MxMIndia

Tag: One Show

  • Unveiling The Age of Adaptability as theme

    Day1@Goafest 2024: Sanjiv Mehta, Harit Nagpal, Sukhvinder set the stage afire

    Goafest 2024, the annual industry festival organised by The Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI) and The Advertising Club (TAC), kicked off with a performance by Bollywood playback singer Sukhwinder Singh. This was followed with members of the organising committee lighting the ceremonial lamp. Prasanth Kumar, President of AAAI and CEO of South Asia at GroupM, then addressed the attendees, marking the festival’s 17th edition. This year’s event also celebrated the third year of collaboration between The Abby Awards and One Show. Under the theme ‘The Age of Adaptability,’ delegates were welcomed to Goafest 2024 with a champagne launch, setting a celebratory and spirited tone for the proceedings. This is Goafest, and even if it’s being held in Mumbai, tea, coffee, soft drinks and beer were available through the day. No questions and monies asked.

     

    In the first session titled Adapt To Thrive Not Just Survive, Harit Nagpal, Managing Director and CEO of Tata Play, stressed on the criticality of adaptability as a means to thrive. Delivering the keynote, Nagpal underlined the inevitability of disruption in our lives and the importance of resilience in the face of it. “Disruption can be caused by anything or anyone, but it becomes our responsibility to survive and thrive,” he said. After Nagpal, a keynote titled, Navigating The Age Of Adaptability: Leading with Vision, Flexibility, and Purpose, was delivered by  Sanjiv Mehta, former CEO of Hindustan Unilever and Executive Chairman of L Catterton India. “Learning happens when you have the humility to say, ‘I don’t know?’” – by admitting so, organisations and corporations open themselves to new knowledge and understanding, fostering a growth mindset that enables them to learn and develop from others’ expertise and experiences, not just myopically thinking of profit generation ,” he said.

     

    Later there was a session titled From Setbacks to Comebacks: The Power of Persistence presented by acclaimed writer and film director, Tahira Kashyap captivated the audience with her inspiring journey, moderated by Atika Farooqui, Celebrity Host & Actor. Kashyap shared personal anecdotes and professional experiences, illustrating how resilience and determination have been instrumental in her success. “Women go through multiple hardware upgrades; every day is so different for women, every hour is so different than the previous one,” she mentions, also candidly referring to the books she has written on womanhood and motherhood.”

     

    And then there was a session titled Lessons of Adaptability: Embracing Failure to Touch Success, featuring Indian actress Medha Shankr and actor Vikrant Massey, moderated by the multifaceted Actor, Producer & Entrepreneur, Neha Dhupia. Medha and Vikrant, the cast of the acclaimed film 12th Fail, illuminated the audience with their insights on embracing failure as a stepping stone towards triumph.

     

    Here’s what the Goafest 2024 leadership team said in a statement:

     

    Prasanth Kumar
    Prasanth Kumar

    Prasanth Kumar, President of the Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI) and CEO of GroupM, South Asia: “The composition of the clients has been very interesting this year with a notable presence of tech specialists. It’s encouraging to see such diversity. It’s truly heartening to witness the growing number of partners, which not only strengthens and welcomes many newcomers into the Goafest fold. While we anticipated challenges, the dedication and support of all involved have exceeded our expectations, and for that, we’re immensely grateful. We’re excited to welcome many new faces and investors to Goafest 2024; we’re also looking forward to numerous tech sessions and integrations that will enrich the experience. Our goal is to institutionalise Goafest, constantly striving to improve. By completing 60% of the work early and refining timing, we’re making practical strides toward our vision for the next year.”

     

    Rana Barua
    Rana Barua

    Rana Barua, President of The Advertising Club and Group CEO of Havas India, South East and North Asia: “Through countless journeys together, we’ve always been driven by passion, not profit. This year, our commitment to not miss out has been unanimous. The whole team rallied together, united by our love for this industry, to make Goafest 2024 happen within our tight timeframe.”

     

    Jaideep Gandhi

    Jaideep Gandhi, Chairperson of the Goafest Organising Committee: “We aim to keep this festival relevant, as we’ve successfully done in the past two years, especially in the post-pandemic era. Each year, we strive to introduce new elements, constantly raising the bar.”

     

    Dheeraj Sinha
    Dheeraj Sinha

    Dheeraj Sinha, Group CEO – India and South Asia, FCB and Co-chair Awards Governing Council, Abby Awards 2024 powered by One Show: “We’re thrilled to see a fantastic response from returning agencies, with VML, and McCann Worldgroup India, amongst others, making a comeback, along with many others. It’s a near-complete reunion, with only a handful of agencies not joining us this year!”

