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Tag: Ajay Chandwani

  • Manish Bhatt of Scarecrow is heading the Integrated Abby Jury

    Top creative honchos judge for Goafest Abby Jury

     

     

    The Goafest Creative Abby Judging has been on in Mumbai with Juries being appointed in different verticals. The Jury Chairs were announced to the media by the Goafest Creative Abby Award Governing Council.

     

    Santosh Padhi of Taproot is chairing the Abby Print and Print Craft Jury this year. Bobby Pawar of Publicis returns after a gap of 5 years to head the Abby Film Jury. Ashish Chakravarty of Contract India is Jury Chair of Radio and Radio Craft Abby while Prashant Godbole of ideasatwork is heading the Out of Home and Ambient Abby Jury. Manish Bhatt of Scarecrow is heading the Integrated Abby Jury.

     

    Chairing the Creative Abby Direct Jury this year is Rakhshin Patel of Pi Communications. Prashant Kanyalkar of KA advertising and design is the Jury Chair in Design Vertical of Creative Abby. Carlton D’Silva of Hungama is the Jury Chair for Digital  Abby while Namita Roy Ghose of White Light Moving Picture is heading the Film Craft Abby Jury.

     

    Aneil Deepak of DDB Mudra is the Jury Chair in Brand Activation & Promotion Abby Jury. Anita Kaul Basu of Big Synergy is Jury Chair in Branded Content Abby.

     

    Paresh Chaudhry of Madison PR headed the Public Relations Abby Jury. Avinash Kaul of Network18 led the Broadcasters Abby Jury while Shailesh Amonkar of Sakal is Jury Chair of Publishers Abby.

     

    Pratap Bose,President of Ad Club said, “Our heartfelt thanks to the Jury members who gave their time and passion debating the selection of winners.”

     

    Commented Ajay Chandwani Abby Awards Governing Council Member in charge of Jury appointments and Judging,” We are very fortunate to have the time and cooperation of very high powered juries in each of the verticals. Many of our jury chairs and judges have been judging at major international festivals over the years. An award derives its prestige from the standards set by juries and Abby has indeed retained its leading status in India.”

     

  • The veteran adman and awards administrator on why the 10th edition of Goafest is a must-attend

    Ajay Chandwani: 6 reasons on what one can expect at Goafest 2015 (and why it’s a must-attend)

    By Ajay Chandwani

     

    Goafest has in the last decade become one of the world’s significant ad festivals in numbers and has weathered many ups and downs to retain its premier position of Asia’s most happening learning and awards platform. What can we expect from Goafest in its tenth year of operation?

     

    1.Some exciting presentations from high quality international speakers like Ted Lim of Dentsu, Alan Moseley of 180 Amsterdam, Niel Stewart of Facebook and also speakers from domains other than advertising like mythologist Devdutt Pattanik. Knowledge and learning is an equal partner with celebration of creativity and innovation. This will be amply displayed.

     

    2. For the first time, Youth Labs in Creative and Media will be introduced as a lively interactive platform aimed at keeping the young delegates engaged with more than just beer and sand. Industry stalwarts who are not easily accessible to the young delegates will conduct these sessions.

     

    3. Apart from an inclusive Conclave which has already been enlarged in audience reach and scope, there is a Leadership Summit on the last day which will address some critical issues in Marketing, Advertising and Communication by thought leaders from these domains.

     

    4. A smooth transparent judging process for Abbys which has already been appreciated by the juries and chairpersons involved last year in the annual feedback session. All the rigor introduced in sifting through any controversial or proactive “only for awards” entries will go through the auditors scanners before and during the jury sessions. The organisers have promised to honour all decisions of Jury after Awards have been decided.

     

    5. New companies participating in Abbs from diverse fields like Public Relations, Branded Content, Brand Activation, Publishers, Broadcasters, apart from Design and the fast growing vertical of Digital and Mobile advertising.

     

    More than anything else, Goafest is a young ad person’s dream platform as it offers more than just a heavily subsidised festival that lays out competition, learning from the gurus, fun on the beach and the ultimate social lubrication that takes networking to a new high.

