I nearly spent over 3 decades in the business of advertising and PR where the advertising awards has been happening right from the early 60’s under The Advertising Club banner. But over the years it keeps on improving and today the approach and content is matching some of the international awards. Every year it is hosted by the Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI) and The Ad Club. Goafest is the annual industry meet where some of the best minds and talent from the industry share their wisdom and knowledge. Usually this is held at Goa but this time due to the elections it was pulled back to Mumbai and the event was organised in just 60 days after the committee decided to hold it in Mumbai and not postpone or cancel it.
Goafest was born nearly 2 decades back and the idea was germinated after looking at Cannes where many Indian Advertising and Marketing professionals were attending that prestigious event year after year. Now in its 17thedition the Goafest has become an annual event and it is a very strong property built to bring in and collaborate with the professionals from the industry under one roof. People look forward for the event and mark it in their calendar well in advance. It is a great platform to exhibit your creative talent and the entries that come for awards is only going up each year. This year over 3500 entries were received from 273 companies. Each year they keep expanding the basket for entries by introducing new categories and this year they have introduced healthcare where we are seeing a huge spurt of communication and campaigns happening from various healthcare brands.
Now why Goafest keeps gathering its momentum each year and strengthening its brand value, visibility and their connect with audiences. Here are my views on the same.
It is not just about awards but it is a platform where wisdom and knowledge are shared by some of the best brains and leaders from the industry and overseas.
The platform is also beyond advertising and communication. Importance is given to bollywood, sports, music and entertainment to make it more engaging and exciting. This year on the health front there was Dr. Marcus Ranney a leading public health commentator who spoke about managing your health and lifestyle in your hectic career.
While content is a challenge when you organise such mega event but each year Goafest keeps coming out with something fresh and innovative content. The planning for next Goafest perhaps might start in next couple of months so that there is enough time to plan the event.
The biggest platform for networking. You can meet various leaders and professionals from across the industry and exchange your views and engage with top notch business leaders.
Each year the festival tries to introduce new and young jury panel for judging thus giving opportunity to the best brains and talent from the industry.
It is a great platform for youngster to leverage here and know what is happening in the industry. I am told this year two-thirds of the registration has come from participants below the age of 35. That clearly indicates we are talking and engaging with a new audience who more digital and technology savvy.
Importance for knowledge, education and health has been given top priority by way of having separate sessions and masterclasses. Some of the masterclasses are conducted by overseas speakers.
Each panel discussions and keynote speakers connected well with the overall theme of the conference. For example, cricketer Sourav Ganguly spoke about ADAPTABILITY in all his examples and narrated several interesting stories on them. So the importance of setting a theme and extending it very religiously is followed.
The ambience and green surroundings of Goa always lifted the spirts of the partipants. So, while the venue is important but this time due to the elections it was held in Mumbai which also drew a huge gathering.
Shifting to Mumbai did not lose the shine. The brand Goafest is such a strong brand with a long legacy did achieve the end goal of making it has the most memorable festival in its inimitable style minus the beaches. The brand is trusted for over several decades and has been very contemporary when delivering the content for the conferences. It is rich, fresh and innovative content is what that will drive such seminars.
I am not sure if it is the right comparison, while IPL is to cricket, GOAFEST is to advertising as both of them are held in a large scale. And it is the biggest in India as entries and registrations pours in from across the length and breadth of the country. The scale is only becoming bigger and brighter each year. While for the first time it was not held at Goa but it never moved very far and it was close to the mecca of Indian advertising Mumbai. Goafest will continue to ignite your creative spark and will empower you to navigate to the new world in the field of advertising where you will keep discovering new things in this dynamic digital world. Hopefully next year it will be back to Goa but each year there will be new learnings for the organising committee and we will see newer things for the next edition of GOAFEST 2025.
The Author Ganapathy Viswanathan is a PR and Advertising industry veteran.
