The Advertising Club and the Advertising Agencies Association of India jointly announced the first ever Champions of Excellence who would be felicitated at the Goafest on April 7.  The awards “acknowledge and salute visionary advertisers who have taken the leap of faith and invested resources, ensuring that ‘Great ideas transform into Great advertising’â€.
Said Nakul Chopra, President AAAI: “For the first time we are honoring advertisers at the Goafest. This award is very special as it acknowledges the pivotal role played by these men and women we call “clients” but who have acquired a much larger status in the overall brand scenario. These are the select few individuals who have helped build and nurture brands, supporting their Agency partners every step of the way.
Added Raj Nayak, President, The Advertising Club: “As an industry we need to salute these Brand Custodians who stake the reputation and money of their Brands on the creativity of their advertising agencies. They literally take that leap of faith every day. Having them at Goafest would be very inspirational for the audience.
Said Ashish Bhasin, Chairman Goafest: “Wwe always celebrated advertising agencies, digital companies, production houses and media companies at the Goafest. Now with top advertisers being honored, the festival is more complete.
And this is what Ramesh Narayan, Chairman, Awards Governing Council said: “This award really places the advertiser at the center of the communication effort, and rightfully so. The response for nominations from advertising agencies was quite good and I am confident this would go on to become one of the highlights of the Goafest in the years ahead. What is advertising without the advertiser?”
It’s that time of the year when the industry folk get set for Goafest and the Abby awards. And some don’t. But despite the demonetisation and a tightening of budgetary belts, this year’s edition has, say Organising Committee chair Ashish Bhasin, Awards Governing Council chair Ramesh Narayan and Ad Club president Raj Nayak, garnered a record amount of sponsorships and number of entries. For the first time, the organisers fear they may have to say no to delegates with a ‘housefull’ board. In a no-holds-barred discussion over lunch last week, Messrs Bhasin, Narayan and Nayak speak to Pradyuman Maheshwari on this year’s edition, the participation (and non-participation) of some agencies in the Abby, and how Goafest and the Abby are now a lot more than just for creative agencies and awards. Excerpts:
Let’s start with you, Mr Ashish Bhasin. Given all the pressures, would you say being Chair of the Organising Committee is a thankless job. Is it really?Â
Ashish Bhasin (ABhasin): I wouldn’t say thankless. Actually it’s very gratifying because once the thing is done, you feel good about it. But people often underestimate the logistics of it. It’s like having a ‘baraat’ of 2,500 people come over for three days, and the logistics that go into making that happen — the quality of speakers, the funds that have to be organised and the very organising of the event and the awards — are a task. It’s like [working with] 10,000 moving parts. The thing that you are always aware of is that about 9,999 times you will do right and no one will remember that. But the one or two things that may not go as expected, are the things that throw you off.
And all of this alongside your day job…
ABhasin: Is taxing, but it all comes together. This is the time that it all starts bunching up. This year we started well in time, and because of that, I think we have a much better speaker line-up than we’ve ever had.
So to get straight to the point: What’s special this year?
ABhasin: This year’s Goafest, to my mind, is going to be like never before. We already have a record number of creative entries and a record number of media entries, and therefore a record number of total entries. I also think we will have some of the best speakers that we’ve had in a long, long time…
People whom one hasn’t heard or seen before?
ABhasin: Yes. Some you haven’t seen and heard, and to an extent less incestuous, but because it’s not only going to be advertising people talking to advertising people, there is a lot of learning to be had from related industries and from people who have achieved a lot in other areas, like people from Bollywood or spiritual leaders. The Phogat sisters, for example. I think there is a lot to learn from their story.
We are also going to have Masterclasses which will be ‘By Invitation’ and conducted by a very senior [industry leader from] Israel. There will also be one day on innovation, and one on creativity. This will be for a select group, on a first come-first served basis among those who have applied for it. There are a lot of other things planned. You know about the Champions of Excellence award, which Mr Ramesh Narayan will talk more about. Also, this time Goafest is going green in part because we have to be responsible about the environment. So for the first time, we are taking baby steps in water conservation because when there are 2,500 people, it is sometimes painful to see people take three swigs from a bottle of water and then discard it. If you consider this could happen eight hours a day over three days, you can imagine how much wastage of water actually happens. So we are trying to make [Goafest] a little more sustainable. Also the element of fun..
You aren’t returning to make Goafest 2017 more outdoorsy…
ABhasin: Obviously [moving it indoors] works better in terms of both timing and control, and the new technology we are now using, probably won’t work outdoors. But this year, we’ll have sundowners with the sea as a backdrop.
Okay, let’s move onto the awards, and to you Mr Ramesh Narayan, as Chairman of Awards Governing Council. How have the entries and judging been? Other than the Champions of Excellence category, what’s new this year?
Ramesh Narayan (RNarayan): The Abby Awards are now over 65 years old. They’re a brand that everybody knowsand loves. Everyone said that in a year like this, with demonetisation and a slow economy, it’s good even if we get 20% fewer entries. But, as you know, we’ve got more entries than last time, and it’s the highest ever — despite an increase in the rate…
Will you be able to share some details with us?
RNarayan: [It’s more] in terms of numbers. But I see anincreaseacross categories too, especially in digital. Digital and publishers have led — as far as the numbers go. Another thing to note is that when it comes to awards, historically you’ve had the Big Five of print, film, outdoors and such. Today, throughout the world (and here as well) you have broadcasters and publishers, and now there is an all-new category called Mobile. This was not there before…
Last year, the response from publishers was not very good… they had not entered their best work. How has it been this year?
RNarayan: It has been very good this year. We made it a point to reach out to all the publishers, and even involved the INS (Indian Newspaper Society). We asked them to circulate our mails in the industry. Everybody has cooperated, and the quality has been good. We’ve got very good jury members too. So the whole experience had been quite gratifying. This time, we also had our annual Town Hall very early, sometime in November, so it gave us the opportunity to listen to all voices from our industry and on-board their ideas and suggestions.
