Ignite was the theme of Goafest2025 — it was all about sparking conversations that matter and fuelling transformational ideas. Back in Goa after a brief experiment in Mumbai last year, the sun and sand were woefully missing as it rained thunderously, but the informal, happy vibe remained the same as 2,000-plus ad, media and marketing industry professionals mingled, networked and discussed their future. But the joy was tempered as many expressed dismay at the recent reorganisation by WPP of its creative agencies, placing Grey under Ogilvy, and concern that yet another storied agency brand may vanish.

Across the masterclasses, fireside chats, and snatches of conversations during networking dinners, the recurring thread was the changing role of the agency, the imperative to decode the new consumer, especially Gen Z, and holding audiences in an attention-deficit economy.

The doom loop

The opening keynote by Rishad Tobaccowala, Senior Advisor to Publicis Groupe, set the ball rolling. It was full of dire warnings of what the AI era would bring — how it would make both knowledge and experiences free, leaving agencies with no choice but to reinvent. “In times of rapid change, scale can become a liability,” Tobaccowala warned. He said, “Agencies must embrace AI to rethink storytelling and business models. Marketers should stop chasing efficiency and start reimagining their business from the ground up.”

If the AI challenge was talked about a lot, so were the new types of work coming the way of agencies, on which the ad folk seemed quite polarised. During a panel discussion on creative leadership, Sonal Dabral, former NCD of Ogilvy, pointed out how today’s chief creative officer was competing with the transformation officer as agencies chased all sorts of work in the quest for growth. “If you’re not in an agency where the CCO is central, you’re in the wrong one,” declared Bobby Pawar, former CCO of Havas.

A marketing effectiveness presentation, titled ‘The Pace Principle’, from WARC put the spotlight on the increasing preference of brands for performance marketing rather than brand building. Based on a study of 115 campaigns across Southeast Asia, China and India, it warned against the advertising doom loop — an over-reliance on short-term tactics. It offered a new playbook using a two-speed approach — a sprint tactic for short-term wins and a marathon mindset for long-term brand building, emphasising the need to embrace both brand building and performance marketing.

Go full funnel

Later, when one caught up with Dheeraj Sinha, Group CEO-India and South Asia of FCB, he gave a pragmatic perspective on the issue. “Advertising is a commercial art. We have a certain business objective to meet and the agencies are accountable for a certain outcome for their clients. We are responsible for engineering the whole funnel which is at our command,” he said.

To illustrate, he cited FCB’s work for Hero Motocorp, which took the full-funnel approach. There was the top-of-the-funnel work building awareness about a ‘Shubh Muhurat’ festive offer, mid-funnel work to drive consideration for the offer, and a bottom-of-the-funnel AI feature to guide consumers through their purchase.

Sinha also pointed out that at different times, different tactics work. “If you are a start-up, then until you get your first 10 million customers, it is stupid to do brand building. You should opt for performance marketing. But the next 10 million is harder to get — that’s when brand building is appropriate. And as you begin to build the brand, the cost of performance marketing goes down. The whole funnel is interconnected.”

Era of self-love

Although the fireside chat with actor Kareena Kapoor was a wasted opportunity, meandering into relationship talk instead of advertising and marketing, it yielded one big insight, as captured in the topic name itself — ‘Mein Apni Favourite Hoon: Not Just a Line. A Mindset’. The actor, who has made her dialogue in the film Jab We Met her own belief system, pointed out, “Self-love is not just a phrase — it’s the foundation of everything. When you love yourself, you can give love to others.” Authenticity is the other value she swears by.

Significantly, both these qualities are valued by Gen Z, as a session on them highlighted. Amarjit Singh Batra, MD, Spotify India, said, “They value authenticity and dislike sugar-coating. They’re open to new experiences and receptive to change. As employees, they have very different expectations — wellness and mental health are major priorities for them.”

Geetika Mehta, MD of Nivea India, concurred: “Gen Z is not distracted — they’re discerning. Their radar for inauthenticity is razor-sharp.” Taking it further, Vikram Mehra, MD of Saregama, said, “Celebrity endorsements don’t cut it any more — it’s the micro-influencer with shared values who wins the attention of Gen Z.”

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Published on June 1, 2025