MxMIndia

Tag: Awards Governing Council

  • Or the Abby One Show Awards, as they are called now

    Awards Governing Council announced for for Abby 2024

    The Advertising Club and Advertising Agencies Association of India have announced the Awards Governing Council (AGC) for the 2024 edition of the annual awards.

    Representing Advertising Club:

    1. Ajay Kakar, Chairperson, Awards Governing Council, Abby One Show Awards 2024 and Managing Committee Member, The Advertising Club
    2. Dheeraj Sinha, Group CEO – India and South Asia, FCB, and Co-chair Awards Governing Council, Abby One Show Awards 2024
    3. Ajay Chandwani, Managing Committee Member, The Advertising Club
    4. Alok Lall, Executive Director, McCann World Group India
    5. Sonia Huria, Head Communications – APAC, Prime Video
    6. Subramanyeswar S., Group CEO, MullenLowe Lintas Group & Chief Strategy Officer – APAC, MullenLowe Global

     

    Representing Advertising Agencies Association of India:

    1. Prasanth Kumar, President of the Advertising Agencies Association of India and CEO of GroupM, South Asia
    2. Jaideep Gandhi, Chairperson, Goafest 2024
    3. Mohit Joshi, CEO, Havas Media
    4. Sam Balsara, Chairman, Madison World
    5. Rohit Ohri, FCB Global Partner
    6. Anupriya Acharya, CEO South Asia, Publicis Groupe

    Speaking on the AGC, Rana Barua, President of The Advertising Club, said: “Over the years the Abby One Show Awards has not only honoured creative excellence but has helped strengthen South Asia and especially India’s position in the global arena. It is imperative that we turn the spotlight on work that is deserving, innovative and socially and culturally relevant with creativity at its heart. The awards has encouraged talent and brought to light work that was impossible to even imagine. We are excited for this edition and are certain that the Awards Governing Council has a tough task at hand given the level and amount of work showcased over the last year.”

    Added Prasanth Kumar, President of the Advertising Agencies Association of India: “The Abby One Show Awards has evolved, becoming a level playing field not just for India but the entire South Asian region. We have witnessed agencies and brands of all sizes put their best foot forward, and have been humbly surprised with the kind of work that this region is home to.  We are confident that the awards will continue to empower the creative community and provide them with a global stage to showcase innovation and insight behind their creative communication.”

    Said Ajay Kakar, Chairperson, Awards Governing Council, Abby One Show Awards 2024: “The Abby One Show Awards continue to bring the spotlight on great ideas that manifest into great work. I am humbled by the opportunity to Chair the Awards Governing Council, that comprises stalwarts of our industry. An award, I believe, is as good as the Jury that judges it. So, the AGC is committed to have a stellar line-up of jury chairs and jury members, who have earned their spurs at a global and local level. They will help identify and recognise the best of best that the industry has created, this year. The Abby One Show Awards 2024 will continue to encourage, empower and accredit work to find its rightful place at a domestic level, and as a stepping stone to the global stage.”

    Added Kevin Swanepoel, CEO of The One Club for Creativity: “It is with great enthusiasm that we continue our association with The Advertising Club for the Abby Awards. What The One Show brings to the Abby ABBY Awards is a legacy of integrity, a reputation that resonates worldwide. Last year’s collaboration with the Abby Awards has pushed the creative envelope further, setting new benchmarks in recognising and celebrating creative excellence. We are delighted to be a part of this property that fosters a culture of excellence in the creative industry and are excited to witness deserving campaigns being honoured with an Abby.”

    Said Jaideep Gandhi, Chairperson, Goafest 2024: “Goafest and the Abby One Show Awards have over the years crafted a premiere position bringing together the industry to learn, unlearn and celebrate. Like past editions, this year too we are confident of witnessing work that goes on to set new benchmarks of their own. While we are looking forward to a diverse creative showcase, we are confident that the task won’t be as easy for our jurors and AGC given the level of competitiveness.”

    Jointly organised by Advertising Agencies Association of India and The Advertising Club, Goafest 2024 will be held on May 29 to 31, 2024 at Grand Hyatt hotel, in Bambolim, Goa.

  • Presented by Viacom18, the apex industry awards is set to convene at Goafest 2019 from 11th  – 13th April

    Awards Governing Council for ABBY Awards 2019 announced

    By A Correspondent

     

    The Advertising Club and Advertising Agencies Association of India have announced the Awards Governing Council for the Abby Awards. The fourteenth edition of Goafest 2019 is being held from April 11 to 13 this year.

