Kick-off of the 2025 Flame Festival by the Association of Communication Agencies of Mauritius

The Association of Communication Agencies of Mauritius (ACA) officially launched the second edition of the 2025 Flame Festival on Tuesday, October 14, starting with an intensive training day that brought together industry professionals to discuss current issues in communication, marketing, and creativity. This festival is led by its Executive Committee, which includes Ranjana Foogooa (President), Yanis Sookloll (Vice-President), Vincent Montocchio (Treasurer), Pria Thacoor (Secretary), along with their assistants Adèle Couve and Vanessa V. Chellen.

In her opening speech, Ranjana Foogooa, President of ACA, stated: "The Flame Festival celebrates our industry. I think there is a question we need to ask ourselves: Who are we? When we talk about our industry, who are we? We are the people who build bridges. We are the ones who create connections between brands, consumers, students, institutions, and agencies. We add value. We bring value. We create value."

The 2025 Flame Festival, held biennially, is supported by major sponsors: MCB as the platinum sponsor, Currimjee Group, Quality Beverages, Sofap, Eclosia, ER Group, Charles Telfair Institute, BrandActiv, and Aptis. The event also relies on a strategic partnership with the Loeries, a leading institution in the creative industry in Africa and the Middle East.

Preetesh Sewraj, CEO of the Loeries, emphasized the importance of the partnership with ACA and the Flame Awards, which recognize the best local campaigns: "We ensure that the best work in the region is recognized globally. Let’s come together. Celebrate this wonderful community. Celebrate the extraordinary work that emerges from this region. And let’s work together to ensure that all the work from the Indian Ocean islands finds its place on the global stage."

Matthieu Benoit, Head of Customer Experience & Marketing at MCB, highlighted: "Our support for the 2025 Flame Festival reflects our belief that the fields of communication, design, and marketing play a role in positive business transformations. By influencing organizations, engaging audiences with new narratives, and valuing our expertise and Mauritian platform, this sector contributes to the island's prominence and creative identity."

A Day of Training with International Experts

The first day of the festival featured presentations by international speakers who explored contemporary issues in the sector.

Thomas Kolster, founder of Goodvertising, shared his vision of responsible communication. "In the beginning, a brand could easily differentiate itself by doing good – it was the time when Dove talked about real beauty. Then the discourse became widespread: so many brands began to talk about good, and consumers found themselves in a supermarket, unsure who to trust. The question of authenticity then became crucial. Authenticity lies in the brands that have helped transform our lives, allowing us to adopt a more sustainable lifestyle. The real challenge is to move from these grand, too-good-to-be-true slogans to concrete actions that can be applied starting tomorrow in our daily lives. That’s where the necessary shift lies. Brands must stop trying to save the world and instead help individuals become the heroes of their own stories. Because what builds a brand is its ability to genuinely touch people’s lives. That’s how we embed change at the heart of the business and reconcile purpose with profit."

Megan Fowkes, Global Prompt Engineering Champion and Senior Creative at Saatchi & Saatchi MEA, analyzed the impact of Artificial Intelligence on communication. "What distinguishes a true creative collaboration with AI from mere automated production lies in the fundamentals: starting from a human truth, an authentic insight. Without this foundation, the work will be just generic content without soul. But when this human truth resonates, connects individuals, and fits into the cultural context, then execution doesn’t matter – the result will be relevant. The great contribution of AI precisely lies in removing limitations: budgetary, technical, or conceptual. It offers unprecedented creative freedom to push the boundaries of the possible. We can imagine scenes in space or at the center of the Earth – the limits become purely creative. What remains essential is good taste, understanding what works and resonates with people. It’s this sensitivity that maintains the relevance of the work, whether it’s real or AI-generated. If the message speaks to people, it will be well received."

Pénélope Bœuf, podcaster and founder of the agency La Toile, presented the podcast as an essential emerging medium. "Creating authentic intimacy with your audience is no secret: you have to stay true to yourself and produce content that you truly enjoy, rather than anticipating presumed public expectations. It’s this authenticity that generates true engagement. For brands venturing into podcasting, the challenge is the same, but the fatal mistake is talking about themselves, their products, or services. A brand podcast should never be disguised advertising. It must explore peripheral expression territories, telling stories that have no direct link to the product. This could even mean removing the logo from the thumbnail to keep only the graphic charter. Whether the brand chooses interviews, fiction, or testimonials, depending on whether they want to inform, embody, entertain, or educate, the goal remains the same: to move away from their corporate identity to invest in a broader and more generous narrative space. Because it’s precisely by stopping to talk about themselves that brands create content that resonates authentically with their audience."

Dr. Pepe Marais, founder of the agency Joe Public, recognized as Africa’s best creative agency, emphasized the importance of human creativity in the face of technological challenges. "In my presentation, I used the metaphor of a dark room and light. If I were to revisit this image, the darkness represents the feeling of being overwhelmed, exhausted, submerged by demands and lack of time. My experience has shown me that purpose is truly that light. Without this tool, it becomes nearly impossible to navigate the current status quo. Personally, despite the multitude of daily demands, I stay on course thanks to this inner clarity, this rudder that guides me. That’s why I strive to help each member of my team discover and understand their own personal rudder. I believe this is the key to reviving creativity when it seems depleted or undervalued. The reality of creative work reveals a striking paradox: out of 100 projects completed, 95 do not align with the work we truly love to do. Only 5% represent our true creative passion. This is precisely where artificial intelligence offers a major opportunity: by taking on the repetitive tasks that make up those 95%, it frees up mental space to focus on the 5% that makes 95% of the difference for brands. Creative directors must seize this opportunity to use AI for subordinate tasks to restore the mental space necessary for true value creation."

Suhayl Limbada, Chief Marketing Officer of KFC Thailand, revealed his strategies for making an impression on consumers. "As a global brand, we operate in a completely decentralized manner, with the freedom to act locally and create initiatives that resonate with the public on the ground, without copying and pasting what is done elsewhere. To transform a global brand into a truly local one, it is essential to rely on local insights: understanding the consumer, understanding the culture, and participating in an authentic and relevant way. These insights allow us to grasp key cultural moments, as we do, for example, in Thailand during Mother’s Day. By allowing ourselves to play in these local moments, we build, in the long term, a sincere attachment to the brand. And it works: KFC Thailand now boasts the strongest brand equity for KFC in the world – the result of a combination of culture, insight, and pleasure. For me, empathy is a true superpower. We don’t hire intelligent people to tell them what to do, but to tell us what to do. Empathy reveals the best in everyone, every day. It’s not just about performance: when we encourage someone to be the best version of themselves, the results follow naturally. It all starts with how people present themselves, with self-awareness and creating a safe, nurturing environment where everyone can shine. When that space exists, the rest follows."

The festival program continues with the Awards Night on October 17, which will celebrate the best creations from the Indian Ocean. The awards will be presented following a judging process overseen by the Loeries, ensuring rigor and good governance in the evaluation. For the 2025 edition, the ACA has launched its Flame New Blood initiative and a Student Competition to discover and highlight the future talents of the Mauritian communication and creative industry. Three Flame Students of the Year will be designated during the Flame Awards ceremony. The grand winner will represent Mauritius at the Loeries Festival in Cape Town in 2026.

By bringing together talents from the region around innovation, creativity, and excellence, Mauritius reaffirms its strategic positioning as a key creative hub in the region.