Situation: With 512 million people under 21 years of age – a number more than the population of most nations – India is seeing its influence across the world, driven by this young population. And print readership amongst this cohort is on a decline (Source: Indian Readership Survey data).

Brief: The Times of India (TOI), India’s largest English news daily, wanted to engage the Indian youth showcasing their success stories and applauding them for making India win across various fields.

Create an anthem that resonated with the youth created by the youth for the youth facilitated by TOI

Objectives:

• Engage the youth segment of potential readers as well as their influencers – parents, teachers, and coaches.

• Strengthen TOI’s connect with both, readers as well as with key decision-makers in the Government who are keen to display the strength of the India story.

When India gained Independence in 1947, the nation was reborn. From its roots as a third-world country, ravaged by decades of colonial rule, India has since grown from strength to strength. Achievements in science, technology, arts, sports, education, and more have catapulted India to the world stage.

From winning cricket world cups to Olympic medals, from landing satellites on the moon to becoming a nuclear superpower – India has made its presence felt as a global leader. While these have been its achievements till now, its next leg of growth is shouldered by the youth. Accounting for a large sum of India’s total population, the youth embody the nation’s unstoppable spirit and shall carry it forward in the years to come.

The youth have grown up listening to the patriotic song- “Hum Honge Kamyaab, ek din”- based on the renowned “We shall overcome”, the song translates to- we shall succeed, one day. However, this does not truly reflect the unstoppable spirit of the nation, today.

When schools across India were willing to adopt a new song and sing it in their assemblies, we knew that a new anthem will resonate with authorities and parents of this large cohort who believe that the opportunities and resources that they did not have when they were growing up are finally available for their children to make the country proud.

#Unstoppable21

The music video is based on the anthem that TOI rewrote for the youth was a tool TOI wanted to experiment with to reach audiences who are not regularly engaging with the print ecosystem.

The anthem was based on the original song of hope “We Shall Overcome” which had also inspired an Indian version – “Hum Honge Kamyaab”- (we shall overcome). TOI and National award-winning music director Shantanu Moitra created a modern take on this anthem “Hum Ho Rahe Kamyaab” (we are succeeding) to echo the voice of youth.

The film featured 10 accomplished musicians <21 years from across India who were invited to create this masterpiece across Mumbai’s iconic locations. The cast included vocalists ranging from classical to folk, violinist, flutist, percussionist.

The film showcases success stories of the 21 winners of #Unstoppable21 initiative who were recognised by TOI for their successes at a global level across fields.

Target Audience- The campaign was strategically aimed at the youth of India, with the hunt particularly seeking < 21 years old and their decision-makers- parents, guardians, and teachers.

Media Planning- The music anthem was to be populated where youth are most present in terms of media share- in the digital environment. YouTube, and Meta were chosen as the primary visual platforms for the amplification, followed by X and Spotify. Print Ads and Social Media Accounts of the initiative also carried the anthem in bold and attractive creatives- creating visual curiosity.

Approach- For the development of the anthem, nationally renowned music composer Shantanu Moitra was roped in. To get right talent for the music video, we started our hunt by getting in touch with several musical academies, like SAPA, and Calcutta Music School, others. The challenge was to get representation from all corners of India, and the range of its culture.

Implementation- Artists from across India aged 7-21 years contributed to the anthem- a singer from Mizoram, folk singers from Rajasthan, a renowned flutist from West Bengal. It is truly a sight, as the artists march across Mumbai- spreading their spirit and energy, as visible in music video. The anthem has sounds from mridangam to electric guitar- vocal representation from all India.

Media Channels, Integration- For the digital-first generation, anthem was launched on YouTube, Meta, Spotify, and X. Print ads were released in all editions of TOI, to take the reader outside of the newspaper. Editorial articles detailed the anthem’s success. Social Media was flooded with powerful visuals.

Timeline- To leverage nationalistic spirit, #Unstoppable21 was launched in print on August 15, India’s Independence Day. Anthem was launched during the hunt’s Felicitation Ceremony on October 16 by Indian Education Minister.

Scale- Anthem was amplified nationally, with top 8 metro cities as key-markets.

• The 21 inspiring stories that moved audiences and new anthem received great traction, both organically and inorganically.

• Anthem Video- ‘Hum Ho Rahe Kamyaab’, achieved 100million views in just 2 weeks, of which 50% are organic. 60% video views for the 1min anthem on YouTube are from 18-34 age group.

• Anthem was adopted with appreciation and applause across schools in India.

• Earned PR – Campaign received earned PR coverage worth approximately INR 40Million, with competing media houses choosing to celebrate the cause and publishing about the campaign.

• Social Metrics

o Reach – 106 Mn users

o Engagement – 3.3 Mn

o Video Views – 157 Mn

o 89% viewers watched the whole video on YouTube and social media – crossing the industry standard of 45 seconds.

Campaign was reposted by senior Government leaders, such as Chief Ministers of Indian states and India’s Union Minister for Education.