     

    The  committee includes: Shashi Sinha: Chairman of the Awards Governing Council, ABBY Awards 2019, Secretary – The Advertising Club and CEO, IPG Mediabrands India; Vikram Sakhuja: President, The Advertising Club & Group CEO – Madison Media & OOH – ‎Madison World; Ajay Kakar: Chief Marketing Officer, Aditya Birla Capital; Ajay Chandwani: Director, Percept Ltd; Aditya Swamy: Head – Agency Partnerships , Google and Sapangeet Rajawat: Head – Marketing, Hindi Mass Entertainment.

     

    The Awards Governing Council  on behalf of AAAI comprises Nakul Chopra; Chairman – Goafest 2019; Ashish Bhasin: Chairman & CEO South Asia Dentsu Aegis Network – ‎Aegis Group plc; Anupriya Acharya: CEO, Publicis Media India; Rohit Ohri: Group Chairman and CEO, FCB India and Jaydeep Gandhi: Chairman & Director, Jaya Advertising.

     

    Speaking on the focus of the AGC  for the upcoming edition, Sinha, said: The newly appointed Awards Governing Council is committed to ensuring that the awards are inclusive and have multi sectoral  representation. The combined experience  and the expertise of the council is sure to ensure that  all aspects of the awards from jury selection  to jury deliberation and review and  winner announcement thereafter is conducted with the highest standards of due diligence.”

     

    Added Bhasin: “Abby Awards have always been  the highlight of the festival and a key plaform for  the young minds from the industry to showcase the pioneering work done by them through the year . The awards governing council council formed to conduct this marquee awards includes industry thought leaders and media mavens who will come together to deliver another inclusive, highly represented  and  successful  year of the Abby.”

     

    Speaking about the AGC appointment, Sakhuja said: “Winning an Abby has always been a careed defining moment  for and the awards have year on year ensured that only the best in class campaigns that have showcased effectiveness and creativity are lauded. The newly appointed Awards Governing Counicl will ensure that the Abby continue to live up to its repute of being the ultimate industry awards that celebrate meritorious campaigns.”

     

    Said Nakul Chopra, Chairman – Goafest 2019: “Every year, Abbys have  not just recognized the best in best work done by the industry but also encouraged individuals from the industry to innovate and push boundaries to deliver the best creative campaigns.  We are sure that this year too will see  a lot of innovative work entered that will be judged by a renowned  jury panel curated by the eminent Awards Governing Council.”

     

     

  • Ashish Bhasin, Vice President of Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI)to chair the apex media and entertainment industry event while Ajay Kakar to head the Awards Governing Council

    Goafest 2018 on April 5-7

    By A Correspondent

     

    The Advertising Agencies Association of India and The Advertising Club have announced the dates for the 2018 edition of Goafest. It is scheduled for April 5 to 7 to be held in Goa.

     

    The event will be helmed by Ashish Bhasin, Chairman & CEO South Asia Dentsu Aegis Network and Vice President of Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI), who has been elected as the Chairman of Goafest 2018. Ajay Kakar, CMO Aditya Birla Capital and Vice President of The Advertising Club will be Chairman of the Awards Governing Council.

     

    Speaking about the focus of the 2018 edition of Goafest, Vikram Sakhuja: President, The Advertising Club said: Goafest is a landmark event that is marked in every brand and media professional’s calendar. The festival is the definitive platform for industry to engage, network and celebrate the pioneering creative work done through the year. At Goafest 2018 we will continue to up the ante on lifting the standard of creative brilliance. Watch this space.”

     

    Speaking on Bhasin’s appointment as Chairman of Goafest 2018, Nakul Chopra President AAAI said: “Ashish is an industry veteran with indepth understanding of the global media and entertainment industry dynamic. He played a decisive role in ensuring that Goafest 2017 was a grand affair that saw many pioneering initiatives. Goafest 2017 under his aegis is sure so see many more interesting and groundbreaking initiatives that will further up the bar on engagement.”

     

    Added Bhasin who had also chaired the organising committee at Goafest 2017: “Goafest has been at the center of celebrating transformational brand stories and fostering the media and entertainment industry’s growth agenda.  Our endeavour continues to be create a festival experience that is inclusive, inspiring and delivers an immersive ideas exchange platform to all festival goers.  Goafest, 2018 is sure to provide learning enrichment and facilitate synergies, thereby providing significant value to all festival goers.”

