The Campaign

In Pakistan branded content and entertainment is proving to be an effective way to connect with consumers on a more personal level. After 2002, as TV channels privatized in the country, Pakistanis had access to many more channels and that brought along an enormous amount of advertising on TV. The result: some brands were not leaving the same impact on their desired audiences. They realized that they had to find more innovative and creative ways to compel and communicate with their audiences. The question many asked themselves was: how can consumers relate with our brands on a more personal level? How can we use out of the box thinking so they remember us and not our competitors? Branded content and entertainment seemed like a plausible answer. Slowly weaving its way into the social fabric of the country, branded content and entertainment is gaining ground as many brands in Pakistan are coming up with documentaries, music shows, cooking shows and other creative avenues so they stand out among the gazillion other brands doing one thing or the other to gauge viewer attention.

Results

The Challenge: Rather than just buying a Cornetto when there is a desire to eat a cone, the campaign was aimed at driving the need to purchase Cornetto, whenever consumers share exciting moments with their friends. The Objectives: a)To convince the youth that shared moments consisting of fun and zeal are incomplete without Cornetto. b) To show the youth that Cornetto creates the same feeling of euphoria, fun and excitement in them like music does and this was achieved by expressing the fun, fresh and crazy personality of Cornetto. c) To revive the music industry in Pakistan to create a platform for more exciting moments and build a sense of togetherness among Pakistanis. The Strategy: To convince the youth that without Cornetto life is incomplete and lacks flavor. The Execution: Cornetto joined hands with experienced professionals to give Pakistan's youth a chance to showcase their talents. Pakistani musicians and producers, Shahi Hasan and Ahsan Bari, were on the hunt for the most talented young musicians. They went to universities, used social media and other avenues to attract talent across Pakistan. After an intense recruitment drive, eleven young contenders were short listed. They were paired with the most compatible musicians allowing them to harness their skills. Emerging artists were not only mentored by the best voices in Pakistan, but each contestant had a chance to interact, learn and build their talents in a fun, carefree environment. At the end of every episode, the contestant-mentor party was revealed -- the combo who performed three songs the following week: a cover song, a duet between the artist and contestant, and an original song. As the show progressed, each new song unraveled itself -- leading to the buildup of the exciting grand finale, held on World Music Day.

Cornetto's main target audience is 15 to 24 year olds who love to have fun and dare to challenge themselves. Cornetto wanted the youth not just to develop a love affair with Cornetto, but a deeper connection. It was critical to leverage music to do this; the brand's goal being to convince youngsters that like music, Cornetto takes them on a high. The brand also wanted to relay that Cornetto is the ultimate treat when sharing moments. So Cornetto showcased a group of amateur musicians, alongside some of the most talented singers -- in a reality TV series.

This ground-breaking campaign steered media attention. Social media and digital PR also served as viable tools to spread the word. Twitter and Facebook updates about the event, including episode videos on numerous web portals helped create awareness about the brand among potential consumers. The dedicated website for this program received 103,875 visits, 81. 06% new visits and 292,552 page views. On social media alone, the campaign reached 7.8 million users. In addition, the campaign engaged in excess of 445,000 users on social media Facebook, and the Cornetto Pakistan webpage on Facebook received more than 71,988 shares. Fan growth on Facebook increased by 216 %. More than 270, 000 viewers watched videos of the program on social media. Sales growth of Cornetto in 2013 increased by 3 per cent compared to a year earlier . The campaign brought a sense of unity among Pakistani youth who are living in a country which is facing difficult times, and helped revive an industry which is gradually waning. It also provided a platform for talented youngsters to harness their skills and fulfill their aspirations. Ultimately creating more avenues to come together and share fun moments -- leading to more opportunities for Cornetto crunching.