Yellow Stage's Karan Malhotra Decodes Harley-Davidson India's Pavilion @ HOG Rally & #IBW2016

by  Isha Gakhar Entertainment | February 24, 2016 | Interview

India Bike Week The Yellow Stage

The Yellow Stage has been curating most of Harley-Davidson India’s experiential activities over the last three years. This year too, The Yellow Stage took charge of Harley-Davidson India’s Experiential Pavilion at the 4th India HOG Rally & India Bike Week, on Feb 18-20 in Goa.

Here’s an exclusive conversation with Karan Malhotra, Managing Director, The Yellow Stage talking about the agency’s role in putting together Harley-Davidson’s Experiential Zone @ India’s biggest biking carnival….

What was Harley-Davidson India’s brief to the agency?

At Harley-Davidson, the customer experience shapes the company and the brand. Our mandate was to create an experience that is unique and appeals to existing Harley owners and motorcycle enthusiasts who were coming to India Bike Week and had not yet come in close quarters with the brand.  Our aim was to create and help deliver personalized experiences that are authentically Harley-Davidson.

What was the agency’s role and responsibility here?

Right from conceptualization, designing, production and complete management of the pavilion, artist management, SFX to logistics, outdoor media campaign, after-party events, were part of our deliverables. 

Were there any kind of execution challenges?     

It was a very detailed project executed by a very capable team that delivered on timelines.  However, we felt the sun god could have shown mercy. 



Please describe the event flow and all the activities that took place? 

It was a three-day event for us. The first day was an exclusive evening for the Harley Owners Group, where more than 2500 H.O.G. members from across 21 H.O.G. Chapters across India came down for the 4th H.O.G. India rally and gathered at Harley-Davidson Pavilion at Arpora Sporting Grounds, Goa. The 4th H.O.G. India Rally is the biggest rally of the 5 rallies that are conducted all-round the year, at regular intervals, to provide great riding experiences to Harley-Davidson riders and their families.

Through the course of the evening, H.O.G. members and H.O.G. chapters were honored with for their passion and spirit for biking and spanning thousands of kilometers across the country in a year.

A true combination of music, motorcycles and mayhem was ensured as the country's legendary rock band Parikrama jammed live with the very famous Ehsaan Noorani ( Shankar Ehsaan Loy ) and Suraj Jagan. Celebrations continued with an after-party at Titos Courtyard.

On the second day, the roads leading from Nazri Grounds to Arpora Sporting Grounds, Goa, witnessed the biggest riding spectacle of Harley-Davidson motorcycles in India till date, as the H.O.G. India parade, roared its way into the 2016 IBW.

On all day, motorcycle enthusiasts kept visiting the Harley-Davidson pavilion to check out the complete line-up of Harley-Davidson India’s 2016 motorcycles, including the recently launched Sportster® 1200 Custom and the iconic Road King®. They also indulged in the first-hand experience of sitting atop a roaring Harley-Davidson motorcycle through the Harley-Davidson Jumpstart and get inked in true biker fashion at the Harley-Davidson Experience Zone.

Finally, what was the setup like?

The setup was created keeping in mind the high energy and an un-caged approach the brand offers. Freedom of thought allowed us to create the pavilion with over 10,000 kgs of metal that was visually impactful. An 800 square feet of a mezzanine structure was created overlooking the festival, a jumpstart zone enabled riders and non-riders to experience the power of the V Twins, live inking allowed many visitors to carry the Harley-Davidson logo on their skin for life. Another very exclusive technology of LIVE 3D scale modelling of one’s own self was being offered, along with many other experiences, which left the visitors at the Harley-Davidson pavilion with an experience like never before.