     

    And this is what Ajay Kakar, Chair of the all-important Awards Governing Council said: “The Abbys have,historically, been both aspirational and inspirational beacons for the advertising, media and marketing industries. This year we intend to bring about exciting changes that will remind people why they have always loved the Abbys. And also remind them why the Abbys have always been regarded and recognised as the gold standard in creativity.”

     

    Other members of the Awards Governing Council include:

    • VikramSakhuja: President, The Advertising Club & Group CEO – Madison Media & OOH – ‎Madison World
    • Nakul Chopra; President AAAI and Senior Advisor, Publicis Communications
    • Ashish Bhasin: Chairman & CEO South Asia Dentsu Aegis Network – ‎Aegis Group plc
    • CVL Srinivas, Country Head – India, WPP & CEO, GroupM South Asia
    • M G Parameswaran: Founder, Brand-Building.com
    • PunithaArumugam: Entrepreneur and Digital Evangelist
    • Ramesh Narayan: Founder – ‎Canco Advertising Pvt. Ltd.
    • Partha Sinha: Vice Chairman and Managing Director, McCann Worldgroup
    • Shashi Sinha: CEO, IPG MediabrandsIndia.
    • Nagesh Alai: Founder, Independent Business Advisory

     

     

  • Ramesh Narayan declared the chairman of AGC for Goafest 2016

    Ramesh Narayan to helm Abby Awards Governing Council for Goafest 2016

    By A Correspondent

     

    The Advertising Club and Advertising Agencies Association of India has announced the Awards Governing Council for Goafest 2016. Ad veteran and industry leader Ramesh Narayan, founder at Canco Advertising Pvt. Ltd. has been appointed theChairman of the AGC. The other members elected to the Council are:

     

    Chairman (CEO, Publicis South Asia & Vice President) of Goafest Organizing Committee – Nakul Chopra; President Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAA’s of I) & Advisor, FCB Ulka Advertising – Ambi M G Parameshwaran; Chairman and CEO at Dentsu Aegis Network – Ashish Bhasin; President, Sony Pictures Networks – Rohit Gupta; CEO at Group M, South Asia – CVL Srinivas; CEO at Mediabrands – Shashi Sinha; CEO at Percept H Pvt. Ltd. – Ajay Chandwani; National Head, Sales, English Cluster at Viacom18 – Namrata Tata; Chief Executive Officer at Contract Advertising – Rana Barua; Founding Partner and Chairman at The Social Street – Pratap Bose.

     

    Announcing the appointment, Raj Nayak, President of The Advertising Club said, “We are pleased to announce that Ramesh Narayan will be the Chairman of the Awards Governing Council of the Goafest. He brings his unique experience as one of the very few people who has been President of the Advertising Club and the Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI) to this post. He has also been Chairman of the Abby Awards Committee twice, and was the first Indian to judge the Effie Awards finals in New York. Ramesh is the only person to have been conferred the Lifetime Achievement Award by the AAAI and been inducted into the International Advertising Association’s Hall of Fame.” 

     

    Welcoming the announcement Ambi M G Parameshwaran – President, Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAA’s of I) said “Ad Club is a wonderful institution. I am delighted to hear about Ramesh Narayan’s appointment. With his unparalled understanding of India’s advertising scenario, and his years of valuable experience, Ramesh is sure to bring in a whole new perspective which will definitely drive the council to greater heights of success.”

     

    Nakul Chopra- Chairman of Goafest Organizing Committee, showed his excitement about the new appointment as well. “I’ve known Ramesh as a visionary leader who embraces change and is open to new ideas. I’m sure his appointment means an interesting phase for the Council is on the anvil.”

     

  • Campaigns that have been released till February 15, 2015 are allowed to submit their entries at this year's Goafest Abbys

    Call for Entries for Goafest Abbys 2015 announced

    By A Correspondent

     

    The Awards Governing Council (AGC) of Goafest 2015 has announced its “call for entries” for Goafest Abbys. The entry forms can be downloaded from www.theadvertisingclub.net. The last date for submission of entries is Friday, February 27, 2015. This year, Goafest will be held from April 9th to 11th at The Grand Hyatt, Bambolim, North Goa.

     

    Campaigns that have been released till February 15, 2015 are allowed to submit their entries at this year’s Goafest Abbys.

