In an exclusive conversation, Prasanth Kumar, President, Advertising Agencies Association of India and CEO, South Asia – GroupM, Jaideep Gandhi, Chairman, Goafest 2023 Organising Committee, and Mohit Joshi, CEO – Havas Media Group India and Goafest 2023 Co-Chair, discuss the highly anticipated Goafest 2023 that has garnered an exceptional response, surpassing the success of the previous year.
Under the theme of The Future of Creativity, Goafest23 aims to reflect the current trends and challenges in the advertising landscape, exploring innovative solutions and technologies that are shaping the industry’s growth.
Additionally, the festival strives to engage with emerging talent, startups, and industry bodies, fostering knowledge sharing and collaboration.
With its profound impact on the advertising and marketing community, Goafest23 seeks to continue to set new goals, expand its reach, and enhance the overall experience for participants, aspiring to become the biggest festival in Southeast Asia. Read on.
How has the industry responded to the upcoming Goafest 2023?
Mohit Joshi: Goafest23 has received a phenomenal response. Last year was good, and this year is even better. We are seeing a lot of positive response from the clients, from all our stakeholders, the media partners, and, of course, the advertising and media agencies. There is a lot more participation from agencies than last year in the media Abby as well. So, overall, it’s very positive news for us.
The theme this year is The Future of Creativity. What led to picking this theme, and how does it reflect the current trends and challenges in the industry?
Prasanth Kumar: This is the 16th edition of Goafest, happening from 24th to 26th May 2023. It was interesting for us to take a look at the trends not just in our industry, but also in modern marketing.
What’s fascinating is the focus on shaping new solutions and technologies.
There are innovative tools emerging that are transforming the entire marketing landscape. This signifies that creativity plays a vital role in the survival and enhancement of our industry. It points towards a potential new future for creativity.
The theme emerged from these conversations and the exploration of how trends like AI and generative AI impact our ecosystem and shape creativity in the future.
We aim to showcase how these conversations can benefit the industry.
Our goal is always to introduce new elements and facilitate learning for the industry. This year, we wanted to give voice and perspective to young leaders. We have also witnessed increased participation from marketers and agencies, creating a balanced ecosystem.
It’s encouraging to see more partners not just sponsoring but actively participating in the fest, resulting in a larger audience.
And you have a great roster of speakers too…
Prasanth Kumar: Yes, we have more than 50 speakers, with a good balance between domestic and global thought leadership. We are aiming for an engaging and diverse advertising rock session, including industry professionals in content creation and the content business.
Are there any specific initiatives or collaborations that Goafest has undertaken to engage with emerging talent, start-ups, or other industry bodies this year?
Mohit Joshi: We are focusing on attracting younger talent, aiming for a higher percentage of young participants — possibly around 70%.
We extended the early bird discount delegate offer to allow more people to avail it. Younger leaders are given the opportunity to come on stage and discuss important topics.
Regarding start-ups, we have sessions dedicated to discussing the future of the start-up economy, considering the existing challenges.
Prasanth Kumar: We have representatives sharing insights from multiple aspects of our influencer ecosystem, a new and rapidly growing space.
ASCI is actively involved in these discussions. The IAA is sharing interesting learnings and having conversations with leaders and experts to shape the startup ecosystem, which is highly relevant at present.
We have witnessed increased startup participation in the advertising business over the past 12 to 18 months.
In terms of industry relevance and impact, how does Goafest contribute to the overall growth and development of the advertising and marketing community?
Jaideep Gandhi: Goafest contributes by sharing new knowledge through master classes conducted by experienced and knowledgeable speakers. We have 11 masterclasses over two days. These sessions cover a wide range of topics such as video optimization, storytelling, and brand advocacy. The festival fosters knowledge sharing, inspiration, and conversations through various sessions, 6 panel discussions, and a total of 50 speakers.
Additionally, Goacast, our official podcast, extends the reach of the fest and is involving creative heads and sustains conversations about the future of creativity even after Goafest concludes.
Looking ahead, what are the future goals and aspirations for Goafest? Are there any plans to expand its reach, explore new formats, or enhance the overall experience for participants?
Jaideep Gandhi: Our wish is to make Goafest the biggest festival in Southeast Asia, thanks to the vision and mission given to us by Mr. Sam Balsara.
In the future, we aim to move to a stadium from our current venue.
Our ultimate objective is to receive a call from an agency in Kanpur expressing their desire to be a part of Goafest. We want to expand our reach to the evolving towns of India and provide knowledge and support to agencies and media companies seeking it.