MAM
Goafest 2026 unveils 13 masterclasses on AI and storytelling
Industry leaders and global platforms to decode marketing’s next big shift.
MUMBAI: If advertising once ran on catchy jingles and clever copy, 2026 wants it to think in prompts, platforms and algorithms. Goafest 2026 is preparing to turn the spotlight firmly on the future of marketing, media and advertising, unveiling a slate of 13 masterclasses designed around the industry’s rapidly shifting relationship with AI, creators, consumer behaviour and emerging storytelling formats. As agencies, brands and platforms race to adapt to a more fragmented and technology-driven attention economy, this year’s edition of South Asia’s biggest media and advertising festival is positioning learning not just networking at the centre of the conversation.
The masterclasses will bring together some of the industry’s most influential voices alongside academic institutions, global platforms and research bodies, in an attempt to bridge the widening gap between creative inspiration and practical implementation.
Institutions and organisations including LIONS WARC, MICA, the Asian Federation of Advertising Associations (AFAA), Market Research Society of India (MRSI) and Whistling Woods International are among those backing the initiative.
Technology and media platforms such as LinkedIn, Spotify Advertising, Google, JioHotstar and PrsmX by Mobavenue will also host sessions, alongside service and media partners including MediaKart and White Rivers Media.
The curriculum itself reflects where the industry’s anxieties and opportunities currently lie.
From AI-powered filmmaking and creator-led communities to platform storytelling, social culture, consumer psychology, omnichannel branding and audio-first creativity, the sessions are designed to give delegates direct access to practitioners navigating these shifts in real time.
The timing is hardly accidental.
Advertising and media businesses globally are undergoing one of their most significant structural shifts in decades, with AI beginning to reshape everything from campaign planning and audience targeting to content production and measurement. At the same time, creator ecosystems and platform-native storytelling are steadily redrawing the rules of brand engagement.
Against that backdrop, Goafest appears keen to position itself not merely as an awards and networking property, but as a future-facing learning platform for the industry.
By bringing academia, creators, strategists, storytellers, technologists and platforms under one roof, the festival is betting that the next big creative advantage may not come from louder campaigns but from learning faster than the market changes around you.
