Mumbai: Goafest 2023, the largest advertising festival in South Asia is set to return on 24 – 26 May at Grand Hyatt, Bambolim, Goa, it is Co-hosted by The Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI) and The Advertising Club. The prestigious fest will also witness the 54th edition of the ABBY’s, South Asia’s Gold Standard, which has been recognizing creative excellence in advertising for over five decades. This year Goafest has got bigger with more agencies participating and more than 2000 industry professionals attending.
The upcoming Goafest event is themed as "The Future of Creativity is Here" which will delve into the latest technological advancements in the field of creativity, encompassing not only AI and ML but also the emerging ChatGPT. These innovations are pushing the limits of creativity, unlocking new possibilities and facilitating its integration between the physical and digital realms.
On how ABBY has evolved and extended its partnership with The One Show, Times of India Group president and The Advertising Club president Partha Sinha mentioned, “We take immense pride in calling ourselves the voice of the industry, the representatives of this industry. We also represent excellence in this market at a global standard. Today, whatever wins at ABBYs wins at Cannes; we saw an example last year. The same trend will follow this year too. This is now an award of global stature and recognition, and we are extremely proud of this game.
If you look globally, all awards are owned by commercial organizations. Our awards are the only ones owned by the industry, a fact that means a lot. Therefore, it reflects the voice of the industry”.
On extending The One Show participation, Sinha said, “Last year we partnered with One Show; it was our first year and we learned a lot from this big step. The association has already started yielding huge dividends this year and going forward, this will only continue to multiply. A few things will happen through this: Firstly, standards will automatically become global. Secondly, their credibility and process will also be impeccable because they have been doing this for years now”.
This year the ABBY is seeing newer faces on the Jury Chair not only young talent from India but also from across the globe, on this The Advertising Club managing committee member & The ABBYs Award Governing Council co-chair Ajay Kakar said,”Last year, with the onboarding of One Show, many agencies and stalwarts associated with the Abbys as Jury chairs and Jury members. You will appreciate that lending your name as a jury is a very substantial statement because individuals don't lend their names easily unless they are convinced about the award platform. This year we have got a very inclusive set of Jury chair, that represent world-class, today, be they from global networks or Indian agencies, be they from large agencies, or newer agencies, and specialists.
On one hand, we have Mandie van der Merwe and on the other, we have Nick Law and Wesley ter Haar; internationally renowned and toasted names. They have been chosen to serve as Jury Chairs for ABBY One Show 2023 and have happily invested their time and expertise. Additionally, we have a mix of seasoned and young celebrated professionals as Jury Chair; Prajato Guha Thakurta and P G Aditya are young, but their work has received the same level of recognition as that of the masters. We also have veterans like Bobby Pawar, Russell Barrett as well as Rajdeepak Das. Furthermore, coincidentally, we also have two Jury Chairs who have also been invited by Cannes this year, as Jury. And we have Guneet Monga who has won recognition for her craft and the country, at the Oscars. Among 23 Jury chairs, 7 are women, approx. 33 per cent.
We believe that an award is as good as the jury who judges it. With that definition, we have the most coveted Jury Chairs and Jury members, representing a diverse range of international, Indian, young, and experienced veterans.”
Havas Group India group CEO & The ABBYs Award Governing Council Chairman Rana Barua goes on to add,”When you look at the jury chairs, you must feel proud because some of them are the biggest names in international advertising. It is a completely diverse jury including seasoned professionals, like people who have been in the industry for a while, and new performers. So, if somebody's very knowledgeable in a particular domain, we have contacted them and invited them to be jury chairs”.
This year the ABBY is also seeing more agencies participating, even the ones who had taken a hiatus are back, on this Kakar said, “We have won back McCann, MullenLowe Lintas Group, Wunderman Thompson, Creativeland Asia, etc. They choose to enter the ABBY One Show because, as the president rightly noted, winning here will be a great stepping stone to winning at Cannes, One Show, or other international forums.
On the question of which are categories participating this year at ABBY, Kakar said, ”In the creative category, there are seven broad categories. However, this year we have made some changes, to remain relevant and contemporary, representing a fast-evolving industry.
As compared to 54, last year, this year 63 media agencies have participated. Additionally, 181 creative agencies have participated this year against 142 last year. Looking at both creative and media output, both have had higher entries this year: on the one hand, creative agencies have had 2,282 entries this year compared to 2,007 last year. On the other hand, media agencies accounted for 1,019 entries this year against 1,014 last year. This year, the number of entries was 3,301 versus last year’s, which was a cumulative count of three years, which was 3,021.”
ABBY Awards has introduced new sub-categories in Digital Technology, Mobile, Design, and Audio Technology. The Radio category has transformed into the Audio category, and new sub-categories have been added, including Use of Music, Sound Design, Script, Casting, Performance, Audio Technology, Voice Activation, Branded Content, Podcasts, and Content placement. These additions reflect the evolving landscape and creative trends in the industry.
What was earlier called Print, we have changed to Still, further sub-divided as Still Print and Still Digital. What used to be called Films, we have now recognised as Audio-visual; this now includes TV, Cinema, Digital, OTT, etc. But we have further divided it into two subcategories. Above 1 minute and below 1 minute. This is because we know that films are made from different perspectives, for the Tv medium, versus the online medium. Additionally, the Radio category is now rechristened as Audio. It is not just a name change but is meant to accommodate new categories like podcasts. So this year we have widened the Category and subcategories to represent the new world and emerging media. Then of course we have the Out Of Home and Integrated categories.”
On the extended partnership with The One Show Sinha pointed out, “On the one hand, we have an industry-owned award that represents the voice of the industry and on the other, we have a global partner who understands this game and has been a part of the high stakes for several years. Therefore, as a result, we have a platform, Abby One Show, which is neither owned by a select few, nor contains any bias, nor provides privilege to anyone. At the same time, quality and standards are truly international. The association with The One Show has already started yielding huge dividends this year and going forward, this will only continue to multiply.
