Goafest 2023 committee on the challenges behind organising a large-scale event

Social Samosa speaks to the organising committee members of the annual marquee event - Mohit Joshi and Jaideep Gandhi - to find out what will be new this year, challenges that the committee faced and what goes behind bringing a large-scale event together.

Goafest as we know it today, started back in December 2005. It was incorporated with an aim to bring people together from the world of advertising, media, and marketing to discuss idea, exchange knowledge and insights across topical subjects. Over the years, Goafest has grown to become one of the most awaited events in the advertising industry.

Co-hosted by The Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI) and The Advertising Club (TAC), it is set to bring the advertising and marketing fraternity together on 24th, 25th and 26th May at Grand Hyatt, Bambolim, Goa.

The challenge of staying contemporary

There’s a lot that goes behind bringing it all together and sharing inspiration with the creative minds behind some of the biggest advertising campaigns. Every year, the committee faces the challenge of staying contemporary and making it better than last year.

“Creating ‘wow’ at every aspect of the process at Goafest is challenging. How to keep the delegates inspired, from when they enter the venue to when they come back, remains a challenge. It is about choosing ‘impact over presence,’” says Jaideep Gandhi, Chairman, Goafest 2023 Organising Committee.

To tackle this challenge, this year, Goafest committee has upped the ante by bringing in more speakers, masterclasses, and sessions to encourage the next generation of advertisers and agencies.

“If in two words I can tell you what to expect is ‘variety and scale.’ This is in terms of the different topics and subjects that we're going to cover. We have over 50 speakers spread over three days and 11 master classes spread over two days. They will be covering variety of subjects – right from future of creativity to data driven marketing, to influencers, the voice of change,” shares Gandhi with Social Samosa.

Goafest 2023 has gathered 45 sponsors so far.

The future of ideas

The theme this year is ‘The Future of Creativity.’ The comittee has even been using its social media handles to give a sneak peek into what the festival will have in store. They had created a buzz around the festival and its theme by releasing a video made using AI and deep fake technology with industry leaders in the centre.

Sharing what went behind finalising the theme and how it is translated into its social media activities, Mohit Joshi, CEO, Havas Media Group India and Goafest 2023 Co-chair says, “Generative AI is becoming the talk of the town and it's been discussed in all domains. So we've taken that theme into Goafest and we are trying to answer a lot of questions around the impact of AI and technology in the future of how creatives will look, how media will perform, and how clients will do marketing. All the domains are being discussed.”

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Joshi said that the impact of AI and impact of any new technologies that are coming will be seen or evaluated during the festival.

Upping the fun quotient

Another exciting element that has been added to the festival to up its ‘entertainment quotient’ is ‘Advertising Rocks,’ which is a musical hunt to search for an industry expert who also has a hidden talent.

“Advertising Rocks allows our own talent from the industry to get a chance to perform on stage and actually get awarded. So a lot of music, a lot of knowledge, inspiration and entertainment,” says Joshi.

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The whole conversation at the Goafest 2023 will be about the future of advertising and how AI is playing a role in changing the dynamics of the industry.