Goafest 2026 is scheduled to be held between 20-22 May. The major shift at this year’s festival is about bringing in more marketers into the event, both as speakers and attendees.

In conversation with Manifest, Jaideep Gandhi, vice president, AAAI, and chairperson, Goafest 2026 organising committee, explained the thinking behind this shift.

“While we were planning the overall theme for the festival, we saw what was actually required. The idea was to grow. Our simple thought was that if clients grow, we grow. We wanted to use Goafest as a platform which enables discussions, solutions, sharing of problems and challenges, along with the clients. The idea was not to have only agencies on the stage and in the audience. It’s an inclusive, collective effort to see how the client’s business can grow with the agencies.”

Mohit Joshi, co-chair, Goafest 2026 organising committee, CEO, Havas Media Network India, added, “The theme itself was ‘Reset for Growth’, so the idea was to reset some aspects of the festival. Since all of us are working towards brand building and the business of brands, we should have brand custodians also in the room. We had them in the past, too, but the numbers weren’t high. So we have ensured higher numbers as we attempt to understand how they are resetting their businesses in the current chaotic environment and create a charter on how the industry needs to reset and change its course to take into account challenges like AI, geopolitical issues, or anything else. We want guidance towards business growth, and that’s the objective.”

Adding to Joshi’s points about the shift in the business landscape, Srinivasan K Swamy, executive group chairperson, RK Swamy, president, Advertising Agencies Association of India, said, “There is a serious shift that has taken place in the last two years in the business environment. Business growth has been a challenge. Companies across industries are seeing costs going through the roof. Profitability is a challenge and it’s critical to get businesses to grow. Unless they get back into double-digit growth, keeping in mind cost inflations, it’s going to be very difficult to manage their numbers. So, the effort is to get a bunch of people to talk about these issues.”

The trio also emphatically stated that the number of young marketers registered to attend the event have increased drastically,  and that they expect the overall attendance to be higher than last year.

“We are also seeing participation from tier two and three cities this year. We are seeing members of other ad clubs and associations also already registered for the event,” stated Gandhi.

One other noticeable shift was the schedule being revealed almost two weeks before the event – a change from previous editions when the speakers and panels were announced closer to the festival.

“We made a conscious effort and knew it was a big pain point. We wanted the schedule to be confirmed and announced at least two weeks in advance, and we were successful to some extent,” said Joshi.

Gandhi added, “Delegates get clarity as to what they are attending the festival for. Our masterclasses and sessions are packed, and there’s more demand for the former now.”

Younger audiences

Gandhi stated that AAAI’s aim this year was to get more institutions conducting masterclasses.

“This is another way to grow the festival in terms of participation. This year, we have the likes of MICA and Whistling Woods at the festival. Google and LinkedIn are also hosting masterclasses because skill development is an important agenda of Goafest and AAAI. After Goafest too, we’ll continue with this,” said Gandhi.

Joshi added, “We continue with GoaFresh in the skill development domain. It was started last year, and we continue with that as we aim to attract fresh and good talent into the industry. As industry leaders, it’s our responsibility to bring in more talent and to add to what Jaideep mentioned, we have IIM Ahmedabad, IIM Kolkata, IIM Kozhikode, and Symbiosis also at the festival.”

Industry reset

With the industry seeing several layoffs due to consolidations, among other reasons, there’s a section of the youth at agencies that are nervous about their roles.

The festival aims to address those with conversations featuring industry leaders, stated Gandhi.

“On day three, we have topics around this subject and have key stakeholders coming on one platform to discuss these issues,” he said.

Sponsorship

Swamy stated that industry support for the festival through sponsorship has been ‘pretty good’ and is gaining numbers.

He revealed that the event has more than 40 sponsors and partners coming from a wide variety of industries.

“We have agencies, brands, broadcasters, print media, and technology companies that are sponsoring the event,” shared Swamy.

The event will start on 20 May with a tribute to Piyush Pandey and Alok Nanda, who passed away in October 2025 and September 2025, respectively.