EMVIEs 2014: Lodestar and Mindshare shine with seven shortlists...

...On Day One of the Case studies presentation round, 40 case studies were presented across several categories.

The case study presentation rounds began today for this year's EMVIEs. Spread over three days, 132 case studies will be presented by some of the best media agencies in town.

Day One saw presentations by Maxus, PHD India, Madison Media Infinity, OMD India, Madison Media Pinnacle, Mindshare, Lodestar UM, Vizeum India, DDB Mudramax, ibs, Mediacom Communications Pvt. Ltd, Milestone Brandcom, Rapport Outdoor Advertising Pvt. Ltd., Interactive Avenues and iProspectCommunicate2.

The short-listed case studies were in the categories of Best Media Strategy - Consumer Products, Consumer Durables, Services, Media; along with Best Media Innovation - Radio, Direct Marketing, Cinema, OOH, TV (Consumer Products, Consumer Durables, Services, Media), Sponsorship and Digital (Search).

Lodestar UM and Mindshare had seven shortlists, Maxus had four while Madison Media Infinity had five. Lodestar's post lunch presentations were in the categories of Best Media Innovation - Cinema, Best Media Innovation - OOH and Best Media Innovation Sponsorship.

Lodestar's first case study was Piyo Doodh - Bhaag Milkha Bhaag for GCMMF (Amul). Amul has always been a household name. However, what they were missing was the youth connect. Lodestar's research showed them that Milkha Singh was immensely fond of milk and they saw an opportunity. However, the challenge in this scenario was that the movie was set in the 1960s - before the existence of the brand.

Thinking smartly, Amul got actor Farhan Akhtar to promote Amul milk on radio and positioned milk as the original energy drink - thereby creating a brand connect with the youth. They extended it by organising milk drinking sprees on television shows and using the Amul hoardings for cross promotion. Post the campaign, the brand's youth connect had increased by 25 per cent.

Lodestar's second case study was done for Mumbai Traffic Police and was named 'Talking While Driving Kills'. The department had noticed that in spite of reminders and hoardings, drivers often used their cell phones while on the move. In 2013, there were 21,250 accidents and over 500 deaths, a majority of which happened due to talking on the phone. Lodestar decided that it was time to shock the drivers by doing something drastic to let the impact remain.

The agency created an OOH display where a (artificial) mangled body of an accident victim along with a broken cycle was kept in key traffic junctions. This caught a lot of eyeballs and slowed down other things so that people could let it sink in. Post the campaign, there was a 20 per cent reduction is offences concerning usage of phones while driving, and a 5 per cent drop in accidents.

Using cars in another segment, Lodestar presented a case study of 'Safari Storme 24 - Redefining the Sponsorship Rules' done for their client Tata Safari Storme. The Safari Storme was a premium SUV that needed to be positioned as a tough car, and a real hero. The brand needed the perfect media opportunity, which led Lodestar to approach Anil Kapoor for a brand integration for his new show 24. The fiction show, a hit overseas, was known for its stylish and crisp action sequences. This made for a perfect fit for the SUV and Lodestar designed the entire communication strategy around it.

The most prominent launch for one of the most awaited shows was clubbed with the launch of the Safari Storme. A seven-city road show was planned for Kapoor across Safari's priority markets where Kapoor shared his experiences with locals. Once the show started, the Storme was incorporated in such a way that it became Kapoor's official car, appearing in every single episode of the show. In-action footage was used to create a TVC, along with multiple large format ads, hashtags on social media, promotions across reality shows and a 3D game which gave them more eyeballs.

As the reach for the brand increased, a special Jai Singh Rathode (Kapoor's character in the show) version of the Storme was also launched, in which Kapoor made a dramatic entry at the Golden Petal Awards. Other than just being spoken about and creating digital buzz, sales for Safari Storme increased by a healthy 30 per cent.