Vodafone's innovative internet fest at Rath Yatra
By VJ Media Bureau - July 24, 2013
The USP of the OOH campaign is the strategic mix of activities and branding that was not only in sync with the mood of the festival, but also with the concept of 'Happy to Help'.

Vodafone created a fusion of both branding and activities through various formats like innovative billboards, on-ground promotion (stilt walkers, umbrella promotion, drummer activity etc), wall painting, wallwrap, kiosk & experience zone. Effectively executed by Bates Chi& Partners, Vodafone targeted all the transit points like bus stand, railway station & highway to gain maximum reach (90%) for consumers. On highways, they used media like wallwraps (8000 sq.ft.),wall paintings (70000sq. ft.) & kiosks (400).The innovative campaign followed various branding activities such as:

• Consumer engagement: At Grand Road, which had a huge conglomerate of pilgrims, Vodafone executed a number of consumer engaging activities like - a) Drummer activity- An on-ground activity which was in sync with the spirit of RathaYatra and the mood of celebration. At Grand Road, ethnically dressed drummers were deployed among the crowd which was in sync with the festivity and people danced with joy. Stilt walkers among the crowd at Grand Road depicted the uniqueness and made the brand stand tallest.

• Umbrella Branding: As part of the'Happy to help' initiative, 50 people wearing Vodafone branded t-shirts & cape were busy giving shelter to the pilgrims throughout the humid and sunny day.
Vodafone covered 25 cities in this campaign which includes:
Bhubaneswar,Puri,Cuttack,Rourkela,Bhadrakh,Balasore,Jajpur,Berhampur,Sambalpur,Badbil,Aska,Nimapara,Konark,Pipli,Khurda,Rayagada,Koraput,Jagatsinghpur,Jharsuguda,Keonjhar,Soro,Kendrapara,Gopalpur,Anugul and Dhenkanal.
The USP of the campaign has been the strategic planning of the activities and the placement of the mediums that blended with the concept "Happy to Helpâ€. The on- ground activity at Grand Road had the feel of Odia culture, while the innovation on the sea side effectively communicated the "Internet is fun with Vodafone†message.

Creating 16 life size Zoozoo made of fibre was a big challenge in bad weather condition and a stiff timeline of just three days. Vodafone wanted to bring the feel of original Zoozoo that people see on television. 30 Zoozoo's were created out of which 16 perfect Zoozoo were selected for this innovative execution. Sharmine Panthaky, Sr. Vice President, Bates Chi & Partners, shared, "During festivals and other landmark events in different markets, all brands become active and visible, so the only way to stand out and get noticed is to do innovations. Odisha as a circle is proactive and involved in these visibility tactics over a long time, and despite the execution difficulties due to short timelines, weather complications, availability of quality resources, we managed to jointly create a property that stood out in the crowd.â€

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