Idea's Blackberry does a 'uni'pole dance in Mohali

Most telecom operators have rolled out Blackberry phone services across the length and breadth of the country. The latest to do this was Idea Cellular, which launched its Blackberry services in Punjab. To announce this launch, it converted a bland unipole in Mohali into a swanky, rotating Blackberry device.

The unique OOH display combined a static hoarding on a unipole with a larger-than-life size rotating replica of the handset. The seven-foot replica was built to scale and the Blackberry screen displayed the words, 'Work in Progress'.

The display was installed at the Sector 35 traffic signal in the city. Beginning in the first week of June, it continued for a month.

Rahul Kakar, business director, Platinum Outdoor, shares that the idea was developed from the simple brief that it was the launch of Blackberry services by Idea Cellular. Therefore, the "attention seeker" device was built around the hero -- in this case, the Blackberry phone.

He also explains that the idea behind the copy, 'Work in Progress', was that with a Blackberry, your work is never disrupted. Both the sheer size and the copy were attention grabbers for commuters.

Only one such unit was executed; and its fabrication and execution cost was to the tune of Rs 50,000.

Lokesh Kumar, vice-president and business director, Platinum Outdoor, says, "Outdoor is a key constituent in the media mix, and in this case, we have changed the media format itself. That was a challenge."

"Idea Cellular has been at the forefront of unusual outdoor advertising ever since it launched its services in Punjab," adds Gour Gupta, chief operating officer, Platinum Outdoor.

This communication was addressed to business executives, Mohali being an industrial belt with commercial establishments. It also catered to the target audience moving to and from Chandigarh.