Goafest 2014: What does Goafest hold for broadcasters, media planners?

afaqs! caught up with broadcasters and media agency representatives to know what brings them to Goafest.

Rahul Johri, EVP and GM, South Asia, Discovery Networks APAC and head of revenue, pan-regional ad sales and Southeast Asia

I'm an ad sales person this is home for me. I've been coming here for the past so many years. It's marked on my calendar; it's something I cannot miss. I believe as a television player we are very much a part of the advertising and media industry, so participating in Goafest is crucial for us. I must say more than anything this is a 'people's event' so one gets to interact with talented people and catch up with industry friends. It is good to see all television networks participating in the event. We must stay connected with the industry at large.

Pradeep Guha, MD, 9X Media

This is my third time at Goafest and every time I come here it gets bigger. It is unfortunate that this time some of the agencies are not participating but I hope that gets corrected in years to come. Goafest is a great platform to interact with the fraternity folks and unwind. I must say I'm particularly impressed with the Media awards. When I joined this profession many decades ago media used to be one corner of the agency. But now it is emerging as a mainstay of an advertising agency. The fact that a full-fledged evening has been dedicated for media awards shows that it has come full-circle and has acquired the centrestage.

Raj Nayak, CEO, Colors

Besides all the awards and sessions, I come to Goafest to party hard. It's one time of the year when I see all my friends in the industry in an environment where they let their hair down. It's a great thing. Colors supports most of the industry events as we believe in giving back to the industry. Having it indoors is more fun because people don't split up and everybody gets to meet everybody. They have added 'Broadcaster' as a category this year in Creative Abby Awards which I think is a step forward.

T Gangadhar, MD, MEC India

To me the most important thing is networking. At a more fundamental level, it's a great opportunity to be inspired by what the industry and the ecosystem is doing. Otherwise, in our daily lives we are so consumed in our work that we don't tend to see a bigger picture. When you come here, you get a sense of what advertising agencies are doing for publishers, they get to see what broadcasters are doing and vice-versa. It's a great way of sharing learnings of each other.