With AAAI, Ad Club joining hands, there’s no scope for duplication, says Jagdip Bakshi
March 11, 08
Rishi Vora

With less than a month to go, frenetic preparations are on for GoaFest 2008. Already the registrations have crossed, and by the time registrations close on March 25 or 26, the figure is expected to touch the 3,000-mark. Last year, 2,300 delegates had registered, of whom over 800 were below the age of 30.

This year, with the coming together of AAAI and the Bombay Ad Club, the usual bickering among agencies has been put to rest (though Lowe and McCann Erickson have opted not to take part), resulting in an increase in the interest levels among advertising professionals as compared to the previous years.

Commenting on how GoaFest 2008 was different from the previous years, Jagdip Bakshi, Chairman, GoaFest 2008, said, “All I can say is that with the two advertising bodies coming together, duplication in terms of participants, judges, work, etc., is gone. Now, there is a single advertising event, and there is no scope for duplication to happen in the industry. What used to happen when there were two award shows earlier was that some agencies took sides. Now with one award show, there is practically no scope for taking sides. All agencies will certainly benefit from this since they will be spending less and can focus on one single platform for recognition.”

The Abby Awards this year will be awarded across 14 categories, which have been divided across five verticals – print, film, radio, out-of-home and integrated advertising. The 14 categories are Foods and Beverages, Toiletries, Cosmetics and Healthcare, Clothing Innerwear, Footwear and Accessories, Household and Business Appliances, Automotive Vehicles and Accessories, Telecom Products and Services, Financial Services, Household Products and Maintenance, Media and Publications, Business and Home Services, Retail Advertising, Travel, Entertainment and Leisure, Corporate, and, Public Service Appeals and Charity.

In addition, there are six other categories that include Ambient Media, Interactive Digital Advertising, Direct, Film Craft, Print Craft and Radio Craft. The last four categories are the Grand Prix Awards for Print, Radio, Film and Integrated Advertising, where the winning entries from categories the 14 would automatically become contenders for this award.

The GoaFest Media Awards, which would take place on April 4, will have 13 categories – including 10 media categories and three specialist categories.

Shashi Sinha, Co-Chairman, GoaFest Media Awards, said, “There are preliminary two differences between the GoaFest Media Awards and other media awards. The first difference is that the GoaFest Media Awards lays emphasis on innovation and creativity in media, which is why there are many more categories rewarding innovation and new categories like innovation in sponsorship. The second difference is the addition of vertical categories like Youth, B2B and Pro Bono Best Use in Media. Lastly, and more importantly, the GoaFest Media Awards are from AAAI, which truly is the overarching body representing India on a national level unlike anyone else.”

The Advertising conclave will take place on April 3 and would focus on solutions rather than pin-pointing issues. This year, the agenda of discussions would be on nailing the true value of advertising. The discussions would revolve around two wide topics – ‘Are advertisers valuing marketing assets correctly?’ and ‘Is the industry doing anything to build value for itself’.

Vickram Sakhuja, Chairman, Advertising Conclave, GoaFest 2008, said, “The advertising ecosystem has brands at its centre, and advertising communications and media as means to create value. Around this, there exists the universe of media owners, advertisers and agencies. Thus, this year the topic of the conclave is something that drives much of the industry’s thoughts into fruitful actions.”

The members of the jury have not been finalized yet. However, Bakshi informed that the judging standards for GoaFest 2008 would be better than ever before. He said, “At GoaFest, only creative people are asked to judge, and for me that is the striking difference in the quality of judging.”