‘Keep calm, there’s no need to panic, you can watch Pepsi IPL on your mobile no matter your location or situation’ – so urges the new campaign from IPL 2014 official online streaming partner Starsports.com.
Star India licensed this year’s digital distribution rights for IPL 2014 from Times Internet, the digital arm of the Times of India Group, and is offering streaming and video on demand on starsports.com, the Star Sports app, and on mobile operator services powered by Star Sports.
To promote these digital broadcast IPL services it has launched the first ever dedicated marketing push for IPL web streaming based on the popular recession-related reworking of the British Government’s World war Two ‘Keep calm and carry on’ motivational poster.
The digital broadcaster’s initiative to promote online viewing of the world’s biggest Tweenty20 cricket tournament take a humorous approach with creative revolving around urging people in hopelessly disappointing situations to keep clam and take comfort from watching the IPL on the phones, tablets, laptops and PCs.
Developed with two Lowe Lintas & Partners’ agencies – Lowe Lintas and LinTeractive – the campaign is led by a video posted on YouTube, running on the brand’s own platforms and seeded across the online cricket world and the Indian web community.
It includes a montage of scenes – from a girl watching the IPL at a relative’s dull function and a teen watching on his phone from behind his notebook while being scolded by his dad, to office workers sneakily watching the IPL on a hidden tablet that the boss can’t see – all showing that whatever circumstances you find yourself in, you can relax and watch the IPL on your mobile device.
As with so many Indian and IPL campaigns, the ad is set to a catchy, foot-tapping song/jingle with funny vocals narrating over the imagery and repeating the tagline ‘Keep calm, Kanna, keep calm, Watch Pepsi IPL on Starsports.com.
During the first few weeks of the tournament, the online video has received more than 407,000 views on YouTube.
The initiative is also running across Facebook and Twitter – spearheaded by the hashtag #Kannakeepcalm and incentivising interaction through competition, prizes and added content.
The campaign is generating some solid social buzz – even among India’s glitterati.
Indeed, South Indian actor Siddharth tweeted ‘Star sports ‘Kanna keep calm’ ad for the IPL – superb. Very well-conceived and executed’.
Other strands of the campaign include web banners, buttons and skyscrapers, plus mobile apps and ads.
Comment
Many of tweets about this campaign mention the addictive jingle – indeed, the work’s USP is basically its catchy and cleverly composed lyric.
This is the first ever dedicated campaign promoting IPL online streaming of IPL and the campaign is appropriately digitally focused: it is driven by social interaction and aims to generate online buzz.
Unsurprisingly its objective is principally to engage with the youth segment with creative their relates to their life perspective, by speaking their language and by taking an appropriate youth-influenced attitude and tone.
Links
StarSports India website
http://www.starsports.com/cricket/index.html
StarSports Website
StarsSports Twitter
@StarsSportsIndia
https://twitter.com/StarSportsIndia
StarSports Facebook