Who were the people who attended it?
RNarayan: Creative people
From across agencies?
RNarayan: Yes.
Including those who were not participating?
RNarayan: Yes, at that time they were not aware that they were not participating. So they did come. I can state, for the record, that as far as processes and systems go, we are now ‘super’. I don’t think anybody can have anything to say about it — and I am willing to debate it out with anyone who does!
There has been a charge that it’s not held at the right time. One of the leading lights of your industry, Bobby Pawar, mentioned this during a panel discussion on ET Now. When asked a question, he said that the meeting with creative folk should be held immediately after Goafest.
RNarayan: That’s too early. November, I think, is the ideal time. If you have it in June or something like that, that would be like giving a brief to your advertising agency six months in advance, and asking them to deliver the campaign and no one will remember it.
Mr Bhasin, as someone associated with both creative agencies and advertising agencies, how do you view Goafest in terms of your agency’s participation? We do know that Taproot participates in a big way. I remember the other Dentsu creative agencies participating in large numbers last year. So how do your folks look at it? You are also an active member of the Ad Club …
ABhasin: I wear two distinctly separate hats, my industry hat and my agency hat. When I am sitting with my agency people, they are least bothered about the fact that I am the chairman of Goafest. They want to see what’s in it for them, as any industry agency would do. But as a group, we view this in two or three ways.
First, we see it as a great learning opportunity for youngsters, so we encourage more youngsters, rather than the seniormost guys, to attend. We have a lot of incentives and a lot of facilitation for some of the youngsters because during these three days, you get to see and hear the best of the best. This year, for example, we are concentrating on digital trends.
What about the participating in the Abbys?
ABhasin: I am separating the two. You said going to Goafest. So we encourage people, particularly the youngsters, to hear from the best of the best speakers which they otherwise won’t get an opportunity to do. As far as the awards are concerned, Dentsu, I have to confess, wasn’t very focused on awards until maybe a year ago. It just wasn’t on our radar, apart from Taproot Dentsu, who have always have been very good at it and done brilliantly. Last year, we tried it as an experiment, and it was very encouraging because as a group, we got the highest number of creative awards, and among the Top 10 agencies, three were ours.
What was it that led you to participate in the Abbys when you weren’t earlier?
ABhasin: It’s not that Dentsu wasn’t participating. It was just that we were not taking it seriously enough. When you go and make your creds presentation, when you go out and talk about your creative reputation and go out to recruit youngsters, there is a big high for campaigns that have done well. In the Indian context, there isn’t a bigger awards show than Goafest. So we just decided to dip our toes in it last year. Not just dip our toes, but go in a more serious way. But when three of our agencies made it to the Top 10, we decided to build on that this year.
Selfie time! From Right: Ramesh Narayan, Raj Nayak, Ashish Bhasin and Pradyuman Maheshwari
ABhasin: Absolutely, and that’s why they continue to participate. This is also a good time of the year because after this comes Cannes and various other international award festivals
Do you participate at Kyoorius?
ABhasin: One or two of our agencies have…
Taproot doesn’t?
ABhasin: It’s not that we don’t participate, but how many awards shows can you focus on? It’s a huge investment as well, so you have to balance it out. Last year, we focussed on Goafest. Besides Taproot, this is a relatively new thing [for our other agencies]. So you’ve got to ace the sysem, start learning to present your work, and learning to encourage your team to come up with good work. Once we do consistently well in the local awards, we will start looking at the international ones.
So we have a plan whereby we hope that at the end of three or four years, we will dominate, not just pan-India, but also the international circuit. But I think we’re still on a learning curve with some of our agencies, so that’s where we are.
We have seen that while many creative agencies stay away from awards, media agencies participate in large numbers. I’m not referring to digital and outdoor, since they are slightly different, but creative and media are the two traditional players. Why do you think this happens?
RNarayan: First, the fact that media agencies from all the big groups do, in fact, take part, validates the point that none of them has anything against either the Ad Club, Goafest or the Abby judging… Because if they did, they might be split in their decision even within the group, with one arm participating and the other staying away…
Sorry to interrupt, in the case of WPP you have one part agency participating in all its might like JWT as it is not participating so…
RNarayan: True, so all the more reason to say that this one thing is absolutely clear to all people now, and I’m glad that the organisers of the Abbys don’t need to defend themselves anymore. That age is gone now, as we can see with all the networks and all the agencies participating in some way or the other….
Pardon my saying this, but does this mean you are showing the finger to those who don’t participate?
RNarayan: No it’s not, certainly not. I have always said this, and I say this on record that I will be the happiest man if all the agencies participate. However, I can appreciate that each one has some reason [to stay away], and that this has nothing to do with processes or the way this whole thing is organised. Each one has its unique reason. For some it could be budgets; for some it could be [the condition that if they] enter, they have to win big. Sometimes it may not be a very healthy bag of entries they can send in, so they won’t enter at all.
Are you saying that one of the reasons people may not participate is that they don’t have good work?
RNarayan: Adequate good work. All of them will have [to have] some excellent work to show. Or enough numbers to be able to rank among the Top 3 or even the Top 5. It’s a cultural issue where they might feel this is an important thing for them.
There are charges that the judging quality is not right. [Some agencies] don’t think it’s right for people from their own industry to do the judging. And also the fact that the views of the industry are not taken in time…
RNarayan: As to the views of the industry not being taken, we have a Town Hall for this and it was held early this time, in November. Many people attended it. But for those who did not vote, I’d say if you didn’t vote, keep your mouth shut.
ABhasin: I will add to that. This is the first year in which I actually said that we want to crowdsource Goafest. The speakers, the awards, we wanted to crowdsource it all.
