Nutralite celebrated the Ganesh Festival in their trademark style – promoting health consciousness
The Ganesh Festival is a 100 year long tradition in Maharashtra. Mumbai and Pune are the epicentres of this 10 to 11-day festivity during the month of September every year. With the evolution of technology and awareness about environment conservation, Ganesh Mandals – the different groups that organise Ganesh Festival – have taken conscious measures to curb pollution and other hazards. A new step in this direction was taken by Nutralite, manufacturers of table margarine. To spread awareness about health consciousness, they used technology, tradition and a unique strategy.
The Concept
The concept was titled ‘Health cha Shree Ganesh’ which means ‘the beginning of good health’. The first step in the process was the development of a holograph of Lord Ganesh. This meant that there was no idol to be submerged in local water bodies on the conclusion of the festival. It was an eco-friendly step. This holograph had the image of Ganesh in his traditional plump avatar. Nutralite asked devotees to donate calories to their god. This was to be done through exercising on a mini gym installed at the pandal. As more and more calories were donated, the physique of the elephant-headed god improved in the holograph. On the eleventh day, he was a muscular figure with eight packs and fully developed muscles.
The Organisers
The pandal was set at Growel’s 101 Mall in Kandivali, Mumbai. DDB Mudra, the coveted marketing communications firm in Mumbai, and Nutralite joined hands to build the concept. The purpose was to create health consciousness amongst the masses. To set up the mini-gym, support was received from Gold’s Gym. To calculate how many calories each devotee donated (i.e. the amount of calories he/she burnt), doctors were present from Wockhardt Hospitals. Musion Technology, OneFilm Company and Tonic Media were crucial partners in the execution.
Activities
The traditional Ganesh Festival is laced with cultural activities like song and dance performances. ‘Health cha Shree Ganesh’ substituted this with performances of healthy exercises like Zumba dance. Special sessions of Power Yoga and Aerobics were also organised for devotees. Modak, the traditional recipe during Ganesh Festival, was made in a healthy variety by Nutralite. With the help of Wockhardt Hospital, a team of health counsellors, nutritionists and dieticians conducted free health check-ups. A highlight was also the ‘Drop Your Bad Habits’ box where people were encouraged to drop unhealthy food like chips and other junk food items. Apart from these, the main activity of ‘donating calories through exercise’ was continuously on.
Results
The campaign had set a target of burning a total of 50,000 calories. The well-carved physique of Lord Ganesh reflected that a substantial amount had been achieved. The Facebook page, which was an important tool in marketing, has over 1,500 likes and the number is still growing. The overwhelming participation in the activities, which could not be quantified, speaks volumes about the success of the campaign.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aRYfhn0kNe0
An important take away from the campaign was that Nutralite was promoted in an extremely innovative and memorable way. Such interesting campaigns are part of the Marketing Communications course at North Point Centre of Learning.