The Campaign

Challenge: The Indian Express, one of India's oldest newspapers, has always been a serious one. Completely rooted in its philosophy of Journalism of Courage. It has its loyalists - policymakers, civil servants and serious students, but TV news channels, social media and newspapers with almost tabloid-like sensationalism was eroding its readership. Objectives: Reinforce pride of ownership in existing readers. Attract young, new age Indians; the country's largest demographic. Strategy: The Indian Express influences thought and policy. It’s read by sharp, confident and opinionated Indians. We defined this category of Indians as The Indian Intelligent. The campaign glorified their role in the advancement of society. Making it an attractive bait for new readers. Execution: Campaign kicked off with three long copy ads and a 45 second TV spot. Followed by print, outdoor,web and four 30 second spots. Outcome: 10 million+ impressions - Facebook. 1.5 million+ views - YouTube. Increased readership- last few weeks.

Success of the Campaign

The campaign got an overwhelming response. It garnered 10 million+ impressions and earned 1.5 million+ views on Facebook and YouTube channels. Everyone from Bollywood actors to renowned politicians tweeted about it. The Indian Intelligent hashtag trended on twitter. In the short while that the campaign has been live, the campaign has already created an immediate rise in the readership of The Indian Express.

Describe how the campaign/entry was launched and executed across each channel in the order of implementation.

The campaign kicked off with three powerful long copy full page ads introducing the philosophy of The Indian intelligent. This was followed by a 45 second TV spot which elaborated the concept further. Alongside the TVC, we also released print ads and outdoors which amplified the voice of the Indian Intelligent. We also made four short films that highlighted the behaviour and characteristics of the Indian intelligent.

The business objective was to increase readership amongst young, new age Indians; the country's largest demographic. The marketing objective was to reinforce pride of ownership in existing readers and attract new readers who could become a part of the Indian Intelligent. The insight was that The Indian Express influences thought and policy in India. It’s read by sharp, confident and opinionated Indians. We defined this category of Indians as The Indian Intelligent. And that became the core of the idea. The campaign glorified the role of the Indian Intelligent in the advancement of Indian society. It clearly said that you either were part of the Indian Intelligent or you weren't. You either read The Indian Express or you didn't.