The Indian tourist state of Kerala was rebuilding after the worst floods in a century. While relief came from all over the world, the thought that Kerala needed tourists was overlooked. Here was a state where 1.5 million people depended on tourism for their livelihood. The question that haunted the people of Kerala: Will life ever be the same again?

There was no brief for this campaign. We decided that it was our responsibility to start a conversation about revival of Kerala tourism and there could be no one better than a travel brand like Samsonite to action this. After a dialogue with the client, we crafted the campaign and executed it.

The objective of the campaign was to remind all Indians that while we helped Kerala with funds and supplies during floods, we also had a bigger task. To go back to Kerala and revive its livelihood – Tourism.

Kerala is lovingly named ‘God’s own country’ by millions of tourists who visit the state every year. In August 2018, when Kerala was ravaged by the worst floods in a century, news channels informed us of the things that were cut off or closed in Kerala. However, after the floods, the fact that Kerala is ready to welcome tourists did not get the same coverage. The country that was told about all the things that were closed during the floods needed to be told that Kerala is open again. Many Indian lodges and restaurants have a board hung on the door which either says ‘we are open’ or ‘we are closed.’ We used this board to announce to the world that ‘Kerala is open’ and to urge all Indians to travel back to Kerala because 1.5 million Keralites were ready and waiting for us.

Insight: The floods in August 2018 ravaged the Indian tourist state of Kerala. While people from all over the country helped the state recover, we overlooked a key part of rebuilding the state: reviving tourism. 1.5 million Keralites depended on tourism and Kerala needed its tourists back.

Key Message: Kerala Is Open

Target Audience: Everyone in India was our audience. Because every Indian is a potential tourist including kids who influence parents’ decisions on where to travel.

Creation and distribution of assets: We created the film and distributed it on Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram. Results show that 16% impressions were from paid activity whereas 84% was organic (social and digital.) Also the impressions on WhatsApp were double the impressions on social and digital based on a survey conducted across multiple cities.

This campaign genuinely attempted to set a positive tone at a time when 1.5 million Keralites were unsure of what the future held. This touched a chord with the people of India who championed this cause by sharing the message and by visiting Kerala. This manifested into a PR story with no effort on our end. Ministers, tourism departments of Kerala and India, members of the parliament, government officials, people from the film fraternity and sports personalities shared the film on their own and became ambassadors for the campaign. #KeralaIsOpen remains as the slogan for revival of Kerala tourism till this day.

Timeline: 25th September to 20th October

There was a 97% positive (3% neutral) reaction to the campaign. Impressions crossed over 148.5 million with 84% organic results. A survey conducted in multiple cities showed that the estimated WhatsApp numbers were over two times the results on social and digital.