     

    The regular Award entry Fee is INR 7,304/- (inclusive of Service Tax). The entry fee for the categories – Integrated Advertising i.e. from 1e to 15e, 18(J) – a, b, c & d. Integrated Digital Campaign, 19h. Direct Campaign, 20h. Best integrated entertainment content campaign, 21w. Programmes that use multiple media platforms in one promotional campaign, 22u. Integrated Campaign led by PR is INR 10,113/- (inclusive of service Tax). For South Asian Countries the entry fee will be USD 22.47 (inclusive of service Tax).

     

    Goafest is in its 10th year and this is the 8th year that AAAI and The Advertising Club have come together to award ABBYs, India’s definitive honour that recognizes creativity.

     

  • The Goafest 2013 Awards Governing Council decides to set up a 'superjury' comprising the chairpersons of the 11 Creative Abby categories

    These 11 members of the Creative Abby ‘superjury’ could decide the future of Indian advertising! [Updated]

    By A Correspondent

     

    Running the Awards Governing Council (AGC) is a thankless job. Getting gaalis for no real fault and innumerable doubts being raised on their credentials.

     

    Ever since Goafest 2013 ended, the AGC has been working overtime with procedural errors and complaints. At first it was the Leo Burnett radio spots which the client Tata Chemicals got the agency to pull from the awards. And then started a series of complaints alleging sameness in the creative (read plagiarism). One of these on DHL Express created by BBDO Proximity was even taken up the AGC and some metals were withdrawn leading to BBDO chief Josy Paul lambasting the decision.

     

    The Proposed Superjury
     

    Integrated: Prasoon Joshi (McCann)

    Film: Senthil Kumar (JWT)

    Film Craft: Piyush Panjwani (Equus)

    Print: Agnello Dias (Taproot)

    Print Craft: Josy Paul (BBDO)

    Brand Content: K S Chakraborty (DraftFCB Ulka)

    OOH: Sonal Dabral (DDB Mudra)

    Design: Rakhshin Patel (M&C Saatchi-i)

    Radio and Radio craft: Nitesh Tiwari (Leo Burnett)

    Design: Prashant Kalyankar (KA Advertising)

    Digital: Carlton D’Silva (Hungama)

     

    The complaints kept coming in, forcing AGC chairperson Shashi Sinha to ask the media to put in a notice that no complaints would be allowed after the evening of Friday, April 12.

     

    However, what possibly led to this decision of setting up a ‘superjury’ by the Awards Governing Council comprising the chairpersons of the 12 categories that constituted the Creative Abby (see box), was that not everyone among certain agencies was happy that complaints filed against their award-winning creatives were judged by junior members of the fraternity.

     

    According to Shashi Sinha, chairperson of the AGC, the meeting will be held within three to four days, though one industryperson told us it could even take over a week. The decision to have chairpersons of the various creative juries will, it is hoped, ensure an end to all charges of favouritism and juniors taking critical decisions. While the ‘superjury’ will discuss and deliberate on each of the disputed creatives, the final voting will be via secret ballot. Note: the ‘superjury’ will only look at the complaints on creative issues like a certain ad being similar to another released earlier.

     

    MxMIndia was unable to ascertain whether all the 11 members of the proposed superjury have agreed to be part of this extraordinary meeting.

     

  • Sinha is upbeat on crossing the first hurdle of judging and promises that this year the work showcased at the Fest will be high quality

    9 Days to Go-Goafest | Shashi Sinha on the judging process

    Shashi Sinha, President of Ad Club Bombay and Chairman of Awards Governing Council has played a critical role in the cleaning up of awards at the Goafest which has come under a scanner post the incident of self voting and leaking of award results. Having started the process last year to bring credibility to the awards, Sinha is now upbeat on crossing the first hurdle and promises that this year the work showcased at the Fest will be high quality. Here’s Sinha throwing some light on the judging process.

     

    Yesterday evening, as I stepped out from the Direct jury discussions, I must admit that I felt overwhelmed by the quality of conversation this year. We have been encouraging the jury to engage in long discussion as that is the only way to understand the nuances involved in the work. More the discussion, more the clarity in judging the works.

     

    In fact, this year we have increased the number of jury in each category from 6 to 8 in the last year to 10 to 12 this year, thus having a better representation of people. We have fine-tuned the judging process and added more categories. We have also increased the number of Grand Prix that will cover all the 9 verticals (10 if you consider Print and Print Craft separately) where again role of conversation will play a critical role in finding ‘the work’. We have also moved to secret voting thus allowing the jury to make their choice without worrying about upsetting anyone from the fraternity which was the case when voting happened by show of hands.

