Direct > Digital & Social
DISCOVERY COMMUNICATIONS INDIA, Mumbai / DISCOVERY+ / 2022
Overview
Credits
Why is this work relevant for Direct?
Insights were used to construct an accurate consumer profile, which then inspired the concept and creation of a viral hit wedding song. The song was well-received by the target audience and it led to an increased social media presence, brand awareness and customer engagement with the brand.
Background
An international wedding-themed franchise “Say Yes To The Dress” which was adapted to the Indian flavour needed to be launched by the brand in a market that was not expecting such content from the platform. Say Yes To The Dress India faced three challenges to get the audience in its favour. The first was that the audience is heavily male-skewed but the show was targeted at women aged 18-34. The second was that the masses don’t associate the brand with the lifestyle genre. And finally, the space for wedding-themed entertainment is heavily cluttered. The promotion of this show required an elegant solution which attracted the target audience to the platform and the show, and make the show a talking point within its target audience.
Describe the creative idea
The show is all about women picking the right wedding dress for their dream wedding. So the team chose to focus on the magical moment when the bride enters the wedding — the first moment when the groom and her family and friends see her in her dream dress. Over the last some time, this entry has been romanticized and turned into a Bollywood song and dance for the bride’s memories. Song and dance are an important part of Indian weddings, especially the Sangeet ceremony, which is a full blockbuster event. With the advent of Instagram, this moment has also turned into a social media phenomenon. So the team decided to co-opt this moment of weddings across the nation by giving them a viral hit by one of India’s biggest musicians.
Describe the strategy
The team pored over Google Insights, TGI, BARC Analysis and the brand’s own subscriber analytics and constructed consumer profiles. The audience comes mainly from metro cities with a heavy skew towards the northern and western markets in India. This demographic is interested in fashion, shopping for apparels, accessories and Bollywood. The team also learnt that the top searches on YouTube were wedding event choreography videos. The demographics’ preferences of wedding-related content has spawned an entire industry of music videos, choreographers, dance classes, and playlists — all dedicated to making the sangeet night the most memorable and glamorous.
Audio is an important aspect of virality on reels. India loves music and related shows. Indian artist Badshah, who is known for party bangers and viral hits, was approached to collaborate with the team on giving the women the perfect song for the 2021 wedding season.
Describe the execution
India’s favourite rapper Badshah produced “Sajna Say yes To The Dress”, a super hit wedding song in collaboration with the brand and the TV show. The music video promised them to make all their wedding wishes come true. An ace Bollywood choreographer created a hook step for the song that was designed to go viral among content creators. The wedding song promoting the show was launched a week before the show on YouTube, popular streaming platforms as well as radio stations across India and the world. The song was released on the brand’s social media channels with the brand’s packaging and not the artist’s to ensure brand recall.
List the results
The song made a huge organic impact. It received 170 million+ views on YouTube and 50 million+ plays on audio streaming services. It was featured in 1 million+ user-generated reels on Instagram with 300 million+ views. The song inspired a series of dance tutorials on YouTube, with a cumulative 50 million+ views. Brides like TV actress Karishma Tanna even made their entry to the song. The song was also number 1 on the radio for a week.
The brand and the show received a huge boost because of this viral hit. The brand’s Facebook and YouTube channels received more than 10x higher than average growth in followers. The show was 84% more searched for than previous lifestyle shows. The brand’s awareness score increased by 34%. The music video has already recovered more than 25% of its creation cost through audio and video streaming revenue within 3 months of release.
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