Asian Paints recently re-launched one of its highest selling brands ‘Apcolite’ with Rahul Dravid as its new ambassador. This was communicated to its dealers via the campaign ‘India’s Most Dependable’ (IMD). Through this contest, the dealers got a chance to prove their dependability by delivering the sales numbers, winning the title of India’s Most Dependable Performer &as final gratification – meet Rahul Dravid.



Candid Marketing conceptualized & executed these dealer meets across Mumbai, Delhi & Bangalore that was attended by an average of 150 dealers per city.



In each city, winning dealers from 6 different regions were welcomed at the airport and brought to the event venue. On arrival, they were given their team jerseys and invited for the Apcolite Test Tournament (ATT), an afternoon full of games and adventure.



ATT was specially designed to test the dealers for attributes that both - the brand Apcolite and Rahul Dravid commonly shared. 4 games zones were created for the same:  ‘Toughness Pitch’ (Sumo wrestling) to display toughness and get competition-ready; ‘Googly Zone’ (Bull Rodeo) to display act of stability; ‘Howz’s That’ to learn to aim and exhibit consistency; ‘Running Between Wickets’ to bring out agility and grab the chance to be the most dependable Team. All teams had to send their best performers to score runs and emerge as winners, who were gratified at the gala night.



For the Gala Night, dealers were provided with tickets to the stadium (banquet of the hotel) that they had to produce at the entrance (that was given a look and feel of a ticket counter). Inside, a locker room setup with a life-size cutout of Rahul Dravid was created that was used for photo-opp. The entire room inside was given a look and feel of a stadium with a cricket pitch in the center (that acted as the stage), and the dealers were required to sit in their respective stands.



The gala night was conceptualized as ‘An Evening With Mr. Dependable’ – a live talk show hosted by MandiraBedi in Mumbai & Delhi and ArchanaVijaya in Bangalore. The chat show was made interactive by giving the audience (dealers) a chance to engage with Rahul Dravidby asking questions and in return getting autographed merchandise. The show also consisted of a rapid fire round and a third empire round (fastest fingers first/vote-o-meter) to keep the audience interested. Rahul Dravid also gratified the winning teams of ATT with medallions. Day 2 saw all attendees getting their photographs with Dravid in branded photo jackets along with a uniquely designed plaque trophy, personally signed by the man himself.



Commenting on the activity, NidhiKriplani, Vice President - NBD, Candid Marketing said, “This has been an exciting journey and was a great experience conceptualizing the entire launch campaign. We started with an internal-employee communication program to introduce the Product's come back. This was done using the corporate's internal networking platforms integrated with a mix of digital and on-ground engagement tools. The campaign was then extended to the sales teams via a contest and ended with the final gratification i.e. Rahul Dravid's meet & greet events in 3 cities for the top qualifiers. We look forward to many such programs together.”