Category: Best non-fiction program, series or film where a client has successfully created a reality, documentary or light entertainment show around a product(s) or brand(s)
Advertiser: MARUTI SUZUKI INDIA
Product/Service: SUZUKI CAR
Agency: LINTAS MEDIA GROUP
President: Kaacon Sethi (Lintas Media Group)
Business Director: Shiva (Lintas Media Group)
Chairman: Lynn De Souza (Lintas Media Group)
Media placement: TV Promotional Campaign - Star Plus - 07/09/2011
Media placement: Radio Tune In Promos - Radio City - 21/09/2012
Media placement: Press - Dainik Bhaskar - 10/09/2011
Media placement: OOH - Billboards - 22/09/.2011
Campaign Description
Branded content in India is still featured around embedded brands and products within movies or television series. The concept of creating branded content from scratch is still very much unexplored territory. Even in the case of using products and brands within content, there are very few examples that doing it well and truly leverage the power of branded content.
Advertisers are restricted to featuring in programmes where they have limited or no control, making it hard for many marketers to do a seamless job at integrating their messages into entertaining content. This creates low or limited engagement opportunities with consumers, and the brand in most of the programmes don’t entertain or connect with their audience. A lot of the time, branded entertainment features brands or products that are rather irrelevant to the content. This was a challenge, as well as an opportunity, for us to create engaging and entertaining matter that seemingly integrated brands and products into great content.
Effectiveness
Ritz car brand is all about spontaneity, adventure and enjoying every moment in life. The brand wanted to connect with young adults, who have little affinity to general family programmes on television, little time to read, and live on social media.
The key marketing challenge was to communicate the Ritz proposition in an environment that fosters the spirit of adventure and engages the audience. From this marketing challenge, 2 sub-challenges emerged - translate the spirit of adventure beyond a 30-second TV commercial, and create a platform where consumers can relate with the ‘live the moment’ philosophy. Friends, exploration, competitiveness and team spirit define the Ritz audience. We also realised that they have an interest in following celebrities and this connection could possibly help us deliver the brand message.
The idea was born through this insight to create an adventure reality show in a car race format where contestants race each other, perform tasks and solve clues. Our communication strategy was to engage with young consumers by indulging them in their passions - driving, adventure, exploring, and celebrity followings.
The show featured 12 half hour episodes, pairing 6 celebrities with 6 contestants. The strategy was to bring to life the theme of living in the moment by creating a fun, engaging and involving programme that resonated with the audience. One team was eliminated at the end of each episode, and finally 3 teams emerged as winners. The winning pair got to choose their ‘Live the Moment’ reward from a pool of 12 dream destinations and a Ritz car. The show launched on 10th September, supported by a range of TV, Radio, Print, PR and Outdoor promos, and PR coverage.
Implementation
The entire show was built on the brand promise of 'Live the moment'. Content was adventurous, explorative and entertaining. Team spirit (bonding of a celebrity and an everyday person) were some of the high points of the show, which were able to attract and connect with target audience.
Elimination in each round was a big hook for the audience to keep coming back to the episodes week after week. The promos showed dramatic content from the elimination, without giving away the results. The digital content shared in the fun the participants were having – this sparked exchanges between fans rooting for different teams
Outcome
• The online series was a hit, increased fan base on Ritz Facebook page by 63%. The fan page grew from 200,000 to 325,000 on the back of the content. 30% of all lifetime views of the Ritz YouTube channel were for the show and the content garnered a huge amount of free earned media with over 25 digital media agencies covering the press meet and 9 channels embedding the show into their programming.
The campaign delivered 26% more in value terms on ROI on the channel, improving the evaluation CPRP benchmark by 9%. The show doubled active integration by 100% and delivered slot at 75% of the market price 500,000.