Were Ogilvy and Lowe invited for this meeting?
RNarayan: Everybody was invited. All our members were invited from the Ad Club as well as AAAI. May I say two more things which are my like my hobby horses? First, that the Champion of Excellence award is not an Abby. It is an award, and it goes to those advertisers who have nurtured brands or who have taken that leap of faith and ought to be celebrated. So that is a new thing. Second, as Ashish mentioned, the Abbys have gone green this time, but they’ve also gone good. For the first time we have an industry initiative to start a campaign to mitigate violence against women.
Which you kind of introduced last year in a smaller way…
RNarayan: That was an Abby, in gender-sensitive advertising. This is an industry initiative where we have invited entries, and the winning entry will be funded by the industry to turn into a campaign that will then run for a month, across the country and across media. For example, we had FCB creating the call for entries; and we’ll have GroupM running the campaign for us afterwards. We have MullenLowe Lintas’ chairperson judging it… in the chair, so we’ve got the entire industry on board for this, and I think that speaks volumes for today’s leadership of Goafest — the Ad Club and AAAI– who have been able to pull this off.
Sorry to push on this question: Participation in this proposed campaign is from across agencies, even those who are not participating in the Abbys?
RNarayan: So Goafest has now evolved into a thing that is bigger than the Abbys. We have all these agencies participating to mitigate violence against women, so I don’t want to distinguish between those who are a part of this campaign and those who will participate in the Abbys. Though it is a fact of life that yes, those who have judged an Abby have not judged here. I don’t want to say, but it’s true; Lintas is there, so that makes everybody.
Having discussed the nitty-gritty of Goafest and the Abby with Messrs Bhasin and Narayan, I am going to turn to you, Mr Raj Nayak.
Raj Nayak (RNayak): I won’t go politically correct, so don’t worry.
Sodoes it upset you that you’re still not able to get the growing number who choose to stay away from the Abbys, to participate in the awards?
RNayak: Let me pick it up from where Ashish left off. I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but over the last two or three years, there has been a strategic shift in the way we view Goafest, both as an industry body and at AAAI. The Abbys are not just about creative awards anymore. It’s a place for networking, for showcasing work, yes, and it is one place where we bring all parts of the industry under one roof – broadcasters, publishers and even digital. I think you can’t find another award [that has all of this put together].
And, of course, the speakers. Year on year, we have over 3,000 or 4,000 people come together for a three-day festival. First, there is no entity or body that brings all this together for three days in one place. More importantly, the way to look at this is there is no agency which has not participated. You say my right hand has participated or my left leg has not participated, but the fact is that taken collectively, there is no agency that has not participated.
Can you elaborate?
RNayak: You name an agency.
Lowe Lintas?
RNayak: Yes, but their media has participated.
I’m talking about the creative agencies
RNayak: My friends will be politically correct. But I have spoken to a lot of media people and a lot of agency heads I don’t wish to name, and they’ve clearly told me this is about one or two people not participating, though nobody wants to assign any reasons for it. But I think sometimes when you take a stand, it becomes difficult for you to do a U-turn from that stand without a valid reason. Then there are those who don’t want to lose if don’t have enough good work. One person told me that they did not have enough good work this year, and didn’t want to send an entry just for the sake of it. If I don’t participate, it doesn’t matter if I don’t win. But if I do participate, and I don’t win — or don’t make it to the Top 5 at least – that makes me look bad. It’s like the countries who stay away from the Olympics.
All these agencies who tell you that we don’t listen to the industry and we don’t take feedback from them [are not being entirely honest]. Last year, I personally invited them to the Town Hall, where you were also present. We had a media meet last year where we said ‘forget about feedback, we welcome you to come, and be part of the event.’ But you have no right to be an armchair critic and say this is bad or that is bad, if you don’t involve yourself. Why are Ashish, who runs his full-fledged agency, and Ramesh Narayan, who’s got his own business, giving up their time for this? Why am I, with my full-time job, doing it? It’s not for personal benefit, it’s for the industry.
Does it worry or anger you when people from your own business — as you might have seen on a recent TV show – and just stop short of damning the awards?
RNayak: I don’t know which show this is, but I’m sure that there was no representation from AAAI or Ad Clubthere.
The anchor, Sonali Krishna , said she reached out [to you’ll]. She didn’t quite use the word boycott, but she almost said that.
RNayak: Of course. I will go on record to tell you that we chose not go on that show.
Why?
RNayak: Because this has been going on for the last five years, and it’s time to move on. Goafest has become bigger, is getting more entries and more delegates. Goafest is getting better. So you have to move on. As an industry body, you can’t pander to one or two individuals.
Why do you think some in the A&M media are being unfair? Because you have chosen not to participate in one event, in one panel discussion now, another anchor of another show has been openly critical of Goafest and the Abby? Do you think it matters?
RNayak: It doesn’t matter. You have to do what you believe is in the best interests of the industry. We are all practising professionals. We have full-time jobs to do and yet everybody is giving their time, pro bono, for the sake of the industry and that is something that must be recognised and appreciated.
The happening thing is, of course, that all of them — including the Big 2 or the Big 5 – do participate in the Effies. So it’s not that they have something against the Ad Club…
RNayak: Let me tell you that it’s the same process that we follow for Effies and the Emvies. We have 150 or 200 jury members even for the Goafest Abbys in different phases. Everything is online. It is transparent and we even upload the shortlist. How much more transparent can one get? Be upfront. I have no hesitation if you to say: ‘listen, I don’t want to participate’. This is the first time — and I’m saying this on record – that we did not reach out to anybody asking them to participate. We said Goafest will continue, irrespective of someone’s participation (or not). You can’t be saying the same thing every year. You have to move on, and that’s what I am saying.
