Ministry of tourism partners NDTV in ‘7 Wonders of India’ campaign

Having taken the 'Incredible India' campaign aboard Singapore Airlines, the ministry of tourism has now partnered with national television channel NDTV for a nationwide campaign entitled '7 Wonders of India'.

The campaign will rediscover seven-best natural and man-made marvels of India. It is also the first partnership between a television channel and the ministry to celebrate India's rich heritage. The initiative is supported by leading public sector bank, State Bank of India, and telecommunications company, Tata Indicom.

The '7 wonders of India' campaign is part of the 'Incredible India campaign. It will provide an interactive and innovative platform for citizens of all the states of India, grouped into 16 clusters, to select the incomparable wonders in their state.

State governments would also be part of the initiative through on-ground activities in order to take the campaign to the grass root level.

The year-long campaign will commence in September 2008. Its creatives have been done by Equus Communication, Europe's only dedicated private equity communications consultancy.

Dr Prannoy Roy, chairman, NDTV Ltd, said that India is a treasure trove of astonishingly beautiful creations of art and architecture, and that it was ''our privilege'' to partner with the ministry of tourism's Incredible India campaign to discover and bring forth these wonders tucked away around the country.

A series of special features on nominated heritage properties from each state would be telecast on NDTV. Each month, the top seven choices in two state clusters would be declared.

The top wonder from each of these states would be nominated for an all-India selection, and NDTV viewers would be asked to submit their choices online or through SMS.

The initiative would be accompanied by a mass media campaign in print, on the radio and online on the Internet.

The grand finale of the campaign would announce the seven wonders of India on NDTV.

Ambika Soni, union minister for tourism and culture said ''It is a pleasure to join hands with NDTV to promote our culture and heritage. This campaign will blend very well with the Incredible India campaign and bring tourists both from India and abroad.''

She also said that India was a land of incredible wonders that needs to be explored and admired, and hoped that the year-long campaign would encourage people to visit and experience the beauty of ''our marvellous heritage properties and also safeguard them for our future generations.''

The campaign involves programming on NDTV along with public participation through mass media, on-ground events and signature campaigns.