     

    We had tackled these issues last year, but I would say that last year at the Fest the focus was to get the process right and clean up the issues that had marred the awards. We were focusing on bringing transparency to the entire judging process and make it tight and fair. The AGC and KPMG are now familiar with how things ran last year hence there is more comfort with the procedure and protocol.

     

    Now with process in place we are working towards improving the quality of work being showcased. I must admit that we have achieved this seeing the quality of discussion we have been having, I feel proud to be part of the industry.

     

    We have also been giving a week’s break after the R1 of judging just so that there is a gap and judging happens with a fresh perspective, without any preconceived notions. Also, while shortlists were announced earlier, we are not doing this now, so that even for judges as they walk in for R2 there is an element of surprise to see the shortlist, paving way for fresh conversation. As earlier, where all the shortlists were showcased at Goa, now we will only showcase the finalists, resulting in a better quality of display as the works would have gone two filtering process.

     

    In fact, we are finished with the R1 in all categories this year and almost in the last leg of judging with 3 categories left. Today, we will judge the interactive which I am looking forward to. It is an upcoming category and I am sure it would be fun being a part of it. This year, we have also had entries from South Asian countries and even though the number is not much but it is good beginning that will give the fest a larger footprint.

     

    We have also split the award to two days as that was a feedback we got from people. So the 3Ds- Direct, Digital and Design will be given on the night of April 20, the rest will be given on April 21.

     

    In my mind, the judging process may have become complicated and is time consuming but the changes have happened for good. Goafest is here to stay and each year we have bettered it, like this year we have an impressive list of international speakers, given the fact it’s been a rough year for the industry. We have also managed the location issue as the Zuri White Sands is a better location as opposed to the beach. I think we have got the formula right for the Fest now. Just keeping my fingers crossed.

     

    Click here to view all Goafest 2012 stories

     

  • MxMIndia kicks off its countdown to Goafest 2012 with an interview with the organising committee chair

    10 Days to Go-Goafest! It’s all about celebrating ideas: Arvind Sharma

     

    As the countdown begins for Goafest 2012, Arvind Sharma, Chairman Goafest 2012 and Chairman, India Sub-continent, Leo Burnett, speaks to MxMIndia’s Tuhina Anand on the festival this year and why it is truly the celebration of creativity at its best.

     

    What can one expect from Goafest 2012? How will it different from last year?

    The Festival will stay true to its fundamental vision. It is a platform for celebrating creativity and a source of inspiration. Most importantly for the entire fraternity comprising young and not-so-young, Goafest is the preparatory ground for the industry to gauge where and how to go forward. I feel that the core, sometimes, is forgotten in the bid to do something new.

     

    I mean, we live in a world which is changing rapidly, so having something new is inevitable. If you look at successful festivals around the world 90 per cent remain the same. Similarly, at Goafest, we have defined categories and 95 per cent remain the same in terms of predictability of entering, judging, Awards Governing Council and Goafest Committee. There is consistency in that format and our effort of providing conversations. All this is same as what one had last year.

    Having said that about the predictability factor, let me also add that moving forward is equally important.

     

    So, what’s new?

    This year we are looking at ways to involve clients in a meaningful way. The fact is that, there would be no advertising if there were no clients. The business of advertising is about partnering with the marketers. We, at Goafest, believe in evolving vision that doesn’t really mean evolving identically, but in evolving together. We look at bringing in more opportunity for conversations and that’s the reason why we have brought clients this time into the seminar.

     

    There is a slight change in the format. So far, there have been series of international speakers, while some of these presentations have been received well, some weren’t, and there have been questions on the relevance of those to India. Changing that, we have brought in senior Indian clients to raise questions after the presentation. So there will be 30-35 minutes for the speaker followed by 10-15 minutes of Q&A led by a senior Indian client. He or she will be the voice and mind of the audience and bring in the Indian perspective to the entire presentation by agreeing, challenging, bringing contextual light and interpreting the whole presentation.

     

    We have also brought the Marketing Wizards to Goafest. This is calling the under-30 staff of the marketing community. We have had a good response and we expect overall 70 to 80 major advertisers to participate, which include team of two people representing to some even registering team of 30 people even though we have a limit to numbers.

     

    Why this whole idea of bringing in Grand Prix to all verticals?

    Grand Prix, traditionally, has been awarded in Print, TV and Integrated. This year, we have expanded the Grand Prix to cover all the 9 verticals. This was not an easy decision and the step was debated. We believe that the time has come for specialists in area to move to the centrestage. I don’t really know if the jury will find works worthy enough for Grand Prix in each of the vertical, but this would help in finding worthy advertising and celebrating it around India and even around the world.

