UIDAI calls for creative pitch for Aadhaar's pilot phase

Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) has called for a creative pitch for Aadhaar, its initiative to provide unique identity numbers to Indian residents. The pitch is for the pilot phase, which commences in August 2010 and will end around February 2011. A total of seven agencies have taken part in the pitch process, namely Rediffusion – Y&R, Dentsu Marcom, Lowe Lintas, Crayons Advertising, Concept Communication, Span Communications and Percept/H.

A separate media pitch hasn't been called for. The media duties -- particularly for audio-visual media and print -- would be handled by Directorate of Advertising and Visual Publicity (DAVP). For other media such as BTL or digital, the expertise of the chosen creative agency itself will be leveraged.

According to sources in the UIDAI, marketing spends of Rs 50 crore have been earmarked for the pilot phase. And if the cost of people and infrastructure is included, the entire promotional budget would be about Rs 100 crore for the pilot phase.

According to sources, the selected creative agency will have to work hand in hand with government agencies and infrastructure, to carry out marketing/advertising activities for popularising Aadhaar across India. The synergy between the two sets of agencies is important for the success of Aadhaar, because while the creative agency would generate effective, creative ideas to connect with the masses; the government agencies and infrastructure would be instrumental in providing the scale and bandwidth to reach the interiors of India.

As is known, Aadhaar recently adopted a logo, created after a nationwide contest in February that drew over 2,000 entries. Its logo – a fingerprint encased within the sun – indicates that the promise of Aadhaar stems from uniqueness, while the sun symbolises a promise that shines on all equally.

At the core of Aadhaar's DNA is creating equal access to opportunity, as the brand hopes to be about entitlement and being recognised as an individual.

For the record, Nandan Nilekani, who was until recently co-chairman of the board of directors of Infosys Technologies, is the chairman of UIDAI. This unique identification project was initially conceived by the Planning Commission, as an initiative that would provide identification for each resident across the country, and would be used primarily as the basis for efficient delivery of welfare services by the government. It would also act as a tool for effective monitoring of various Government programmes and schemes.