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On January 26, as Republic Day celebrations unfolded across the country on the ground, a Karnataka-based tech creator sent India's tricolour 100,000 feet into the stratosphere.
Soham M Rai, known online as Zikiguy, partnered with quick-commerce platform Zepto to launch the national flag using a high-altitude hydrogen balloon. The team captured footage of the tricolour unfurling against the curvature of the Earth, describing it as the world's highest flag hoisting.
Instead of billboards or ground events, the campaign used balloon engineering and specialised cameras to position the flag at near-space altitude. The resulting content was shared on Instagram in collaboration.
The videos recorded over a million likes on Instagram within a day.
Rai typically works on practical technology projects, flood-rescue drones, income-boosting apps for service workers, and accessibility tools for the visually impaired. The stratospheric flag launch marked his way into space exploration.
The creator had to coordinate with the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and the Air Traffic Control (ATC), who had granted him prior permissions for the launch of the balloon in the airspace.
The payload included the flag, tracking system, cameras, and recovery mechanism. The mechanism was designed such a way that the flag was unfurled mid-air when the payload reached the team's desired altitude, and the temperature was appropriate.
Launch day tested the team's preparation, but the balloon reached its target altitude and the flag was deployed.
Rai documented the process in a two-part video series, showing the technical challenges and solutions the team developed. Zepto provided both promotional support and funding for the project.
The campaign illustrated how brand and creator partnerships can operate outside standard marketing formats. The collaboration did not try to fit into the existing video ads by creators and Out-Of-Home campaign templates; it attempted to go beyond the norm and the textbook definition of OOH marketing, which typically includes hoarding and installations.