     

    It’s not surprising to meet people you have worked with years ago in different companies and often different cities after many years of disconnect.

     

    CXOs find themselves aged and surrounded by young turks who are the new generation of a profession that refuses to get old, often discussing the new rules of engagement and making the digital communities of today come alive.

     

    Last year, a record 275 companies participated which is expected to increase further this year as E-commerce, M-commerce and Mobile has already ushered in a whole new breed of players and participants.

     

    6. A slicker, exciting, entertaining and professional show as we have partnered with experts in the event business.

     

    All in all , expect more than just paragliding, volleyball on the beach and the very Goan twist in the rain dance that has become a festival property.

     

    The writer is Director, Percept Ltd and Member,  Award Governing Council, Goafest Abbys and Joint Secretary, Adclub Management Committee

     

  • They are introducing for the first time Youth Labs for young delegates

    Plans unveiled for 10th edition of Goafest

    By A Correspondent

     

    L-R Dr. M.G. Parameswaran-President of AAAI, Mr. Nakul Chopra- Chairman of Goafest 2015 & Vice President of Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI), Ajay Chandwani, Managing committee member of the Advertisement

    The Organizing Committee of Goafest 2015 recently shared the roadmap for the event to be held from April 9 – 11 at The Grand Hyatt, Bambolim. The Committee also announced key initiatives and released the first list of speakers at the event.

     

    In its 10th year, efforts are being made to make the event distinctive and grand. Nakul Chopra- Chairman of Goafest 2015 & Vice President of Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI) said, “It is our endeavour to make Goafest 2015 better and superior. While the Advertising Conclave will be held on Day 1; the Knowledge Seminars will be held on Day 2 & 3. There will be a Leadership Summit on 11th April, which will bring together best minds in the field of advertising, communications, marketing industry to discuss, debate, interact, offer thoughts & experiences, share ideas and questions on our industry. These programmes are augmented with a series of presentations from leaders in their respective fields and panel debates.”

     

    Chopra further added, “We are also introducing for the first time Youth Labs for young delegates. These Youth Labs will have a separate Creative Lab and Media Lab. The aim of these Youth Labs will be to provide a platform for youngsters to interact with stalwarts in the industry and get them to sharpen and hone their skills.”

     

    The Organizing Committee also released the first list of speakers for the Knowledge Seminars: Ted Lim- Chief Creative Officer, Dentsu Aegis Network Asia Pacific, Alan Moseley- President and Creative Officer, 180 Amsterdam, Neil Stewart- Head of Agency, APAC Region, Facebook, Guy Abrahams- Worldwide Strategic Marketing Officer, Zenith Optimedia and Devdutt Pattanik- Author & Mythologist.

     

    Dr. MG Parameswaran-President of AAAI said, “Goafest 2015 will have a great mix of speakers this year. Our effort is get the 2500+ participants to listen to and interact with the best, the world has to offer. As in the previous years, we will have stimulating Q&A sessions moderated by senior marketing professionals.”​

     

    For the eighth year that AAAI and The Advertising Club will come together to deliver Abbys, India’s definitive awards that celebrate creativity. Pratap Bose- President of The Advertising Club & Chairman of The Awards Governing Council (AGC), said, “The initiatives introduced last year were widely appreciated by all the stakeholders. We will continue to follow the stringent and now well accepted norms for Abbys. An exciting feature that we introduced this year is that the Campaigns that have been released till February 15, 2015, are now allowed to submit their entries at this year’s Abbys.”

     

    Continuing with the changes that were inducted in 2012 – there will be a Grand Prix for Film, Print, Radio, Outdoor, Design, Interactive Digital, Direct, Media and Integrated. This year too there will be awindow of ten days before the final judging round. During this window, shortlisted entries will be available for the entire industry to review. However, Abbys once awarded will stay awarded.

     

  • Montreux Festival is a precursor to Cannes and every year many Cannes aspirants test their work at Montreux

    Ajay Chandwani onboard the Montreux Ad Festival Jury

    By a correspondent

     

    The 26th edition of Golden award of Montreux Advertising Festival is scheduled this year in the picturesque Swiss resort town of Montreux on Lake Geneva in Switzerland.

