AP Dhillon: First of a Kind promised an authentic look at the enigmatic man behind the musical phenomenon simply known as APD. We knew the show would be popular among the Young Adult segment, our core viewer group for this show.

Rather than reveal too much through conventional promos, we created a series of music-led, social-first experiences both on-ground and online all integrated under the creative idea ‘You know his music, now know the man.’

Through pop-up concert performances, unseen home videos, influencer activations and a whole lot more, we gave audiences a consistent experience of the show’s promise.

The young adult segment is growing within the competitive OTT space. With an eye on this opportunity, Prime Video created ‘AP Dhillon: First of A Kind’ an unscripted docu-series on the life of the biggest Punjabi music artiste, AP Dhillon.

We partnered with the star to tell his story, compressing three years’ worth of footage into four intense episodes. The series was sure to be required viewing for casual and hardcore fan alike.

But, we soon realised the launch would be challenging.

While, AP Dhillon the artiste enjoys phenomenal popularity & recognition, Amrit Pal the human being is an enigma.

A celebrity biopic or documentary often serves as its own marketing. Just build awareness about the celebrity subject & the fans’ interest is piqued enough to build traction and viewership.

What do we do when our subject’s persona is as mysterious as his music is well-known?

The core viewership for our show would come from young adults (18-24) who admire celebrities but don’t necessarily hero-worship them blindly. The celebs that are most beloved to our audience are the ones who maintain a relatable, accessible persona rather than an unapproachable aura like earlier superstars.

Celebrities too are more open with their fans now. Equally comfortable to share the routine, and not just the special aspects of life. They are equally expressive during their low moments as they are during their happy moments.

We knew that the show which condenses 3 years of AP’s life into a couple of hours will be exactly what AP Dhillon’s fans are looking for.

So, our organising creative idea was straightforward but powerful: ‘You know his music, now know the man.’

We knew the core young adult viewership would be looking forward to the show as it promises to reveal the enigma that is the man behind the music.

But we had a challenge on our hands. We wanted to maintain the mystique of AP Dhillon, the enigma to drive viewership. A conventional title marketing approach would have narrative trailers that revealed a fair bit of show footage.

So we revised the playbook to make it truly appealing to the YA cohort. We created a series of social-first, music-led experiences that were accessible to young audiences on-ground and on social media as well.

Pop-up events that had an unannounced, impromptu performance from AP Dhillon himself stunned fans in attendance.

We also used influencers to amplify the mystery and created bite-size content pieces that delivered on the creative idea, yet built anticipation for the title.

Launch: AP posted unseen home video of him performing from the time before he moved to Canada and became a star. This was the most authentic way to drive home the show promise.

Rumour Campaign: To capitalise on his mystery, we created a rumour campaign that built intrigue. Light-hearted posts like ‘AP music streams are 3X more than India and Canada’s population combined’, created buzz with brands, influencers and meme pages.

Secret Pop-Ups in Delhi & Mumbai: In Delhi, we threw a pop-up APD Night where AP himself showed up spontaneously for an impromptu performance, leaving his fans stunned. As were 10,000+ attendees at Mumbai’s premier college festival with another unannounced performance.

Popstar vs. Regular Guy Promo Series: Highlighting the contrast between his life as a star and him doing regular things like cooking and getting a hair cut further promised to reveal the man behind the star.

AP DHILLON: FIRST OF A KIND One of 2023’S most-watched unscripted shows for Prime Video India, Estimated Viewership 7.2 MN (Ormax)

Campaign engagement: 1 million+ & 35k+ mentions across social media

The Delhi Surprise Pop-Up: IG Reel - 4x views & 3X engagement & YouTube shorts - 2.2x views (vs. benchmarks)

Content around the Screening event: Instagram - 3x engagement, Twitter - 5x views & 12x engagement, Facebook - 5x engagement.

Promo Performance on IG: 32.7k engagement (vs 29.8k Q2’23 average)

Music Videos - ‘With You’ 3x views, 5X engagement on IG.

BRAND IMPACT

Top-Of-Mind Awareness (+350bps), Brand Preference (+460bps) grew among the YA segment.

Brand Endorsement on Prime Video ‘Offers you much more than just TV shows/movies’: +290bps

In North India, awareness (+230bps) & consideration (+300bps) showed healthy growth.

Crucially, among YA viewers – brand awareness (+300bps) & consideration (+450bps) grew strongly (vs. non-viewers)