How DBS Bank built brand awareness in India with web series Sparks

As there is low awareness of the Singapore-based bank DBS in India, and considering the overt nature of branding with Asian content values, DBS decided to weave content that would allow them to make a home in India’s heart.

The objective of the content initiative was to increase awareness for the brand by subtly weaving the brand into the story.

DBS Bank launched a web series ‘Sparks’ in 2016 and rolled it out across DBS’ key markets. The series featured a set of young bankers, inspired by true stories. The story was based on their brand ethos ‘Live more, Bank Less’.

In order to gain affinity in India, they decided to get Sachin Tendulkar on board in their second last episode. While the series garnered 6.6 million views, the episode starring Tendulkar got 28.7 million views. The total engagement garnered on social media in terms of likes, shares and comments was 1.03 million.

“Sparks is a flagship and region-wide brand asset for us. We preserved its essence but decided to enhance it. And who better than our brand ambassador Sachin, with his own true story, to do the job. Inspired by his work in making play accessible to kids, two marquee episodes were created for the India launch. Here, the bankers step in to help bring his dream alive – helping kids play, even after dark. We now had a relevant story for India that needed to be socialised with the masses correctly. So, targeting Sachin’s loyal fan base was the first port of call,” said Sheran Mehra, Head, Group Strategic and Marketing Communications, DBS Bank, India.

From the entire series, what acquired the most attention in India was Tendulkar’s monologue, which was posted across his social media handles. It soon became a trending topic on Twitter. From Tendulkar's social accounts, the brand garnered 3.3. million views.

Subsequently, a multimedia campaign on OOH, in-cinema and digital also helped to boost the content. The results sparked as the brand acquired popularity on YouTube, reporting nearly a 973.9% lift in keyword searches, acquiring its ultimate goal, increased awareness in India.

To continue with the promotion, the brand is turning the vision in Sparks into a reality, by illuminating a playground in Mumbra for kids.

Engagement metre:

*Total views garnered across trailers and the two episodes: 28.7 million

*Total engagements garnered on social (likes, shares, comments): 1.03 million

*Total views and engagements garnered from Sachin’s handles: 3.3 million views and 663k engagement

*Total views on the episodes alone: 6.6 million

*Average cost per view for episodes across platform: Rs. 0.57

*Average watch time per episode: 5:06 minutes (over 50% of episode 9) and 5:25 minutes (36% of episode 10)

Retention rate: On average, 40% of those who have watched 25% of either episode (DBS’ internal qualifier for quality views) have gone on to complete them.

YouTube videos:

Sparks episodes with Sachin:

Sparks trailers:

Sachin’s monologue:

Sachin’s chat with DBS Bank India Surojit Shome to #SparkAPurpose:

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