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At Goafest 2025, India’s most sensible company leaders unfolded in regards to the forces reshaping the rustic’s promoting trade – from AI disruption to community consolidation and a generational inventive shift. Amit Bapna stories from the bottom.
Goafest, the biggest annual amassing of promoting pros in India, lately concluded its newest version in Goa, the rustic’s seashore capital. Organized through the Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI) and The Advertising Club (TAC), the three-day competition introduced in combination greater than 2,000 promoting and advertising and marketing pros from around the nation.
Several key topics ruled the development. Although the continued wave of community consolidations surfaced most commonly in muted conversations, reliable discussions have been in large part taken over through one dominant matter: the rising affect of man-made intelligence at the promoting and advertising and marketing panorama.
AI is now arguably probably the most prolific pressure shaping the trade. Speaking on the inaugural consultation, Rishad Tobaccowala, creator and senior marketing consultant to Publicis Groupe, remarked: “AI will be like electricity – essential but not a differentiator – and true advantage will come from HI (human ingenuity).” He known as for an improve to our “mental operating system”, simply as we frequently replace our telephones. “The future,” he famous, “does not fit in the containers of the past.”
The Drum spoke to a bunch of promoting leaders at the sidelines of Goafest to higher perceive what lies forward as companies grapple with technological disruption and structural transformation.
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Jitender Dabas, CEO, Cheil X (a part of Cheil SWA)
“These are defining times for the advertising industry as we’ve known it, and for agencies as we’ve known them.
“Whenever technology collides with the core of any industry, it leads to seismic shifts in economics – and therefore structures. What’s in store for Indian advertising isn’t very different from what’s happening globally. There will be a power shift on the other side of the AI-led disruption. If knowledge and craft become free, then what will we charge for? That’s something we need to ponder.
“The consolidation moves are, at best, protective – geared more to please shareholders than to transform the industry.
“One thing is certain – agencies still defining their value at the top end of the funnel will have to make way for those with ecosystems that partner clients throughout the journey. That’s where clients are seeing more value now. Meanwhile, platforms and publishers continue to command both power and revenue.
“My thought: by the next Goafest, things could look very different.”
Rana Barua, crew CEO, Havas India, South East & North Asia (Japan & South Korea)
“The festival closed with a powerful reminder of India’s momentum: the news that we are now the fourth-largest economy in the world. The action is here. The ambition is here. And most importantly, the future is being shaped here.
“From a top-down view, what lies ahead for Indian advertising is not just growth, but leadership. I genuinely believe that Indian advertising is heading for the most defining decade, as we will be building the brands that will take India forward.”
Raj Kamble, founder and CCO, Famous Innovations
“For many, when they go to bed, they work for one agency. When they wake up, they work for another. And they find out in the news. That’s the scary reality of network consolidation – not just today but for decades.
“Indian advertising is entering a decisive transition. The top-down view reveals a dual pressure: network consolidation is shrinking the playground for creative autonomy, while AI is rapidly redrawing the lines of production and ideation.
“There’s a huge recession predicted in the US, but people are not talking about it. In New York, for example, they are allowing weed stores on every corner to generate income for the city. The crime rate is so high that today, if you’re dealing with a theft of less than 1,000 USD, you can’t even file a police complaint. AI is a strong reason for this reality and for network consolidation. It hasn’t hit India in its full force yet.
“The sun will set on the old school of advertising amidst this reinvention, and the next big AI and tech-friendly generation will take over the advertising agency.
“There are 600 million people under 35 in India, and they’re not choosing the traditional arts, commerce, or science. They are going towards creativity, tech and new media. So that wave will hit our industry soon. India just has to wait a few years.
“I always believed in human intelligence and laughed at the word ‘artificial’ intelligence, but today AI is having me eat my words.”
Ashish Khazanchi, managing spouse, Enormous
“After three days of sharp conversations, rain-soaked nostalgia and flashes of future-facing thinking, one walks away sensing that Indian advertising is at an inflection point.
“The consolidation at the network level feels less like a threat and more like a clearing of the playing field – making space for sharper, faster, more entrepreneurial creative engines.
“At the same time, AI is no longer just a buzzword; it’s a co-creator, pushing us to rethink the very craft of storytelling. But the core remains unchanged – our ability to connect emotionally, culturally and meaningfully. The ones who will win are those who marry tech with simple human truths, scale with soul, and a deep understanding of the Indian heartbeat.”
Dheeraj Sinha, crew CEO – India and South Asia, FCB (a part of IPG)
“This year’s Goafest was more about the spirit of returning to Goa to celebrate the industry and the work. It reminded us that beyond the awards, this festival is about the industry coming together. Each element – from knowledge sessions and masterclasses to networking and celebrations – shapes the industry’s collective energy.
“Notable sessions included Rishad Tobaccowala’s talk on staying relevant in an age of machines, and a fireside chat with Luke Coutinho on holistic nutrition and well-being. Over the last few years, we’ve consciously expanded the agenda to include sessions catering to personal and professional development.
“Masterclasses led by D&AD, Google and Meta brought practical skills and future-facing thinking to the fore. Together, these moments reaffirmed Goafest’s role as a space for reflection, learning and collective growth.
“AI is becoming integral to our day-to-day workflows – powering everything from storyboarding and task management to content creation, personalisation, targeting, ad delivery optimisation and performance analysis. It frees us from the mundane and sharpens our focus on creativity and strategic outcomes.
“The future will demand more agile, collaborative and outcome-driven workflows. We shall witness greater investment in talent that can bridge technology and creativity, and a growing appetite for ideas that win awards and solve real problems.”
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Amitesh Rao, CEO – South Asia, Leo (Publicis Groupe)
“Goafest 2025 turned out to be a strong marker of a healthy advertising industry in India, in more ways than one. It was good to see nearly all key agencies participate, and in fact to see more agencies – both network agencies and independents – do better than in past editions.
“Both the quality and quantity of entries were better than before, and the fact that a wide body of work across brands did well was an excellent sign.
“More importantly, the formal and informal conversations across Goafest were dominated by the transformation that the industry is going through – not just in terms of consolidations, but in terms of capabilities, talent, technologies and business models. These are signs of an industry that is walking the talk – something that is very welcome.”
