Leveraging spiking cricket excitement around the start of the 2024 Indian Premier League (IPL), Cadbury Dairy Milk rolled out an integrated campaign – spanning TV, digital, social, PR, in-stadium, on-pack and in-store – starring player ambassadors Suryakumar Yadav (Mumbai Indians) and KL Rahul (Lucknow Super Giants) and their first youth coaches which champions the unsung heroes behind India’s cricket success through a campaign called #ThankYouFirstCoach.
Objective
In recent years Cadbury Dairy Milk’s brand has been built on ‘evoking, inspiring and enabling generosity’ and in India this has included championing often unnoticed and unacknowledged people within society.
To leverage its cricket sponsorships and feverish national interest in and excitement around the 2024 IPL tasked creative agency Ogilvy India and media agency Wavemaker to develop a marketing cricket/IPL/sponsor linked initiative which brings to life the brand’s underlying belief in generosity.
Activation
The Mondelez-owned chocolate brand, which sponsors both the Mumbai Indians (and the Mumbai Cricket Association) and the Lucknow Super Giants, rolled out the two-part activation to shine the spotlight on star cricketers’ mentors from their youth – the youth coaches who were first to recognize and nurture their talent and help steer their journey from the grassroots to the elite professional game.
The integrated, nationwide #ThankYouFirstCoach invites Indian’s to share their gratitude and recognize the impact of their first coaches in shaping their future. The creative is fronted by star players Suryakumar Yadav (Mumbai Indians) and KL Rahul (Lucknow Super Giants) who pay personal tribute to their own first coaches (who, of course, also feature in the campaign).
The IPL stars and their coaches feature in a pair of films – which journey from the vibrant streets to electrifying stadiums – which capture their gratitude and showcase the emotional bond between players and mentors.
Launched between 17 and 19 March in multiple languages, the launch #ThankYouFirstCoach spots see the stars acknowledge the grit and spirit and commitment of those who taught them first and thank them.
A further strand sees special branded jerseys designed for these coaches: honouring them with the names of their star pupils.
Plus, in an additional gesture of appreciation, Cadbury issued exclusive invitations to the first coaches of every IPL player to ‘join them in the family box during matches’. This offering a reward and enabling the countries leading professional cricketers to publicly acknowledge and thank their coaches.
The work, developed with teams from creative agency Ogilvy India and media agency Wavemaker, also encourages fans to participate by expressing gratitude to their own first coaches and highlighting the ‘transformative power of appreciation in nurturing talent and fostering aspirations’.
While, Cadbury Dairy Milk also introduced special packs enabling fans to join the #ThankYouFirstCoach movement: these limited edition bars serve ‘as a tangible symbol of gratitude which can be gifted to consumers’ own mentors’.
The campaign films are backed by a comprehensive set of social media executions.
“Over the past few years, the marriage between cricket and generosity at the back of impactful story-doing has driven strong consumption growth and saliency for our brand. And the aim is to only accelerate this journey in 2024 with Cadbury Dairy Milk’s #ThankYouFirstCoach campaign epitomizing the brand’s purpose of ‘generosity’. Through this emotional odyssey, we not only celebrate the transformative power of gratitude but also champion the profound impact of these guiding lights in shaping dreams and fostering talent- the first risk takers, the first believers, the first mentors. As we honor the silent architects behind cricket’s success stories, we invite everyone to join us in this heartfelt tribute, embracing the sweetness of appreciation and the joy of acknowledging those who paved the way for greatness.”
Mondelez India VP of Marketing Nitin Saini
“Cadbury Dairy Milk has been using the biggest cricketing event in the country, IPL, to shine the spotlight on those important aspects of the game that don’t get the due recognition. This year it’s the first coaches of the stars of cricket. Our starting point was a simple question, when fans cheer for the players every time they play their famous shots, do they really know who would have helped them develop that shot before they become popular? We simply wanted to acknowledge these GURUs of the game and nudge the country to thank them for their contribution towards the game, moreover towards turning our favorite players into stars.”
Ogilvy India Chief Creative Officer Sukesh Nayak
“Cadbury Dairy Milk’s latest campaign stands as a testament to the often overlooked heroes behind our cricketing legends—their first coaches. Through this campaign across multiple touchpoints and unique partnerships, we are dedicated to bringing in the limelight to these unsung heroes who shaped our cricket stars. Watch out as we unveil this heartfelt tribute to the first coaches during this highly anticipated IPL season.”
Wavemaker India Chief Client Officer & Office Head (West, North & East) Shekhar Banerjee
Outcome
The social spots alone generated more than 24m views on the brand’s own Indian social channels within 10 days of the campaign’s launch.
This initiative sees the brand both celebrate cricket’s unsung heroes and fosters a sense of connection and gratitude within the sporting community.
It also reconfirms that sport in general and cricket in particular remains a key ingredient in Cadbury’s marketing mix in India.
Other recent standout activations from the confectionary brand have included activating the ICC Men’s 2023 One Day Cricket World Cup through ‘#SitTogether’ and leveraging its role as a sponsor of Mumbai Cricket Association in 2022 by championing ‘Ground Staff’.
While, a non-cricket sports marketing initiative from 2023 saw it roll out #CheerForAllSports.