JSW Steel leveraged the IPL 2020 and its principal sponsorship of the Delhi Capitals to reach a broader and wider mass market demographic than its previous marketing through its social-first #KhelKhushiyonKa campaign – fronted by star player Rishabh Panti and including video series and fan contests – which gave fans a chance to celebrate, participate and develop a deeper understanding of the players and the brand.
Territory: India
Agency: RepIndia
Objectives
In August 2020, JSW Group became the principal sponsor of the IPL team Delhi Capitals (replacing Daikan Air-Conditioning which had been the Delhi franchise’s principal sponsors since 2015) and this deal saw JSW Steel – one of India’s biggest steel makers and the anchor company in the $12bn JSW Group – become the front of shirt sponsor.
Like so many other people and companies around the world, the Covid-19 pandemic presented JSW with multiple challenges in activating its sponsorship of the Delhi Capitals during the 2020 IPL partnership including negative global sentiment, lockdowns and social distancing protocols, a delayed start, a location switch from India to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and a lack of fans in stadiums.
The 2020 Dream 11 IPL was originally scheduled to start on 29 March, but was rescheduled several times to the pandemic and finally in August it was announced that the tournament would take place between 19 September and 10 November in the UAE. Partly due to the relocation, JSW briefed its agency to create a seamless connection between steel and cricket via a meaningful, digital-first campaign which would challenge convention, cut through the online cricket clutter and generate ‘positive brand love’.
Activation
JSW Steel’s digital agency RepIndia responded by creating and executing a multi-channel campaign called #KhelKhushiyonKa based on insights and experiences learned from activating the company’s existing athlete ambassadors in India.
The core approach was to drive home messages about JSW Steel’s values in a multi-strand campaign running primarily on the brand and team’s social channels and on the Disney-owned Indian subscription video on-demand streaming service Hotstar (operated by IPL broadcast partner Star India) and which highlighted the team’s skills and performance through player-centric content and incentivised through team merchandise.
https://www.facebook.com/JSWSteelOfficial/photos/a.956940164458690/1798323550320343/?type=3
The campaign’s multiple strands rolled out through the tournament and sought to engage meaningfully with various segments within JSW’s target audience and began by connecting to committed, hard-core cricket fans through a predict-and-win online initiative called ‘Steel The Show’.
https://www.facebook.com/JSWSteelOfficial/photos/a.956940164458690/1850394521779912/?type=3
This was followed by a ‘Super Steel Fan Contest’ which set out to engage mainstream fans by testing their cricket knowledge in search of the biggest Delhi Capital fan.
https://www.facebook.com/JSWSteelOfficial/photos/a.956940164458690/1850712298414801/?type=3
An additional, more fun and light-hearted ‘for everyone’ strand saw the brand launch a custom AR Filter of the Delhi Capitals team jersey.
The next phase saw the launch of a JSW Steel ‘Caption Contest’ which aimed to engage all segments of its target audience and involved the consumer making up creative situations to match the players’ funny expressions of the players.
The campaign also encourage buying through the JSW ‘Consumer & Retail Premier League’ activation strand which sought to directly boost sales. This was based around a lucky draw contest (promoted and entered via the brand’s social channels) linked to a WhatsApp distribution of virtual coupons on all new purchases made during the tournament.
While consumers won virtual vouchers, participating retailers were rewarded through player virtual meet and greets.
JSW Steel also promoted its consumer brands – JSW Neosteel and JSW Colouron+ – through a seven-episode social video series fronted by athlete ambassador and Delhi Capitals star Rishabh Pant.
Pant was selected as one ‘of the most relatable and charismatic Indian cricket players’ and he hosted this video strand in which he candidly interviewed teammates.
The campaign was further supported by a pair of Pant-fronted brand commercials played on official IPL video-on-demand broadcaster Hotstar during the team’s matches.
Outcome
The #KhelKhushiyonKa campaign generated a mammoth 132m+ impressions on digital and social media during the 2020 IPL.
According to the agency, the other main campaign success metrics included:
> Total Impressions: 132 Million+
> 6th trending spot on Twitter
> 4+m views of the Rishabh Panti social video series
> 82+m views of the 2 commercials on Hotstar
> 4+m TVC views on social media
> 14+k engaged with activities/entered contests
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