MAM
Goafest Creative Abby jury chairs announced for Integrated, OOH/Ambient, Branded Content and Public Relations
MUMBAI The Awards Governing Council of Goafest 2016 has declared the jury chairs for Integrated, OOH/Ambient, Branded Content and Public Relations. DDB Mudra chairman and CCO Sonal Dabral will chair the OOH/Ambient Jury of Creative Abby, J. Walter Thompson CCO Senthil Kumar will chair the integrated category. Reliance Broadcast Network CEO Tarunl Katial will be jury chair for the branded content category while Madison PR CEO Paresh Chaudhury will chair the Public Relations category.
Dabral has over two decades of experience in advertising industry and has curated many winning campaigns for major local, regional and multinational brands. He began his career in Lintas and after a brief stint in Mudra Delhi, went on to have an extremely successful stint at Ogilvy Mumbai. He then went on to head Ogilvy in Malaysia and make it one of the top creative offices in the region. Thereafter, as the chairman and ECD of Ogilvy Singapore, he helped the agency become the hottest agency in the region and the no.1 creative office of the WPP global network. In 2007 he led the agency for it to become the third highest awarded agency in the world at Cannes Lions. He is a prolific winner in most of the regional and international award shows like Cannes, Clio, D & AD, One Show, LIA, Andy Awards, AdFest, Spikes etc,
Kumar has been celebrated in India and recognized globally for the ability to amplify deep local insights into simple ideas that solve complicated marketing challenges. He has won India’s first and second Film Gold Lions at The Cannes Lions International Festival in 2009. His ideas have helped build several brands in India including: Levi’s, Nike, Google, Ford, etc. Kumar can be spotted in several creative books under the classifications of writer, creative director, designer, photographer and film maker. His work has risen beyond successful marketing case studies to mine over 100 international creative awards.
Katial is at the helm of one of India’s youngest media houses and is considered to be one of the most successful executives in the Indian media industry. A stint in adverting followed by over a decade of experience in broadcast with brands like Star and Sony and now Reliance Broadcast, Katial has successfully led high decibel launches of industry tent poles and has always been able to rightly tap the consumer’s pulse. Other significant achievements in Katial’s cap include being voted the NewsCorp Achiever for Asia and being included among the best in the ‘India Today 30 on 30’ list. He was also part of the team that won the first Media Gold at Cannes.
Chaudhry has over 24 years of brand communication and reputation management experience across industries and key global markets and is also founder president of the “Indian Forum Of Corporate Communicators” (IFCC). Chaudhry’s last assignment was as group president -corporate communications, Reliance Industries, prior to which he was head of communications at HUL and communications leader, Unilever South Asia. From building the corporate brand of Ranbaxy in North America, Europe and India, to aligning regional communication country teams to bring alive ‘the transition to one Unilever brand’ and driving the corporate name change from “HLL” to “HUL”, to putting together systems and processes for effective global (internal and external) communications at RIL, Chaudhry has led communications for many iconic and tentpole campaigns in India.
Brands
Meta Q1 profit jumps 61 per cent as revenue climbs to $56.3 billion
Ad growth and AI momentum drive strong quarter with steady margins
CALIFORNIA: Meta Platforms, Inc. posted a robust performance for the first quarter ended March 31, 2026, with net income surging 61 per cent year-on-year to $26.77 billion, driven by strong advertising demand and continued user growth across its platforms.
Revenue rose 33 per cent to $56.31 billion, compared to $42.31 billion in the same quarter last year. On a constant currency basis, revenue increased 29 per cent. Operating income grew 30 per cent to $22.87 billion, while operating margin remained steady at 41 per cent.
Diluted earnings per share jumped 62 per cent to $10.44 from $6.43 a year ago. The results included a $8.03 billion income tax benefit, without which earnings would have been lower.
Meta Platforms, Inc. founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg said, “We had a milestone quarter with strong momentum across our apps and the release of our first model from Meta Superintelligence Labs. We’re on track to deliver personal superintelligence to billions of people.”
Daily active users across Meta’s family of apps reached 3.56 billion in March 2026, up 4 per cent year-on-year. Advertising remained the primary growth driver, with ad impressions increasing 19 per cent and average price per ad rising 12 per cent.
Total costs and expenses climbed 35 per cent to $33.44 billion, reflecting higher investments in artificial intelligence and infrastructure. Capital expenditure stood at $19.84 billion during the quarter.
Cash flow from operating activities was $32.23 billion, while free cash flow came in at $12.39 billion. The company reported $81.18 billion in cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities as of March 31, 2026.
Looking ahead, Meta expects second quarter revenue to range between $58 billion and $61 billion, with foreign exchange expected to provide a 2 per cent tailwind. Full-year expenses are projected between $162 billion and $169 billion, while capital expenditure guidance has been raised to $125 billion to $145 billion.
With strong ad momentum and continued investment in AI, Meta is maintaining its growth trajectory while preparing for the next phase of digital innovation.
