Mumbai: Goafest 2026 opened on an energetic and celebratory note, bringing together leading voices from advertising, media, marketing, and business for a day packed with industry insights, landmark discussions, entertainment, and recognition of creative excellence. Centered around the theme ‘Reset for Growth’, the 19th edition of the festival focused on redefining possibilities and shaping the future of India’s communication industry.
Jointly hosted by Advertising Agencies Association of India and The Advertising Club, the festival commenced with a champagne-popping ceremony that set a celebratory tone among delegates from across the country.
The opening evening featured a live performance by Sukhbir, presented by Mediakart, with Spotify Advertising as the streaming partner in association with B4U. The performance added high energy and excitement to the inaugural day’s proceedings.
The official inauguration included the ceremonial lamp lighting and welcome address by the organising committee. Srinivasan K Swamy addressed attendees, marking the festival’s 19th edition and celebrating the fifth year of collaboration between the ABBY Awards and The One Club | The One Show.
The inauguration also paid tribute to advertising stalwarts Piyush Pandey and Arun Nanda for their contributions to Indian advertising and communication.
One of the key sessions of the day, titled ‘Resetting Brand India: From Growth Story to Growth Strategy’, featured discussions between Rajiv Kumar, Prasoon Joshi, and Nikhil Sharma, moderated by Padmaja Joshi.
Dr Rajiv Kumar, Chairman of Pahle India Foundation and Former Vice Chairman of NITI Aayog, said, “India is a global example of optimism, democracy, and growth. The next phase is building strong state and regional brands within Brand India. Private entrepreneurs will drive India’s future growth, with the government playing a supportive rather than controlling role. India must strengthen manufacturing and exports, compete globally, deepen industry-academia collaboration, and leverage its traditional knowledge systems and strengths. India’s Gen Z is no longer looking abroad for validation and ideas. What the country now needs is a major mindset shift across society and policy making.”
Nikhil Sharma, Managing Director, Perfetti Van Melle India, said, “India’s FMCG and consumer market operates at an enormous scale, where affordability continues to dominate consumer behaviour. While India has achieved huge volume growth, value growth remains limited, underlining the need for greater innovation and more premium-quality Indian products. Better dialogue and partnership between industry and government are creating stronger opportunities for growth. At the same time, global trust and respect for Indian professionals have grown significantly, and Indian media and storytelling are now globally competitive. Innovation suffers when businesses focus only on low-cost products, but encouragingly, Indian consumers are slowly becoming more confident in Made-in-India products.”
Padma Shri Prasoon Joshi, Chairman, Omnicom Advertising India and Chairman, Prasar Bharti, said, “Brand India is bigger than just a marketing term; it reflects India’s civilisation, culture, and identity. India today is witnessing both visible progress through UPI, infrastructure, and GST, and invisible progress through rising confidence and cultural pride. People are increasingly embracing their local language, roots, and identity. India must now focus on creating ‘Brands from India,’ not just ‘Brand India,’ by investing more in innovation, incubation, and original ideas. Indian storytelling is moving from escapism to authentic narratives, and stronger collaboration between media, corporates, government, and creators is essential. Atmanirbhar Bharat is a necessity, not just a slogan. India also needs to reset its mindset and stop seeking Western validation, especially as Gen Z becomes more confident in Indian ideas and products.”
Another major highlight was the session ‘Resetting the Limits of What’s Possible’, presented by Sony LIV and powered by Sakal Media Group in association with Dainik Jagran, featuring Indian women’s cricket captain Harmanpreet Kaur in conversation with Mandira Bedi.
Speaking about resilience and leadership, Harmanpreet Kaur said, “‘Reset’ means coming back to the present moment, especially under pressure. Focusing on breathing and taking short mental pauses helps regain clarity during matches. I always knew cricket was my dream from childhood and never imagined doing anything else. My father, family, and coach supported my journey, and my coach even opened a cricket academy for girls after noticing my talent. My 171* against Australia in 2017 changed women’s cricket and inspired many girls to take up the sport, while the 2017 World Cup became a major turning point for visibility and support for women’s cricket. Honesty and commitment towards the team matter most, and success only comes by trusting the process and learning from failures.”
The day also featured a keynote by Dave Yang titled ‘Meet the Indian Prosumer; Reaching High-Value Professional Consumers’, where he discussed the rise of India’s professional consumer class and the evolving role of AI and career-led consumption patterns.
Highlighting India’s growing significance for LinkedIn, Dave Yang said, “India is home to one in five LinkedIn members globally, with nearly 3,900 new professionals joining LinkedIn every hour. We are seeing a generation of ambitious professionals openly expressing aspirations, celebrating career milestones, and actively investing in personal and professional growth.”
He further added, “Professional milestones today are increasingly shaping consumption behaviour. Promotions, new roles, and career growth moments are creating meaningful opportunities for brands to engage consumers at pivotal life stages, particularly as India’s rising professional class drives demand across premium and luxury categories.”
“AI is also transforming how consumers discover brands and products. Trusted voices, authentic storytelling, and professional conversations are becoming increasingly important as people rely more on AI-driven discovery journeys. For brands, this presents an opportunity to connect with high-value professional consumers in more relevant and meaningful ways,” Yang said.
The ABBY Awards 2026 Powered by The One Club | The One Show also marked a significant milestone this year, receiving around 4,000 entries from nearly 300 companies, reflecting growing participation and industry engagement.
As the first day concluded with networking sessions, award ceremonies, and entertainment events including the Sound-On Sundowner by Spotify Advertising and an after-hours party hosted by JioStar, Goafest 2026 reinforced its position as one of India’s most influential gatherings for the advertising, media, and marketing industry.