Given the fact that people are saying they don’t have enough good work — and some of these are big agencies — do you think there’s a way out where you can still attract some really good work? I know you don’t have a ranking system, but whatever it is, one does to look at ranking eventually…Â
RNayak: But even if you have one good work, and if you believe it to be good, you can get you an award. You don’t necessarily have to get the Grand Prix. I mean, if India were to participate in the Olympics only if we are to get all the medals, that won’t work. You may be good in shooting or you may be good in wrestling, but you are still bringing honour for your country. You are still bringing honour for your agency.
ABhasin: And even the sad part is, most of the guys who are part of the non-participating agencies, have built their careers on the Abbys.
RNayak: Very true. Did you see the campaign ‘Made of Abbys’? Did you see agency after agency, some of whom are not participating, featured in our campaign?
Yes, I saw one with Piyush Pandey or Ogilvy
Let me tell you something very interesting. We released a set of eight agencies and obviously we would want to show every agency who has won in the Abbys, but it’s not possible because we don’t have the campaign or the resources to do that. So we decided we will pick out eight agencies and we will put it in order. We chose strategically to showcase first those agencies who are participating. The head of an agency which is not participating – I will not name the agency – asked: ‘How come we are not featured in your campaign?’ And I said: ‘You are being featured, my friend. It’s just that we will put you later’. We actually included their campaign after the entries were closed, and it was a strategic decision to demonstrate that we are not canvassing for entries. And also to demonstrate that as an industry body, we will always continue to be inclusive. It’s not a mom-and-pop show.
After attending various Goafests and Abbys, I can say that last year’s was a stupendous show. Does it really upset all of you, having spent so much time and pro-bono effort, that people who should be participating in the event, are not participating?
RNayak: It used to upset me – I’d be lying if I said that it didn’t — probably next year, I may not be there. Ramesh may not be there. Ashish may be there for a year or two. We will pass the baton to somebody else. But I believe that Goafest, given the way it’s going, will only get bigger and better. [So as an agency] you may choose to stay away today, but there will come a stage when you will want to be a part of it.
You do, however, also recognise people who are not participating, like Balki or Piyush….
RNayak: Of course. We are an industry body and we have no personal agenda. We will always be inclusive, no matter who participates or doesn’t. It is a stated rule for AAAI and the Ad Club that as an industry body, irrespective of participation, we will be continue to be inclusive. If there are good suggestions, we will always welcome them. We may make a mistake, but you should look at the intent behind everything that we do. As president of the Ad Club and on behalf of president of AAAI and my colleagues, the intent is to give it our best. Let’s put on a great show, and let’s do it for the industry.
I’m going to ask you a question, you can choose not to answer it…
RNayak: No, I will answer it.
As the CEO of Colors, you are also associated with the Kyoorius Awards. What is your experience with that? Even that doesn’t get the participation of all.
RNayak: See, I could have been petty and not sponsored Kyoorius, right? But for us, every awards event is mutually exclusive. That’s a private show. Some other media publication may host another one. We are a part of everything. We are a part of the Ad Club as well, and continue to be. For me as Colors CEO, if I see value in an event — whether or not it is an industry event, though there must be some RoI because I am answerable to my organisation — we may decide to either sponsor it or be associated with it. But there is a big difference between an event for profit and an industry event. Made in India…
Let me ask you a naughty question. Which gives better RoI?
RNayak: Definitely Goafest, for the simple reason that there is no other event that brings all the different constituents under one roof for three days. If there was something that you could compare it with, maybe it would have been difficult for me to say. But right now, every other event is a smaller one.
RNarayan: I would like to add that I’d also like everybody to keep in mind that Goafest and the Abbys are probably the only industry-organised awards show in the world may be. So it’s in our interest to get together and to cherish it.
There is a feeling that privately managed shows are better…
ABhasin: What is your opinion?
Two or three years ago, I felt the same. But since the tenure of Shashi Sinha, the Abbys have been very well-organised.
RNarayan: Without naming any shows abroad, it’s true you don’t have any kind of right to appeal there. Here you can pick up the phone and speak to Ramesh Narayan, and ask, ‘What the hell is going on, guys?’ That happens only in India. So, in fact, we must celebrate it.
Any last word from the Goafest chairman?
ABhasin: I think this might be the first year when we may have to say no to delegates. When we started off, we did so with trepidation. We started marketing Goafest from the morning of November 8 and you know what happened that day. and I’m happy to go on record to say that we’ve received record sponsorships than ever before.
Then we feared that we might get 20-35% fewer entries this year, because everyone was on a tight budget. But we got a record number of entries and now it’s looking like I might have physical, space constraints because the hall only has a certain capacity. Already, it looks like it may be over-packed. So much as we would not like to, this might be the first year when we have to close the delegates list on the date we say we will. This year, we might have to put up a ‘housefull’ board.
The Goafest ABBY’ 2017, the highly coveted advertising awards that is the gold standard in advertising has now extended the last date for its entries.The entry deadline for the Creative Abby awards is now 15th February, 2017. The extension is the last and final call for all participants to showcase their ground breaking work at ABBY 2017.
The awards will see campaigns brought alive in the period from 1st  January, 2016 to 31st January, 2017 adjudged by a renowned jury panel. The entry forms for the prestigious awards can be downloaded on the Ad Club website.
While every agency has the right to participate or stay away from the Abby, the Publicis Worldwide decision to not send entries for Abby 2017 is shocking. And sad.
According to a report in The Economic Times on Tuesday, the new Publicis Communications CEO Saurabh Varma attributed the reason to a desire to focus more on the big large international shows.“Both Bobby and I are aligned on that decision,†Varma told ET. The reference being to Bobby Pawar, Managing Director and Chief Creative Officer, Publicis Worldwide.
The decision is on expected lines given Varma’s stated belief that Leo Burnett will not participate in the Abby. In fact since Varma took charge in November 2013. Leo Burnett hasn’t participated in the Abby since the 2014 edition.