     

    For a young designer who is always on the periphery of an agency, winning gold is good but winning the GrandPrix might help in moving the same person to leadership position. We hope that the move will catalyze long term fundament change in the way we create advertising.

     

    We hear this year there are entries from other South Asian countries?

    Yes, we have entries from Sri Lanka and Pakistan and we will have delegates from Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. In South Asia, we have different cultures but there are more similarities than differences within those cultures and we can learn a lot from each other. Unfortunately, the politics of the subcontinent is more difficult. We had planned a road show in various countries but our passports got stuck and this could not happen.

     

    Can you throw some light on the conclave and the seminar?

    We have put together an enviable list of names and these are speakers who really are worthy of listening. Jean-Yves Naouri, COO Publicis Group spends almost 150 days in flight. He knows what is happening in the business around the world and will share his valuable insight. Tim Love has been involved with theCannesand he played important role in the shaping of the future of Omnicom Group. Jonathon Mildenhall, VP of Global Advertising Strategy and Creative Excellence, CocaCola promises to be stimulating session. Steven King, CEO, ZenithOptimedia will also be on panel. Anuradha Sengupta, who loves throwing challenge, will be part of the session.

     

    On the seminar speakers, Amir Kassaei, Chief Creative Officer, DDB Worldwide, Rishad Tobaccowala, Chief Strategy and Innovation Officer, VivaKi and Prof John Philip Jones, Emeritus Professor at the Newhouse School of Public Communications,Syracuse University,New Yorkwill be speakers. While the world is talking video as the future, Lucas Watson, Vice President, Global Sales and Industry Marketing, YouTube will tell us how and Simon Wardle, Chief Strategy Officer, Octagon will be worth listening to for all the planners in the industry. Erik Vervroegen, International Creative Director, Publicis Worldwide will give his take on creativity. We will announce one more name in this list soon. From the Indian marketers side who will be part of Q&A, we have Sanjay Behl from Reliance, Kainaz Gazder from P&G, Viral Oza from Nokia, Gayatri Yadav from Star India and Hemant Bakshi from Unilever.

     

    Awards have been under the scanner, do the controversies surrounding it mar the event in anyway?

    Awards show will have criticism. What is driving us is the celebration of creativity and look at this Fest as a platform to prepare ourselves for the way industry will go forward.

     

    Why did the Goafest Committee decide the theme – Magic of Ideas?

    Everything that happens at festivals is ideas. While advances in technology and database is important, but what we celebrate is ideas. If we add everything on an excel sheet, we will see that when a brand gets a lot of traction or if it is ignored, it is all to do with ideas. No client launches a product with the intention of not succeeding, so getting it right is important. For a product to be embraced, it has to connect with people and this cannot be reduced to a formula but has to do with the magic of ideas.

     

    The awards have been leaked in the past, losing some of its credibility, how do you ensure that this doesn’t happen this year?

    We believe that awards will not be leaked. In this, the media as well as the organizers have a role to play. There is a symbiotic relation. We do our best to avoid any such incident. Some information has to be shared with the media beforehand, but there is an embargo on release information and last year journalistic fraternity showed a sense of responsibility. I will add that the media has equally a big stake in the Fest.

     

    What will you say to the agencies that have decided to stay away from the fest?

    Whether to participate or not is an agency’s decision. We on our part, including the AGC, have been ensuring that our job that includes category, rules, audit and the jury does their job well. Let creative minds debate as for us touch wood, thing are going as per planned.

     

    If you have to send a formal invite to the industry for the Fest what would you say as to why must the fraternity attend?

    You will get to see the best of work and see the best creative minds judging what they think is worthy of awards. You get to interact with seniors and bright creative minds which many times is impossible in the busy schedules that we lead. Besides you will get to hear exceptional speakers’ line-up.

     

    Goafest creates the space for debate with peers and youngsters, which includes large group discussions and one-on-one interaction. We are expecting around 2,500 people to attend Goafest this year. Not to forget that Goafest is not heavy-handed like training sessions but good learning place where you also have loads of fun.

     

    Personally for you, how has it been plugging all the gaps before the festival?

    We have a very big team working across agencies. There is a sense of joy and shared sense of purpose to make Goafest a success. We are in it together and there still is a fair bit of work to be done. However, it’s been an enjoyable experience.

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