Mumbai: The last few months have been one of the toughest phases for mankind, globally. With a complete nationwide lockdown, everyone is trying to engage themselves in activities that either resemble their earlier routine or incorporate new ways to feel a sense of purpose amidst the chaos. In context to this and with an aim to keep up with consumer engagement, Cricbuzz launched a new show, #StrategicTimeout, in April this year.
The show featured some light-hearted videos of cricket celebrities practicing social distancing. It also featured these cricket personalities humorously answering lockdown-related queries. To ensure maximum reach and engagement for the same, the brand tied up with WATConsult, the most awarded globally hybrid digital agency from the house of Dentsu Aegis Network (DAN) India. Furthermore, to create buzz on Twitter and Instagram as well as spread the word beyond hardcore cricket following audiences, the agency leveraged the use of influencer marketing across the categories of Comedy, Music, Art, and Lifestyle. The content was centered around how the influencers are using their time strategically during this period, eventually leading their followers to the Cricbuzz app.
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Cricket + Homeschooling is the key to creating tiny Harsha Bhogles.
What are you teaching your kids at home?Use #StrategicTimeout to let me know, and do tag @cricbuzz pic.twitter.com/MkIeBi89cH
— Sorabh Pant (@hankypanty) April 11, 2020
https://twitter.com/TheAadarGuy/status/1248872137718284293
Within the first week of launch, #StrategicTimeout trended organically on Twitter, reaching over 10.6 million unique users and generating engagement over 8 lakhs. To further strengthen the impact of the campaign, engagement activities such as interactive quizzes, polls, and GIFs have been successfully running parallelly on the brand’s social media platforms. A response of over 2.2k in terms of user-generated content has been recorded, until now.
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Sharing her views on the campaign, Deepanwita Bhattacharya, Marketing Manager, Cricbuzz said, “#StrategicTimeout was a success as it led users to know how their cricketing stars were utilizing their time during the lockdown. The idea was not to restrict users with just Cricket related content but to explore the other areas as well to draw their interest. With WATConsult coming on board, it helped Cricbuzz team-up to create a compelling campaign on social media.”
Speaking on the campaign, Heeru Dingra, CEO, WATConsult added, “We successfully employed the method of influencer marketing to engage the audience in a digital conversation about how we already are or potentially could invest our time strategically in various activities during the lockdown. Also, engagement across multiple digital platforms helps reach a wider audience and garner unique impressions. We want to focus on the message that this period could prove to be a #StrategicTimeout after all, if we use it wisely.”
With the brand’s creative approach and the interesting fitment of the cricketing term, ‘#Strategic Timeout’ resonated heavily with the fan base during the lockdown. In a time where a lot of negative news is trending organically, this campaign has garnered a hugely positive response, hence, establishing that people are always on the lookout for something inspiring and entertaining to uplift their spirits a little.