While it’s clear that Varma and Leo Burnett and Publicis Communications (the holding company of PublicisGroupe creative and PR agencies of which he was appointed CEO in December 2016) do not have problems with the Advertising Club, since Leo Burnett has been participating in the Effies conducted by the Ad Club, the decision to stay away from the Abby is worrying.
Let’s steer clear of the possible embarrassment it has caused to Nakul Chopra, longstanding CEO Publicis Worldwide who is also President of the Advertising Agencies Association of India, the apex body of advertising agencies in the country. That’s something Messrs Varma, Chopra and Pawar need to discuss internally.
Our bigger worry is that yet another key player in the Indian advertising is going to stay away from participating in the Abby awards. The Mullen Lowe Lintas Group, Ogilvy and Leo Burnett have already been sitting out. There are also some small agencies like Creativeland Asia who have had issues with the Abby. McCann Worldgroup chose to return last year, albeit with a token participation. This year, hopefully, it will return with more entries.
As mentioned earlier, it’s not that the biggies have any problems with the Ad Club. They participate in the Effie with much enthusiasm.
But the boycott of the Abby doesn’t speak too well for the industry and the Abby award. Agency bosses say that the non-participation isn’t a dampner for their creative teams.
It must be added here that the decision to stay away from award holds true for Kyoorius Advertising Awards too for Lowe and Leo. Ogilvy does participate and win big at Kyoorius.
It’s critical the Advertising Club and Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI) and industry honchos get together and find a solution to the problem.
Over the years, the processes of the Abby Awards have been streamlined and cleansed.
We have heard murmurs that entry fees to these awards are a stretch on agency budgets. Perhaps. There are suggestions that it should be more of clients and not just agencies who should be on the jury. There are also some who say one of the reason why some don’t participate is because they haven’t done enough good work.
It’s important that the industry works jointly to save an awards event that is its own.
The Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI) and The Advertising Club have announced the Champions of Excellence awards to recognize and honour six champions of excellence at Goafest 2017.
Speaking about instituting the new awards, Raj Nayak President, The Advertising Club said: “We believe that this initiative will plug a very important white space in the process of celebrating excellence in advertising. The advertiser’s product or service is the raison d’etre for advertising and their role in inspiring good advertising is imperative and must be celebrated.â€
Added Nakul Chopra, President AAAI: “These awards celebrate clients who motivate and encourage their agencies to push the creative envelope and create winning campaigns. They also acknowledge clients who invest in meaningful relationships with their agencies.â€
Said Ashish Bhasin, Chairman, GoaFest: “The presentation of this award at Goafest makes our festival more complete and comprehensive. Now we have all the people playing an instrumental role in bringing alive the magic we call advertising, assembled and recognized in one place.â€
Nominations for the awards are invited from agencies for Champions of Excellence, and will be judged by senior members of the Awards Governing Council of the Abby awards. The entry should mention the name of a senior member of the advertiser team who could be considered for this high honor. It should include a note of not more than 500 words explaining why the individual was deserving of this award. The entry should be signed by the NCD or CEO of the Agency and sent to the AAAI (aaai@vsnl.com) before January 31, 2017. Multiple entries are permitted. There is no entry fee.
Commenting on his appointment Nakul Chopra – President, Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAA’s of I) said “Ashish has been a celebrated industry veteran and holds deep understanding of this event. I am sure that he will bring new fervor and spirit into the event this year. I am sure that his vision will make Goafest 2017 scale new highsâ€
Welcoming the announcement, Raj Nayak, President, The Advertising Club said, “Ashish has been an intrinsic part of the Goafest Organising Committee last year and has played an important role in its success. I have had the privilege of working with him closely and his biggest strength is to be able to carry along People with him. I am sure that his rich experience, vision and insider view of media and advertising trends make him the best man for the role.  I look forward to an outstanding Goafest 2017 under his aegisâ€
On being nominated as chairman, Bhasin said,†I am honoured to have been given the opportunity. The event has emerged as a key thought leadership platform and I hope to be able to further elevate the experience of Goafest 2017 for the entire fraternity.†The scheduled dates for Goafest 2017 will be announced soon.
Yes, it’s fantastic, three years in a row. JWT is on top and Contract in comes at No 3. So for me, it is even better news than just being at the top.
Since you’ve have joined JWT things have changed. We’ve heard about you you working in the background to rebuild the agency. Tell us more…
I have just finished a year myself, last month. It has been a very, very exciting ride. And most people don’t know, but there has been a complete turnaround in business performance. And here, we’re at Goafest and to be able to also do well creatively — and again not just for JWT but also Contract — is extremely heartening for me. The other thing I believe we have won on, are big brands like Unilever and Godrej. And to me there are other many other firsts to this. We have also won the Young Abbys Gold, and to me that is very heartening too. Not only have we won the maximum number of Golds, but also the maximum number of metals. I understand there were 200 shortlists, which itself is a record. So the sense I get is that our work is looking better across the board, and also to have won in various categories, including PR, shows us that we are winning across platforms. So overall, it has been fantastic news to me at Goafest, and it feels great to be here. Over the last one year, I think we have succeeded in turning the agency around. And I think we are poised to have a fantastic 2016.
What is being the No 1 agency at Goafest mean to an agency which has been success and has a rich past?
It means a lot. To me they’re awards, but awards are a reflection of what’s going on in the agency. They’re a huge pat on the back to all the creative people we have. And as I said, to have both JWT and Contract in the Top 3 is the cherry on the cake. I feel really honoured to have done so well and it is a tremendous tribute to Senthil, Teesta, Ashish of Contract and the entire team.
One of the things that Goafest is known for, apart from the participation of a lot of big as well as small agencies is, notable omissions. Does that take away from your big win?
