Goafest 2008: The bell has sounded for entries

AAAI has announced that registrations for Goafest 2008 are open. As reported earlier, the Goafest will now be conducted jointly by the AAAI and the Ad Club of Bombay. To register, you need to log on to Aaaindia.org.

AAAI president Madhukar Kamath says, “The Goafest is a national platform for the celebration of creativity in advertising. It gets bigger and better every year. Last year, nearly 2,300 delegates attended, of which more than 800 were under 30. This year, we expect this number to increase substantially.” Goafest 2008 will feature the Abbys, the premier awards from the Ad Club of Bombay. “The coming together of the AAAI and the Ad Club of Bombay is a landmark event made possible by the desire of the entire industry to have one award and one glorious festival,” Kamath said.

Jagdip Bakshi, chairman, Goafest 2008, shared the names of the speakers who have confirmed their presence so far. Among them are Garrick Hamm, creative partner, Williams Murray Hamm; Donald Gunn, creator of the Gunn report; One Club’s Kevin Swanepoel; John Harlow, the founder of Naked; Craig Davis, worldwide creative chief, JWT; Scott Goodson, founder and chief executive officer of Strawberryfrog and Stephen Gatfield, Chief Executive Officer, Lowe Worldwide.

“We are very close to confirming some more big names in advertising globally, and will share the details as soon as possible,” adds Bakshi.

Like last year, the Goafest will be held at Cavelossim Beach in a specially created Advillage. The festival kicks off on April 3, with an Industry Conclave, at which the who’s who of advertising and media will reflect and debate on issues and challenges before the industry. The media awards will be presented on April 4, and the Abbys on April 5.