Brief Explanation

This is the story of a fight that the citizens of Mumbai put up to save their beloved last lung – Aarey colony from a proposed plan by authorities to chop it down to 14% of its current size. Our campaign drew inspiration from the festival of Raksha (protect) Bandhan (relationship). Here sisters tie a knot of protection or RAKHI on the wrist of her brother asking for protection. The brother’s in turn pledge to protect. This became the inspiration for Rakhis From Aarey – Protecting the last lung of Mumbai. On world forestry day, each tree mailed hundreds of Rakhis to the Prime Minister of India and other influencers. 1647 personalised letters, in 3 languages were also sent. On ground, we turned trees outside Aarey into listening booths. On rakhisfromaarey.org we inspired citizens to send Rakhis to other saviours. A citizen movement followed. This led to the scrapping of the plan.

The Brief

Mumbai’s Aarey Colony is spread over 1,619 hectares (5 times the size of Central Park, in New York) and it’s often referred to as the Last Lung of Mumbai. The Bombay Municipal Corporation, though, believed that this green space was ideal for urbanisation and went ahead with the Draft Development Plan (DP) 2034 – a plan to urbanise green spaces in Mumbai. Or, a plan to hack down Aarey Colony to 14% of its current size (234hectares) to make way for roads, malls and a business district. Hot and polluted Mumbai simply couldn't afford to lose Aarey.

Describe the success of the promotion with both client and consumer including some quantifiable results

Rakhis From Aarey reached over 56.9 million people on social media. Fever Radio and Radio Mirchi collectively covered our campaign for 6 weeks, reaching over 51.24 million drive time radio listeners. It also clocked earned media worth US $2.3 million. Bollywood superstars Ranbir Kapoor, Akshay Kumar and Sushant Singh accepted Rakhis and vowed to protect Aarey colony. A call from the Chief Minister’s office congratulating the team for the campaign was followed up with the best result possible. Because of continued public and media pressure the Chief Minister of Maharashtra scrapped the Draft Development Plan 2034. The trees of Aarey were safe. A little knot protected Aarey colony.

Explain why the method of promotion was most relevant to the product or service

Our campaign drew inspiration from the festival of Raksha (protect) Bandhan (relationship). It’s a festival celebrated by a billion people every year, where sisters tie a knot of protection or RAKHI on the wrist of brothers asking for protection. Brothers, in turn, take a pledge to protect sisters. This symbol of protection became the idea for our campaign. On World Forestry Day, starting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, each tree in Aarey Colony mailed hundreds of Rakhis and letters to influencers and opinion leaders. On ground, trees turned into listening booths. Rakhisfromaarey.org inspired citizens to send Rakhis inviting the rest to send physical rakhis. A campaign as emotional as this was bound to receive attention. Citizens rallied behind Rakhis from Aarey. Widely covered by media, it eventually convinced the government to scrap the plan. From influencers and administrators to the common man, each was touched deeply to care for trees.