The last few months have been one of the toughest phases for mankind, globally. With a complete nationwide lockdown, everyone is trying to engage themselves in activities that either resemble their earlier routine or incorporate new ways to feel a sense of purpose amid the chaos. In this context and with an aim to keep up with consumer engagement, Cricbuzz launched a new show, #StrategicTimeout, in April this year.
The show featured some light-hearted videos of cricket celebrities practising social distancing. It featured these cricket personalities humorously answering lockdown-related queries. To ensure maximum reach and engagement for the same, the brand tied up with WATConsult, the digital agency from the house of Dentsu Aegis Network (DAN) India.
Furthermore, to create buzz on Twitter and Instagram and spread the word beyond hardcore cricket-following audiences, the agency leveraged the use of influencer marketing across the categories of comedy, music, art and lifestyle. The content centred around how the influencers are using their time strategically during this period, eventually leading their followers to the Cricbuzz app.
The Instagram posts:
Within the first week of launch, #StrategicTimeout trended organically on Twitter, reaching over 10.6 million unique users and generating engagement over eight lakh. To further strengthen the impact of the campaign, engagement activities such as interactive quizzes, polls and GIFs have been successfully running in parallel on the brand’s social media platforms. A response of over 2.2k in terms of user-generated content has been recorded, until now.
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Deepanwita Bhattacharya
Sharing her views on the campaign, Deepanwita Bhattacharya, Marketing Manager, Cricbuzz, said, “#StrategicTimeout was a success as it led users to know how the cricketing stars were utilising their time during the lockdown. The idea was not to restrict users with just cricket-related content but to explore the other areas as well to draw their interest. With WATConsult coming on board, it helped Cricbuzz team up to create a compelling campaign on social media.”
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Heeru Dingra
Heeru Dingra, CEO, WATConsult, added, “We successfully employed the method of influencer marketing to engage the audience in a digital conversation about how we already are or potentially could invest our time strategically in various activities during the lockdown. Also, engagement across multiple digital platforms helps reach a wider audience and garner unique impressions. We want to focus on the message that this period could prove to be a #StrategicTimeout after all, if we use it wisely.”
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