MUMBAI: The clash of the titans has reached to its final lap. Adrenaline levels are high among the two finalists (with Rahul Vaidya being voted out in the 18 February episode) and also among viewers. Indian Idol on Sony is all set to reach its climax and with that the channel is leaving no stones unturned to make a splash across the media to capture viewer attention.
The campaign with the tag line of Sab Kuch Bhula De is now urging viewers to vote for the first Indian Idol. A 360 degree marketing campaign, which includes print, radio, cable, television, online, outdoors, direct marketing and consumers connect activities has been an integral part of the show. Inflatable sky balloons, walking inflatables, bus-backs, backlit balloons are some of the innovative tools being utilised to fuel the buzz.
The last phase of the Indian Idol advertising campaign has the three finalists' on-their-mark on a piano key board. Now with Vaidya out, his picture on the hoarding will have the sticker - "Voted Out." The tag line on the hoarding 'Kaun Hoga Aapka Indian Idol?' will change to 'Abhijeet ya Amit? Kaun Hoga Aapka Indian Idol?' The ad has been conceptualsied by Euro RSCG under the stewardship of creative director Ashok Karnik and the photographs have been shot by Atul Kasbekar. The final campaign will be rolled out in key cities like Mumbai, Kolkata, Ludhiana, Ahemdabad, Delhi, Lucknow and Kanpur.
Commenting on the campaign, SET vice president marketing and communications Tushar Shah says, "The current campaign of Indian Idol signifies and embodies the spirit of competition. A competitive spirit that is so prevalent in sports worldwide. The idea of this campaign is to showcase this spirit in the run up to the finale of the Indian Idol competition."
To create a further buzz, the two finalists will be doing rounds of Delhi, Kolkata and Ahmedabad in a typical election campaign trail from 27 February to 1 March.
Sony partnered with various media and non-media vehicles like Nokia, Planet M and Cafe Coffee Day, Aaj Tak and Radio Mirchi to build in extreme interactivity and engagement for the show. The channel also tied up with FMCG major Proctor & Gamble (P&G) for a unique promotion campaign for Indian Idol. The aim was to get people to buy a bottle of Rejoice shampoo, watch Indian Idol and win passes to the Galas. This was done keeping in mind the three-fold agenda of enhancing the association of Rejoice with Indian Idol, induce purchase and at the same time drive viewership for Indian Idol and have ground presence.
The consumer had to buy Rejoice; the bottle would have a sticker that said SMS Rejoice to 2525 to win fabulous prizes. On sending an SMS, the consumer would get a question on Indian Idol with three answer options. All the correct entries were put in for a lucky draw. A hundred lucky winners over four weeks got passes for the Gala's to watch the live performance of the Indian Idol finalists on the sets.
The activity was carried across Mumbai, Delhi and Kolkata in a total of 70,000 outlets. The promotions for the same started from 28 January wherein highly visible posters and danglers along with on-air contest promos were kicked off.
Viral marketing has always been a favourite with Sony… remember Jassi's launch? This time round too, the channel churned out unconventional ways to create an on-ground buzz for the show. Street singers, branded auto-rickshaws equipped with microphones and fanfare, Idol march, human billboards, over 200,000 post it's were stuck on vehicles at high traffic areas in Mumbai and Delhi, crank calls were made to key clients and media planners asking them to watch Indian Idol in an unobtrusive, sporting manner!
Apart from that, the Indian Idol website - www.indianidolonset.com - has been abuzz with activity providing people with streaming video footage, photographs, the on-stage drama, backstage gossip, previews, opinion polls, contestants' profiles etc.
It's a matter of a couple of weeks now before the first ever Indian Idol is chosen and the excitement coupled with apprehension among the final two has reached the nail biting stage. The question on everyone's lips will be - 'Abhijeet ya Amit? Kaun Hoga Indian Idol?'
