 "\"We made people proactive in solving the pothole menace\"")
Why it is my best campaign
It was an online campaign about clearing roads of potholes, and we took a very unique approach. The campaign made people change their attitude to potholes - instead of viewing them as someone else's responsibility to fix, the campaign made people proactive in solving this problem.
As part of the campaign (it still continues on the Net), we show potholes as homeless 'pets' that need to be taken care of. And once you adopt a pothole, you get to give it a name. You then need to get your friends to give it 25 likes or tweets. Apollo Tyres steps in to fix the pothole on your behalf and puts your name on it.
It is a personal best for me because I had run away from doing anything online for years but when this idea struck, the digital part of it fitted in so seamlessly that it seemed the most natural way forward.
Brief to the agency
As a part of its customer-focused 'You First' initiative, Apollo Tyres wanted to do something towards promoting road safety. The challenge for our team at Publicis Capital was to develop an idea that was unique and relevant and done in a way that would engage people. Thus was born 'Adopt a Pothole', a campaign that got people to partner with Apollo in fixing one of the biggest threats to road safety.
Problems and challenges
We started the pilot in partnership with the resident welfare associations in Gurgaon. But with the idea being so unique, it took a while for people to actually believe that a company was doing something good for them without any motive of making money out of the initiative. While some wondered why they should join us and hesitated till we convinced them, there were others who were suspicious to let us even try. We also experimented with different kinds of materials to fill the potholes so we could give them a near permanent cure. We filled the potholes at night time so there was not too much traffic disruption or inconvenience.
Various routes considered
This was one of those love-at-first-sight ideas. It just popped into our heads and instantly took over all of us.
Route chosen and why
Our challenge was to change people's apathetic attitude. If you have been bothered about a pothole in your neighbourhood or on your route to work then, we urged, take a picture of it, upload it to the website, give it a name and be the proud 'parent' of a pothole.
Once the desired social response is generated, Apollo Tyres steps in to fix it. What's more, the repair team gets to work on fixing your 'pet' and leaves a little message for you on that piece of road. You're now welcome to visit your shiny black patch of tar anytime and take a picture of it with your friends. It is a clear way to engage people with the brand.
Outcome
Log on to adoptapothole.in or go to the Facebook page called 'adoptapothole' and you can see for yourself how well this campaign is doing. It's only been a month since we launched it. We have already got about 8,000 likes; 25-30 potholes have been 'adopted' and filled; 3.9 million impressions in 22 days and a click-to-conversion ratio of 61.5 per cent proves how far we have come.
Besides, we are getting enquiries from cities across India and from people from around the world inviting us to their cities. Most importantly, people have absolutely fallen in love with Bumpy, Sleepy, Jack the Ripper, Kishmish, Jerky and many such naughty potholes.
Will it work in the future?
Yes, this campaign will work in the future too. Right now, the pilot is on in Gurgaon and the response has been excellent. We will take the campaign to other metros. We have plans to go national in the future, covering several other Indian cities and towns.
It was an online campaign about clearing roads of potholes, and we took a very unique approach. The campaign made people change their attitude to potholes - instead of viewing them as someone else's responsibility to fix, the campaign made people proactive in solving this problem.
As part of the campaign (it still continues on the Net), we show potholes as homeless 'pets' that need to be taken care of. And once you adopt a pothole, you get to give it a name. You then need to get your friends to give it 25 likes or tweets. Apollo Tyres steps in to fix the pothole on your behalf and puts your name on it.
It is a personal best for me because I had run away from doing anything online for years but when this idea struck, the digital part of it fitted in so seamlessly that it seemed the most natural way forward.
Brief to the agency
As a part of its customer-focused 'You First' initiative, Apollo Tyres wanted to do something towards promoting road safety. The challenge for our team at Publicis Capital was to develop an idea that was unique and relevant and done in a way that would engage people. Thus was born 'Adopt a Pothole', a campaign that got people to partner with Apollo in fixing one of the biggest threats to road safety.
Problems and challenges
We started the pilot in partnership with the resident welfare associations in Gurgaon. But with the idea being so unique, it took a while for people to actually believe that a company was doing something good for them without any motive of making money out of the initiative. While some wondered why they should join us and hesitated till we convinced them, there were others who were suspicious to let us even try. We also experimented with different kinds of materials to fill the potholes so we could give them a near permanent cure. We filled the potholes at night time so there was not too much traffic disruption or inconvenience.
Various routes considered
This was one of those love-at-first-sight ideas. It just popped into our heads and instantly took over all of us.
Route chosen and why
Our challenge was to change people's apathetic attitude. If you have been bothered about a pothole in your neighbourhood or on your route to work then, we urged, take a picture of it, upload it to the website, give it a name and be the proud 'parent' of a pothole.
Once the desired social response is generated, Apollo Tyres steps in to fix it. What's more, the repair team gets to work on fixing your 'pet' and leaves a little message for you on that piece of road. You're now welcome to visit your shiny black patch of tar anytime and take a picture of it with your friends. It is a clear way to engage people with the brand.
Outcome
Log on to adoptapothole.in or go to the Facebook page called 'adoptapothole' and you can see for yourself how well this campaign is doing. It's only been a month since we launched it. We have already got about 8,000 likes; 25-30 potholes have been 'adopted' and filled; 3.9 million impressions in 22 days and a click-to-conversion ratio of 61.5 per cent proves how far we have come.
Besides, we are getting enquiries from cities across India and from people from around the world inviting us to their cities. Most importantly, people have absolutely fallen in love with Bumpy, Sleepy, Jack the Ripper, Kishmish, Jerky and many such naughty potholes.
Will it work in the future?
Yes, this campaign will work in the future too. Right now, the pilot is on in Gurgaon and the response has been excellent. We will take the campaign to other metros. We have plans to go national in the future, covering several other Indian cities and towns.
Ritu Sharda
Executive creative director, Publicis Capital