Bajaj Electricals: The Nations Bike [video] 2

Credits & Description:

Client: Bajaj Automobiles
Product: Bajaj V
Entrant: Leo Burnett India Mumbai, India
Agency: Leo Burnett India Mumbai, India
Idea: Leo Burnett India Mumbai, India
Editor: Jan 25 2016 12:00am
Art Director: Vikrant Wadkar (Creative)
Copywriter: Sriram Iyer (Creative)
Copywriter: Ashish Sharma (Creative)
Chief Executive Officer - South Asia: Saurabh Varma (Leo Burnett)
Chief Creative Officer: Raj Deepak Das (Leo Burnett)
Vice President: Sanju Menon (Leo Burnett)
Associate Vice President: Rajiv Wadhwa (Leo Burnett)
Brand Associate: Varsha Roy (Leo Burnett)
Brand Strategy Associate: Akshaya Karanth (Leo Burnett)
Executive Creative Director: Prajato Guha, Sachin Kamble (Leo Burnett)
Creative Director: Kevin Lobo (Leo Burnett)
Creative Director: Vikrant Yadav (Leo Burnett)
Art Director: Deepak Jage (Leo Burnett)
COO: Harshad Hardikar (Indigo Consulting)
National Creative Director: Navin Kansal (Indigo Consulting)
Associate Vice President: Deepak Gopalakrishnan (Indigo Consulting)
Associate Creative Director: Aditya Seshadri, Viresh Pawar, Sacchidanand Chavan (Indigo Consulting)
Group Head: Satyawan Hande, Sushant Sawal (Indigo Consulting)
Associate Vice President: Ramesh Shah (Indigo Consulting)
Art Director: Yatin Tondwalkar, Mangesh Paralkar, Milind Haldankar (Indigo Consulting)
Senior Developer: Alok Mathkar (Indigo Consulting)
Associate Vice President: Dhaval Doshi (Indigo Consulting)
Senior Social Media Manager: Alfie Saldanha (Indigo Consulting)
Associate Account Director: Angad Chowdhary (Indigo Consulting)
Vice President - Marketing (Motorcycles): Sumeet Narang (Bajaj Auto)
Deputy General Manager: Soumya Das (Bajaj Auto)
Management Trainee: Debasmitta Dutta (Bajaj Auto)
Director: Rajesh Saathi (Keroscene Films)
Associate Director: Aparna Ganesh (Keroscene Films)
Director of Photography: Gauri Chikhalikar (Keroscene Films)
Assistant Director: Ebyug Akhil (Keroscene Films)
Producer: Anikita Malhotra Gurjar, Harish Nambiar (Keroscene Films)
Music Director: Sanchit Balhara (Keroscene Films)
Website URL: http://www.bajajauto.com/v/
Describe the campaign/entry:
BAJAJ V – THE NATION’S BIKE. A BIKE FORGED WITH THE PRIDE OF THE NATION.
We could not let such a historic figure fade into oblivion this way. We wanted her legend to live on. We wanted to bring back Vikrant’s lost pride, and with that the nation’s.
We partnered with Bajaj Motorcycles, bought the legendary metal, melted it, moulded it and created – for the first time ever – a motorcycle infused with the metal of a historic warship.
A bike made with the spirit of Vikrant, for the spirit of India.
An opportunity for millions to be a direct part of the legend’s rebirth. To own a piece of history.
Execution:
AN INTEGRATED PR CAMPAIGN DESIGNED AROUND THE REPUBLIC DAY.
PHASE 1. INDUCE CONVERSATIONS AROUND VIKRANT
A.Rallied select national, regional and online media to create opinion pieces around dismantling of Vikrant.
B.Tied-up with Native Content providers to bring to fore Vikrant’s story in all its glory.
PHASE 2. ACCELERATE CAMPAIGN MOMENTUM & BUILD PRODUCT CURIOSITY
A.Partnered with Auto Media, National & Regional News Media, Online News Media and Marketing Media to translate momentum gained by YouTube teaser film launched on Republic Day into curiosity around the bike.
B.Handpicked reputed twitteratis as part of influencer program.
PHASE 3. CREATING URGENCY
Leveraged national, regional and auto media to populate stories around high interest in V and its limited period booking window.
PHASE 4. PRIDE IN OWNERSHIP
Converted first day of sale into a celebration of pride at Retail, by inviting national and regional media to cover first deliveries by ex-Navy Officers.
First and foremost, Vikrant was born again – not just physically, but in the minds and hearts of the nation.
The teaser film triggered a series of activities, online and offline. The entire nation stood up to applaud the effort and honour the legend in her new form, with #BajajV trending higher than #RepublicDay itself. And Online & National Media couldn’t stop talking about us!
We garnered 0.7 Million USD worth of free media coverage in one week. Creating a cumulative 160 million impressions, reaching out to 32 million, overall.
Most importantly, V sold 11,000 bikes on the first day of launch itself! And now has a 3-month waiting period, with Bajaj upping their production capacity from 20,000 to 50,000 units monthly – making it a brand worth $0.5 billion in annual turnover in just one month!
The Situation:
An idea – driven by a lean & impactful PR module – got an entire nation together and created a brand worth 0.5 billion USD in annual turnover in an industry that sees around 25 new launches every year – most of which fail to take off.
The Strategy:
ONLY A BRAND SEEN AS THE TRUE SON OF INDIA–SUCH AS BAJAJ MOTORCYCLES–CAN REINSTATE THE NATION’S LOST PRIDE.
Renowned for making products that have become a part of our national fabric, no other brand that has been a truer reflection of India than Bajaj Motorcycles. We believed Bajaj was best suited to honour Vikrant. In the manner they know best – making motorcycles.
LEVERAGING CONTEXT TO GET THE ENTIRE NATION TALKING ABOUT US
Pride being our operative word, we decided to focus our campaign around an important date associated with national pride – 26th January 2016, the Indian Republic Day.
With such a strong context in place, we created a holistic PR plan that helped drive awareness and participation for the launch across strata. To ensure the entire nation laps up our story, we gave strong impetus to national and regional media apart from targeting online conversations.