Why is this work relevant for Direct?

India is one of the biggest markets for Money Heist, with the demand growing to a whopping 122.6 times in September, more than any average series, as new episodes premiered. Leveraging these fans to make it a grand finale of epic proportions led us to reach out to our audience through various touch-points such as engaging fans through the offline activation of distributing special Dali-designed masks, and other merchandise distributed through the #IndiaBoleCiao campaign on social. Positive sentiment, audience engagement and franchise fandom were the key metrics accounted for while targeting the audience.

Background

Situation: India was blindsided by a deadly second wave, just when the rest of the world was getting back on track. Even after its grave impact, people still didn't follow basic basic health protocols, pushing us towards a more dire situation. They needed to be reminded that the fight against the virus isn't over yet. Brief: Pop culture has always influenced India, and with Money Heist being one of the most beloved shows in India, Netflix wanted to keep the show's spirit of resistance alive by encouraging people to mask up against the virus. Objectives: We originally planned to reach out to all the Money Heist fans and non-fans across the country and get them excited about the upcoming finale through a 360 degree campaign. With the second wave, we reimagined our campaign to not only drive fans to the show but also empower them to resist the pandemic.

Describe the creative idea (30% of vote)

While the world was slowly recovering from the devastating first wave, India was already hit with a deadlier second one. People had grown complacent and had stopped following the recommended health protocols. As a result, the number of COVID-19 cases shot up drastically and the healthcare system in the country crumbled under pressure. Several lives were lost. Seeing this, Netflix decided to harness the power of pop-culture and the popularity of Money Heist to get people to start wearing masks properly. The Dali mask in the show is synonymous with the spirit of resistance, so Netflix collaborated with the BMC to remind people that the fight against Covid isn't over yet, by distributing Dali-designed masks across Mumbai. We were able to reach out to the rest of the country too with the #IndiaBoleCiao campaign, resulting in more than 180,000 masks worn and several lives preemptively saved.

Describe the strategy (20% of vote)

Target Audience: Keeping the core fans at the center, we created a funnel and influenced a bunch of non-fans and fencesitters through the spirit of the core fans. Approach: We closed on permissions with the Mumbai Police and the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation to make sure we can cover all possibilities of our planned offline activation of distributing masks at key points across the city. Following all the safety mandates we reached out to different locations like offices, vaccination centres, hospitals, traffic signals, and police stations to enhance the reach of the masks to a larger audience, for the message to be spread loud and clear. Call to Action: Through this campaign, we reminded people that the fight against the virus isn’t over yet, and urged them to wear their masks and fight the good fight together. Viva la Resistencia!

Describe the execution (20% of vote)

Implementation We worked closely with the Mumbai Police and Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation to distribute masks at different key locations in Mumbai such as traffic signals, vaccination centres, offices etc. We did the same across India through similar activations, and through the #IndiaBoleCiao social campaign where we encouraged people to participate for a chance to win the masks along with other merchandise. Timeline The campaign started in September 2021, with the launch of the Volume 1 of the Season 5 for Money Heist. We closed it in December 2021, in line with the launch of the Finale Volume. Placement Starting as an offline activation across Mumbai and other cities, the campaign gradually moved to social with communications on Instagram, Youtube, Facebook, and Twitter for wider reach. Scale We successfully distributed about 180,000 masks across the country and earned more than 3.5M impressions on social.

List the results (30% of vote)

Business impact: We garnered more than 3.5 million impressions in social traffic, brand visibility across the country, rise in reach and engagement throughout the campaign. Response rate
: We observed close to 5-10% increase in the engagement, reach and positive sentiment for this campaign. Change in behaviour
: A lot of positive sentiment was observed as people embraced the branded masks and even vied for more on social, participating in the #IndiaBoleCiao campaign to win them. This campaign indicated a rise in newer fans and followers of Money Heist especially for the final volume of season 5. Also, wearing these masks suddenly became a tool for fans to celebrate their fandom while staying safe.