The third day of Goafest 2019 opened with high-power sessions that focused on three tenets of the advertising and marketing industry – creativity, innovation and empowerment.
Flagging off the day was the Keynote session by Ross Jauncey, Head of Create with Google. Highlighting the ability of creativity to transform, Ross Jauncey said: “We have never seen a more amazing time to be in world creativity. Today, we need creative minds who can march into the unknown.”
He relayed the audiences with various campaigns such as Kupu by Colenso BBDO in New Zealand which was developed to connect with consumers using an interactive app. The app helps people learn Te Reo Māori translations by exploring the objects around them. Jauncey further added: “Creative is a similar language across the world with ideas that are passionate and to that effect your values are just as important as your product.” He also shared a three-point checklist for brands: “Keep your ad relevant, don’t get complacent and focus on a big idea that will stand out.”
After this engaging session on creativity, next up were Knowledge Seminars presented by Lokmat. First amongst the two sessions was an engaging presentation by Navi Radjou and Jaideep Prabhu, Co-authors of Jugaad Innovation and Frugal Innovation who emphasized on India being a hub for frugal innovation and how 50% of contribution towards global Sustainable Development Goals will be by India. Navi Radjou started the session with highlighting how Jugaad Innovation is important to industries and what differentiates Jugaad marketers is that they are very resilient and inclusive. They shared with the audience campaigns by brands such as Levi’s and Ikea who are looking at circular and shared economies.
Radjou and Prabhu also shared the six principles of frugal innovation: engage and iterate; flex your assets; create sustainable solutions; shape customer behaviour; co-create value with prosumers; and make innovative friends.
To win a world championship once is no mean feat, but to win it six times is seldom heard of. A testament to resilience, humility and empowerment six times World Amateur Boxing Champion Mary Kom was the next speaker of the Knowledge Seminar. In conversation with sports journalist Boria Majumdar, Mary Kom opened up about her early life and her induction into boxing, the societal outlook towards women’s boxing, infrastructural challenges that she faced, etc. However, she spoke about how she kept at it without losing focus. Speaking of resilience and perseverance, Mary said: “Being a girl, it’s very difficult as women’s boxing is not introduced nationally as a sport. As a child I used to get inspired by action movies of Jackie Chan and Akshay Kumar and always believed that if men can then why can’t women?” Encouraging future boxers, Mary said: “A lot change has come in the boxing facilities since I started, and we have a lot more infrastructure today. But we are missing a champion. We need more athletes to take up boxing seriously.”
While every story Mary shared was inspirational, the highlight of her session was when she took up the mic and sang ‘What’s going on’, a surprise to the audience who cheered her beautiful rendition of the popular song.
A day that begins with such great stories of creativity, innovation and empowerment can only get better from here on.