     

    Montreux Festival is a precursor to Cannes and every year many Cannes aspirants test their work at Montreux. Last year the big winners were BBDO New York, BETC Paris and AMO BBDO, London.

     

    This years Montreux jury includes Jens Petter of BBDO New York, Tim Cheng of DDB China, Frank Bodin of Havas Switzerland, Luis Dias of Draft FCB Lisbon, Davide Boscacci of Leo Burnett Italy and Max Posch of Fashion TV. Ajay Chandwani, Director Percept Ltd and Brand Engagement Consultant is also a member of the jury.

     

    Last year BBDO New York’s humourous Snickers films “Coach” and “Horseless headman” stole the show along with DDB Argentina’s Volkswagon “Little hand” and Guiness “Clock” by AMVBBDO London.

     

    Last year Leo Burnett India had won 3 Golds at Montreux in Print and Direct Mail categories while Ramesh Deo Productions won a Gold in the Film category.

     

    Since the last few years, Indian agencies have been entering Montreux Festival in steadily increasing numbers as the pan-European Festival is concentrating on improving the Asia Pacific participation in the Festival.

     

  • Over 70 brands and their agencies from India competed to get to the coveted International Echo. Eight of 90 Indian entries won awards: OgilvyOne with five wins, M&C Saatchi with two and Netcore with one win

    Big news for Datawallahs as India wins 8 Echo awards

    By A Correspondent

     

    Eight Indian entries came back with honours at the 2013 International Echo Awards organised by the Direct Marketing Association in Chicago on Wednesday (Oct 16). There were 90 entries from India competing for the awards.

     

    The DMA International Echo Awards Competition honours the world’s best response marketing campaigns – campaigns that have raised the bar in terms of strategy, creativity and results. No other awards competition looks at the response marketing discipline in such totality.

     

    Speaking on the occasion from the awards gala night, Vatsal Asher, CEO, DMAi, the Indian affiliate of the DMA, said, “We at DMAi are proud to have provided an international recognition platform and extremely excited to host our winning teams from India. Industry experts from across the world are sharing their thoughts and acknowledging the skills and the expertise being brought forward by the Indian Teams. Today’s wins should motivate more Indian agencies to step forward.”

     

    On this recognition, Ajay Chandwani, Director Percept Ltd and Chair of the DMAi India Echo Awards said, “Echo is a fitting recognition to the cause of  result-oriented creativity in direct marketing. With the world increasingly measuring ROI and effectiveness in every campaign, Echo rewards those direct marketing campaigns that delivered maximum impact in one to one communication in creativity and results. DMAi Awards with Echo are proud to have laid the platform for result driven marketing campaigns to be celebrated at the domestic level. We are grateful to all those who participated and congratulations to the winning agencies. Creativity in direct marketing has truly come of age in India”, said Mr Chandwani.

     

    Speaking on the occasion, Rakhshin Patel, Partner M&C Saatchi whose agency brought two International Echos home said, “Over the years, I have judged some stunningly creative, yet effective, work in India and I have always believed that India has the talent to not just match up to the world’s best direct marketing standards, but in certain cases actually set the benchmark. This year, with India winning eight metals at the DMA Echos, it validates my belief that our industry has the talent to produce world beating creative work in the data driven marketing field. This recognition is a huge step forward for Direct Marketing in India and I congratulate the winning creative teams and their marketing partners for helping to propel India forward on the global direct marketing stage.”

     

    Commenting on this remarkable achievement, said Vikram Menon, President and Country Head (India) of OgilvyOne Worldwide that bagged five wins, said “Eight metals at one of the toughest effectiveness shows in the world is terrific for India and the entire direct marketing community should be immensely proud. What makes this tally so much more rewarding is that it puts us right on top with the very best in the world. Considering the parameters for judging, these wins belong as much to marketing teams as they do to the communication teams and my heartiest congratulations to everyone involved. This is just the sort of impetus we need to further the cause of creatively driven data inspired marketing and DMA India.”

