Goafest 2022, India’s most definitive advertising, media, and marketing symposium is back after a two-year hiatus, featuring some of the industry’s brightest minds along with prestigious industry awards felicitating notable creative thinkers from South Asia.

The festival kickstarted on May 5 with the lighting of the ceremonial lamp and the unveiling of AAAI’s new logo. It also marks Goafest’s 15th edition. Marking it as a special year, it is the first time that the Abby Awards have collaborated with The One Show. With an underlying theme of celebrating The SuperPower Within, delegates at Goafest 2022 were welcomed with a champagne launch by Zoom TV and a live musical performance by Sukhbir – Prince of Bhangra.

AAAI’s new logo, created by Tempest Advertising’s art director, Lohidasu, was unveiled during the lighting of the ceremonial lamp. The agency’s design was chosen amid 200 entries. The official unveiling of the redesigned logo at the Goafest was done by Rohit Ohri, Chairman and CEO of FCB Ulka, and film star, Yami Gautam, as per the company’s press release.

Further, the Industry Conclave presented by ABP Group marked the beginning of the festival with the first session of the day, witnessing actress Yami Gautam in a one-on-one conversation with Rana Barua, Chairman, Abby Awards Governing Council 2022 & Vice President of The Ad Club. The two enthralled the audience by speaking about films, values, and the need to imagine and build a life beyond numbers. This tête-à-tête was followed by a super talk from Vineeta Singh, co-founder, and CEO, SUGAR Cosmetics & Shark, Shark Tank India, who highlighted the importance of building a brand with quality products and content before focusing on advertising.

The next session witnessed Ankush Sachdeva, co-founder & CEO of Sharechat & Moj, chatting with Vikram Sakhuja, Group CEO of Madison Media & OOH at Madison World. The duo engaged in a meaningful conversation highlighting the mission that Ankush, a Messiah for the creator and influencer community, is on. He spoke about how short-form content is going to be the future of content consumption and while addressing the advertisers, he said, “If you do not catch the attention of the consumer in 2 seconds, you have lost them.”

Following this up was a knowledge session in partnership with the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI).

Thereafter, another super-talk was given by Dr. Kiran Bedi, former Lt Governor Puducherry & ex – IPS officer, who highlighted the importance of leadership.