Goafest 2023: Day 2 Wrap
Day 2 of Goafest began with a musical performance by Asees Kaur and Divya Kumar, two Indian playback singers. The performances ensured that the crowd sang and danced to their songs, mesmerising everyone and leaving them wanting more. Their spirit and energy set the tone for the day.
The opening session of Day 2, presented by India Today, discussed the ‘Future of Connected Devices and Cross Channel Measurement’. Moderated by Rajdeep Sardesai, Consulting Editor, India Today Television along with panellists Geet Lulla, VP - Sales & Head Asia Pacific, Comscore; Pankaj Krishna, Founder and CEO, Chrome DM, and Salil Kumar, CEO, ITGD, the session witnessed various aspects of effective marketing strategies.
This session sparked discussions about the future of connected devices, which includes a seamless integration of different smart devices, enabling effortless communication and data sharing between them. At the same time, cross-channel measurement has advanced, offering detailed insights into user behaviour across multiple platforms and touchpoints for more effective marketing strategies. Lulla commented, “Measurement is now moving from a monolithic approach to a fragmented approach, which needs to be reported frequently because data by itself is meaningless, it needs context.”
Krishna on the other hand, presented his findings on incremental reach, which is made up of three components including browsers, with a reach of 223 million, mobile devices with a reach of 619 million, and connected TVs with a 22.1 million reach. These figures have never been disclosed previously. Regarding the monetization of data, Kumar also contributed significantly to the conversation. The panellists also emphasised the significance of transparency in the measuring process and collaboration within the real-time consumption ecosystem.
Post this, Disney Star presented a Knowledge Seminar, titled The Evolving Economy And The Future Of Start-ups. It was moderated by Rajan Anandan, Managing Director, Sequoia Capital & Surge, leading the conversation with Anuradha SenGupta, Independent Journalist.
The conversation shed light on a number of economic issues, including how the economy has evolved to remain a favourable environment for entrepreneurs, with an emphasis on capital, creativity, agility, and disruption that has fueled the development of game-changing business models. The future of start-ups depends in leveraging emerging technologies to address complex challenges, open new markets, and drive economic development.
Consumer-related businesses make up the prior investments made by Sequoia Capital & Surge. Through his unwavering faith in growth-stage businesses, Anandan highlighted the exponential profitability they will experience in the upcoming years. “I truly believe in the profits these companies will incur in the next 6 quarters”, stated Anandan.
Later, another Knowledge Seminar powered by The Hindu Group, titled ‘Supercharging Creative Effectiveness: Unleash The Potential Of Your Campaigns’ led by Ed Pank, Managing Director - WARC APAC was demonstrated. Pank presented several thoughts and insights on the effectiveness of creativity stating, “Creativity can dramatically impact the effectiveness of your campaign.”
In order to customise messaging, target the right audience at the right moment, and maximise engagement, the seminar provided answers to questions about the success of creative approaches. Pank added, “We need to concentrate on creativity for not only the brand but also everyday people. Creating an experience should have value for the end-users.”
Pank underlined the importance of applying the proper kind of creativity to highlight experiences in order to develop immersive and memorable campaigns that engage audiences and increase brand impact. Furthermore, he asserts that factors like inclusive marketing, a catchy mnemonic, and honestly engaging with different cultures and subcultures all play a crucial part in terms of the creative impact.
Day 2 also witnessed two masterclasses beginning with ‘Media Planning in a Digital World’ by Madison World’s Founder, Chairman and Managing Director, Sam Balsara. He shared his insights on why digital media needs to be leveraged for brand campaigns. This was followed by ‘Driving Relevant Reach Through Video’, where Pratik Udeshi, Head- Agency & Video, Amazon India talked about relevant reach through video solutions on Amazon Ads and how advertisers can leverage it vis-a-vis accelerated video consumption in India.
Aiyoo Shraddha, a digital creator, and stand-up comic, started the second half of the day, filling the room with uncontrollable frolic and laughter.
