MUMBAI: The Advertising Club (TAC) and the Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI) jointly announced the first ever champions of excellence who would be felicitated at the Goafest on 7 April 2017.

The awards were conceived and curated by the AAAI and TAC for acknowledging and saluting visionary advertisers who have taken the leap of faith and invested resources, ensuring that “Great ideas transform into Great advertising”.

The jury consisting of senior members of the awards governing council of the Abby's at Goafest were unanimous in selecting NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant, Nestlé India Ltd South Asia Region Sr. VP & Head of Communications and E- Commerce Chandrasekhar Radhakrishna, Tata Global Beverages chairman Harish Bhat and Parle Agro JMD and CMO Nadia Chauhan, GCMMF Ltd (Amul) managing director R.S.Sodhi as the first ever recipients of this new and prestigious industry award for their role in inspiring great advertising.

AAAI presdient Nakul Chopra said "For the first time we are honoring advertisers at the Goafest. This award is very special as it acknowledges the pivotal role played by these men and women we call "clients" but who have acquired a much larger status in the overall brand scenario. These are the select few individuals who have helped build and nurture brands, supporting their Agency partners every step of the way.

The Advertising Club president Raj Nayak added "As an industry we need to salute these Brand Custodians who stake the reputation and money of their Brands on the creativity of their advertising agencies. They literally take that leap of faith every day. Having them at Goafest would be very inspirational for the audience.

Goafest chairman Ashish Bhasin said, "We always celebrated advertising agencies, digital companies, production houses and media companies at the Goafest. Now with top advertisers being honoured, the festival is more complete."

Awards' Governing Council chairman Ramesh Narayan said, "This award really places the advertiser at the center of the communication effort, and rightfully so. The response for nominations from advertising agencies was quite good and I am confident this would go on to become one of the highlights of the Goafest in the years ahead. What is advertising without the advertiser?"