Why is this work relevant for Creative Strategy?

CREDs creative strategy was to use surprise to hook in viewers. The campaign sets up a familiar premise - and then takes an unexpected turn. The familiar premise is this: Bollywood singers and actors - all legends in their own right - are promoting CRED with style and pizzazz. The audience thinks they know this script. The unexpected turn: CRED employees reject the dramatic sale of Bollywood legends, and opt for a simple voiceover. This killed 2 birds with 1 stone: a. The shock value created buzz b. The simple voiceover captured CREDs no-bullshit personality

Background

CRED chose to wrap the campaign around IPL, the most watched sports tournament my India There was a ton of competition from other brands that wanted the same thing as us: monopolize the conversation The campaign had to cater to the TG: Indian Men between 30 to 40 years old. The campaign had to stick to CRED brand personality: irreverent, bold and intelligent. The campaign had to be experimental because we wanted to be fresh, but also likable because we wanted a mass exodus from other credit card bill payment methods to CRED. This was a tricky balance to strike. Obj: - Solidifying the association between CRED and its USP: rewards for paying credit card bills - Explosive growth in app downloads and sign-ups - Create a campaign that resonates with the TG and grows organically - Create a campaign whose format lends itself to online subcultures

The Interpretation of the Challenge (30% of vote)

CRED was facing the business challenge of gaining new users to their credit card bill payment app and wanted to stand out in the cluttered IPL environment and be heard and noticed. We decided to walk the thin rope by poking good-natured fun at the Bollywood celebrities. The industry - credit card payments - hadn’t seen a brand with a personality and a point of view. CRED was such a brand, and hence that made it a disruptive force. We embraced that identity.

The Insight / Breakthrough Thinking (30% of vote)

While brainstorming, we thought deeply about our Target Group. There were 3 important facts about our TG: 1. Most of them were men 2. Most of them grew up in the 1990s and were influenced by Bollywood icons from the era 3. Most of them liked to watch Cricket Our breakthrough decision was to use IPL as the launching pad and feature iconic Bollywood celebs from the 1990s in the campaign, thereby effectively utilizing 2 and 3

The Creative Idea (20% of vote)

CREDs creative idea was to lure the audience into expecting an old story and then surprise them with a new twist. The old story was this: Bollywood singers and actors are promoting Cred in the familiar style: with dance, music, and drama. The audience has seen this before - but not what comes after. The new twist was: CRED employees reject the over-the-top sales pitch of Bollywood legends, and go with a simple voice over instead. This captured the imagination of the zeitgeist and also reflected CREDs no-pretense personality. The creative execution involved a vivid use of Bollywood theatrics and a subtle put-down by CREDs employees who prefer a simpler approach - perfectly reflecting the spirit of the creative strategy.

The Outcome / Results (20% of vote)

The campaign had the desired business impact. The campaign led to a 454% increase in Twitter mentions, sign-ups increased by 2x from 4.1mn to 8.5mn. Brand awareness increased two folds and strengthened the association between CRED and getting rewards on paying credit card bills We also retained the quality of users acquored. Over 35% of premium card holders (such as AmEx, Citi, HDFC diners club, Standard Chartered, HSBC cards in India are now on CRED. The campaign used CREDs frank and fresh personality while also building on it. The campaign took CREDs cult personality and gave it a much more mainstream appeal. This happened without diluting the brand’s wholly original irreverent tone. The cultural impact was visible in the organic content that people uploaded online. We saw everything from kids humming the CRED tune to other celebrities uploading their own CRED audition tapes.

Please tell us about the challenger brand and how your campaign challenged / was different from your competitors

CREDs competitors are banks and payment platforms. In such a company, CREDs campaign was a blast of fresh air. It proved that finances can be fun, paying credit card bills can be rewarding, and a campaign about paying credit bills can catch the fancy of a nation. As a challenger brand, CRED brings not just a better value proposition to the market, but also a fresh way of looking at credit card bill payment. Instead of monthly payments to be worried about, CRED reimagines credit cards to be fun and engaging experiences. This transforms the relationship people have with credit cards. CRED makes credit card bill payments to be portals to material rewards and interesting experiences. With CRED, the monthly bill payments are no longer occasions to fret, but occasions to experience something new. The campaign locked in this relationship between CRED and winning rewards for credit card bill payments