Following this comical session, a knowledge seminar titled "Data-Driven Marketing - Are We Walking The Talk?" was held. The seminar is powered by Inmobi and is in association with Dainik Jagran. Vikram Sakhuja, Group CEO, Madison Media & OOH moderated the session. The panellists included Chandan Mukherji, Director & Executive VP, Nestle India; Priyanka Gill, Group Co-Founder, Good Glamm Group and CEO, Good Media Co; Ravi Santanam, CMO, HDFC, and Vipul Prakash, COO, MakeMyTrip. Numerous factors that must be taken into account when operating in the world of data-driven marketing were covered in-depth in this session, to which Mukherji aptly added, “Data is helping brands make real-time marketing decisions.”
Through the panel discussion, the seminar also evaluated the use of aggregated, customised, and relevant data as well as the departure from conventional ways due to the availability of data and its analysis. Gill rightly added, “Data today is a blunt instrument, but with time and teams learning to use data sufficiently, it could become a sharper tool.” The interaction highlighted the need of enhancing data gathering on brand-relevant metrics. In this scenario, as consumer behaviour patterns are currently being studied and assessed more than ever, informed hypotheses will aid brands in increasing conversion rates.
Later, OMS Digital, a part of the Times Group presented the ASCI Creators Session, titled Creator Calling Creator a session curated by the Advertising Standards Council of India. The session had been moderated by Subhash Kamath, Former CEO, BBH & Publicis Worldwide, India & Former Chairman of ASCI. The panellists included Rajdeepak Das, Chief Creative Officer & CEO, Leo Burnett, SouthAsia, India & Chairman, Creative Council, Publicis Groupe - South Asia; Shreya Agarwal, Head of FilterCopy, Pocket Aces; Smruthi Rajagopalan, AGM, Maybelline, L’Oreal and Prableen Kaur Bhomrah, Beauty, Fashion, Body Positive & Lifestyle Influencer.
The relationship between content creators, collaborators, inspiration, and the necessity of fostering a flourishing creative community was further explored in this session. Das stated, “Ideas can come from anywhere, the only thing that matters is how we make it big. For that to happen, all the collaborators need to have one goal, to make the idea big.” In the final form, the discussion demonstrated the value of creators coming together to share knowledge, exchange ideas, and jointly advance their respective fields.
Day 2 at Goafest, concluded with a Knowledge Seminar by Disney Star, titled ‘Unearthing Future Talent: The Rise of Indian Cricketers from the Grassroots’. The seminar was moderated by Harbhajan Singh, Indian Cricket Legend & Member of Parliament, leading the conversation with Manish Batavia, Sports Presenter & Commentator. The conversation emphasised the vast talent pool in the nation and the value of developing young athletes at the grassroots level. Singh fondly remembers, “I tried my hands at Judo and Badminton, but Cricket was very close to my heart. I wanted to be like Kapil Dev.”
Singh talks about coaching and stated, “Coaching is one thing, honest management of talent is what is required today.” The interaction with Singh highlighted India's capacity to regularly generate talented and successful athletes who can help the country succeed. He also discussed the importance of constant practice and focus on a single goal. He explained how to apply the lessons from the mistakes to become a better player. Singh professed that he exited with the same gusto as his entry.
In the latter half of the day, the lineup of masterclasses began with Convosight, ‘Unleashing the Voice of Your Customers: Building Brand Advocacy in Communities’ by Tamanna Dhamija, Rajan Anandan & Shuvadip Banerjee. The speakers highlighted the importance of online communities while demonstrating how companies and consumers can co-exist and jointly generate opportunities.
Another masterclass, ‘Maximizing Your Advertising Potential on Flipkart’ was followed, where Vaibhav Kapur, Senior Director of Flipkart Ads shared his experience and knowledge on how brands can weave effective digital ads from a company’s marketing and advertising perspective. Last, in line, the ‘India Today Group: The Lallantop Adda’ masterclass primarily focused on the future of video content. Film allusions were employed by Saurabh Dwivedi in his entertaining lecture on the future of successful video content.
Yet another captivating day at Goafest 2023 along with a gala dinner and an after-hours party with DJ Savio Joseph Mendez, powered by MASTIII in collaboration with Absolut Glassware came to an end.
