The Globes, the MAA Worldwide Awards, were announced in Toronto. Solutions Digitas and OgilvyAction are the only two Indian agencies to have won awards there. Solutions Digitas won a Globe, while OgilvyAction won a silver.
The entries that were shortlisted for the PMAA (Promotion Marketing Awards of Asia) were also sent to the MAA Globes. O&M and Solutions Digitas won the most awards at the PMAA as well.
Solutions Digitas was awarded the Globe for its campaign for Microsoft, titled My First Office, in the Best Trade Marketing or Account Specific Campaign category.
The campaign was initiated to resolve the difficulties in selling Microsoft Office to retailers. Solutions Digitas offered the creative idea of celebrating a birthday each time a dealer purchased a Microsoft Office kit. Therefore, after every purchase, the dealer registered on the website. The next day, a team would reach the office, with a cake and birthday paraphernalia in tow, to celebrate My First Office birthday.
The campaign won a silver at the PMAA in the same category. OgilvyAction won a silver in the Best Small Budget Campaign for Lifebuoy – Gurudwara.
The Gurudwara activation was carried out in Punjab, India. It involved placing the brand – Lifebuoy – at strategic locations within the gurudwara to disseminate the message of cleanliness that the soap provides. At a gurudwara, devotees need to take off their shoes at the entrance and wash their hands before entering the shrine. Therefore, soap dispensers at the washbasins and coupons received at the shoe rack had Lifebuoy branding on them.