Countdown to GoaFest 2009: On way to be Asia’s best forum for ad industry

In the run-up to GoaFest 2009, the Festival executive body – Colvyn Harris, Shashi Sinha, and Suman Srivastava – shares with exchange4media what to expect this year and whether GoaFest is on the right track to become Asia’s most coveted advertising festival.

e4m by exchange4media Mumbai Bureau
Published: Mar 31, 2009 8:28 AM  | 5 min read
Countdown to GoaFest 2009: On way to be Asia’s best forum for ad industry

In the run-up to GoaFest 2009, the Festival executive body – Colvyn Harris, Shashi Sinha, and Suman Srivastava – share with exchange4media what to expect this year and whether GoaFest is on the right track to become Asia’s most coveted advertising festival.

Colvyn Harris, Chairman, GoaFest 2009 and CEO, JWT India:

We are positioning GoaFest to be Asia’s best forum for the advertising industry. It already is the largest given the participation that it sees. This year, we have further broken down the Festival and focussed significantly on the knowledge and learning aspects of it. While awards are an important part of the Festival, they are just six hours of the 72-hour event. And this is one of the reasons why GoaFest is a must-attend for the advertising industry.

We begin the first day with an Industry Conclave that sees participation from CEOs, CMOs and others that are associated with brand. There is a Google workshop, a lot of work on display, and quite a lot to do at GoaFest that nurtures young creative talent.

Lessons from GoaFest 2009

We have said very categorically that the focus this year is on knowledge and learning, and we have worked harder than before on the speakers. Dan Wieden (W+K), John Hegarty (BBH), Jean-Marie Dru (TBWA) and Sean Finnigan (Starcom MediaVest Group) are some of the speakers that would be there. The quality of speakers has never been this good – we are talking of global Chairmen and CEOs.

One lesson that I would say GoaFest 2009 has taught us is to make us much more conscious on managing costs. This year, we were very prudent on how we planned ourselves and how we spent money. This was not the year to try and do anything extravagant, and we have not gone overboard on any of the elements.

Shashi Sinha, Chairman, Media Abby’s, Goafest 2009 and CEO, Lodestar Universal:

GoaFest is an industry event for the people and by the people. In the meanwhile, there are other points that resonate my point of view for the same.

The show must go on

Not limiting myself to one reason, there is more to why Goafest 2009 is to become Asia’s most coveted advertising festival. Firstly, though 2009 is a tough year for all in the sense of feeling pinch of the slowdown, the committee has managed to still go ahead with the Fest. Kudos to Colvyn and the team!

Media Abbys’ participation This year, the media jury has been far bigger than the last few years and there has been participation from every level. I am happy to mention that this year we’ve had all media agencies across India sending in their entries. We have shortlisted 77 entries across 13 entries, and from these 10-12 percent would be announced as winners.

The quality of work has also gone up over the years. This year, we have seen good quality of entries in categories like Interactive, Digital and OOH.

Industry event

This is an industry function. Unlike other awards like Cannes, which is run by a single person, GoaFest is organised for and by the advertising industry. Despite the dual responsibilities of the leaders who organise this Fest at their respective agencies and the current economic slowdown, GoaFest has been becoming better and bigger year on year.

Thus, taking all these points together, I would say yes, we are on the right track for GoaFest 2009 to become Asia’s most coveted advertising festival and may the ‘right brain’ win!

Suman Srivastava, Chief Executive Officer, Euro RSCG India:

In the book ‘What they don’t teach you at Harvard Business School’, Mark McCormack talks of an incident where he wanted to sell the sponsorship of the Wimbledon scoreboard to Rolex. The client was not keen since they thought their brand image didn’t go with sporting events. McCormack knew that the only way he could sell Wimbledon was by getting the client there. When the client finally got to the reserved box at the Center Court, he soaked in the atmosphere and said, “This is Rolex”.

In the same way, I think the only way to understand GoaFest is by being there. You may have been to beaches, you may have been to seminars, you may have been to award shows, and you may have been to huge parties, but you can only experience all of them together when you get to GoaFest.

So, GoaFest is a great venue with lots happening, a professionally-produced event and loads of fun. But does that make it Asia’s most coveted advertising festival? I am afraid, we are not there yet, though we are well on our way.

One of the things we are doing right is that we have got the entire industry together at GoaFest. To become the most coveted festival in Asia, GoaFest has to be the most coveted one in India. This job can be ticked off.

The next step is to improve the infrastructure that we have in Goa. Currently, it is a bit of a task to even get 3,000 rooms in Goa for the Festival. If we get more people to attend, we don’t have anywhere to house them. Local transport is also an issue. All these problems have been raised with the highest local authorities by AAAI and we hope to begin to resolve some of them soon.

Meanwhile, GoaFest is a great place for all industry brains to relax, enjoy and celebrate all the brainwork that they have done over the year.

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E4M Our strategy is to target younger audiences through Sports: Rajiv Dubey, Dabur

The Head of Media at Dabur India spoke exclusively to exchange4media on the World Cup, associating with Indian Idol, the company’s digital spending and much more

e4m by e4m Staff
Published: Oct 27, 2023 6:15 PM  | 1 min read
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With quirky campaigns, memes and moment marketing, timed with the ongoing World Cup and particularly the India-Pakistan matches, Dabur India has got considerable consumer attention for its popular brands – Red Paste, Cool King Hair Oil, Chyawanprash, Dabur Vita and the recently launched Bae Fresh Gel toothpaste.

The 140-year-old company is going big on key sporting events, World Television Premiere (WTP) movies and reality shows. It is now gearing up to become the title sponsor of popular talent show ‘Indian Idol’ on Sony TV for the first time, shared Rajiv Dubey, who leads the media strategy at Dabur.

