HT brings Kala Ghoda alive through OOH campaign

Campaign conceptualised by RK Swamy BBDO and executed by DDB Mudra OOH, pits HT as the paper to beat

Sohini Sen | Mumbai | February 5, 2014

Mumbai's popular annual cultural festival - The Kala Ghoda Arts Festival (KGAF) - has a new co-host. After having partnered with The Times of India for several years, KGAF has now signed on Hindustan Times as its co-host from this year. This development has been publicised through a vibrant campaign by RK Swamy BBDO.

Nitin Chaudhury

"The Kala Ghoda Association was looking for partners and approached us. They wanted to take the festival to the next level and make it larger than it is. Hindustan Times was the perfect partner for them to give it some momentum," said Nitin Chaudhury, Business Head – West, Hindustan Times.

Hindustan Times has been very active and visible in recent times because of its civic awareness campaigns such as the 'Unclog Mumbai' campaign, 'No TV Day' and the 'HT for Mumbai Awards'. However, this time the newspaper has attached itself with a cultural festival, and through that has planned to give back to the people of Mumbai.

To make sure that people of Mumbai get to know about it, HT has put up huge banners across the city announcing its association with KGAF. The hoardings declare that HT is the new choice for the people of Mumbai, especially those who want to follow what is happening in the festival.

"The readership of HT has grown in recent years and now we can proudly say we are not the follower any more. With this we have embedded ourselves in the socio-cultural milieu of the city. The campaign itself breaks the previously held misconception that if you want to reach the people of Mumbai, TOI is the only vehicle," commented Chaudhury.

RK Swamy BBDO conceptualised the campaign and was involved in it from the very beginning. The idea that it was time for HT to be aligned with Mumbai's culture was what drove them to make the hoardings.

"HT Mumbai enjoys 60 per cent readership in SEC A & B in the city by virtue of their genuine attempt to raise and solve issues for the city. To build on this relationship it was a natural step to associate with the city's premier arts festival. Thus the communication highlights the fact that HT is now the promoter of KGAF in Mumbai in a departure from the past. The creative brings back the focus on the 'Kala Ghoda' thus laying the emphasis on the art and culture the festival brings to Mumbaikars and thereby associating HT with the Kala Ghoda," explained Sangeetha N, President(W) & ECD, RK Swamy BBDO.

The hoardings will be accompanied by print and radio ads. Till this year, KGAF has always been promoted only through print. But with HT becoming the co-hosts this year, even the digital space is abuzz. Apps have been launched through which users can download schedulers, share pictures and tweet to win prizes. They can also input their appointments in an Outlook Calender format so that they can figure out easily what event to attend on any day at the festival.

Mandeep Malhotra, President (Out Of Home), DDB Mudra Max, explained, “Our objective was to make it more attractive and vibrant. While a competitive brand has always been associated with the festival so far, it has now moved to HT. And keeping that in mind we wanted to make it look fresh. The festival itself will be more vibrant and family-oriented this year, which fits in well with HT's principles, look and feel.”

Print ads:

Click on the image to enlarge.

Click on the image to enlarge.

Credits:

Client: Hindustan Times

Creative Agency: RK Swamy BBDO

Outdoor Agency: Mudra Max

Creative Team: Sangeetha N, Ambareesh Chakraborty, Sunil Deorukar

Sohini.Sen@BestMediaInfo.com

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