World’s fourth
largest newspaper creating OOH delight in Simhastha
A PRapport Special
UJJAIN: Thousands of saints (sadhus) clad in saffron robes
with ashes smeared on their body and dreadlocked hair, few of them called ‘Naga
Sadhus’ may not wear even any cloth – considered as a sign of separation from
the materialistic world, the heavy smell of burning butter lamps, camphor and incense sticks have started adding
religious fervor to the much awaited month-long congregation – the Simhasta
Kumbh.
After 12 years, Ujjain, one of the most sacred
places in India located on the banks of the holy Kshipra river in the western
region of Madhya Pradesh, has geared up gearing up for the largest spiritual
gathering on earth-Kumbh.
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Kumbh Mela is held at each of the four places namely
Haridwar, Allahabad (Prayag), Nashik and Ujjain once in every 12 years. Kumbh
in Ujjain is held when a rare configuration of planets takes place i.e. when
the Sun is in the zodiac sign Aries and Jupiter in the zodiac Leo. The position
of the Sun, Moon and Jupiter in different
zodiac signs determines the location of the Kumbh in each of these places. This
year Kumbh is scheduled from 22nd Arpil-21st May 2016 in
Ujjain. Simhastha Kumbh-the
largest spiritual gathering on earth is expected to attract more than 50
million people from across the globe.
According to Hindu mythology, the churning of ocean
by the Gods and demons yielded a jar (Kumbh) full of nectar (Amrit). Gods did
not wish to share it with demons. At the instance of Lord Indra(the King of
Gods), his son Jayanta tried to run away with the jar, but he was followed by
some of the demons. During the struggle for its possession, few nectar drops dropped
at the holy rivers of these four places-Haridwar, Allahabad (Prayag), Ujjain
and Nasik on earth.
Unique
opportunity: As India’s
largest and world’s fourth largest circulated daily with 44 million readers and
a direct reach of more than 3,000 towns, Dainik Bhaskar decided to capitalize
on this once-in-12-years opportunity. Planning has started more than a year ago.
After several rounds of discussions with the external stakeholders like the
municipal corporation, mela authorities and the local population, the plan was
frozen and divided into three legs to ensure optimal reach:
Build-up to Kumbh(Oct’15- Jan’16)Hoardings
on all the four major roads to the city, Banners, Beautification drive with
colorful wall paintings and overhead water tank paintings, T-Gates, Community
Connect meetings and release of special cover.Activation Support to Local administration(Feb’16-Mar ‘ 16)‘Maha Arti,
Installation of RO plant at the Mahakal Complex and a Kavi Sammelan on and
dedicated to sacred shipra river.During the Kumbh(Apr’16-May’16)
Changing
Room for the ladies at bathing ghats, information booklets and brochures for
the pilgrims, newspaper stands at major hotels and garden umbrellas
Mr. Vikas
Singh, Associate Vice President-Brand Marketing-Dainik Bhaskar says “While
Madhya Pradesh Government is leaving no stone unturned to deliver a great
experience for the devotees, we are happy to have partnered on this”.
As part of
this partnership, we organized a ‘Maha Yatra’ and a ‘Maha Arti’ on 20th
March 2016. ‘Maha Yatra’ started from Shirsagar, one of the seven sacred lakes
of Ujjain and ended up at R amghat, the main Ghat. During the Maha Yatra, people had glimpses of the popular tra dition
of Nagar praveshi of major akhadas. More than 10,000 people participated in
this four kilometer long yatra. The Yatra, then culminated at Ram Ghat where
Grand Arti at Shipra river by more than 200 priests was performed. Free bells
and cymbals were distributed to more than 20,000 people at the ghat. The local
administration also pitched in with OOH creatives that asked people to come out
and witness the spectacular turnaround of the city.
The
enthusiasm and participation shown by the locals of Ujjain during Maha-Aarti
organized by Dainik Bhaskar culminated into Golden Book of World Records
comprising most people participating in this auspicious event.
To provide
clean and cold drinking water in the scorching hot months of Apr-May, Dainik Bhaskar
has installed drinking-cum-RO plant at the main Mahakal complex. A large LED
screen too has been installed inside the complex where people can see live
visuals of the Mahakal Garbha Griha.
Dainik
Bhaskar is also coming up with a 500 pager Coffee table book- lavishly
interspersed with pictures some of which will be in public domain for the first
time. This will basically be a rich visual depiction of all facets of Ujjain with
reference to Kumbh. The book will borrow references from various religious
texts like Skanda Purana and Bhagwat Purana, classical literature like
Kalidas’s Meghdoot and Raguvansham, historical documents like Govt gazettes and
various others contemporary publications.
Talking
about this build up, Mr. Vinay Maheshwari, Senior Vice President-Sales and
Market Development and Brand Marketing, Dainik Bhaskar Group said “Being
India’s largest and World’s fourth largest newspaper, we are driven by one of
the core values of being connected with our stakeholders. Kumbh is an
incredible platform to demonstrate that we care and hence, concentrated our
efforts towards achieving this”
This
Simhastha Kumbh offers a great opportunity for brand activation. With more than
50 million expected in a month, it offers any brand low cost per contact.
Brands like Dainik Bhaskar are leveraging this opportunity to the fullest.
