Highlights from engaging sessions at Goafest 2026.
Day two of Goafest 2026 continued with an exciting lineup of insightful conversations, keynote sessions, masterclasses, and celebrations of creative excellence, bringing together leaders from advertising, media, technology, entertainment, and sports.
The day opened with a high-impact panel titled AI Washing: The Truth About AI, presented by Mediakart, in association with The Times of India and Vijas Digital. The session featured Affle chief revenue officer Gulrez Alam; WPP & WPP Media creative technology lead Niraj Ruparel; and Network18 English and business news CEO Smriti Mehra. The discussion was moderated by Effie Lions Foundation board of directors member Shubhranshu Singh.
The conversation explored the growing discourse around artificial intelligence, examining the gap between adopting AI tools and becoming truly AI-first organisations, while discussing the evolving role of AI in creativity, automation, media transformation, audience engagement, and business efficiency.
Building further on the AI narrative, Google presented a keynote session titled There’s an Agent for That – Excelling in the AI Era, led by Google India director, marketing partners Satya Raghavan. The keynote explored the rise of intelligent AI agents, changing consumer behaviour, and the growing role of automation in marketing, advertising, and digital ecosystems.
The conversations then shifted towards storytelling, culture, and audience engagement with NDTV Presents The Hook: The Craft, The Culture, The Conversation. The session featured Aditya Birla Capital chief marketing officer Darshana Shah; NDTV CEO & editor in chief Rahul Kanwal; Havas India, SE Asia & North Asia group chief executive officer Rana Barua; Swiggy chief executive officer Rohit Kapoor; and Madison World chairman Sam Balsara. The session was moderated by NDTV Profit associate executive editor Alex Matthew. The discussion focused on evolving media consumption habits, shrinking attention spans, virality, cultural relevance, and the growing importance of real-time audience engagement in modern brand-building.
Adding an analytical perspective to the day, Comscore presented a keynote session titled AI, Audiences & Cross-Platform Clarity, led by Comscore Custom IQ executive vice president, analytics and managing director Smriti Sharma. The session focused on audience measurement, fragmented consumer journeys, AI-led discovery, and the growing need for transparency and connected data ecosystems in modern advertising.
Another major highlight of the morning was The Resets That Shaped Indian Advertising – And the One We’re Living Through Now, featuring McCann Group chief executive officer Dheeraj Sinha in conversation with BW Businessworld chairman and editor-in-chief and the Exchange4media group founder and editor-in-chief Annurag Batra. The session explored the future of advertising, agency transformation, AI-led disruption, storytelling, and the evolution of India’s marketing ecosystem.
The first half of Day two concluded with Saptharushi Presents The War On Data – Who Owns The Signal?, a discussion around consumer data, privacy, first-party data strategies, and digital ecosystems.
The panel featured Parle Products vice president Mayank Shah; Mondelez International consumer experience and global marketing director Anjali Madan; Indian Express Online CEO Sanjay Sindhwani; and The Coca-Cola Company consumer experiences director Saikat Sinha. The session was moderated by Saptharushi founding chief executive officer Gowthaman Ragothaman. Discussions focused on data ownership, consumer trust, evolving privacy regulations, and the growing importance of consent-led data ecosystems.
Day two also featured a series of engaging masterclasses that provided delegates with deeper insights into creativity, storytelling, media innovation, and consumer engagement.
LinkedIn presented a masterclass titled The Creator Playbook: How to build content, credibility and community on LinkedIn, led by managing editor (communities) Preethi Ramamoorthy and agency lead Benjamin Joy. The masterclass also featured a special guest speaker, GrowthX co-founder and chief revenue officer Abhishek Patil.
The Asian Federation of Advertising Associations hosted a masterclass titled Algorithm of the heart, stories machines can’t tell led by Connecting the Dots Consultancy Malaysia founder and CEO, and Anecdote global partner Bharat Avalani, exploring the enduring power of human emotion and storytelling in an increasingly AI-driven world.
MediaKart conducted a masterclass on Creative That Connects: Leveraging Rich Media in the Right Context led by business head Shahad Anand. Mudra Institute of Communications Ahmedabad (MICA) hosted a thought-provoking session titled Mastering Content in an Attention Deficit Economy by School of Applied Creativity academics head Falguni Vasavada.
Adding another dimension to the discussions around consumer connection and brand relevance, Insight Chaser brand communication strategist Shaziya Khan (author), led a session titled Small Is The New Big: The Connection Brands Are Missing.
The lunch on Day two was presented by Vijayavani. The second half of the day featured the engaging session titled TV Is Dead. Long Live TV, presented in association with Think Results & B Natural, which explored the evolving role of television in today’s fragmented media ecosystem. Industry leaders discussed how television continues to remain relevant through cross-platform storytelling, audience engagement, and integrated media strategies in an increasingly digital-first environment.
The panel featured Sony Pictures Networks India head linear ad sales Akshay Agrawal; Dabur India vice president media and marketing activations Rajiv Dubey; Ajio chief marketing officer Arpan Biswas; and IBDF secretary general Avinash Pandey. The discussion was moderated by NDTV profit managing editor Tamanna Inamdar.
