LISTENING IS SEEING

TitleLISTENING IS SEEING
BrandAMAZON AUDIBLE
Product / ServiceAUDIBLE
CategoryA08. Media / Entertainment
EntrantEDELMAN Mumbai, INDIA
Idea Creation EDELMAN Mumbai, INDIA
PR EDELMAN Mumbai, INDIA

Credits

Name Company Position
Ashutosh Munshi Edelman India Intergrated Head

Why is this work relevant for PR?

In a country saturated with entertainment options and consumers inundated with social media, new products launch everyday resulting in low media coverage and consumer attention. To break this clutter, we used an earned centric approach to storytelling that resulted in front page headlines and high media coverage.

Background

After a successful run of 24 years in developed markets, Audible was entering a developing country, India, for the first time. Audible faced the risk of being tagged a late entrant in the market since competition, although niche, were already available and building loyal customers. On the other hand, mass audiences were largely unfamiliar with the concept of audio books and were increasingly immersing themselves in OTT platforms even as radio and television continued to play an important part in that consumption story. We needed an earned idea to propel Audible to the pages of all the leading entertainment media channels. With this insight into India’s cluttered entertainment market, how could we break that clutter and create an impactful launch that would stay in the mind of the audiences? Our objective was to spark the imagination of the audience and to cement Audible as the go-to platform for entertaining storytelling.

Describe the creative idea (20% of vote)

‘Listening is Seeing’ India is a country that loves good stories and hence, we wanted to focus on fueling imagination through the power of listening. Keeping this in mind, we chose India’s most popular crime author, Hussain Zaidi’s most intriguing work, ‘Mafia Queens of Mumbai,’ a captivating story that portrayed the lives of women of the underworld with Mumbai as a vivid backdrop. We chose three of Bollywood’s most powerful personalities who told powerful stories with their powerful voices to create a live storytelling experience.

Describe the strategy (30% of vote)

Our audience was urban, niche, they were entrenched into the world of entertainment on TV, OTT platforms, Cinema and getting their interest to consume a new age novel was a big challenge. New age media in the form of digital platforms, social media influencers as well as the top traditional media in India played an important role in reaching the right audience. We created an earned idea to break through a saturated market with our idea, ‘Listening is Seeing,’ by choosing three of Bollywood’s most powerful personalities who told powerful stories with their powerful voices to create a live storytelling experience.

Describe the execution (20% of vote)

To showcase ‘Listening is Seeing,’ we created intrigue by sending unbranded invites in the form of physical audio surveillance kits. Voices of the celebrities invited people to the event while we filled their feeds with a creative poster art, a visual trailer, track with a rap artist and behind the scenes recording of the celebrities. The content assets were strategically released on their social media to position this as a cinematic production. On 13th November, 200 guests- celebrities, media and digital influencers experienced the first ever narration of the novel at India’s only surviving opera house, The Royal Opera House. The event focused on Audible’s offerings- an imagination fueled experience, the vast library and even the accessibility of using the app on-the-go. Experiential zones around the event in the form of cozy listening nooks and pods ensured audiences could sit back and relax while flipping through the extensive library.

List the results (30% of vote) – must include at least two of the following tiers:

- 350+ pieces of media coverage were achieved across print, online and social media for the launch of Audible - 280+ million in reach across print, online and social - Top media outlets across entertainment, corporate and features carried the launch including Vogue, Mint, Business Standard, Grazia, Economic Times, CNBC TV 18, Hindustan Times amongst others - Top headlines included, “Audible brings to life the power of listening" and “Making things so Audible” - 100% of the news articles had a positive tone and mentioned the brand name along with the audio book, Mafia Queens of Mumbai and the three celebrity narrators - These articles mentioned the launch of the audio book, Mafia Queens of Mumbai on Audible and 80% of all articles also included Audible’s propositions of a vast library with specific content generated only for Indians - Mafia Queens of Mumbai launched on Audible.in a as bestseller with a rating of 4.4/5 and rave reviews - An AVE of 31+ Million was garnered - A 100% Earned and a 100% Unpaid