The Campaign

BAJAJ V – THE NATION’S BIKE. A BIKE FORGED WITH THE PRIDE OF THE NATION. We could not let such a historic figure fade into oblivion this way. We wanted her legend to live on. We wanted to bring back Vikrant’s lost pride, and with that the nation’s. We partnered with Bajaj Motorcycles, bought the legendary metal, melted it, moulded it and created – for the first time ever – a motorcycle infused with the metal of a historic warship. A bike made with the spirit of Vikrant, for the spirit of India. An opportunity for millions to be a direct part of the legend’s rebirth. To own a piece of history.

Creative Execution

A FIRST-OF-ITS-KIND INTEGRATED LAUNCH CAMPAIGN DESIGNED AROUND REPUBLIC DAY. 1.DESIGN & IDENTITY: Collaborated with Bajaj’s R&D Team to design the bike from scratch. Created a distinct identity and chose the brand name as “V” – a letter that encapsulates the spirit of Vikrant. 2.BRING BACK THE CONVERSATION: Opinion pieces around the dismantling of Vikrant. 3.VIKRANT ONLINE MUSEUM: Microsite acting as the online museum. 4.IDEA TEASER FILM: Evocative & patriotic Teaser Film on YouTube focusing on Vikrant’s story and our role in restoring her. With acclaimed Oscar Award winning music director A R Rahman’s rendition of India’s National Song “Maa Tujhe Salaam” (“I salute you, mother”) as its soundtrack. 5.PRODUCT REVEAL FILM: YouTube film glorifying the V to create appeal. 6.DOCUMENTARY SERIES – SONS OF VIKRANT: Centred on the veterans of the warship. 7.FIRST DAY EVENT: Converted first day of sale into a celebration of pride at Retail Stores.

First and foremost, Vikrant was born again – not just physically, but in the minds and hearts of the nation. The teaser film triggered a series of activities, online and offline. The entire nation stood up to applaud the effort and honour the legend in her new form, with #BajajV trending higher than #RepublicDay itself. And Online & National Media couldn’t stop talking about us! We garnered 0.7 Million USD worth of free media coverage in one week. Creating a cumulative 160 million impressions, reaching out to 32 million, overall. Most importantly, V sold 11,000 bikes on the first day of launch itself! And now has a 3-month waiting period, with Bajaj upping their production capacity from 20,000 to 50,000 units monthly – making it a brand worth $0.5 billion in annual turnover in just one month!

An idea – driven by an alternate integrated plan – got an entire nation together and created a brand worth 0.5 billion USD in annual turnover, in an industry that sees around 25 new launches every year – most of which fail to take off.

ONLY A BRAND SEEN AS THE TRUE SON OF INDIA – SUCH AS BAJAJ MOTORCYCLES – CAN REINSTATE THE NATION’S LOST PRIDE. Renowned for making products that have become a part of our national fabric, no other brand that has been a truer reflection of India than Bajaj Motorcycles. We believed Bajaj was best suited to honour Vikrant. In the manner they know best – making motorcycles. ALTERNATE PROPOSITION DEMANDS AN ALTERNATE LAUNCH CAMPAIGN. A never seen before idea had to have a launch that people had never seen before. We decided to shun the regular mass media approach to a motorcycle launch. And instead created a first-of-its-kind integrated burst campaign – leveraging PR, digital and social media – centred around an important date in our history – 26th January, the Indian Republic Day. We then created media-specific work that seamlessly fit our narrative of “forged with collective pride”.