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Swapan Seth's new book 'COOL' is out

The book is a reflection of the author's 'eclectic taste across categories'

e4m by e4m Staff
Published: Oct 27, 2023 6:07 PM  | 1 min read
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Advertising professional and art collector Swapan Seth has announced the launch of his new book COOL. The book is described as "a ready reckoner to the hip and the happening, of the known and the very unknown."

The book is a reflection of the author's "eclectic taste across categories: from boltholes to exotic hideaways."

COOL has been published by Simon & Schuster India and is available on Amazon.

Seth is an ad veteran with a long and illustrious career in the industry. He became the youngest-ever Creative Director at Clarion at age 24. He was VP at 26 at Trikaya Grey. Two years later, he started his agency Equus.

He writes for publications such as The Economic Times, Hindustan Times and India Today. This is his second book and he has previously published THIS IS ALL I HAVE TO SAY.

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Disney Star signs 9 sponsors for Asia Cup PAK

Charged by Thums Up, Nerolac Paint+, Amazon Pay, Jindal Panther, My11Circle, MRF, Samsung Galaxy Z Flip5, Wild Stone and Thums Up come on board

e4m by exchange4media Staff
Published: Aug 26, 2023 11:48 AM  | 1 min read
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e4m Staff Disney Star has signed nine broadcast and digital streaming sponsors for the upcoming Asia Cup.

Charged by Thums Up, Nerolac Paint+, Amazon Pay, Jindal Panther, My11Circle, MRF, Samsung Galaxy Z Flip5, Wild Stone and Thums Up have come on board for the upcoming tournament.
As reported earlier by exchange4media, Disney Star has sought Rs 26 crore for the co-presenting sponsorship on TV and Rs 30 crore for Disney+ Hotstar.

According to industry sources, the associate sponsorship on Star Sports has been priced at Rs 19.66 crore, whereas for the ‘powered by’ sponsorship on Disney+ Hotstar, the broadcaster is seeking Rs 18 crore.

As per the information available with exchange4media, Disney+ Hotstar has three sponsorship tiers-- co-presenting (Rs 30 crore), powered by (Rs 18 crore) and associate sponsorship (Rs 12 crore). The broadcaster is offering an estimated reach of 120-140 million for co-presenting sponsors, 90-100 million for powered by and 60-70 million for associate sponsorship.

A spot buy for 10 seconds has been priced at Rs 25 lakh for the India vs Pakistan matches, while for the non-India matches, the ad rate for 10 second is Rs 2.3 lakh. The India matches plus the final for ODIs has been priced at Rs 17 lakh per 10 seconds.

Asia Cup is scheduled to be held from 30 August, 2023, to September 17, 2023.

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Sorted 360 wins creative & social media mandate of Reliance Mall

The agency will manage offline and online campaigns for Reliance Mall

e4m by exchange4media Staff
Published: Aug 26, 2023 10:54 AM  | 1 min read
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Sorted 360, an integrated creative and social media agency, has won the mandate to providing brand solutions for Reliance Malls across India.

“Sorted 360 is set to enhance Reliance Malls' market presence with their unparalleled creative prowess and strategic thinking,” read a press release.

“Sorted 360's commitment to pushing the boundaries of creative communication aligns perfectly with Reliance Malls' ethos. With a pan-India presence spanning across 19 cities and growing, Reliance Malls has consistently captivated customers by offering an array of Reliance brands and third-party fashion & lifestyle brands. The mall has established an unparalleled connection with its patrons through superior quality, a remarkable value proposition, and an unmatched shopping experience,” it read further.

"We are thrilled to welcome Sorted 360 as our trusted partner in advancing our brand presence across the nation," said the Head of Marketing at Relaice Malls. "Their proven expertise in retail, shopping center management, and innovative creative strategies make them the perfect fit for our vision."

"Partnering with Reliance Malls is a testament to our commitment to shaping extraordinary brand experiences," remarked Prerana Anatharam, Co-founder of Sorted 360. "We are excited to leverage our strategic and creative acumen to further elevate Reliance Malls as the epitome of convenience, choice, and excellence."

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e4m by exchange4media Staff
Published: Aug 25, 2023 4:39 PM  | 1 min read

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e4m by exchange4media Staff
Published: Aug 25, 2023 4:38 PM  | 1 min read

KlugKlug onboards Hemang Mehta as Country Manager for Indias

Mehta was most recently Head of Agency Relationships at Network 18 Media & Investments

e4m by exchange4media Staff
Published: Aug 24, 2023 3:35 PM  | 1 min read
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KlugKlug has appointed Hemang Mehta as its Country Manager for India.

Mehta will play a pivotal role in driving KlugKlug's growth and expansion within the Indian market and be responsible for Sales & GTM Strategy

Prior to that, he has also represented organisations like Exponential (now VDX.tv), India Today Digital and Rediff.com. His expertise spans various domains including digital media sales, mobile marketing, media planning, and buying, social media marketing, and more.

Hemang Mehta expressed his enthusiasm about joining KlugKlug, saying, "I am thrilled to be a part of KlugKlug, a forward-thinking platform that is reshaping the influencer marketing landscape. As much as I look forward to collaborating with the exuberant team at KlugKlug, I am super excited to interact with the brands to deliver powerful data-backed Influencer solutions that will guarantee business outcomes."

Commenting on the appointment, Kalyan Kumar, Co-Founder and CEO of KlugKlug, stated, "We are excited to welcome Hemang Mehta to our team as the Country Manager for India. His extensive experience in digital media sales and marketing will be instrumental in driving our efforts to provide influencer marketing solutions to our clients. We believe Hemang's leadership will be key in scaling our operations and expanding our reach within the Indian market."

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