If one was wondering where does the tension between in-house advertising outfits of brands and external agencies leave creativity, Day 3 at Goafest 2026 had some answers.
Raj Kamble, founder & CCO, Famous Innovations, said, “The biggest difference between agencies and in-house teams is culture. Agencies bring outside perspective, debate, challenge and creative friction, while many brands build in-house teams for cost efficiency and tighter control.” Creative excellence thrives when brands and agencies work as true partners, and strong agency culture encourages disagreement, experimentation, and bold thinking, he said.
Kamble was speaking at the session ‘The Client Who Also Became the Agency’.
Highlighting how modern marketing models are pivoting towards hybrid operating structures, Gaurav Ramdev, CMO, India & South Asia, Visa, said, “In-housing is driven by the need for speed, agility, and cultural relevance, as modern brands must react to culture and consumer behaviour in real time. Long-term strategic campaigns and fast-moving daily content now coexist together, while consistency at scale remains critical alongside local adaptation and rapid trend response.” He predicted that the future operating model will be a hybrid between traditional agencies and agile in-house systems.
Zepto’s in-house marketing model was a driver of speed, cultural relevance, and consistency, said Chandan Mendiratta, chief brand officer. “The brand operates like a content creator brand, celebrating multiple cultural moments and micro-occasions through highly frequent, trend-driven campaigns.” Brand culture cannot be outsourced, he said, and in-house teams help maintain consistency across design, PR, communication, and branding.”
Scaling vs. Storytelling
Harsh Deep Chhabra, global head, media, Godrej Consumer Products, elaborated on how Godrej Consumer Products scaled from being among the top 20 advertisers to one of India’s top 4 advertisers, with campaigns increasing from around 10 to nearly 30 per month. In-housing became critical as business data, growth KPIs, and strategic insights are deeply integrated internally. “The focus is not on awards, but on marketplace growth, brand visibility, shareholder value, and aligning marketing efforts closely with business outcomes and sales impact,” he said.
Talking about the growing importance of relevance-led communication in complex B2B decision environments, Tuhina Pandey, director, APAC Communications & chief marketing officer, India and South Asia, IBM, said relevance matters more than reach in today’s attention economy, especially when influencing modern buying committees across CMOs, CFOs, CEOs, and CIOs. “Strong storytelling, aligned sequencing, and smart repurposing across short- and long-form content help drive engagement across the funnel, with effectiveness ultimately tied to business journeys and pipeline impact,” Pandey added.
Panelists agreed that attention today is built on trust, safety, relevance, and frictionless experiences. “Marketing is shifting from interruption-led communication to intent-led ecosystems, where credibility matters more than reach,” said Jahid Ahmed, senior vice -president and head of digital, HDFC Bank. “Creator partnerships, peer validation, and educational content are driving both awareness and conversion, while first-party data and personalisation at scale are becoming central to building long-term trust and improving customer lifetime value,” he emphasized.
The conversations then shifted towards measurement and accountability during the discussion ‘From Platform-Defined to Brand-Aligned: A Reset in Measurement’.
Reclaiming the Algorithm
Talking about the limitations of platform-driven metrics in brand building, Aditi Mishra, chief executive officer, Lodestar, added, “Brands must balance data with instinct and consumer understanding, as there is no single source of truth in measurement today. Ultimately, consumers buy products, not algorithms.”
Underscoring the importance of independent validation in advertising measurement, Dhiraj Gupta, co-founder & chief technology officer, mFilterIt, added, “Advertisers need proof of audience quality and delivery, and measurement must support business outcomes and shareholder value.” Neha Markanda, chief business officer, ShareChat, emphasized the need for platform-agnostic thinking and culturally grounded measurement. “Ultimately, success is reflected when ‘user truth’ and ‘brand truth’ align through engagement, sales, and meaningful cultural relevance beyond demographics,” she added.
Highlighting the tension between scale and creativity in the industry, Ashish Khazanchi, managing partner & CCO, Garage Worldwide, said, “While the industry is becoming more performance-oriented, brands and CMOs still want work that makes them famous, enters culture, and sometimes requires the courage to say ‘no’ to preserve creative integrity.”
Batting for human creativity as opposed to AI-led iteration, storyteller and film director Senthil Kumar, said, “AI is a tool that can improve execution efficiency and reduce production costs, but it lacks emotional depth. It cannot replace human storytelling, which remains defined by characters, individuality, and emotional resonance.”