     

    Day One ended with Publisher and Media Abby being presented.

  • Wavemaker is Media Agency oof the Year, ABP Publisher of the Year

    Wavemaker is Media Agency oof the Year, ABP Publisher of the Year

    It’s now become a winning habit for GroupM agency Wavemaker. On the first day of the Goafest 2024, Wavemaker India was crowned Media Agency of the Year at Abby Awards Powered by One Show. They bagged 16 metals. Earlier, ABP Ltd bagged the Publisher of the Year titled with five metals.

    The EssenceMediacom team winning the sole Grand Prix Media Abby for Airtel 5G Plus Ultimate Fans: Look Maa! I am on TV

    The Wavemaker tally include four golds, nine silvers and three bronzes. The sole Grand Prix presented was won by GroupM agency EssenceMediacom for Airtel 5G Plus campaign #LookMaImOnTV for innovative use of branded content – integration.

    While Wavemaker scored 98 points, the next best was less than half that at 48. That was Initiative Media. EssenceMedia secured 42 points.

    The ABP Pvt Ltd team winning the Publisher of the Year Abby

    Like last year’s edition, the Abby Awards are powered by One Show and have received a total of 3506 entries as against 3301 last year. As many as 73 entrants for the Media Abby as against 63 last year. In Creative, there are 198 entrants as against 181 last year. The total number of entries for Media Abby were 1258 this year (up from 1019 last year) and in the various categories under Creative, it’s been 2248 this year, as against 2282 last year. Digital, Mobile, and Technology, have collectively garnered 626 entries from 75 companies.

    The gates for receiving entries had to be shut as per deadline, we were told, else, the entries for Creative Abby would’ve crossed last year’s tally.

    There were 23 jury chairs and 204 jurors across 23 categories. Of these there were 53 new, young, award-winning judges. There were 68 women amongst the judges (nine jury chairs are women).

    Publisher Abby

    Media Abby

  • The Abby Awards will be held from May 29 to 31 as part of Goafest 2024

    Madan Bahal, Prateek Bhardwaj, and Amit Sharma appointed as Jury Chairs for Abby Awards 2024 powered by One Show

    For the past few weeks, we have been publishing news on the announcement of names of jury chairs of various award categories of Abby 2024 (full name: The Abby Awards 2024 powered by One Show).

    So here’s one more: Madan Bahal, Co-Founder and Managing Director of Adfactors PR, Prateek Bhardwaj, Chief Creative Officer and Head of Creative (India) at Lowe Lintas and Amit Sharma, Founder Director of Chrome Pictures have joined as jury chairs for the Public Relations, Direct and Video Craft categories respectively.

    The Abby will be held from May 29 to 31 as part of Goafest 2024. This year, Goafest is being held in Mumbai, at Westin Powai, overlooking Powai Lake.

  • Goafest 2024 & Abby Awards to be held in Mumbai

    Goafest 2024 & Abby Awards to be held in Mumbai

    If the Indian Premier League can happen in South Africa or the UAE, why can’t Goafest take place in Mumbai? Point, and the wise folk at the Adveritsing Agencies Association of India and The Advertising Club, have chosen to organise the 2024 edition of Goafest and the Abby Awards in Mumbai, from May 29 to 31. The venue: Westin Powai, the same place that plays host FICCI-Frames. And was earlier called Renaissance.

     

    The reason, as per a communique issued: the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections. The decision, conscious and collective as it has been described, is to host the 17th edition of the festival on the same dates that it was scheduled to happen in Goa. It may be noted Goafest will continue to be held in Goa in future, and this, as of now, is just a one-off.

     

    First let’s read the statements. Later, do read our two-bit.

     

    Said Prasanth Kumar, President of the Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI) and CEO of GroupM, South Asia in a communqiue: “We’re excited to announce that Goafest is happening in Mumbai this year, despite a few logistical challenges. Our collective decision reflects our unwavering commitment to this esteemed event, which has evolved into a cornerstone platform for shaping the future of our industry. It’s become a vital platform for industry, becoming a nexus where industry leaders converge to explore, innovate, and chart the course for a progressive journey. We’re committed to maximizing participation, curating insightful sessions, and ensuring attendees leave with invaluable knowledge. Plus, mark your calendars: Goafest returns to Goa in 2025! Join us for an unforgettable experience at Mumbai Goafest 2024!”

