Goafest 2024 Wraps Up as Leo Burnett Continues Domination at ABBY Awards
In Mumbai yesterday, Goafest 2024 came to an end after three days of seminars and masterclasses saw the Indian advertising industry descend on the Westin Powai.
The day kicked off with the seminar 'Indian Women Harnessing the Power Of Identity,' with panellists including Shilpa Rao, Alankrita Shrivastava, Tamannaah Bhatia, and Prajakta Koli exploring the evolving concepts of identity among Indian women.
The panellists highlighted the opportunities in the digital space, emphasising adaptability and generosity in building a personal brand. They aimed to inspire audiences to rethink societal expectations and celebrate diverse narratives shaping modern Indian women's identities.
The following seminar saw Dr. Marcus Ranney discuss the paradox of modern healthcare, where increased lifespan is accompanied by prolonged periods of illness, before Gaurav Jeet Singh, head of agency business at Meta India, delivered a keynote at WhatsApp's event, highlighting that one billion people message with businesses weekly.
He revealed WhatsApp's efforts to enhance the interactivity of business exchanges, aiming to transform simple messages into rich, engaging experiences that drive value, leads, sales, and customer engagement.
Sujeet Kulkarni presented a WARC masterclass on ‘The Anatomy of Effectiveness’, defining effectiveness in advertising as achieving objectives and delivering commercial returns. Sujeet outlined five building blocks for effectiveness: investing for growth, balancing spending between sale activation and brand building, planning for reach with channel synergy, employing creativity, and planning for recognition.
In a particularly popular seminar, Neelesh Misra, Indian journalist, author, radio Storyteller, scriptwriter, and lyricist spoke about ‘The Art of Storytelling,’ and highlighted the importance of empathy, authenticity, and understanding the audience.
The panel ‘Adapting to be Accountable’ discussing the importance of accountability in the outdoor advertising industry and strategies for adaptation, featured panellists Darshana Shah, Jehan Mehta, and Pawan Bansal. Darshanna's emphasis on the evolving role of multi-screen geotagging, Pawan’s focus on metrics and IOAA's 100-day plan for measurability and sustainability, and Jehan’s insights on automation in OOH advertising provided attendees with innovative strategies to enhance the reach, effectiveness, and transparency of OOH advertising campaigns.
In a special treat for the predominantly Indian attendees, Sourav Ganguly, former cricket legend and BCCI President, shared insights on adaptation and resilience from his career, highlighting how sports teach valuable life lessons in a session moderated by sports journalist Boria Majumdar.
In the final Knowledge Seminar, Indian actor Manoj Bajpayee discussed the importance of adaptability in real and film life, emphasising the resilience required to navigate diverse roles and challenges.
The evening culminated in the final ABBY Awards ceremony of the week, which saw Leo Burnett India again dominate the day’s awards, winning more than 40 accolades, including Branded Content Specialist and Entertainment Agency of the Year.
Rajdeepak Das, CCO Publicis Groupe South Asia and chairman Leo Burnett South Asia, was delighted to once again be honoured at the ABBY’s.
“Firstly, cheers to our hattrick!” Rajdeepak said. “Our win today is a testament to the power of the entire agency coming together to create the best-in-class work for some of our biggest brands.
“This is evident in the number of categories across which we have won – from creative, digital, direct, mobile, technology, brand activation and branded content. A big shout out to our amazing client partners whose continuous support and belief in us has helped us achieve this feat and to all the Burnetters for their passion and dedication to making Leo Burnett the best agency bar none.”
Leo Burnett India CEO Amitesh Rao was also pleased with the results.
“To win by demonstrating the power of creativity across all categories, including mobile, technology, digital and direct, is even better,” Amitesh said.
“It is absolutely incredible to get there with transformational creative work on big brands, developed with amazing clients and incredible men and women at Leo Burnett.”