I don’t think so. You know it’s up to them to participate or not. From what I was reading in the media, 96 per cent of all agencies have participated. If that four per cent doesn’t want to, well, that’s their decision. So it can’t put a dampener on the victory celebrations.
Upping the ante on engagement this year, Goafest has announced an experienced array of speakers from across the world of film, media, marketing and business. These include leaders and innovators like Benny Thomas -Strategy head, Crispin Porter and Bogusky, Carter Murray – Global CEO – FCB, Ace Director, Producer, Screenwriter, Actor and Television Personality Karan Johar and leading filmmaker and advertising guru R Balki. Adding to the enthralling line-up will be an engaging session with veteran journalist Rajdeep Sardesai in conversation with Honourable Deshamanya Arjuna Ranatunga, Minister of Ports and Shipping & Former Sri Lankan Cricket Captain.
Key speaker line up:
Benny Thomas -Strategy head, Crispin Porter + Bogusky,
At CP+B, Benny leads strategy, planning and a team of strategists for businesses including PayPal, Braintree, NBA2K and Charles Schwab
Karan Johar – Director
Film Director, Producer, Screenwriter, Actor and Television Personality
R. Balki – Director
Film director, Screen writer, Producer and Chairman of Mullen Lowe Lintas group
Prakash Sangam – CEO, Red Bus
Prakash Sangam is the CEO of redBus, which is the world’s largest bus ticketing service that is ‘Made in India’. Prakash is engaged in growing the market leadership of redBus in the Indian market, expanding redBus to other countries globally and extending the business into adjacent travel segments of Hotels and Holidays.
Tara Marsh – Global Content Head, Wunderman
As global content lead, Tara Marsh ensures that Wunderman’s clients have an agile partner capable of providing strategy and resources – anywhere in the world. Tara brings valuable experience to bear navigating through complex technologies as well as identifying the right talent.
Carter Murray – Global CEO – FCB
A passionate champion of great creative and a consummate brand steward, Worldwide CEO Carter Murray took the helm of FCB in September 2013.Based in New York, he oversees 151 offices in 90 countries globally.
Jean Lin – Global CEO – Isobar
Jean Lin started her digital journey by establishing digital agency wwwins Consulting in 1999 it then became Isobar’s first Greater China offices in 2004 and was the driving force behind Isobar’s expansion in the Asia Pacific region. Jean was appointed a member of Global Executive Team at Dentsu Aegis Network, Isobar’s parent company.
Raghu Raman -EX Army Man
Raghu Raman is the President Risk, Security & New Ventures at RIL. He is the former founding CEO of National Intelligence Grid (NATGRID), GoI. In his earlier avatars, he has led Mahindra First Choice, Mahindra Special Services Group and Mahindra-British Aerospace joint venture as the CEO.
Alasdair Lennox Creative Head – Fitch
Executive Creative Director for EMEA in 2014, Alasdair directs the creative output for FITCH’s studios in the region. Alasdair joined FITCH as a junior environmental designer in the late nineties. He evolved a broad spectrum of design skills and a well-worn passport. He can bring a brand’s unique personality to life across all points in the customer journey and solves complex commercial and strategic challenges for international clients including Adidas, Vodafone, Diageo, UBS and Apple.
Fergus O’ Hare Head of APAC Facebook Creative Shop
Fergus O’Hare is the lead Creative Strategist for Asia Pacific of Facebook Creative Shop. He is tasked with creating and building ideas that transform how the world’s largest and most innovative marketers use Facebook to drive business growth.
Stay tuned for more on the speaker’s line-up at Goafest 2016.
This year’s exemplary speaker’s line-up at Goafest is set provide an enriching experience by emerging as a great melting pot of ideas and vision.  Presented by the Advertising Club and AAAI the Goafest ABBYs 2016 will once again see the entire advertising and marketing community join the celebrations in Goa from 7th April, 2016 to 9th April 2016 at  The Grand Hyatt, Bambolim, North Goa.
The Goafest Abbys 2016 continues to scale new benchmarks of engagement. The awards event has upped the ante on engagement this year by introducing the GoaFest 2016 – Mobile App. The Goafest app will keep delegates attuned to all the happenings and excitement of the festival while they are enlightened and entertained by the daily events and fanfare.
Raj Nayak President Advertising Club said, “Technology must enable a richer user interface. This is another step towards curating a memorable Goafest 2016 experience. The Goafest 201 App will ensure that no one misses out on any Goafest event happenings.â€
Special features like the Goafest Buzz Submit will allow users to ask the speakers questions through the app during the event. Also the informative travel schedule will help plan out daily itineraries. The Goafest app is easy to install and can be downloaded by clicking on the icon for the corresponding app store: http://onelink.to/goafest
Delegates to Goafest, will get an app registration code with which they will have access to special features within the app.
McCann WorldGroup India has shared their plans for upcoming Goa Advertising festival.
Confirming their presence at the Festival Prasoon Joshi Chairman Asia Pacific & CEO McCann India said, “We will send symbolic token entries to honor the festival in all the categories but our delegates will participate and attend the fest in large numbers.
We believe that genuine efforts have been made by the organizers this year to overcome the shortcomings and we also want to partner them in this journey. Positively in the future we will see the festival touching newer heights.â€
McCann has been No.1 most awarded agency in India for last three years (International Gunn report), McCann also garnered India its first D&AD Gold pencil this year. Another feather in McCann’ cap came when Happydent was declared as one of the Top 20 ads done in world in the last century (Gunn report).
