MAM
Goafest 2013 to be ‘Just what you unexpected’
MUMBAI: Goafest 2013, the annual South Asian advertising festival, will be held on 5 and 6 April at the Zuri White Sands in Goa. The theme chosen for this year’s advertising festival is ‘Just What You Unexpected’.
The theme selection is based on the trend experienced last year. “In 2012, the trend was that consumer attention has become very fleeting. Since he uses multiple screens, there is also a phenomenon of over-exposure and thus creativity calls for doing the unexpected,” said Goafest Committee chairman Nakul Chopra.
Goafest was last year opened up for advertising fraternity from all countries in south Asia. This is for the sixth consecutive year the Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI) and The Advertising Club are coming together to deliver Abby Awards, described as the Oscars of the Indian advertising to honour creative excellence.
Abby’s will continue to be open to all who want to participate and membership of AAAI or The Advertising Club is not required.
In 2012, over 225 organisations sent their entries. This year the entries are expected to cross 250 and have invited entries from the first week of February. The Goafest organising committee will be approaching advertising agencies from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka for foreign entries.
This year too there will be a Grand Prix for all nine verticals including Film, Print, Radio, Out of Home, Ambient, Design, Interactive Digital, Direct and Integrated.
There will be a Grand Prix for Media as well. Media awards function will be held on 5 April, together with Digital, Design and Direct. The creative awards will given away on 6 April.
Chopra said Goafest 2013 will focus on strengthening the new initiatives that were launched in 2012. “Last year we opened Goafest to all nations in South Asia and we also brought strong client participation through the Marketing Wizards initiative. Our endeavour this year is to further expand and grow these initiatives, apart from of course celebrating creativity and excellence,” he said.
The Industry Conclave will be held on the day before Goafest on 4 April. According to the Goafest Committee, this year the conclave will focus only on speakers from client organisations to bring perspective to our industry.
“Goafest is the festival for all in South Asia who are involved in creating ideas. Be it other countries in this region, the marketing fraternity or other allied professionals who participate in creating ideas – we want them all to equally own and participate in Goafest. We are taking a virtual conference/road show to neighbouring South Asian countries to increase awareness for Goafest and invite active participation,” AAAI president Arvind Sharma said.
Goafest will continue to have strong participation from senior clients in the Knowledge seminars. “Clients are our equal partners in creating ideas – we naturally strive to have their equal participation in Goafest both as speakers and delegates – this year we aim to attract participation from over 75 client organisations and hopefully over 250 people,” Chopra said.
Shashi Sinha, president of The Advertising Club and chairman of the Abby Awards Governing Council, the joint body of AAAI and The Advertising Club, said the committee will take on board improvements from their past learnings and continue to follow the stringent, well accepted norms for the Abby’s in 2013.
A total of 3,167 delegates had participated in Goafest 2012.
Brands
Chinese Wok appoints Havas as integrated creative and media partner
Desi-Chinese chain bets on integrated creative and media muscle to power national expansion
MUMBAI: Chinese Wok is turning up the heat. India’s largest desi-Chinese qsr chain has appointed Havas Creative India and Arena Media as its integrated creative, social and digital media partner, sharpening its marketing firepower as it pushes past 260 outlets and eyes 500 stores across tier 1, 2 and 3 cities.
The mandate is sweeping. Havas Creative India and Arena Media, part of Havas Media Network India, will steer creative strategy, brand campaigns, social media, digital performance marketing and media planning and buying, orchestrating campaigns across atl, digital and in-store touchpoints. The brief: build a unified, platform-led brand system fit for national scale.
Founded in 2015 under Lenexis Foodworks, Chinese Wok has grown into the country’s largest Chinese qsr brand, with a footprint spanning more than 50 cities including Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru, Kolkata, Lucknow and Hyderabad. Now it wants more. Much more.
Aayush Madhusudan Agrawal, founder and director, Lenexis Foodworks, said the shift marks an investment in integrated brand building that matches the company’s growth ambitions. “As Chinese Wok scales nationally, we are investing in integrated brand building that matches our growth ambition. Havas will partner with us in shaping the next chapter of our journey, where creativity, culture and commerce work seamlessly together.”
The brand is doubling down on its youth-first positioning, amplifying cultural properties such as Wok FM and Crush Hour while building a broader content slate. The pivot away from campaign-led bursts to a continuous, platform-driven narrative signals a more systematised approach to brand equity.
Vikas Iyer, marketing head, Lenexis Foodworks, framed the move as essential to winning over Gen Z. “Chinese Wok has always been a culture-first brand, and as we deepen our connect with Gen Z, integration becomes critical. With Havas, we aim to create sharper campaigns, stronger digital ecosystems, and measurable impact, ensuring the brand stays relevant, visible, and performance-driven at scale”.
On the creative front, Anupama Ramaswamy, managing director and chief creative officer, Havas Creative India, described the brand as “pure fire, fast, flavourful and completely plugged into pop culture”. Her ambition: “to bottle that energy into a living brand platform that fuels everything, from big campaigns to cheeky social chatter to irresistible in-store experiences.” The goal, she added, is “stronger brand love, deeper youth obsession, and work that doesn’t just look good but moves business. More heat. More heart. More hunger”.
Uday Mohan, coo, Havas Media India and Havas Play, said integration is the real unlock. “By bringing together creative, media, and performance under one cohesive vision, we aim to build a brand ecosystem that is culturally sharp, digitally agile, and built for scale”.
Lenexis Foodworks also operates The Momo Co. and Big Bowl, but Chinese Wok remains its flagship and growth engine . As competition intensifies in India’s fast-food sector, scale alone is no longer enough. Cultural fluency, data-driven performance and seamless brand experiences are the new battleground.
Chinese Wok is betting that with Havas in its corner, it can serve up all three — fast, loud and at national scale.
