The Campaign

WFI joined hands with industry leaders, celebrity chefs, and public figures to amplify the campaign. Minister of Food Processing Industries, Harsimrat Kaur Badal, was media trained and made the face of the campaign. She turned “Transforming India's Food Economy” into a war cry. Sanjeev Kapoor, India's top chef, was brought onboard as the ambassador of WFI to design and execute the 'Food Street' concept – an activation that showcased a fusion of western and Indian cuisines at the event. Baba Ramdev, a yoga guru & popular cultural leader joined the Minister, Sanjeev Kapoor and his team of celebrity chefs to cook large amounts of ‘Khichdi’ – traditional porridge made of rice and lentils across India, to set a new Guinness Book of World Record. WFI also partnered with food industry, representatives of foreign governments, and influencers to talk about India’s potential in years to come.

Execution

Implementation of the PR: - Phase 1: Roadshows in international markets – US, Europe, and domestic markets such as Punjab, Ahmedabad, Srinagar. - Phase 2: Apart from interactions with dignitaries and celebrities, the press and social media captured the flavors of ‘Food Street’ and the entire preparation of record-breaking ‘Khichdi’. - Phase 3: Ensuring a sweet after taste, we sustained success stories and online conversations post-event, maintaining positive business sentiment beyond the summit. Timeline: Sep–Dec 2017 Scale: A total of 3 countries and 9 cities were tapped through roadshows to showcase WFI as an ultimate food processing destination. The announcement of record-breaking ‘Khichdi’ preparation went viral around the country. The whole process was shown live on news channels followed by social media shares & commentary, and front-page stories in most newspapers. The summit itself hosted >600 press reporters and saw 50 high-impact interviews with spokespersons, dignitaries, and business leaders.

Tier 1: Media Outputs - coverage depth (quality/quantity), tone and message delivery, purchase intent (survey) Direct Media Results: - 30 front page stories & 25 headline mentions - 1000+ media stories & 60 million+ media impressions - Increased media conversation about food processing industry by 25% through authored article & industry stories. - Largely positive tonality in international & domestic media with high capture rate of key messages. Indirect Media Results: - 50% increase in official website traffic - 100x growth in Twitter followers (from 1400 to 150,000 in 2 months) Tier 2: Target Audience Outcomes- measurable changes in awareness, comprehension, perceptions, attitudes, opinions, target behaviors, actions and responses achieved. Business Results: - Over 120,000 visitors attended the 3-day summit for World Food India - Foreign investment of over US$ 12 billion in Indian food processing industry announced during the event Behavioral Results: - Endorsements from global industry leaders like Pieter Boone, the global COO for German retailer, Metro AG, who applauded India's booming food processing sector saying, “India is one of the most attractive future markets and we plan to double our store count here in the next three-five years from 24 outlets at present”. - “No Waste on My Plate” campaign was a huge success in terms of reviving awareness towards food wastage, garnering a total of 70,000 pledges from the masses.

The Situation

Our campaign for World Food India (WFI) 2017 rests on an extensive drive for earned influence with stakeholders across the food industry, media, public figures, and foreign government representatives. Widespread media exposure along with multi-stakeholder engagements & endorsements were leveraged nationally and internationally. A strong positioning and narrative of “transforming the Indian food economy” from “farm to fork” was created with a major thrust towards creating global recognition for India’s food processing sector and its role in national economic development & food security. This campaign illustrates great strength of PR & influence in making the initiative a huge success.

The Strategy

Target Audience: C-suite executives, foreign governments, small business owners, & Indian public Target Media: Business/financial dailies, general news dailies, magazines, television/radio shows, & digital media PR Planning: - Pre-Event: The 2-month long build-up included periodic announcements, interviews of the Minister and influencers, and media visits to food parks/processing centers. - At the Event: Invited a large contingent of foreign & Indian press and organised multiple media engagements on the side-lines of summit. Conceptualised and executed record setting PR activations & stunts. Approach: At the heart was a two-pronged earned media strategy targeting international investors and domestic audiences. In the run up to the event, we engaged, educated, and influenced journalists in the US, Europe, & India to create buy-ins. Through a series of in-depth media interactions and conferences we were able to reinforce key message pillars of making India the “global food factory” and developing India’s “farm to fork” economy.