2017 Winners & Shortlists

The Campaign

In June 2016 alone, over 90 people in India were killed by lightning during the monsoon season. Most of them were farmers working in remote areas, with no means of protecting themselves from lightning strikes. Varuna, one of India’s biggest submersible pumps and open well motors manufacturers and a brand committed to sustainable agricultural solutions, tasked us to develop a solution that could tackle the issue. With a budget of 250,000 rupees (AED 14,000), our objective was to reduce rural casualties from lightning strikes, with a view to broaden the scope of the campaign so that it could be implemented across India in the near future.

Execution

The Monsoon Billboard was implemented from 13 September to 31 October 2016, and employed simple design elements that directly spoke to our target audience. Within the 3x8 meter Billboard, which incorporated a lightning rod to channel lightning into the ground and create a safe zone for farmers in the event of a storm, step by step icons and simple instructions conveyed vital information about how to minimize the risk of getting struck. The Billboard employed black and white print on vinyl to maximize clarity and visibility, especially in rain, as well as a lightning rod, copper coil, copper cable and ground rod to safely earth any lightning strike.

The Monsoon Billboard was 100% effective, with no further no casualties from lightning strikes in the rural community after its implementation. As a direct result of the Monsoon Billboard, brand love for Varuna increased by 7%, with the company consolidated its positioning as a conscientious brand dedicated to the wellbeing of the community and CSR initiatives. The cultural impact of the Billboard is both significant and ongoing, with Varuna, the municipal body of the constituency where the Billboard was located and the government itself inviting brands across India to support the cause so that Monsoon Billboards can be constructed nationwide in time to save more lives by the next monsoon season.

The Situation

The Monsoon Billboard deliberately used the ambient space in which it could be most effective (namely, farmland) in order to save the lives of rural workers at risk from being struck by lightning. As a direct result of the Monsoon Billboard, there was a 100% drop in fatalities during the period it was implemented. This also meant that, as a product, the Monsoon Billboard contributed to the financial growth of India’s agricultural sector, this being the largest industrial sector in the Indian subcontinent.

The Strategy

Our research established that 93 people were struck and killed by lightning between 20-22 June 2016 alone. As one of India’s biggest submersible pumps and open well motors manufacturers and a brand committed to sustainable agricultural solutions, Varuna was uniquely placed to address the wellbeing of agricultural workers in India. Through the construction of a unique Monsoon Billboard on farmland in West Bengal where lightning often struck, we were able to situate our solution in a location where is was most likely to save lives by channeling the electric charge of lightning into the ground through a rod. Furthermore, design elements on the Billboard, including step by step icons and basic instructions that educated farmers on preventative ways to minimize the likelihood of being struck by lightning talked to our target audience (most of whom have limited reading abilities) in simple terms that they could understand.