Adding to the conversations around evolving consumer engagement, Spotify advertising presented a keynote, Make Some Noise: Why Your Next Big Idea Should Be Sound-On, was discussed by Spotify creative lab JAPAC head Haran Ramachandaran where the growing importance of audio-led storytelling and immersive sound experiences in building stronger emotional audience connections was highlighted.
Amazon further explored the changing advertising landscape through its keynote on From Fragmentation to Integration: The Power of Full-Funnel Advertising, was discussed by Amazon Ads director Gulshan Verma focusing on integrated marketing ecosystems, shifting consumer behaviour, and data-driven audience engagement.
The festival also hosted the impactful session, IAA Voice of Change: Resetting the Narrative to Break the Bias, powered by Sun Neo & iAvatarZ Digital, which brought together leaders from across industries to discuss inclusivity, representation, and the role of advertising and media in shaping more conscious and equitable narratives. Speakers emphasised the importance of authentic storytelling, diverse representation, and culturally relevant communication in modern advertising.
The panel featured South Asia Leo CEO and Tac vice president Amitesh Rao; sports leader entrepreneur Preeti Jhangiani; MagicBricks chief marketing officer and business head Prasun Kumar; Britannia Industries general media manager Riya Joseph; and IHCL marketing and brands senior vice president Veetika Deoras. The discussion was moderated by strategic advisor and independent director Megha Tata.
India’s rapidly evolving sports ecosystem took centre stage with the session titled, New Games, New Gods: India’s Sporting Reset, in association with The Times of India and Bingo. The discussion explored the rise of emerging sports, growing fan communities, and the increasing popularity of new-age sporting leagues across the country. The session also featured interactive audience engagement activities, adding an energetic and immersive experience for attendees.
The conversation featured She Kicks founder and former Indian Women’s National Team captain Aditi Chauhan; Pro Panja League founder Parvinn Dabass; Indian Kabaddi player Rahul Chaudhari; and The Times Group company president Pickleball World rankings Sameer Pathak. The session was moderated by CNN News18 special projects and senior anchor managing editor Anand Narasimhan.
Simultaneously, the GoaFresh session on, Rewriting Intelligence: How AI is Resetting Brands, Creativity & Consumer Trust by Effie Lions Foundation member of the board of directors and Forbes most influential global chief marketing officer 2025 Shubranshu Singh, explored the growing influence of artificial intelligence on branding, creativity, consumer behaviour, and digital ecosystems. The session highlighted how AI-driven tools and evolving consumer discovery platforms are reshaping the future of marketing and communication.
Adding a powerful creative perspective to the day, Omnicom Advertising India chairman and Prasar Bharati chairman Padma Shri Prasoon Joshi spoke about the importance of authenticity, discipline, curiosity, and originality in storytelling and creativity. He encouraged young creators to embrace their individuality and create from lived experiences rather than imitation.
Whistling Woods International hosted a masterclass titled Reimagining Filmmaking in the World of Artificial Intelligence led by Whistling Woods vice president chief technology officer emerging media head and business head Chaitanya Chinchlikar.
Google conducted a masterclass titled Reset. Rethink. Reignite: How to Grow in the New Era of AI Search, featuring Google India head of search and shopping Neha Nupur and Google India performance specialist Radhika Mehta.
Lions / Warc presented a masterclass titled The Pace Principle: The Case for Growth for Indian Marketers – a Warc masterclass on growth, brand and performance in India. The session was led by global strategist Sujeet Kulkarni and India editor Biprorshee Das.
JioHotstar conducted a masterclass titled Infinite Stream, Reimagined with AI led by JioHotstar head of entertainment sales and digital Bhaskar Ramesh.
The evening concluded with one of the festival’s most anticipated highlights the Big FM presents Advertising Rocks Grand Finale, powered by ABP Network, Bae by ABP network initiative. The high-energy showcase celebrated musical talent from across the advertising and media industry, blending creativity, entertainment, and live performance on one stage.
The competition was judged by Bollywood singing diva Neeti Mohan; Omnicom Advertising India chairman and Prasar Bharati chairman Padma Shri Prasoon Joshi; Culture Connect India and The Music Academy Gurgaon founder and director Manta Sidhu; BBH India former CEO and ASCI former chairman Subhash Kamath; Music Mode director and Brand Musiq founding partner, director composer, pianist, and world leadership inspirational award-winning musician Merlin Dsouza
Winners of Advertising Rocks season four included Rahul Sarodi, Bodhisattwa Banerjee, Ruben Dsilva, and Monobina Bhattacharya.
The celebrations continued with the Abby Awards 2026 powered by The One Club | The One Show, recognising outstanding creative excellence from across the advertising, media, and marketing industry. Set India & Sony Sab presents the Abby One Show Awards, powered by Republic, in association with Mobavenue, honoured winners across categories including broadcaster, public relations, design, direct, and technology.
ShareChat | Moj presents Abby One Show Awards, powered by Republic, in association with Mobavenue, further celebrated exceptional work across digital and digital craft, young maverick Abby Award, health Abby, and sustainable development goals Abby categories, recognising some of the industry’s most innovative and impactful campaigns.
The gala dinner was presented by Lemma, followed by the after hours party with Lost Stories, presented by Spotify Advertising, bringing day two of Goafest 2026 to a vibrant close.
