Artificial intelligence (AI) is coming to the aid of advertising and machine learning (ML) programmes are analysing far greater pools of data to make a nuanced connection. Home textiles company Welspun India decided to tackle an environmental issue that has grave consequences — severe fall in groundwater levels — with the help of an algorithm that pooled real-time data.

A recent NITI Aayog report highlighted that groundwater levels in some of India’s biggest cities have fallen significantly. In the absence of proactive measures, 21 cities are estimated to be on the brink of running out of groundwater this year.

Welspun’s campaign decided to build on this compelling issue. The campaign, by digital agency Foxymoron, uses digital ad banners backed by an unique API integration, which shows residents the groundwater levels in their city on a real-time basis.

The curated banners use a specially designed algorithm that allows groundwater level data to be pulled from the official source and incorporated in the banner concurrently.

Umesh Shashidharan, Media Director at FoxyMoron, told BusinessLine on the sidelines of a media event, “We reached out to our audience with real-time data and custom messaging to educate them to take small steps towards water conservation. It was a one-of-a-kind algorithm which used ground water levels to drive water sustainability.”

Noting that sustainability is a common topic that brands use to create awareness for different social causes while integrating their products, he said: “One should not discredit the effect it has in bringing awareness and enabling change.”

“In order to bring attention to the crisis, we highlighted the low ground water levels in various cities while showing the water saving benefits of Welspun’s range of reversible bedsheets that save up to 40 per cent water during washing,” said Shashidharan.

He went on to say that unlike other countries, the main source of accessing water reserves during dry spells here is tapping into ground water, which replenishes during monsoons. “Due to lack of infrastructure and water harvesting measures, the ground water levels have severely depleted. We took this critical fact and highlighted it by showing the ground water levels in cities to drive change,” he added.

The campaign is currently live in Maharashtra, West Bengal, Kerala, Jharkhand and other areas where groundwater levels are falling rapidly.

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