Visible Bag
Background
Uzbekistan is going through an energy crisis. Frequent power outages and outdated infrastructure leave many streets in darkness, and some neighbourhoods have no streetlights at all. At night, pedestrians become practically invisible. Every year more than 2,400 people die in road accidents in the country, including 260 children, and half of these deaths happen after dark.
For Gross Insurance, one of the largest insurers in the country, this became a business problem: night-time accidents drove up insurance payouts and cut profits by 7%. At the same time, Uzum, the largest online platform in Uzbekistan with more than 10 million users, noticed that 30% of orders are picked up after dark. Two different industries, one shared problem: people disappear in the dark.
Idea
We brought the two brands together around this problem. Instead of waiting for the infrastructure to change, we created The Visible Bag, a practical solution people would actually use every day: a reflective bag that turns pedestrians into moving road signs.
Execution
Made of durable reusable material and carrying a bright reflective pedestrian crossing sign, the bag made people visible at night. No extra effort, no new habits required. It was delivered automatically with orders through the Uzum logistics network, free of charge for users.
Results
10,000 bags were distributed in the first month alone. The campaign reached 18.3 million people, almost half of the country, with zero media spend. Gross Insurance recovered its losses and grew profits by 8%.
Local authorities quickly backed the initiative, scaled it nationwide and brought the bags into schools. What started as an ordinary shopping bag became a national symbol of road safety and proof that brands can save lives when they set out to solve real problems.
The streets did not get any brighter. The people on them finally became visible.
Credits
Agency: Synthesis
Creative Director: Farrukh Sharif
Managing Partner, CSD: Alina Mirzaeva
Independent Creative Director: Denis Eliseev
Creative Copywriter: Sergey Gorobtsov
Creative Copywriter: Sadokat Sultanmuratova
Art Director: Timur Aitov
Designer: Vlada Idunova
Designer: Amirxon Isaxanov
Account Manager: Liya Gerasimova
Account Manager: Daria Gerasimova
Account Manager: Valeria Shamakova
Client: Gross Insurance
Chairman of the Board: Otabek Nazarov
Deputy Chairman of the Board: Kamoliddin Beknazarov
PR Director: Elizaveta Ponomareva
Client: Uzum Market
Marketing Director: Anastasiya Kudyashova
PR Manager: Mariya Skorik
Brand Manager: Timur Vaade
Special thanks: Main Department of Internal Affairs of Tashkent
Press Secretary to the Head of the Department, Head of the Information and Multimedia Center: Nilufar Isakhanova
PR agencies
Branding: Anna Malkiel, Maksim Gladkiy
Communication strategy, strategic and creative support, event marketing: Maksim Gladkiy, Veronika Komarova
Production: Lunar
Producer: Bogdan Frolov
Director: Ivan Proskuryakov
Director of Photography: Boris Litovchenko
Line Producer: Aselya Idayatova
Makeup Artist: Nigora Fayzieva
Costume Designer: Luiza Yunusova
Editor: Khojiakbar Lutfullakhojayev
On-set Editor: Muslim Nassulloyev