     

    Winners have been selected from 12 business categories: automotive; business and consumer services; communications and utilities; financial products and services; information technologies; insurance; nonprofits; pharmaceutical and healthcare; product manufacturing and distribution; publishing and entertainment; retail and direct sales; and travel and hospitality/transportation.

     

  • The DMAi ECHO Awards India presented on Tuesday, June 4 recognised winners in three categories: Effectiveness, Creative and Media.

    OgilvyOne is DMA Echo 2013 Agency of the Year

    By A Correspondent

     

    Ajay Chandwani

    OgilvyOne Worldwide was declared ‘Agency of the year’ at the DMA ECHO Awards India 2013 organised by the Direct Market Association India (DMAi). The winners were announced at a ceremony on Tuesday, June 4 as part of the DMAi Convention in Mumbai.

     

    OgilvyOne won the DMA Echo India Grand Prix for the ‘Joy of Reading’ campaign for The Economist. The Grand Prix winner was chosen from all Gold winners on the basis of maximum score awarded by the jury, said Ajay Chandwani, chairman, DMA Echo Awards India 2013.

     

    The DMAi ECHO Awards India recognised winners in three categories: Effectiveness, Creative and Media.

     

    OgilvyOne won seven Golds, one Silver and five Bronze in the Effectiveness, Creative and Media categories. The wins included two golds for American Express Banking Corporation, two golds for ITC Hotels, one gold for Vodafone,one gold for India Hockey League and a gold for Once Again.

     

    The other Gold winners were – McCann MRM for Hero Motorcorp, Hungama Digital Services for Mahindra XUV 500, Netcore for HUL Active Wheel.

     

    Draftfcb-Ulka won a silver for ICICI Bank and two bronzes each for Intel and TCS. Contract won a silver for Shoper Stop, Salt Brand Solutions won a Silver for L&T Insurance, Tonic Media won a silver for Sony, Ethinos won a silver for Olympic Gold Quest, M&C Saatchi won 2 bronzes for Aditya Birla Money and Birla Sun Life Insurance.

     

    BC Webwise won a silver and a bronz for Hul Sunsilk, McCann MRM won 2 bronzes for Lufthansa. Havas Media won a bronze for Parle Products.

     

    Commenting on the awards, Mr Chandwani said: “The second edition of DMA Echo Awards saw a doubling of entries this year with 30 companies sending 108 entries. Echo awards are all about Marketing Response and Effectiveness which is why clients, planners and creative people are part of the jury. In fact the jury had to patiently read nearly 400 pages of case submissions before they could judge entries. I hope to see more media companies and agencies participating next year.”

     

    The evening also saw three inductions into DMAI Hall of Fame: BS Nagesh, vice-chairman, Shoppers Stop and founder, TRRAIN, R Shridhar, former Ogilvy  Direct head and business innovation coach at IDEAS-RS and Winnifred Knight, managing director and owner of Cube [On the Square] and TheMarketingSite.com.

     

    LIST OF WINNERS at the DMAi Awards

     

    EFFECTIVENESS

     

    CREATIVE:

     

    MEDIA:

     

  • The ECHO Awards of DMA US are the gold standard worldwide in marketing response and cover creativity, effectiveness and innovation. This year DMA US has accorded full alliance status to the DMA India awards programme

    Ajay Chandwani appointed Chairman, DMA Echo Awards- India

    By A Correspondent

     

    Ajay Chandwani

    DMAi (Direct Marketing Association: India) has announced Ajay Chandwani, Director, Percept Limited  as Chairman, DMA Echo Awards, India 2013. Mr Chandwani is currently Member on the Board of Governors, DMAi and was Co-Chair for the maiden DMAi Convention.

     

    DMA is the world’s premier body of Marketing Response professionals in US and has since extended to over 40 countries including India in the form of DMAi. The ECHO Awards of DMA US are the gold standard worldwide in marketing response and cover creativity, effectiveness and innovation. The Echo Awards are now in India as part of the initiative of DMAi. This year, DMA US has accorded full alliance status to the DMA India awards programme.

