Industry minds share their thoughts on pre-Goafest 2014 drama!

Sun, sand, beaches and creative minds! For any person in the A & M fraternity, all this should stand for Goafest. India’s home-grown advertising awards are in the ninth year and not far from controversies. Goafest 2014 has following its call for entries has been in the news for, as some may say, for all the wrong reasons. Big-shot agencies declaring non-participation in the competition, allegation and cross allegations and the questions that rose on the mere integrity of the Abbys; have all put the basic motto of the fest in backseat.

We at Adgully spoke to industry experts to know whether or not large agencies absences affect the competitive spirit of the fest? Are budget constrains a major hurdle in the game and what according to them needs to the changed in the following year.
 

As a lot of agencies have joined the bandwagon of not participating in Goafest 2014, sharing his thoughts on the possible reasons behind this move, Srinivasan Swamy Chairman, Goafest Organising Committee said, “There are a few agencies unhappy with what happened last year in the award process and its withdrawal /reinstatement. Many Indian professionals were asked to clarify by their overseas people the issues involved adding to their embarrassment. Further, the negative publicity also meant that these agencies lost out on some international competitions. So some of them would like to take a break and see how things shape up this year. I am however assured by many of these agencies that they will participate as delegates in Goafest. They all recognize that Goafest is an industry initiative done by people on voluntary basis and they feel the need to support it”.

When asked whether or this absence will affect the competitive spirit of the game, Raghu Bhat, Founder Director, Scarecrow Communications said, “In my opinion, it totally depends on what each person’s definition of ‘competition’ is. In any given game, everybody is vying for the top spot, irrespective of the other participants, size or scale of game. There is no denying that there is a void with agencies not participating, but the good part of the story is that Goafest is not taking place which is the ideal thing to do, because if didn’t than that would call for question marks!

“The absences will definitely have its effects on the overall energy that the festival held over the years. However, it is still the place where the jury, as we know, is always looking for fresh, original and innovative ideas and where the best pieces of work win regardless of the participants in the race. As they say, the more the merrier which would mean that more participation would eventually mean more exposure, especially for the youth of the ad-land”! opined Santosh Padhi, Co-Founder and CCO, Taproot India.

Rohit Ohri, Executive Chairman, Dentsu India Group said, “It is very unfortunate that the numbers of entries have gone down, as in my opinion, this is one of those rare opportunities where the entire industry gets a chance to showcase their work. This I believe is an appropriate platform for young minds of the industry. However, the general sentiment I broadly positive as the fest calls for new learnings, not essentially competition”.

Sources in the industry queried that since many big agencies have opted out; will it not affect the overall festival moral? Responding to this, a positive Swamy said, “I am sure the mood will be good with many things happening there – Knowledge Seminars, Advertising Conclave, Leadership Summit, Beach Sports Competition, Adventure Sports, Display rooms showing shortlisted work, many Kiosks demonstrating many innovations relevant to marketing and advertising, fun things like foam and rain dance, aqua zorbing, after dinner parties etc.”

Bhat is of the opinion that when a person steps on to receive his / her award, he / she is bound to happy irrespective of external factors. “Having said that, on the macro perspective, one has to see that his / her piece of work is among the best of the country’s works and not getting affected by the ‘brand’s’ of agencies participating”, he added.

Padhi on the other hand stated, “In my opinion, more number of players basically calls for a healthy game; however that does not mean that it is the larger agencies that always win. Gone are the days when only ‘brands’ stood out in the crowd. Today it’s all about the craft, story-telling and bench-marking each category. If one may notice, even in the previous year, it were a lot of smaller agencies that picked up more golds than large agencies. The concept of quality not quantity stands true here. Winning off the list of entries across large and small agencies and categories is essentially based on the high judging standards of the Abbys. So I believe that the number of entries is not and should not be a hindrance to recognising good work in any way”.

With all the positive and negative talks around the fest, Swamy mentioned that given the circumstance, he is quite happy with the response. “Over 2500 entries which may be about 30% less than last year is nothing to scoff at”, he stated.

With numerous hiccups in Goafest 2014 already, do other important events occurring simultaneously (example: General Elections, IPL, Cannes etc.) pose as hindrances for some agencies? Sources in the industry have also cited budget constraints and high entry fees as reasons for agencies to send handful critically selected pieces of work or no entries at all. Sharing his thoughts on the same, Padhi said, “In every business, each financial year is a standalone factor that directs operational actions in the concerned business. Similarly, in this case, each year one cannot expect the same number of total entries and agency specific entries. Sometimes, off the 50 assignments taken, internal discussions would lead to only 20 pieces being sent as entries; it is an internal creative decision for every agency. Having said that, there is no denying that the entries here had started off quite late and some agencies had sent in their works at international festivals, thus making financial and creative decisions tougher”.

Singing a similar tune Bhat said, “Finance is subjective to each agency, which, for obvious reason is unknown to others. I believe that there is no reason not to deny that finance as a fact could be a probable reason for less or no entries as it is a pressure point for all business”. Ohri on the other hand said, “Every agency has its own terms and policies to execute their financial powers. As far as our network is concerned, we have tried to enter categories where we think it was worthy and necessary. I do not think other fest or activities can over-shadow the biggest India fest of the industry. In fact, I think it should ease and facilitate the simultaneous documentation work for agencies”.

Speaking about his expectations from Goafest 2014, a confident Swamy said, “Goafest is an industry initiative. Much effort is going in to make this a memorable event. I expect the delegates to be surprised at the changes we have made and come back enriched by the experience”. 

However, industry sources who chose to comment off-the-record mentioned that the committee at Goafest needs to adopt certain changes so as to bring back the glory of the Abbys and the lost of the fest. Sharing his thoughts on his, Bhat said, “While there is much heart burn on the issue, I believe that a lot of internal factors like personality clashes, animosity between creative people along with larger financial obstacles are things which can be sorted out. However, I feel that the advertising industry needs to unite and fight for the right things. Goafest is one-of-its-kind property which is meant to celebrate creativity and talent and not wash dirty linen in public. As friends and foes disagreements are natural, but should be done in a dignified manner. I hope that the talent and work still prevail to be the talking points at the fest”.

“Well, Goafest is an integration of awards, where rewarding the best work is the priority along with providing a platform to showcase talent and creating opportunities for the young guns of the ad world”, stated Ohri.

Ending on a positive note, an energetic and persuaded Padhi said, “Goafest is a fabulous concept and a wonderful product. It is understood that with every passing year, there are efforts of improvisation in order to better the product, but at times things can go wrong as well. The committee at Goafest had recently called for a meeting with industry personals with an aim to fin-tune the module of fest; but one needs to understand that nothing can change very drastically. What happened last year should not have happened and the dignity and respect to craft could have been retained. In my opinion, we as an industry provide solutions to our clients (brands), but if we cannot do the same for ourselves, it’s shameful. The right set of people in the category and position is the basic thing we should focus on. However, on the positive side on the story, we as an industry are and should be supportive of this endeavour of having the youngest award of this sort which, I believe has the potential to go Asian and global some day!”

As the date for the new A&M event inches closer, the steam is sure to amplify and we believe that the fizz does not fizzle out yet!