Prasoon further added, “We take immense pride in our creative product, decision of participation in award shows is collectively taken by our global/local creative councils. We wish GoaFest the very best.â€â€‹
Saurabh Varma, CEO, Leo Burnett, was considered an ‘outsider’ when he took charge of the network of agencies 18 months ago. But that didn’t stop him from taking some bold steps in acquiring talent, setting goals, and generally shaking up an organisation that was doing well. But, as Varma tells Pradyuman Maheshwari, just being among the best in India is not enough. He wants Leo Burnett’s India operations to be counted among the Top 5 in the world in two years. And he doesn’t mind being the tough taskmaster boss as long as achieves results.
It’s been a year-and-a-half since you came in. How has been the journey so far, between Leo Burnett then and now?
It’s been 18-odd months but it seems like a lifetime. For us, the journey always starts with a shared belief and common purpose for collaboration. If you ask any of the leaders or youngsters who have joined us, in the last 18 months, we’ve managed to make sure everybody understands what our shared belief is. As an organisation, we want to become among the Top 5 creative agencies in the world by 2017. Once you have that overall vision, it’s about having a clear strategic roadmap to get there. And that is a function of structures, systems, people, the talent you hire, how you brand yourself in the marketplace and the kind of product you create. In the last 18 months, we’ve been very focused on our growth strategy, which is around integration and specialisation. Integration is not equal to generalisation; it’s not an idea that travels across different media. True integration is when you have a bunch of specialists working together to create magic. We’ve been focused on building our specialist pillars one by one, making sure they have the ability to work with each other. Every client wants integration, but not at the cost of not having specialisation.
Burnett wasn’t doing badly when you took charge. So why the need to reinvent and fix things?
In 2013, we were already the Creative Agency of the Year, but our benchmark was India. We were not looking to become the best in the world. Now we are. If you don’t refocus on a new strategic mission, on a new ambition, you will become complacent and not move forward. That’s why the need to reinvent.
For us, this journey is a function of three things — people, product and profits. Profits are critical in the overall scheme of things, because our belief is, great creativity across centuries has only happened when you have prosperity. On the people front, we’ve made some significant changes. When I joined, everybody wanted a sense of comfort as far as creative leadership was concerned. There were some standard names floating around in the market, and everybody advised us to go for them.
But you opted for a rank outsider…
Yes, and it was driven by strategy. We operated without fear, because when the agency is already going through a big change in the leadership at that point, to make one more significant change and change everything, is risky.
Did you have the full support of your international offices on that?
Absolutely. I’ve had the blessing to do what is required to create a model organisation. For us to hire a 35-year-old Chief Creative Officer was a bold move, but it was a function of our ambition to be among the Top 5 in the world.
Were your clients okay with it? You’ve had some pedigreed, long-standing clients. Did they require any convincing?
I think the question is not whether they were fine then. The question is whether they are fine now. Obviously, we needed to have conversations with clients and share the reason we were making such a big shift. We needed to convince them about our strategic direction, and why it would benefit them in both the short and long term.
People, product and profits are the mainstay of any business. How have you performed on these?
I’ve already mentioned one part on the people front. The other part is, if we look at our teams across the board – the business directors, strategic planners or creative leadership team –. there’s a new team in Bengaluru, and a new leadership in Delhi. All of this is a function of knowing we need people who are digital by blood and understand modern paradigms. The industry is full of prima donnas, especially in India, but we’ve steered clear of them. One of the keys to driving integration is a focus on people who can collaborate with each other. So we’ve hired what we call the ‘Positive A’ types – those who have the ability and guts to deliver, and also have a positive spirit about them.
Was it easy bringing this about? Or was it tough getting the old-timers to believe in this whole new philosophy?
When you have a clear strategic roadmap, and you share your vision continuously with the teams, they start getting a sense of confidence that you genuinely believe in that vision yourself. They look at the leader to see whether he has the confidence to deliver against that vision. When they start seeing results, it creates more momentum.
We’ve heard stories that Saurabh is a very tough guy, a taskmaster and all of that. Is all of that true?
I would think thatwould be absolutely true. I think we have ruthlessly pursued a single agenda to be the best creative agency in the world.
So what comes first, the carrot or the stick?
No it’s not about the carrot or the stick, it’s about decision-making, it’s about making sure that everybody is aligned to a single vision, and I think if you look at what’s happened with us, most of the people have stayed back because they believed in that vision.
All of us, on the outside, were closely following the many changes taking place [at the agency]…
Most people have stayed back because they believed in the vision. People who did not are the ones we felt were not going to add to the energy and the momentum that we wanted, and are not with us anymore.
Was it easy getting a few of the older guys to exit?
A lot of what you call the ‘old guys’ are still in our system and they’re thriving and succeeding. I think what people want to see is a shared belief and a shared destiny, and everybody who exists here, believes in that.
What about profits? How are you doing in terms of your bottomlines?
Right now, we are the fastest-growing Leo Burnett agency in Asia. We are growing twice as fast as the industry average, and I wouldn’t be surprised if we are the fastest-growing agency in the country at the moment. We have huge momentum as an agency and this happened because of focussing on our clients, solving their problems and doing great work, that’s all.
How has the change in strategy impacted your other arms like Orchard and Indigo?
So like I said, first, we’re united by that single ambition, which is to be among the Top 5 creative agencies in the world. Second is the function of deciding what the unique purpose of each company is: What is the leadership we need in that country and how we’re going to grow. If you look at Indigo, we are blessed that it’s a build agency. About 18 months ago, we were only a Mumbai agency. Today, we are one of the best holistic digital agencies in the country. For us, Indigo has been a unique growth story, but that’s only one part of it. The second part is integrating it with Leo Burnett as a network. Till18 months ago, there were hardly any shared clients; Indigo and Leo Burnett had their own sets of clients. Today, we have integrated across the board on clients for whom we do multiple things, from search, social and retail to activation and ATL. There are teams from Indigo, from our park shopper unit, from activation unit all working together seamlessly to create solutions.
Wouldn’t it have been better if you had to integrate Indigo within Leo Burnett to make it fully forward-looking?
