them include Leo Burnett, BBH, Grey, CLA and TBWA. Adding to that Acharya said, “We have carved a niche of our own; Goafest is an identity in itself! Ever since its inception in 2006, we have come a long way. Be it organising, participating, networking, or simply celebrating, Goafest has been instrumental in fostering and honouring the A&M Industry’s talent and will continue to do so even in the coming years. I would say that the response to Goafest has diversified and grown in several different directions. I can only see Goafest becoming bigger and better, each year!”
The first day of the festival started with a live music show by Sukhbir, aka the ‘Prince of Bhangra.’ Then there was an industry conclave which was graced by a host of eminent personalities such as Actress Yami Gautam, Co- Founder & CEO, Sharechat & Moj Ankush Sachdeva, former Lt Governor Puducherry & Ex - IPS Officer, Dr. Kiran Bedi, among others. One of the speakers that the audience took a special note of was Sugar Cosmetics CEO, Vineeta Singh. Speaking on the topic of ‘The resilience of building a brand for Bharat,’ she highlighted that the growth of Digital media has given the brands of all sizes a level-playing field to reach out to consumers. She also emphasised that distribution and advertising are no longer the biggest moats for a business to flourish, and that good content can drive brand building and growth like nothing else.
The second day began with a discussion between ace badminton player, PV Sindhu, and TV Presenter, Actor, and Anchor, Sameer Kochchar. It was followed by Knowledge seminars and a leadership summit. In one of the seminars, legendary Indian cricketer Kapil Dev interacted with Sports Broadcaster & Entrepreneur, Charu Sharma. The two began their session by speaking on the theme, ‘Superpower Within,’ and then went on to discuss life, success, and more. Kapil Dev emphasised on the need to put in every effort in life, and also shared anecdotes from his childhood. The two then discussed leadership and the meaning of being a true leader.
