Day 2 of Goafest 2025 opened on an energetic note with a soulful musical performance titled ‘Ignite Hungama’ by renowned Indian singer and composer Raghav Sachar. Presented by ShareChat, Moj and Truecaller, the performance set a vibrant tone for a day packed with insights, innovation and engaging dialogue across the advertising and marketing spectrum.

The morning sessions began with a powerful panel discussion on ‘From Code to Commerce: Growth in the AI Age’, presented by Meta in association with Saptharushi under the theme ‘Ignite Growth’, the company said in a press release.

The session brought together industry leaders including Arjun Choudhary, Vice President at Swiggy; Sanket Prakash Tulangekar, Director at MakeMyTrip; Tejas Apte, Head of Media and Digital Marketing at Hindustan Unilever Ltd (HUL); and Pragya Bijalwan, CMO at Voltas Limited. The discussion, moderated by independent journalist Anuradha SenGupta, focused on how generative AI is transforming business operations and consumer engagement.

Panelists credited tools like ChatGPT for mainstreaming generative AI, while highlighting how tech giants are reorganizing around its capabilities. Pragya Bijalwan underscored AI’s growing role in personalizing consumer experience in HVAC systems, calling it “an evolution, not a threat” and advocated for reskilling rather than fearing job loss. Tejas Apte shared examples from HUL’s ecosystem—from smart factories and the Shikhar app to internal GenAI tools powering rapid creative testing. Sanket Tulangekar showcased MakeMyTrip’s AI assistant Myra, emphasizing the need for moderation and red-teaming to ensure content reliability. Swiggy’s Arjun Choudhary noted that AI today is “as fundamental as math,” and detailed how non-tech teams at Swiggy are using AI for demos, PRDs, and campaign insights.

At the Gyaan Podium, Knowledge Partner WARC unveiled its ‘Pace Principles’ report in partnership with The ADAN and Andersen Consulting. Led by Biprorshee Das and Sujeet Kulkarni, the session emphasized balancing long-term brand-building with short-term performance marketing. Sujeet argued against separating brand and performance metrics, calling for time-integrated marketing strategies. Das added that campaigns in Asia which maintain a 50-50 split between branding and conversion perform best, urging marketers to avoid siloed efforts.

A key announcement came at the MakemyTrip Presents AdAsia Macau Road Show, where Srinivasan K Swamy, Chairman of the Asian Federation of Advertising Associations (AFAA), revealed that AdAsia 2025 will take place in Asia Macau dates are Oct 27-29. Swamy expressed excitement about bringing over 30 global leaders to the stage and encouraged Indian delegates to participate in what he described as a vibrant global showcase.

Cultural narratives took the spotlight in a compelling panel titled ‘Mardon Wali Baat: A Discussion on Masculinity in Advertising’, presented by ASCI. Moderated by ASCI CEO Manisha Kapoor, the panel included Karthi Marshan and Nisha Singhania, who challenged dated portrayals of masculinity. Nisha emphasized emotional complexity over physicality and urged brands to shift away from reductive tropes. Marshan argued against the masculinity vs. feminism binary and called for disruption-driven storytelling, noting that “viewers are often more progressive than advertisers assume.”

Another high-energy panel titled ‘Merging Boundaries: From Placement to Partnership’, powered by Hindustan Times and Amar Ujala, featured voices from Google India, Starcom, JioStar and Tata Commercial Vehicles. The discussion emphasized the evolving role of agencies as orchestrators of holistic brand storytelling. Panelists urged marketers to move beyond short-term metrics and adopt a more collaborative, insight-driven approach to content creation.

The session ‘Beyond Pink and Blue – Gender Conscious Creativity in the Dynamic Landscape’, presented by IAA, urged the industry to reimagine storytelling through a gender-inclusive lens. Moderated by Megha Tata, the panel featuring Darshana Shah, Rubeena Singh, and P.G. Aditiya advocated for inclusive leadership, gender neutrality and addressing unconscious bias. The panel collectively called for deeper introspection and broader representation in advertising narratives.

A symbolic Tree Plantation Ceremony, conducted in partnership with Earthday.org, reinforced the industry’s commitment to sustainability. Prominent leaders like Sam Balsara, Ramesh Narayan, Shashi Sinha, and Anupriya Acharya were present at the initiative.

At the Bioscope – Cinema Room, Ashish Khazanchi, Managing Partner at Enormous, reminded creatives that the heart of advertising lies in authenticity. He called for immediacy and clarity in storytelling rather than chasing awards. The morning concluded with interactive masterclasses that explored creative trends and strategies in depth.

Lunch on Day 2 was hosted by SYNC Media, keeping the momentum going before the second half of sessions resumed.
To explore the full event schedule, visit goafest.com/goafest2025/event-schedule.php.