The Brief: In 2011, Hyundai took on a new brand philosophy of ‘New Thinking, New Possibilities’. It was a conscious decision to dramatically move from its old position as a ‘value’ car manufacturer to a ‘future oriented’ car manufacturer where in the key brand values are ‘futuristic’, ‘radical’ and ‘advanced’. The brief was to create a calendar for 2012, for Hyundai, which reflects Hyundai in this new light.

We realised that 2012 and 2040 are ‘repeating years’ wherein each month, week, date and day is identical. Therefore, we made a calendar for 2040, and sent it to customers, employees, and associates. The message said ‘Sending you the future a bit in advance’, which went in line with Hyundai’s brand thought of making futuristic technology available to customers today. The 2040 Calendar as a calendar works perfectly for 2012 and hence its utilitarian function remains unchanged.

2m calendars were sent out to dealers, employees, associates and customers buying a Hyundai car. Everyone who received it was taken aback by the concept with intrigue. It became a talking point among people wherever the calendar was put up.The calendar received ample attention and achieved what the brief expected it to do.The calendar was quite a success in India and Seoul headquarter intends to use it at a global level.