On day one of Goafest 2025, Rishad Tobaccowala, author and senior advisor, Publicis Groupe discussed how brands are staying relevant in the age of machines.

The fireside chat was moderated by Anupriya Acharya, chief executive officer, Publicis Groupe, South Asia. 

Tobaccowala opened the discussion by recommending what agencies and clients can do in the AI-led world.

He voiced, “Agencies should recognise that the opportunities in this new world are absolutely amazing in the ability to tell stories in new ways. We should rethink our businesses versus just doing the same thing.”

On the client side, he added, “For clients, one of the most important things is that they need to reimagine their businesses. Too many companies are saying we use AI to make the current model more efficient and effective. One eventually has to do that, but every company and competitor will have exactly the same tools, and it is going to equally make their models more efficient and effective. Marketers must reimagine their business, not just make it more efficient.”

Stressing on how companies should follow a dual-mode approach - run today’s business and invest in tomorrow’s, he observed, “In most companies, we put people who don’t know what to do with today, in charge of tomorrow. Thinking about their business today, one doesn’t think about tomorrow. That’s like spending all one’s money watering their grandfather’s grave versus feeding your children.”

Tobaccowala then divulged the conversation on how companies can manage the overwhelm and burnout from constant change.

“While change sucks, irrelevance is even worse. That’s the real choice. With that being said, once we understand that change is difficult, most companies I feel, do not get the change right. To make it happen with people, one should ensure that it provides them with a reason why it’s good for them,” he said. 

Highlighting the importance of leadership over authority, Tobaccowala noted, “I believe we have entered the age of 'debossification', but nobody told the bosses. Nobody wants bosses anymore. They are looking for leaders. Bosses spend most of their time monitoring, allocating, delegating, and checking in, and they work out of the zone of control. But leaders work from a zone of influence. They inspire and create."

On a concluding note, he talked about the importance of AI and underlined how crucial India as a market is on a global level.

He said, "The top three popular AI applications right now are in relationships, purpose and self-growth. In a very strange way, AI is actually allowing us to become more human by both connecting to other people and providing us with a lot of learning. Most people underestimate how powerful and amazing India is. A few years ago, when I had my job, I convinced my company that the future is gone from France and Europe to China, India and America."