Background

Netflix wanted to celebrate the crazy fans who made Money Heist the global phenomenon it had become. To do so in a manner that the die-hard fans could get first access to the new show, in a style keeping with the tone & plot of Money Heist was key. For a show about challenging the hegemony of the financial world over the average man’s everyday life, Money Heist’s launch in India needed to build from this thought to grab attention in unexpected ways.

Describe the creative idea

Netflix chose a bunch of Money Heist superfans, led by a celebrated name as the subverter-in-chief: superfan Ananya Pandey – a self-declared Money Heist nut, for the BSE action. At the morning bell on Money Heist Season 5’s release day, instead of the same old bell ringer, we got Ananya Pandey, attired in the iconic red jumpsuit and Dali mask, to run interference. And just like that, for the first time ever, a fictional character had run the morning bell of the Bombay Stock Exchange, along with her band of followers. It didn’t stop there: a special screening was also arranged for these Money Heist superfans, at the BSE itself! Imagine the scene – a trading floor flipped on its head to turn into a Money Heist screening area, with impromptu Spanish lessons through Bella Ciao too!

Describe the strategy

A story of how a Spanish show took Netflix to Indian homes Money Heist, one of the most popular Netflix shows, gathered fandom like no other. For this global phenomenon’s swansong, Netflix wanted to celebrate the people who had turned the show into this phenomenon. So with a show available in Hindi, Tamil, and Telugu languages, Netflix India wanted to use Money Heist’s final season to orchestrate the biggest ever new customer acquisition heist. It was necessary to ensure that Money Heist would live on long after its final episode was watched.

Describe the execution

Going big bang with all the jing bang, for mega impact. Money Heist explored over 200 brand partnerships with the likes of Pepsi, MTV, Amul, Zomato, Swiggy, Bumble, etc to expand the audience reach. They heavily used influencer marketing to tactically reach out to a diverse fan base. This included influencers and celebrities such as Nucleya, Anil Kapoor, Hardik Pandya, Rana Daggubati, Shruti Hassan, Radhika Apte, Vikrant Massey, Bhuvan Bam, and Ayushmann Khurana. Much was implemented right before and after the release of the two volumes of the last season. The timing of the assets became critical in order to reduce possible clashes, making them flow steadily to keep the conversation going. The campaign amplified the conversation online and offline, through graffiti, sticker newspapers, mask distribution, and Pepsi cans. Running all the assets across social media, the campaign intended to create both hypes before and after the releases.

Describe the outcome

Fans lost their collective minds when “Jaldi Aao” dropped – as if someone had read their innermost thoughts and given them life! YouTube views for Jaldi Aao rocketed to 4 million organic views, without promotion, in just 1 week! They created crossovers with their other favourite shows. Even their hobbies acquired Heist hues! Offices declared holidays to let people binge-watch the show! Over 21 assets released since August 2021 generated 59million impressions, the most conversation-generating campaign Netflix India had ever run. The campaign was highly acquisitive as well - 36% increase in median subscribers over the previous two weeks on YT, and a 24% increase in followers on Instagram, with Money Heist content being the top-performing.