     

    Entrants in DMAI Echo India this year get a unique benefit. All entrants get in DMA International ECHO Awards at no extra cost saving of US $ 495 or approx Rs.26,000 per entry. Further, all Gold winners in India will go into semi final round of ECHO International thus bypassing the short list round there.

     

    Commenting on the appointment, Sanjiv Swarup, Director DMAi said, “We are proud to have Ajay Chair the very prestigious awards program once again and welcome his continued support. We are confident that Ajay will once again rope in an equally prestigious jury comprising of Client side Marketers and agency side leaders. Ajay’s familiarity with the awards process will help in strengthening DMAi Awards & Recognition programmes as the only comprehensive awards programmes in the country.”

     

    Mr Chandwani said, “Marketing response is the most crucial metric for effectiveness of a campaign. Clients and agencies are today hard pressed to deliver effectiveness in every campaign spend with so much pressure on return of investment. The DMA ECHO Awards recognizes and rewards Creativity in Effectiveness and Innovation in response strategies, which is why both agencies and clients worldwide value the ECHO so much in the crucial Direct and Digital domains. Agencies and clients in India must support this cause with enthusiasm.”

     

    He further added,”It’s good to have DMAi champion the cause of Response Marketing in India through it’s access to Indian and global thought leaders in strategic marketing. Through the Annual Marketing Convention planned for June 4 and 5 in Mumbai and subsequently the Master Classes and Interactive sessions planned in Engagement Marketing, Cyber Safety and ethics and Big data Management and Analysis, DMAi will be doing the Indian marketing fraternity proud in these specialized spheres.”

     

    Last year the DMAi awards, saw 135 entries from Indian and international companies alike with 52 entries were submitted in full. This year over 200 clients directly or through their agencies have expressed interest in participation and have collected the forms and expressed interest. The jury will meet over the weekend for the judging of these entries. The winners will be felicitated at the Awards Gala on June 4, 2013 that happens on the sidelines of the DMAi 2013 Convention on June 4-5 at the Leela Mumbai.

     

  • Percept director Ajay Chandwani is on the jury of the Golden award of Montreux Festival being held in Switzerland this week

    Ajay Chandwani on Montreux fest jury

    By A Correspondent

     

    The Golden award of Montreux Festival in Switzerland is scheduled to have its jury deliberations on April 25 this year in the Swiss resort town of Montreux. Also known for its annual jazz festival, the timing of the Montreux Advertising Festival is such that it is a good precursor to Cannes and Clio. The Festival of Media Global is also being held in Montreux from April 28 to 30.

     

    This year’s Montreux golden awards jury includes Frank Bodin of Havas Switzerland, Peter Sun of Y&R, Mike Sutherland of BBDO London, Luis Dias of Draft FCB Lisbon, Max Posch of Fashion TV and Olivier Teepe founder of Cloudfactory Netherlands.

     

    Ajay Chandwani

    Ajay Chandwani, Director, Percept Limited is also on the jury this year as Asian participation is rising at the Festival. “Montreux is a great place to see the world’s best work before the work hits Cannes and other Festivals .”

     

    BBDO New York and AMV BBDO from UK dominated the golds won last year. Being Pan European in focus with American and European agencies doing well in the past,  the Montreux festival has been gaining awareness in India and Asia.

     

    Last year, Leo Burnett India won 2 golds in Print Craft for Bajaj Exhaust Fans and BBH India won a gold in the TV film category for World Gold Council.  Webchutney also won a gold in the Best Use of Mobile Media category.

     

    Details on www.goldenawardmontreux.com.

     

  • There is a desirable exposure to brands. Hence advertising provides a wider canvas to work on and promises to be an integral part of marketing, says Ajay Chandwani

    The Anchor: Ajay Chandwani on 5 reasons why youngsters/MBAs should join advertising

    By Ajay Chandwani

     

    1. Brand Management

    For those who have studied MBA, marketing management is just one part of the spectrum, but one should realize that in advertising you also get to do brand management. This is a dynamic field to be a part with immense opportunity.

     

    2. Variety

    In advertising, you are not restricted to one industry, but you get to work on various categories. So if one time it is about selling a washing powder, next time it could be about selling biscuits and then about selling cars. One has to think different thus not getting stuck in stereotypes.

