We began our PR campaign for a new prime time telenovela, “Routes to India,” six months before its launch. The telenovela takes place in India, a culture that is unfamiliar to Brazilians.

To acquaint viewers with Indian culture, the launch strategy was to create six different venues: 1. Videos of the main actors performing sophisticated yoga exercises circulated on the internet through viral marketing.

2. A computer graphics engine was made available on the telenovela web site, allowing visitors to have their picture graphically enhanced in Indian style.

3. Providing bloggers with a chance to interact with Gloria Perez, the telenovela dramatist.

4. The offering of free-of-charge yoga classes, conducted in open air areas of the city.

5. A cross-media strategy sprinkled throughout the network’s daily programming.

6. The project management decided to host an Indian theme party. The goal was to bring together viewers who had been the targets of the publicity venues by providing guests with the opportunity to experience Indian traditions.

Our mission was to reach beyond the television screen and to become an integral part of viewers’ lives.

The “viral” features over the Internet, with video clips performed by the telenovela main actors were shown on Youtube®, 15 days before the telenovela went on the air. They can still be viewed on major video web sites.The “picture-Indianization” device in the telenovela web site has become a popular pastime for viewers.The Yoga class took place one week before the telenovela’s first episode went on the air.

Cross media began before the telenovela launch, while the advertising campaign was started three months prior. The mainstream media covered the telenovela production thoroughly during the trip to India.

The “Indian Experience” event took place one week before the telenovela went on the air. Its inspiration was drawn from the Holi party. Revellers celebrated by throwing colored powder on one another, thus culminating in a visually rich celebration. The party’s purpose was to stimulate the guests’ five senses.

Finally, a high definition video wowed guests with scenes from the telenovela’s first episode.

The launch of the “Routes to India” telenovela reached 41 points in ratings. That figure translates into 66% participation of the television sets that were on in Brazil, reaching 53 million Brazilians.

The video clips starred by the main cast garnered over 120 thousand hits by Internet users on Youtube®.The Indian theme picture enhancement hosted 212,389 visitors.The bloggers’ conference generated 737 comments on the most popular blogs in the country. On Yahoo!’s® image files, 1095 pictures have been stored so far. These images have been viewed over 24,000 times.A live recording of the crowds that flocked to the open air Yoga classes was broadcasted by local newscasts, reaching an average of 30% of participation of the television sets that were on.The cross-media strategy devised 22 shows whose goal was to bring the Indian lifestyle to viewers’ homes. In terms of press coverage, there were 4,252,214 centimetres published about the telenovela, which is the equivalent to approximately 18,487 pages of reviews.

The advertising strategy for the "Routes to India" launch was a phenomenal success.