MUMBAI: Day two of Goafest 2025 opened on a high note—literally—with Indian musician Raghav Sachar delivering a live performance titled Ignite Hungama, presented by Sharechat, Moj, and Truecaller. As the crowd swayed, the festival shifted gears into strategy mode with conversations that touched tech, gender, identity, creativity, and commerce.
The morning’s keynote panel, ‘From Code to Commerce: Growth in the AI Age’, brought together Arjun Choudhary (Swiggy), Sanket Prakash Tulangekar (MakeMyTrip), Tejas Apte (HUL), and Pragya Bijalwan (Voltas), moderated by journalist Anuradha SenGupta. Presented by Meta and Saptharushi under the Ignite Growth theme, the discussion centred on how generative AI is upending business operations, creativity and consumer journeys.
Choudhary described AI as “as fundamental as math”, citing how non-tech teams now use it for demos, dashboards and decision-making. Bijalwan called AI an enabler of “personalisation and predictive maintenance”, adding that it “humanises technology in consumer products”. Hul’s Apte showcased tools like Shikhar and internal GenAI platforms for R&D, while Tulangekar introduced Myra, Makemytrip’s AI-powered assistant built on multi-agent orchestration. Each panellist agreed: AI is a skill, not a threat—and reskilling is the need of the hour.
At the Gyaan Podium, Warc and Andersen Consulting India unveiled the Pace Principles report. Biprorshee Das and Sujeet Kulkarni called for a balanced media strategy: 50 per cent on long-term brand-building and 50 per cent on performance marketing. “It’s not ‘brand plus performance’, it’s ‘brand-time-performance’”, Kulkarni said. Das urged marketers to stop isolating equity work, calling the ‘multiply effect’ a winning integration model.
At the Makemytrip Presents AdAsia Macau Road Show, AFAA chairman Srinivasan Swamy confirmed the 39 edition of AdAsia will be held in Macau on 27 August. Swamy called for over 100 Indian delegates and assured attendees of familiar comforts: “Indian food and hospitality will be arranged”.
Back at the Knowledge Partner – ASCI panel, “Mardon Wali Baat: A Discussion on Masculinity in Advertising” brought together Karthi Marshan and Nisha Singhania, moderated by Manisha Kapoor. Singhania tore into the trope of men as ‘fixable’ through marriage. “India is changing, and so are its men”, she said. Marshan added, “Disruption grabs attention, and attention drives engagement—regardless of who you target”. The panel called for a more honest portrayal of modern masculinity.
Under the Ignite The Shift banner, the panel “Merging Boundaries: From Placement to Partnership”, powered by Hindustan Times and Amar Ujala, featured Satya Raghavan (Google), Rathi Gangappa (Starcom), Ajit Varghese (JioStar), and Shubhranshu Singh (Tata CVs). Moderator Kartik Sharma led the conversation through themes of integration, consumer insight, and operational scalability. Gangappa summed it up: “It’s no longer about placements; it’s about building cohesive narratives”.
Another panel, “Beyond Pink and Blue”, presented by IAA, featured Darshana Shah (Aditya Birla Capital), Rubeena Singh (Neil Patel Digital), and P.G. Aditiya (Talented), moderated by Megha Tata. Shah called out early-life bias and systemic exclusion. Singh championed gen z’s gender-fluid mindset and called for progressive narratives. Aditiya urged leaders to act from belief, not tokenism. “Don’t just fix the old”, he said. “Build new stories with inclusion at the core”.
Goafest also took a green turn with a tree plantation ceremony hosted in collaboration with Earthday.org. Attended by industry veterans including Sam Balsara, Anupriya Acharya and Raj Nayak, the initiative underscored a collective commitment to sustainability.
Meanwhile, at the Bioscope – Cinema Room, Ashish Khazanchi (Enormous) reminded creatives that “self-expression, not awards”, should drive campaigns. The first half of day two also featured a host of masterclasses, offering deep dives into AI, storytelling and strategic branding.
Lunch was presented by Sync Media.