     

    3. You do it for a living

    Advertising promotes lateral thinking. It’s not that you can’t do out-of-box thinking in marketing, but in advertising that’s how you are making a living. You get to interact with creative minds and you need to be an ideas person to survive and succeed.

     

    4. Never a predictable moment

    You could get to work on a new product, marketing plans keep changing, new brands gets launched, so in short, there is no boredom. There is so much going around in advertising business that it promises to be one roller-coaster ride.

     

    5. Today advertising is at the helm of a marketing function

    The former has taken a 360 degree avatar which included advertising, PR, digital, BTL and the works. There is a desirable exposure to brands. Hence it provides a wider canvas to work on and promises to be an integral part of marketing.

     

    Ajay Chandwani is Director at Percept Ltd

     

  • The global convention by DMAi will be the first ever conclave that will feature global learning in strategic marketing with special focus on direct marketing

    DMAi announces co-chairs for convention

    By A Correspondent

     

    DMAi, the forum for integrated direct marketing in India, has appointed co-chairpersons for its first of its kind global convention in Mumbai in August. Ajay Chandwani along with Winnifred Knight will function as co-chairpersons of the DMAi Convention and work with DMAi to ensure that this maiden event is a grand success. Their role will entail selection of content and speakers, overseeing strategic goals of DMAi, networking with industry thought leaders, as well as promotion for the convention.

     

    Commenting on the selection, Sanjiv Swarup, Founder Director of DMAi said: “We are very proud to have both Ajay and Winnifred as Co-Chairpersons of the convention, and are certain that they will bring a plethora of acclaim and stewardship to this entire event. Both are very well respected in their industries and bring expertise, knowledge and revolutionary thinking to their ideas and execution. We are certain that the convention will reach renewed heights with their guidance and leadership.”

     

    The global convention by Direct Marketing Association: India (DMAi) will be the first ever conclave that will feature global learning in strategic marketing with special focus on direct marketing including traditional, interactive and futuristic channels; with a participation from over 100 global and Indian companies.

     

    On being appointed as Co-Chairman of the Convention, Ajay Chandwani said: “I am honored to be bestowed with this new role and look forward to working with Winnifred, to ensure that this Convention reaches the great heights it truly deserves. As co-chairpersons of the DMAi Convention, our role will be to bring to life the knowledge and experience of top notch Indian and global speakers, who have a huge standing in their markets. These thought leaders will share their valuable insights and experience of brands handled by them. Further, my personal involvement over many years in brands and interaction with leading marketers will enable me to get access to thought leaders in Marketing, Creative and Media and get them motivated to share their knowledge. Our key objective is to make Direct marketing the next big thing that everyone is talking about.”

     

    “My familiarity with the Awards Process will help in working with the maiden DMAi Awards event which will require the support Direct Marketing specialists, Clients who use Direct Marketing, Ad Agencies and Media Companies. The biggest challenge will lie in garnering sponsor and delegate support for the Convention.”

     

    Commenting on her selection as Co-Chairman of the Convention, Ms. Knight said: “As a knowledge junkie and passionate traveler, Incredible India has been on my bucket list for many years, and this opportunity to be in the midst of business and pleasure is a dream come true. Needless to say the DMAi Team has made it easy to like and respect them for their professionalism and warmth. I’m delighted to be part of the program and content planning in advising on relevant topics and tracks, suggestions for international speakers and other specialists, networking opportunities and more. Together with Ajay’s extensive experience we look forward to present an awesome knowledge-sharing and Insightful Convention.”

     

    The convention, to be hosted by DMAi at the Renaissance Convention Center Powai in Mumbai from August 1-4, will be a 2 day event spread over 4 key tracks and several sessions and will include keynote presentations from leading practitioners from India and abroad, panel discussions of eminent professionals, expo centres for actual business, award presentations in the direct marketing industry and an opportunity to network with the crème de la crème of marketing practitioners. There will also be 2 days of Masterclasses in specialist functional areas.

