Apollo Hospitals’ Billion Hearts Beating Campaign wins the “Best Marketing Campaign of the Year” Award at the World Brand Congress 2010

Billion Hearts Beating, a 360-degree national communication campaign of the Apollo Hospitals Group and The Times of India, won the Global Award for Brand Excellence as the Campaign of The Year Award at the recently concluded World Brand Congress 2010, at Mumbai. In its eighteenth year now, the World Brand Congress is an annual showcase event & is an interface for top executives from brands and marketing organisations worldwide. The agenda of the year was to address the current critical business challenges and also to recognise and reward the best communication campaigns, across various categories. Like every year, an independent jury selected the best campaigns, professionals and organizations of 2010 to be awarded at the “”Global Awards for Brand Excellence”” for excellence in brand building. With nearly 300 entries from around the world across various categories, the jury had a challenging task to shortlist and choose the best ideas that made a difference in communicating the message effectively.

Apollo Hospitals’ Billion Hearts Beating was one of the twenty seven ‘Campaigns of The Year’ that were submitted to the jury and after deliberations, made the cut, along with three other campaigns, to be awarded the best marketing Campaign of The Year 2010.

Through its Billion Hearts Beating campaign, the Apollo Hospitals Group has been able to make a positive difference to the fight against heart disease in India, by engaging with nearly 100,000 individuals so far and motivating them to make lifestyle changes towards a healthy life. The campaign continues to gather momentum with celebrities, opinion makers and heads of states, all lending their charisma to help the cause of a healthy heart.

About Billion Hearts Beating Campaign :

Studies over the last 60 years show an alarmingly high rate of coronary heart disease and premature heart disease among Indians. It is estimated that Indians are nearly four times more susceptible to heart attacks than Caucasians, with 25% of attacks happening to people under the age of 40 – unheard of in other populations.

While the problem has its roots in lack of regular physical activity, poor blood cholesterol levels, poor eating habits and stress, there is one more reason; a genetic predisposition. Scientific research reveals that Indians are genetically more prone to heart disease, prompting research efforts to identify this mutant gene and neutralize it.

Current research has identified 7 risk factors. These 7 together also present the solution, for if these risk factors are addressed, heart disease can be significantly reduced.

Communication, it was felt, was the key to addressing these risk factors and increasing general awareness about how heart disease could be countered.

Accordingly, Apollo Hospitals Group took the lead in launching a 360-degree campaign, articulated as ‘Billion Hearts Beating’, in partnership with The Times of India, in April 2010. The creative output included press and electronic media and on-ground activation.

The campaign achieved the critical mass in terms of engaging people to visit the website to take a pledge for a healthy heart. Contemporary messaging, easy-on-the-eye visuals and simplicity were the defining points in making the campaign effective and memorable.