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The two-day fest brings together some of the advertising industry’s brightest minds in a celebration of creativity and creative minds
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After a two-year hiatus, Goafest made a comeback with all the pomp and show for its 15th edition in May 2022. The two-day festival not only brought together some of the advertising industry’s brightest minds but also handed out prestigious industry awards to notable creative thinkers from South Asia.
The festival opened with the lighting of the ceremonial lamp and the unveiling of AAAI’s new logo. The official unveiling of the redesigned logo at the Goafest was done by Rohit Ohri, Chairman and CEO of FCB Ulka and film star Yami Gautam.
The festival kicked off with the industry conclave presented by ABP Group. The first session of the day saw actress Yami Gautam in a one-on-one conversation with Rana Barua, Chairman, Abby Awards Governing Council 2022 & Vice President of The Ad Club. The two spoke about films, values and the need to imagine and build a life beyond numbers. This conversation was followed by a keynote by Vineeta Singh, Co-founder and CEO, SUGAR Cosmetics, who highlighted the importance of building a brand with quality products and content before focusing on advertising.
Knowledge Sessions Galore
Next up was a knowledge session in partnership with the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI), wherein Rohit Kumar Singh, Secretary (CA), Ministry of Consumer Affairs & Food Distribution chatted with Piyush Pandey, Chairman of Global Creative Ogilvy Worldwide & Executive Chairman, Ogilvy India about the importance of consumer protection and the responsibility that we have as professionals.
Thereafter, another super-talk by Kiran Bedi, former LG of Puducherry and ex-IPS officer, who highlighted the importance of leadership saying, “Leadership is internal -- you start with yourself; if you can’t lead yourself, you can’t lead people.” She also added that one must live by what one says and they automatically will have followers.
This year, for the first time ever, the Advertising Club collaborated with The One Show taking the ABBY Awards to the global standards of recognition. With the coming together of this partnership, participating agencies as well as jury chairs have shown immense enthusiasm towards it.
Speaking about Goafest 2022, Anupriya Acharya, President, Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI) said, “It's been a tough two years, and it’s great to be back on ground not only in terms of organising the festival but also where achievements are concerned. We are thrilled to have everyone back, bonding and celebrating this festival. We owe it to the industry to bring something of global standing especially when we are one large world.”
On day one, a total of 15 Publisher ABBYs and 87 Media ABBYs were awarded.
Celebration of Creativity
Day 2 kicked off with MX Player’s Knowledge Seminars which saw PV Sindhu, India's No.1 badminton player and a two-time Olympic medal winner in conversation with Sameer Kochchar, TV presenter, actor and anchor.
Next up was Disney Star’s Knowledge Seminar with Sam Glassenberg, Founder & CEO of Level Ex shedding light on the potential of video games and how brands can reach audiences through this medium. He also spoke of the perils of gamification versus the importance of emphasis on real game design.
The second half of the day began with Shilpa Rao singing melodies to woo the crowds and raise the temperature at the festival. It was followed by a session that the audience was eagerly waiting for -- legendary cricketer Kapil Dev in conversation with Charu Sharma, sports broadcaster & entrepreneur.
Soon after, it was time for Times Network’s Leadership Summit with Rahul Shivshankar, Editor-in-Chief & Editorial Director, Times Now, who underscored the significance of leadership while having the courage of conviction. He strongly recommended that a leader must stand for the public interest at all costs.
At the same time, throughout the day, Master Classes were organised by presenters like Sharechat, Google, Snapchat, and Meta. These classes focused on topics like how the creator economy is driving brand success; how to appeal to consumers in an excellent new way by taking part in Shorts@Goa; the power of camera marketing; and Instagram for Business - A Spotlight on Creator & Reels.
On Day 2, a total of 32 Broadcaster ABBYs, 19 Design & Design Craft ABBYs, 40 Digital & Digital Craft ABBYs, 31 Direct ABBYs, 7 Mobile ABBYs, and 32 Public Relations, 16 Technology ABBYs were awarded.