Occasion: Special screening of a brand new Indian movie on its premier day in Toronto.
Community involved: South Asians at large – Bollywood buffs specifically.
Time: November 2012.
Backgrounder: First used by the Agency in 2010, Bollywood movies have proven to be excellent communication vehicles for Western Union year after year. This latest movie launch dropped in at the right time – on Diwali Day. The Agency organized free Diwali shows at various centres across Canada for ‘friends of Western Union’. The media was out in full strength to cover this double-header event: the premier of the movie as well as the release of a special Study Report on ‘South Asian immigrants to Canada’ sponsored by Western Union.
Challenge 1: Attach a PR angle to the event and optimize it fully.
Challenge 2: Since the media exposure was for a fairly short duration, the challenge was to create maximum excitement in the market in the quickest possible time and have people turn out in large numbers to make the event a success.
Measurables: The event was covered by 4 of the top South Asian TV Channels across Canada;
Top 15 South Asian (English, Punjabi & Hindi) newspapers ran the story with pictures;
All free shows across Canada were ‘sold out’ within a matter of 36 hours.

Community involved: A very specific ‘vegetarian’ group from western India.

Time: July 2008.

Backgrounder: Research proved absence of adequate brand awareness amongst new immigrants arriving from the western part of India. This is an 80,000 strong community in Toronto (GTA) alone. The community has well-defined cultural roots in India, has a history that’s a few thousand years old, speaks its own language and has its own distinct taste in cuisine & snacks. One of the condiments that is fairly popular in this segment is ‘cumin seeds’ (Hindi: Zeera).

Promotion: Launch of specially prepared ‘Cumin Seed’ Cookies and freshly cooked flat-breads that this community loves to consume almost thrice a day.

In addition to sampling of Crispy Cumin Cookies & ‘Roti’, special quiz contests were organized for the ladies & housewives.

Challenge: Enumerate the Crispy range + write the brand name Crispy a maximum number of times within a stipulated time period.

Incentive: FREE Crispy Gift Hampers with loads of goodies from the manufacturer.