THE REAL KASHMIR

Short List
TitleTHE REAL KASHMIR
BrandADIDAS
Product / ServiceREAL KASHMIR FOOTBALL CLUB SPONSORSHIP
CategoryB05. Media Relations
EntrantCHEIL INDIA Gurgaon, INDIA
Idea Creation CHEIL INDIA Gurgaon, INDIA
Media Placement ADIDAS Gurgaon, INDIA
PR ADIDAS Gurgaon, INDIA

Credits

Name Company Position
Emmanuel Upputuru Cheil India Chief Creative Officer
Aneesh Jaisinghani Cheil India Executive Creative Director
Kumar Saurabh Cheil India Creative Director
Ashish Kumar Cheil India Creative Director
Abhishek Sen Cheil India Account Director
Palak Gupta Cheil India Account Executive

Why is this work relevant for PR?

Bloodshed, Wars, Suicide bombings, Stone-pelting… For more than 7 decades, KASHMIR has made headlines exclusively for terrorism And the outside world has branded the Kashmiri youth, a potential terrorist. With very few opportunities due to lack of corporate investments and state apathy In this environment of despair, a local football club Real Kashmir FC was making waves in the premier league of Indian Football. But violence and pain is so deeply rooted in the media coverage of Kashmir for decades, Even the local media failed to acknowledge this story of hope for the youth.

Background

Bloodshed, Wars, Suicide bombings, Stone-pelting… For more than 7 decades, KASHMIR has made headlines exclusively for terrorism And the outside world has branded every Kashmiri, a potential terrorist. With very few opportunities due to lack of corporate investments and state apathy Kashmiri youth felt the hopelessness and indulged in the political propaganda. In this environment of despair, a small, local football club Real Kashmir FC was making waves in the premier leagues of Indian Football. But violence and pain is so deeply rooted in the media coverage of Kashmir for decades, Even the local media failed to acknowledge such stories of hope for the youth. adidas strongly believes that sport has the power to change lives So, we wanted the world to open their eyes and see this positive story of hope from Kashmir.

Describe the creative idea (20% of vote)

We know change that begins from within goes a long way, So first, we partnered with a leading Kashmiri newspaper, and changed the century-old format of the entire newspaper itself. Flipping the regular cover stories of conflict & pain, with the positive back page of sports. For the first time in history, Kashmiri youth woke up to positive and inspiring stories of their local football club. Real Kashmir FC’s success story had given a new identity to the youth of Kashmir. They found a future to look forward to. We then, invited the mainstream media to join this positive change, By sending an open letter from the Chief Editor’s desk to global media powerhouses, both online and offline. Inviting them to cover the neglected stories of youth from Kashmir.

Describe the strategy (30% of vote)

Real Kashmir FC’s success story had given a new identity to the youth of Kashmir. They found a future to look forward to. We then, invited the mainstream media to join this positive change, By sending an open letter from the Chief Editor’s desk to global media powerhouses, both online and offline. Inviting them to cover the neglected stories of youth from Kashmir. Their response, was phenomenal. Premier news channels and publications joined us. Spreading the positive message from Kashmir, for the first time. Governors and Ministers in the Indian Government strongly came out in support.

Describe the execution (20% of vote)

So first, we partnered with a leading Kashmiri newspaper, and changed the century-old format of the entire newspaper itself. Flipping the regular cover stories of conflict & pain, with the positive back page of sports. For the first time in history, Kashmiri youth woke up to positive and inspiring stories of their local football club. Real Kashmir FC’s success story had given a new identity to the youth of Kashmir. They found a future to look forward to. We then, invited the mainstream media to join this positive change, By sending an open letter from the Chief Editor’s desk to global media powerhouses, both online and offline. Inviting them to cover the neglected stories of youth from Kashmir.

List the results (30% of vote) – must include at least two of the following tiers:

42% RISE IN +VE CONVERSATIONS about Kashmir on social platforms $28M in earned media 67,837 unpaid PR articles by 640 global media agencies ESPN INDIA’S TOP 10 inspiring sports stories, 2018