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Emvies 2007: Drama and theatre, two buzzwords for O&M
A campaign done by O&M for the Hutch Ranga Shankara Theatre Festival, Bangalore, was applauded at the Emvies Case Presentation round
O&M drew the attention of crowds in a dramatic and theatrical way (quite literally) when it executed an outdoor campaign for the Hutch Ranga Shankara Festival. Hutch has been associated with Ranga Shankara Festival since its inception in 2004.
The dwindling number of people going to watch theatre was the reason the campaign was needed. The challenge was to get many more people to watch theatre. The result? An innovative and engaging campaign by O&M. The campaign has been nominated in the Never Before Used Media category at the Emvies 2007.
One of the ‘dramatic campaigns’ took place at a restaurant in Bangalore. A couple is out on a date, when the girl suddenly accuses the man of always talking to other women on the phone. Things get to the point where she throws a glass full of water in the man’s face. The man tries to defend himself, but to no avail. The onlookers get involved in breaking up the fight. When everyone around is glued to the real-life drama taking place, the O&M team ventures out with banners that carry the message: ‘For more drama, come to Ranga Shankara’.
O&M’s ‘Incidents’ for Hutch Ranga Shankara Theatre Festival |
As a result of these innovations, Hutch received more than 200 calls and SMS messages every day for bookings and enquiries regarding the festival. Tickets were sold out a week early and many shows ran house full. More than 300 people signed up for the Hutch Ranga Shankara Festival to pursue theatrical interests. The campaign had a 12 per cent top-of-mind score in October 2006, the highest recorded in that year.
The campaign ran successfully on a shoestring budget of Rs 7,000. A bronze at Cannes 2007 was the perfect icing on the cake for the O&M team. It will be worth watching if the same magic will be repeated at the Emvies.