Coke Studio best youth work in last few years: Nandini Dias

Did you expect to win so many awards?
In all honesty, I was a part of the jury so I had some idea that we had done well. But didn't know how well, because when the categories go on and when we are judging it goes on one after another. To that extent I am pleasantly surprised and happy to win these many awards. We have done a very good job. I am just dying to go back to the team and show them all the awards. Unfortunately, a limited people came to Goa and I am sure everyone back home will be surely celebrating.

Who would you attribute the success to? What are the factors that led to this win?
I think in the last 10 years, we have always won whether it's as a winner or as a runner-up. We have been doing well at the awards and thankfully, we continue to do so. The teams across the agencies really push themselves. At Lodestar, we see ourselves as a strategically driven agency… the kind of investment we do on the strategic front, the amount of investment we make to train our people and it is not about training them in an individual medium but across all mediums. I think anybody who has been at Lodestar will vouch for the best strategic thought processes that happen in the agency, so I think it is an outcome of the kind of work, training and thinking that goes within the agency.

Any category where you were not anticipating a win, but you did?
In fact, it's the other way round, personally Coke Studio is by far the best youth work that has happened in the country in the last couple of years. Though it may have been a work that has happened from the agency, I can't think of a better consistent campaign with the kind of marketing and ground activation that has been happening. We started off as a single MTV channel but it runs across on Colors with an occasional run on Doordarshan. It also airs across various radio stations so the kind of work in Coke studio is really amazing. I am surprised that it didn't come through and that is a big disappointment. However, today is the winning day and I can't be saying that I am not happy.

Apart from Coke Studio which is close to your heart, any other work that you are really proud of which has won an award.
We did an amazing job on Tata Safari 24. It's amazing how the new age collaboration has come through. It was not only about just buying FCT and going ahead. At every episode, we knew what's going to happen and how would we integrate it. This is a great example of how content will be leveraged by brands in the future.

You were a part of the jury and so have closely looked at the entries. Any favourites from other agencies?
I loved BeBeautiful. In a simplistic way, it may look like a website but the kind of detailing that has gone into it is amazing. I am not surprised that it won as many Golds as it did including the Grand Prix. Unanimously, the jury voted for it!

—In arrangement with MxMIndia.com