     

     

  • Digital is the flavour of the year, it is because digital is a new medium, it is an evolving medium and it is very fashionable these days to talk about digital, says Ajay Chandwani, Director, Percept

    We hope digital could translate into more benefits to clients: Ajay Chandwani

    Ajay Chandwani, Director, Percept talks ton MxM India on what shone and clicked at Goafest 2012 and spells out his expectations for 2013.

     

    What were the key takeaways from Goafest 2012?

    Even though I may have missed some of the sessions at Goafest 2012 since I wasn’t there at that time, however, I was told the sessions were very impactful and that it had covered every length and breadth of the subjects. I was also told how the 3D’s i.e. Design, Direct, and Digital stole the limelight at the day one of Goafest 2012 awards. In fact, it is no longer just the media awards, but the day one awards cover the media and the 3D’s, so I am happy that it has reached that point. Besides, I also found Professor John Philip Jones’ session very interesting and insightful.

     

    On the emphasis given to digital this Goafest:

    Digital is certainly the flavour of the day, may be flavour of the year or the last few years. If you look at most of the seminars, digital has been the talking point, it is because digital is a new medium, it is an evolving medium and it is very fashionable these days to talk about digital. We are hoping that it could translate into more benefits to the clients because today it is still a television and print led economy as far as advertising is concerned. Ironically, not more than 3 or 4 per cent of clients’ money is actually going to digital. So I am hoping that this would change, I am also hoping that through these seminars it will enlarge the digital complementary, it will create interest in the mainstream creative people to enter digital and when this happens then the medium will expand.

     

    Has there been an improvement in digital creatives over the years?

    Yes, there has definitely been an improvement in the digital creative which was not so until two years ago because it was a new medium, it is still not attracting the top talent of, say, the mainstream creative, but when this happens, only then we will see the real growth of digital happening in India. However, the fact that we won a grand prix in digital in itself is a very good trend.

     

    Expectations from Goafest 2013…

    We expect Goafest 2013 to be even better and even brighter and smarter in terms of selection and more participation from companies is also expected.

     

  • Ajay Chandwani on how Abby is not just a creative advertising award any more, though it had started that way more than 40 years ago

    Go-Goafest!: Ajay Chandwani on why the Abby this year is special

    By Ajay Chandwani

     

    The Creative Abby has evolved in many ways and this year is no exception. With the 9 verticals, the Abby is not just a creative advertising award any more, though it had started that way more than 40 years ago. Direct, Design, Digital and Film Craft have all created new communication communities with companies participating from these functional areas. The Abby is sought after by film directors, through the line stalwarts, mobile and digital companies and others.

     

    New categories like Environment Design, Online Integrated Digital andMobile, Augmented Reality, Direct response inMobileand so on added a new dimension to entry opportunities. No wonder we saw 4,253 entries this year, a significant increase over last year.

     

    The combination of discussion with secret ballot seems to have been welcomed by most creatives for the second year running. This is a departure from the open hands vote of 3 years that Goafest 2008-10 used, with endorsement from the creative community. Also new rules on multi-category entering and discretionary clubbing on winners with similarity has gone down well with the creative folks.

     

    Jury composition has also evolved with younger and recent award winning contemporary judges being added from several agencies. At least 15 per cent of the judges were first time jury members at Abbys. Also we saw 3 new Jury Chairmen at Goafest Abby this year … Sonal Dabral of Mudra DDB, Ashish Khazanchi of Publicis and Abhijit Awasti of Ogilvy.

     

    Another added feature this year has been that judges from advertising mainstream agencies are rubbing shoulders with specialist judges in Direct, Design, Digital and Film Craft juries. The lines between specialists are blurring as convergence and creativity becomes a child of the 360 degree touch point era.

     

    The healthiest debates in discussion have been on ‘Are we honouring best in local Indian standards or benchmarking against international winners?’ With so many Indian entries chasing International awards and Indian judges at global festivals, it’s not surprising that most juries have worked out their balance on this subject.

     

    Let’s hope the audience likes the winners picked on April 21!

     

    Ajay Chandwani is Director at Percept Limited and is member of Award Governing Council in charge of Jury selection, judging process and conducting of Creative Abby

    Click here to view all Goafest 2012 stories