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
Wipro hires 7,500 freshers, withholds FY27 hiring outlook
Profit rises to Rs 3,522 crore, Rs 15,000 crore buyback announced.
MUMBAI- Hiring may be on, but visibility is off, Wipro is adding talent even as it pauses the crystal ball. The company hired 7,500 freshers in FY26 but stopped short of offering any hiring outlook for FY27, underscoring the uncertainty gripping the IT services sector as it pivots towards an AI-led operating model.
The disclosure came alongside its fourth-quarter earnings, where management flagged volatile demand conditions and refrained from committing to future workforce expansion. Chief human resources officer Saurabh Govil noted that over 3,000 of the total hires were onboarded in the March quarter alone, signalling continued intake despite a lack of clarity on deployment pipelines.
This divergence active hiring without forward guidance reflects a broader industry pattern where talent acquisition continues even as deal conversions remain uneven and client spending cycles stretch. Wipro expects its IT services revenue for the June quarter to range between a decline of 2 per cent and flat growth sequentially in constant currency terms, reinforcing near-term caution.
Chief executive officer Srini Pallia pointed to artificial intelligence as both a disruptor and an opportunity. He said evolving client priorities are pushing the company towards outcome-driven engagements, with Wipro increasingly focusing on a services-as-software model through its AI Native Business and Platforms unit. The shift marks a structural change from traditional headcount-led growth to AI-enabled delivery frameworks.
The company has already committed over $1 billion to its AI ecosystem, with investors closely watching how these investments translate into revenue. For now, the numbers present a mixed picture. Net profit rose sequentially to Rs 3,522 crore, while revenue grew 3 per cent to Rs 24,236 crore. However, core IT services performance remained under pressure, with full-year revenue declining 0.3 per cent in dollar terms and 1.6 per cent in constant currency.
Large deal bookings offered a counterpoint, rising 45.4 per cent year-on-year to $7.8 billion, highlighting a widening gap between deal wins and actual revenue realisation. On a quarterly basis, IT services revenue slipped 1.2 per cent sequentially, signalling continued softness in execution.
Margins, however, told a more optimistic story. Operating margins expanded to 17.3 per cent in the fourth quarter, up from 14.8 per cent in the previous quarter, reflecting improved cost discipline. That said, the company cautioned that upcoming wage hikes and the ramp-up of large deals could exert pressure going forward.
Attrition stood at 13.8 per cent in the March quarter, indicating stabilisation after periods of elevated churn. Alongside its earnings, Wipro also announced a Rs 15,000 crore share buyback, reinforcing its focus on shareholder returns, with a payout ratio of 88 per cent over the past three years.
Taken together, the numbers capture a company in transition investing in AI, maintaining hiring momentum, but navigating a demand environment where growth is uneven and visibility remains limited.