     

    The communique also adds Rana Barua, President of The Advertising Club and Group CEO of Havas India, South East and North Asia, as saying: “The Abbys has always been a platform dedicated to recognising and celebrating outstanding achievements in the advertising and marketing industry. We look forward to honoring the best work of 2023 at the Abby Awards Powered by One Show 2024 this May, in Mumbai. With Westin Powai as the venue we are working towards putting together a dynamic agenda that  will be announced in due course. We are grateful and thankful to the entire fraternity for their continued support and enthusiasm.”

     

    The agenda, speakers, the sessions and the all-important sponsors will be announced shortly.

     

    While all of this was what we gleaned from a communique issued on Friday morning, there’s a little more to what has been issued. According to the info we have received, a cross-section of the powers that be felt that it should perhaps be put off. Yes, no Goafest 2024. That was around the first week of April. When we heard about it and asked some of the Goafest top brass via WhatsApp, there was no clear affirmation or outright denial. However, what we were told was that talks were on to salvage the situation.

     

    For, Goafest and Abby are meant to be for/of/to/by the industry, and aren’t being organised for profit, save the salaries of the secretariat and build a reserve for the rainy day. The organiser-in-chief doesn’t buy a fancy car after the conduct of the festival. It’s meant to be community service. And of course access to some fun in the sun, and loads of booze in the closed confines of sunny Goa.

     

    This year, as per our information, there is a problem. The media economy is in bad shape. Look at the number of empty billboards on the Western Express Highway in Mumbai. With just so many days where no government ads happen due to the Election Code of Conduct, and this year twice over given elections in Maharashtra and elsewhere, it’s not exactly ‘achche din’ for media biggies, the primary sponsors of Goafest.

     

    Colors/Viacom18 has reduced its trade spends. The news channelwallahs (Aaj Tak was one of the main sponsors last year, Times Network before that) are too busy with the elections than humouring agency folk.

     

    Also, the entire advertising agency business is being rewritten. No longer is there enough money in the bag to fund aircraft-loads to Goa. Even if 50% was being paid by the employee.

     

    Net-net: there was pressure.

     

    Abracadabra! All of this can be eliminated if the event happens in Mumbai. Yes, the alcohol is expensive, but one can also ask the Delhi officefolk to airlift those five litres of liquids from Haryana.

     

    Plus the chances of marketing folk being present is very high, as that number is not really very significant when the event is held in Goa. With the event being in Mumbai, albeit in Powai, the likelihood of people doing the trek to Goafest is good.

     

    We tried to gauge the sentiment on the decision from some of our connects. While there is an overall happiness that it’s happening and is not cancelled, there is dismay that it means no official fun in Goa. They said you can’t do that in Mumbai.

     

    And what about all those floral shirts and shorts we bought for Goafest, one regular mused.

     

    Another point posed to us is that if the elections are the reason and since this is the 17th edition of the fest, why didn’t it get pushed to Mumbai all these years when there were elections. Hmmm.

     

    Well, right now the story is that Goafest 2024 (and Abby) are happening. We don’t know if that’ll mean Ogilvy will participate, but we do hope it does.

     

    Meanwhile, a few days before Goafest and Abby, the Zee-sponsored Kyoorius Creative Awards are scheduled to take place. The date is May 24. But that, as we are constantly reminded, is not organised by industry bodies.

     

    For more information on the festival, follow the Goafest handle at @goafestlive and for ABBY Awards Powered by One Show, follow The Advertising Club at @theadclubindia.

    Better still, read it all on MxMIndia.com.

     

    Entries for ABBY Awards Powered by One Show 2024 can be submitted at https://abbyawards.com/

     

  • Entries are open for the awards

    Ad Club campaign for Abby

    The Advertising Club has unveiled a campaign for the upcoming Abby Awards powered by One Show 2024.

    Speaking on the initiative, Ajay Kakar, Chairperson, Awards Governing Council, Abby Awards said: “At The Advertising Club, we are committed to bringing forward and honouring the masterpieces and the masterminds. The Abby Awards powered by One Show 2024 serve as a testament to the extraordinary work that our industry creates and its potential to shape the future. With this campaign, we invite the industry to come forward, submit their best work, and together elevate the collective creativity to unparalleled global heights.”

    Added Alok Lall, Executive Director, McCann Worldgroup India:  “We believe in celebrating not just the present achievements but also the future that we are collectively building for our industry. The Abby Awards powered by One Show 2024 serve as a beacon for the creativity that defines our industry’s trajectory.”

    Entries are now open for Abby Awards powered by One Show 2024.