India is a country of 1.27 billion people spread over 28 States. Of these the states of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Madhya Pradesh are the most populous comprising of 30% of the population and 22% to toothpaste sales. Due to the sheer size of these markets any share gain here adds significantly to All India Shares. 90% of these sales comes from Lowers SECs, wherein traditional forms of media TV, Print and Radio have limited reach within this section of population thus constraining opportunities of brand conversations. In such a case, Closeup needed an opportunity to build its own relevance in an already pre dominated white toothpaste market.

The MahaKumbh Mela is a 55-day religious festival, the world's biggest human gathering occurs in India once every 12 years provided one such opportunity in 2013. Over 100 million devotees throng the city of Allahabad (Uttar Pradesh) to take a dip in its sacred waters. Closeup decided to make an ever lasting impact by reaching out in a manner that is relevant and effective. It created the First ever Human Tagging Network to tackle the gravest problem of children and elderly getting lost as well as establishing a brand connect.

Closeup provided the local police with a specially trained team of 200 volunteers who administered these wristbands on all children and elderly across various transit and entry points – Railway station, Bus station and Taxi drop-offs. Personal details were recorded on these non-tearable bands using indelible ink.

The 200 Closeup volunteers in easily identifiable branded neon jackets, assisted the police in reuniting the lost with their families over 55 days! Closeup help-desks were visible from a distance as Closeup balloons were displayed at a height of over 30-feet. Every individual tagged was instructed to come to these kiosks if lost in the frenzy of the crowd.

It became essential for those who seek to register a complaint of a lost child/ senior citizen, to be able to spot Close-up banners and balloons where the help-desks were located thus allowing the brand name to resonate with herds attending the Kumbh.

• Closeup tagged 1 million children and elderly

• Nearly 300,000 people were lost during MahaKumbh 2013. Out of the 165,000 people reunited, Closeup was responsible for 106,000 (2/3rd)

• This was the First Ever Successful Tagging Network created by any brand at a religious gathering

• The Spont Awareness for Closeup in UP/MP/Bihar increased to 800BP

While the initiative was rooted to its core proposition, for Closeup, the indelible goodwill of a 100 million people and specifically the 106,000 reunited families was the most appropriate marketing result!

Quoting SK Verma, Deputy Superintendent of Police (MahaKumbh Zone), “Tagging children and elderly who may not be able express themselves well, prevents them from getting lost. This CSR initiative by Closeup helped the Government and Police in managing a safer MahaKumbh”