Mumbai: The conversations at Goafest included the evolving dynamics of storytelling, influence and audience engagement with NDTV Presents ‘The Hook: The Craft, The Culture, The Conversation’. The session featured Darshana Shah, Chief Marketing Officer, Aditya Birla Capital; Rahul Kanwal, CEO & Editor in Chief, NDTV; Rana Barua, Group Chief Executive Officer, Havas India, SE Asia & North Asia (Japan & South Korea); Rohit Kapoor, Chief Executive Officer, Swiggy; and Sam Balsara, Chairman, Madison World. The session was moderated by Alex Matthew, Associate Executive Editor, NDTV Profit.
Noting the evolving balance between brand building, performance marketing, and the role of AI in advertising, Sam Balsara, chairman, Madison World, noted that consistency is what makes campaigns memorable over time. Many brands he warned are overfocussed on performance marketing at the cost of brand building, even though performance marketing is important and cannot replace branding completely. The ideal approach he explains is to balance branding and performance marketing. “Ads today also need far more frequent refresh cycles than earlier, when campaigns could run for years; now they may need to change every month. AI can help reduce content production costs and improve speed, but human creativity remains irreplaceable despite these advancements.”
Highlighting the evolving realities of consumer attention, media consumption, and the growing need for always-on brand engagement, Darshana Shah, Chief Marketing Officer, Aditya Birla Capital, said, “Media fragmentation and shrinking attention spans are forcing marketers to constantly unlearn and relearn, as consumers increasingly scroll, stream, search, and shop simultaneously. While branding still depends on what a brand stands for in the consumer’s mind, brands today need an immediate hook to capture attention within seconds. Storytelling remains relevant, but campaigns must capture attention within the first few seconds, with ideas rooted in long-term brand positioning and deep consumer understanding.
“Moment marketing works best when brands fit naturally into cultural conversations, while content now drives memorability and stickiness, especially among younger audiences. Moment marketing works best when brands fit naturally into cultural conversations, while always-on, relevant content now drives memorability, engagement, and commerce in real time.”
Emphasising the growing role of cultural relevance, virality, and real-time audience engagement in modern brand-building, Rahul Kanwal, CEO & Editor in Chief, NDTV, said, “Cultural moments today can emerge instantly on social media and become massive movements overnight, as seen with phenomena like the ‘Cockroach Janta Party’ gaining traction within hours and viral moments like ‘Melody’ becoming branding that money cannot buy. Brands today need to quickly recognise and ride such unexpected viral waves, as storytelling shifts from traditional campaigns to real-time hooks and engagement. AI and prompt engineering are also challenging traditional creative hierarchies, enabling younger creators using AI tools to compete with seasoned professionals. Overall, the advertising world is moving from campaign-led storytelling to culture-led storytelling.”
Speaking about the evolving intersection of AI, culture, and brand storytelling, Rana Barua, Group Chief Executive Officer, Havas India, SE Asia & North Asia (Japan & South Korea), said, “AI is creating a new model of storytelling, engagement, and audience conversations, while consumer behaviour is increasingly shaped by social media and cultural trends. Brands today must decide whether they want to be meaningful or merely desirable, because without emotional connection or relevance in people’s lives, no amount of marketing can succeed.
“While platforms and formats continue to evolve, brand building and storytelling remain at the core. AI can facilitate conversations and execution, but it cannot create original ideas or cultural understanding — the real ideas still come from humans who understand culture, behaviour, and context. The real challenge is not just execution, but finding the right idea and authentic audience connection, which is why AI will not replace human creativity or emotional intelligence.”
Emphasising virality, Gen Z behaviour, and the changing nature of brand building, Rohit Kapoor, Chief Executive Officer, Swiggy, said, “People today forget and forgive quickly in the era of virality, so while execution is fast and chaotic, strategy must remain consistent and rooted in what doesn’t change in human behaviour. Gen Z is not a single audience, and brands must balance virality with clear guardrails, embracing trends quickly but dropping them just as fast, since today’s ads may last only around 10 days. Long-term brand building still requires consistency as brands are built over years while trends are built in days, and although AI is democratising creativity and reducing costs, human creativity remains irreplaceable.”
