Goafest 2014: How is Goafest relevant for marketers?

I think it is one forum that nobody from the advertising and marketing community should miss. This platform is a medium to re-energise both professionally and personally. It is a place to start relearning with some of the very interesting viewpoints being presented in seminars. Goafest is usually perceived as an 'advertising' event so a lot of marketing people do not know that there is so much that the platform offers for them. Just the way a day has been devoted to media and digital, I guess something likewise can be done for brands per se; that can help attract our community here.

Ajay Kakar, CMO, Aditya Birla Group Financial Services and member, Awards Governing Council

It is the only forum in India where marketers, media and advertisers gather to discuss, learn and inspire. One gets to meet the best of people and see the best of work. Every year people change; there is interesting work, outstanding and mediocre. Basically, it is a melting pot of what happened in the year gone by. We saw a lot of organisations participating this year, which is quite refreshing. It shows an increasing number of people believe that they have created good work which can be showcased on a platform like Goafest.

Karthi Marshan, head, marketing, Kotak Mahindra Group

Goafest is trying to change and I want to be open minded about the possibilities. My perception about Goafest has always been that it's a junket for advertising folks. Now, they are saying they want to make it more of a knowledgeable event, engage with marketers more as well. I am seeing a lot more youngsters at the fest which is a good thing. The marketers want to see who is doing good work, doing something that is cutting-edge because we all are hungry for great work. The agencies and creative people think that marketers don't want to take risk but it's not true. The marriage of the risk they are fighting for and the risk we are willing to take is always negotiation and it will always be the same. So, at Goafest we are keen to see who is doing work in which we also believe in.

Sanjay Tripathy, EVP, HDFC Standard Life

Goafest has revamped its format in terms of bringing in more digital participation and bringing more marketers. It was my contention that the marketer who spends money in all the campaigns, is not given more recognition. It used to look more like an advertising fair earlier. I'm liking the fact that the content is extremely well and that's what pulls people like me to these fests. People from different streams have come to talk about marketing and advertising. It helps you look at different aspects of marketing and there are experts from different fields who you can learn from.