It already is integrated incredibly well at the moment. When you say integration, it is merged; we have one P/L, that’s the great part about Leo Burnett at the moment. We don’t have the same silos you see in some large organisations. Our ability, therefore, to create a systemic solution for clients, is far more dynamic than other agencies. The way we work on these solutions is that we have one integration manager, rather than an account manager, who runs everything and understands search, social, e-commerce, retail, and that requires a very different kind of training as far as the individual is concerned.
In the last 18 months, while you have possibly been putting your house in order, you’ve been away from most industry events. Was that deliberate?
It’s deliberate for two reasons. First, the only thing that really matters is our clients’ work. When you spend too much energy on extra-curricular activities, it defocuses you from your true objective. Second, we don’t think there is enough maturity as far as the awards in India go, to participate. There are too many factions, and we don’t want to be a part of any of them.
But some amount of collaboration with other agencies always helps, right?
We have been collaborating. The Publicis group has 13,000 people, and that’s where we want to collaborate. We have access to one of the best PR agencies, MSL, and some of the best media agencies with huge digital capabilities, like Starcom and Zenith, and that’s where we’re collaborating. We have lots of shared exercises and shared programmes.
And awards?
Every agency loves awards. We participate in Spikes, Adfest, we have a huge battalion going to Cannes – the biggest you can possibly imagine, right from youngsters to account people, HR people etc. We do believe in awards; in seminars and listening to the best people in the world really matters. It tells us what the benchmarks in the world are. What we do not want to be a part of, is what’s happening at the moment.
You have the D&AD-backed Kyoorius Awards, but you didn’t participate in that either…
I think the whole industry has not come together. I’ve been pretty vocal about my sentiments on this. Until the time awards are driven by a sense of maturity and not agendas, we will not participate.
One of the things said about you not participating is because there’s not enough work that you think can win awards. Is that true?
I am certain that if you put our best work alongside the best work of any other agency, we will be among the Top # in India any time. So that’s not the problem. The issue is what kind of awards do you believe in? We’re not an agency which believes in doing a poster for or press campaign for an award. If you see some of our work you will see what we believe in, is great work.
Are you looking at any acquisitions, any more organic growth, to achieve becoming among the top five agencies of the world?
We are continuously looking at building our specialist functions but we’re not looking at acquiring agencies for scale. That’s never been part of our strategy. For us it is very strategic; if there is an agency or a specialist function which is in line with our strategic intent, we will go for that acquisition.
Coming back to your start at Leo Burnett, there were questions being asked about whether you can do it. You were not from an Indian scenario; you were put into a system which was doing fairly well, but had to reinvent. Do you think those disadvantages actually proved to be your strengths?
I never thought of it as a disadvantage. For us it was a strategic decision. We started discussing this move four years ago. We planned for this move for the last three years. So it wasn’t done all of a sudden. The industry will say what it will; we’ve never really bothered about that. For us it’s about following through all our strategy and delivering on what we believe is the right thing to do for ourselves and for our clients.
The fact that your predecessor Arvind Sharma and Co put in some great work would’ve helped?
Yes, we’ve always focused on great work. Work for our clients and solving their problems. That’s the strength of Leo Burnett and that’s an advantage we continue to build on.
And great work is possible even through a non-star creative head?
No I think we have the biggest rock star in the making. And mark my words on that. Raj Deepak Das will be the biggest star, I’m not talking about India, but globally. I’m only betting on my belief in that, and my ability to partner with him in making that happen. So for us all, what we’ve done is we’ve strategically decided what we need to do, we believe we have the talent, we’ve identified the talent to take us into that trajectory.
Are you looking at hiring more talent?
All the time. With our growth we need to continuously find new talent to join us, and like I keep saying, talent is what we call the ‘Positive A’ types.
On a lighter note, now that you’ve reached close to where you are, do you think you would be less tough on everybody, or is that something that you need to be?
See I don’t think I’m tough, I’m single-minded. I’m single-minded in my ambition, and single-minded in my focus. That’s what I’m doing and I think some of those decisions, might not seem the right decisions at a certain point of time, and I can live with that.
This interview first appeared in dna on brands on June 15, 2015
The Goafest Committee has always desired to compile the winning work at ABBYs in the form of a compact storing device that can be used by the fraternity as a reference material and will also be a delight for the winning advertising agencies and those who have contributed in creating the award winning work.
This year during the course of a Goafest committee meeting a decision was taken by Nakul Chopra, M. G. Parameswaran and Pratap Bose to transfer the entire winning work at ABBY’s 2015 of various creative categories on a pen drive that will have all relevant details such as name of the Category, Agency Name, Brand, Campaign Title, Type of the Metal, Names of the Contributors.
The Advertising Club Secretariat thus applied itself immediately after the conclusion of the Goafest 2015 and accomplished this project of not only producing the pen drive containing the award winning work but also floating a website where all the award winning work is on display including the names of the contributors.
The pen drive is available at the new office of AAAI, B- 502, Marathon Futurex, 5th Floor, Lower Parel, N. M. Joshi Marg, Mumbai – 400013 free of cost only to those who are contributors to the winning work.
The award winning ABBY creative work at Goafest 2015 can also be viewed on www.abbyawards.com
Upping the ante on engagement this year, Goafest has announced an experienced array of speakers from across the world of film, media, marketing and business. These include leaders and innovators like Benny Thomas -Strategy head, Crispin Porter and Bogusky, Carter Murray – Global CEO – FCB, Ace Director, Producer, Screenwriter, Actor and Television Personality Karan Johar and leading filmmaker and advertising guru R Balki. Adding to the enthralling line-up will be an engaging session with veteran journalist Rajdeep Sardesai in conversation with Honourable Deshamanya Arjuna Ranatunga, Minister of Ports and Shipping & Former Sri Lankan Cricket Captain.