Goafest 2014: The Abby jury speaks on the quality of work

afaqs! quizzed a few jurors on the overall quality of this year's entries and asked them about the identifiable pain points.

Simran Hoon, national sales head, Colors and jury member, Broadcaster category

We have received a good number of entries from television networks in the newly introduced 'Broadcaster' category. I'm sure the quantity as well as the quality of the entries will become better as the award becomes bigger with each passing year. The selection process was quite tough. We received 99 entries, of which 55 were chosen. Then, we selected three big gold, silver and bronze winners. I believe once awareness about this award category spreads, we will have more entries coming in - directed to the right category. Which category stood out in terms of outstanding work? For me was 'Multimedia'.

N Parthasarthy, assistant vice-president, Kasturi & Sons and jury member, Publishing category

I think the quality of the entries was mixed. There was some exceptional as well as mediocre work. I appreciate the fact that Goafest decided to have a category for publishers because a publisher is the final communication touch point as far as the work created by agencies and clients goes. Therefore introduction and recognition of the Publisher Abby gives tremendous amount of value to communication per se. After all, around 45 per cent of the total advertising budget goes to print; it's bigger than television! Since this award is in its first year it has to evolve and get refined in terms of understanding of the category. But I must add that publishers have taken a lot of effort for this category in its maiden year. Which category stood out this year? For me it is 'Digital' because it is measurable.

Agnello Dias, chairman & CCO, Taproot India and jury chairperson, Film category

The quality of winning entries were the same as every year but the quantity of quality entries was obviously down. So yes, there was a drop in numbers for sure. In terms of pain points, there are a few things regarding the mandate given to KPMG and how they are supposed to execute it but that is a discussion I would reserve for now. I haven't really seen all the work across categories so it will not be fair to name a particular category.

Vikas Khanchandani, director, Aidem Ventures and jury member, Broadcaster category

I felt the participation in the Broadcast category was restrictive as I didn't see many regional entries. It was mainly the big players like Star, Sony, Colors and Zee that sent their entries. I think overall it's a great initiative and gives opportunities to creative guys and broadcasters to be a little more innovative with their promos. I am looking forward to more participation next year with more number of entries to judge. The awards were organised very well. KPMG gave us all the information that was needed. Bipin (Pandit) was there to facilitate the whole process.