The big theme of Goafest 2024 is adaptability. Shrugging off all the uncertainty over whether Goafest 2024 would be held at all, given the long-drawn out elections, the annual ad and media festival adapted well, moving to a new address – The Westin in Powai, Mumbai. It was put together in less than 60 days by the organisers The Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI) and The Advertising Club (TAC).
Day one of the three-day festival was marked by scintillating singing by Sukhwinder Singh who had the crowd chorusing ‘Chaiya Chaiya’, exciting awards, knowledge seminars and high attendance (nearly 1,300 people). On opening day, at the Abby OneShow awards, ABP group emerged as the Publisher of the Year, while The Hindu was a close second. Both had a gold apiece and five metals each, though ABP had two silver and two bronze while The Hindu had one silver and three Merit.
According to the organisers, there were a record number of entries – 3,506 from 273 companies – for the Abby One Show awards, crossing the 3,301 entries of last year. Hearteningly, said the organisers, a number of agencies, which had been staying away, returned to the awards fold – notably, Lowe Lintas, VML, McCann Worldgroup India, DDB Mudra, Famous Innovations. Several new categories including the best use of AI in digital technology, and health have been introduced this year.
THG shines
The Hindu picked up both gold and silver in the Best client-brand activation or display advertising innovation by a publisher. It won gold for its work on Cadbury Iniya Kondattam (Sweet Celebration) and silver for ‘Our State, Our Taste.”
“The recognition at Goafest 2024 is an affirmation of our unwavering commitment to our readers, advertisers, and the communities we serve.. With nominations across multiple categories, we expect more wins in the next two days, so that we are motivated to imagine and create work that has meaningful impact,” said LV Navaneeth, CEO of The Hindu.
Wavemaker India picked up four golds, nine silver, three bronze, and with a total of 16 metals topped the charts for the media agency specialist of the year. Initiative Media with 8 metals came second overall.
In the keynote at the fest, Harit Nagpal, Managing Director & CEO of Tata Play, emphasised the importance of adaptability. “Disruption can be caused by anything or anyone, but it becomes our responsibility to survive and thrive,” he asserted.