Goafest to be held in physical form between April 7-9

• Organized by Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI) & The Advertising Club (TAC), the event will be held from 7th to 9th April, 2022.
• Jaideep Gandhi has been elected as the Chairman for the Goafest 2022.
• Rana Barua is the Chairman of the Awards Governing Council to the coveted ABBY’s 2022.

After a hiatus of 2 years due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Goafest is back for its 15th edition. The event that recognizes consummate industry talents is curated by Advertising Agencies Association of India & The Advertising Club and is set to be held in Grand Hyatt, Goa from 7-9 April, 2022.

The three-day grand event will be helmed by Jaideep Gandhi as the Chairman of the Goafest 2022 Organizing Committee. Rana Barua has been elected as Chairman of the Awards Governing Council for the renowned ABBY Awards 2022. Being organized from the last 50 years, ABBY Awards is a prestigious, one-of-its-kind ad award show which is attended by more than 1500 to 1800 professionals from the marketing, advertising, media, research and PR fraternity.

Speaking about the 15th edition of Goafest, Anupriya Acharya, President, AAAI, said, “Goafest is the definitive festival for the advertising, media and marketing industry in the sub-continent. This time the festival is coming after a gap of two years and so one can imagine the anticipation the industry professionals will have! We also expect a lot of first timers this time given a lot of new young talent has joined in these two years. Goafest 2022 will be a good platform to celebrate our industry’s resilience as well as the potential.” On Mr. Jaideep Gandhi’s appointment as the Chairman, she further added, “Jaideep is a seasoned industry professional with vast experience on Goafest. Certainly, it will translate into a delightful and engaging festival experience for all.”

Speaking about the return of the prestigious event, Jaideep Gandhi, Chairman, Goafest Organising Committee, said, “It’s the illustrious return of Goafest 2022, with its 15th edition, where recognition, innovation, collaboration and celebration all happen under the same sky. Ensuring all safety protocols that’re necessary in a post-pandemic world, I believe it’s time for the industry to rediscover the power, joy and magic of connecting once again in the real world. I’m grateful to the previous Chairmen ‘Mr. Nakul Chopra, Mr. Ashish Bhasin’ for the learnings I received from them and thankful to the President of AAAI - Ms. Anupriya Acharya for her continuous support and encouragement.”

Ecstatic on the return of the premier event, Partha Sinha, President, The Advertising Club and President, Times of India said, “The return of ABBY and Goafest not only mark the return of normalcy in the advertising, marketing and media landscape of India but it also underlines the reason for which most of like this profession – the celebration of excellence. The ABBYs is the highest honour in this country for excellence and we wanted to ensure that we bring the big one back with all its glory. We have used the hiatus to our advantage and the award will witness some big forward movements in this Goafest. Watch this space for more details.” On Mr. Rana Barua’s appointment as the Chairman, he added, “Rana has first-hand experiences of organising and winning both creative and media awards. His experience will be hugely beneficial as the Chairman of the Award Governing Council. It’s a complex job and we had to entrust the right person with that job.”

Speaking about the forthcoming ABBY’s, Mr. Rana Barua, Group CEO, Havas Group India and Vice President, The Advertising Club and AGC Chairman, said, “After 2 extremely tough years for the industry, I am extremely happy to say that ABBY’s is back. ABBY’s has always been recognized as the best in creativity for our industry and winning Abby’s will continue to be an inspiration and motivation for the new generation of marketers, agencies and brand custodians. Since the period of entries will be from 16th February, 2019 to 15th February, 2021, I encourage all to come forward and celebrate their best work.”

The Awards Governing Committee for ABBY’s Awards includes:

Rana Barua, (AGC Chairman), Group CEO, Havas Group India
Jaideep Gandhi, (Chairman – Goafest Organising Committee), Founder, Another Idea
Partha Sinha, President, Times of India
Shashi Sinha, CEO-India, IPG Mediabrands
Ajay Kakar, Chief Marketing Officer, Aditya Birla Capital Limited
Ajay Chandwani, Managing Committee Member, The Advertising Club
Malcom Raphael, Senior Vice-President, Times Response
Anupriya Acharya, CEO South Asia, Publicis Groupe
Prasanth Kumar, CEO-South Asia, GroupM Media (India) Pvt. Ltd.
Sam Balsara, Chairman and Managing Director, Madison Communications Pvt. Ltd.
Rohit Ohri, Group Chairman & CEO, FCB Group India
Hephzibah Pathak, Vice Chairperson & Chief Client Officer India, Ogilvy & Mather Pvt. Ltd.

Presented by the Advertising Club and AAAI, the Goafest 2022 will once again see the entire advertising and marketing fraternity to come together in Goa from 7th to 9th April, 2022.