Media Coverage

The global media coverage for the INDIA EVERYWHERE initiative was unparalleled. The money spent on the Public Relations campaign was about $4 m and it generated media coverage worth more than $100m.

Financial Times, International Herald Tribune and Wall Street Journal brought out special India supplements as did Global Agenda, the magazine of the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting. India’s share of editorial voice, electronic and print alike, matched the size and ambition of the initiative.

The campaign was talked about in Indian as well as international media. Harvard Business School is doing a case study on the campaign which will be taught to MBA students.

There certainly was a buzz, and people acknowledged India and its initiatives in economic reforms.

Let me share a few snippets of what the media wrote and said about the campaign:

1. The world is taking interest in Indian food, fashion, music and religion because, as the University of Pennsylvania's Ayres says, ``You know a million and one stories about call centers and not nearly as much on what's uniquely Indian about India.''

2. At Davos on Thursday night, the high and mighty had a choice of events: a speech by U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan or the popular annual jazz dinner. Not bad. But about 700 participants at this year's World Economic Forum gabfest opted for another venue at the Central Sporthotel in Davos Platz. The event? India's Republic Day celebration cocktail.

3. The trajectory of change and innovation in India holds out hope for the poor in India and other countries. At the end of the 90s, one couldn’t talk about globalization without generating negative reactions. That debate is over now and it has a lot to do with the fact that two billion people in India and China opted for this.

4. 10 paradigm shifts are taking place simultaneously in India. Outsourcing is a story of the past. We now want people to see India as a manufacturing base, as the youngest nation with fortunate future demographics.

5. Goldman contributed to the euphoria about India by projecting that its economy could grow in size by 50 times by 2050, which would make it the world's third-largest, after China and the United States.

6. The difference with earlier attempts to promote India was stark. This time, it was Bollywood music and spicy food, a clear signal that India needed to, and was, changing its act and presenting the modern face of the country.

For further details on media coverage :

http://www.indiaeverywhere.com/presscoverage.aspx