Why is this work relevant for Social & Influencer?

Bollywood releases around 700 films every year. Laced with the same-old, done and dusted tropes, the Indian audience was over it. So, when it was our turn to launch Haseen Dillruba, a pulp fiction inspired thriller film on Netflix we turned to social media. We took a fictional character from the film and brought it to life using our main star's social handles. This got the fans in frenzy. We further used the power of social media to strike conversations with brands, celebs and fans using quotes from this fictional character, making the web get excited and intrigued for the

Background

'Haseen Dillruba' is a pulp fiction inspired thriller film. A story of trust, betrayal, love, lust and murder. A tale of a sensational event that happens in a small town. We were given the task to drive curiosity and build intrigue towards this story of the ultimate conspiracy amongst our audience. But with Bollywood releasing around 700 movies every year. With the Indian audience being bombarded with 700 promotional tropes, we had to make sure we made this launch stand out.

Describe the creative idea (30% of vote)

In the movie, the protagonist of the film gets inspired by a pulp fiction thriller author called Dinesh Pandit So, we brought this fictional writer to life…on social media. To kick start the spiel, we got Tapsee Pannu, the star of the film to post pictures of her reading Dinesh Pandit’s pulp fiction novels. Within minutes, the comments section was filled with fans asking where they can purchase these novels. We got them! She then started posting cryptic quotes from her “favourite author” all over social media. This got the fans wondering who is this author and why are his books not available on Amazon! To amplify the noise, we got her to respond to India’s top brands and influencers with Dinesh Pandit quotes. To push their curiosity even further we created fake online book stores where the books Tapsee showcased were always out of stock.

Describe the strategy (20% of vote)

Leveraging India’s love of social media and its love is a good mystery we built an idea that rides on this curiosity to drive conversations. Our aim was to reach a Male and Female audience living in Tier A and B cities, between 18 and 35. People on Twitter and Instagram love to comment on celebrity pictures. From where the lamp in the picture is from to what brand’s shirt the celeb is wearing. We used this behaviour to spark a conversation and drive curiosity for the film. Tapsee, the star of the film posted pictures of her reading books that she gets inspired from in the film Haseen Dillruba and her fans wanted nothing else but to know from where they could purchase the same books. We fuelled the fire of intrigue further with her talking to brands, celebs and influencers exclusively in this fictional writer’s quotes.

Describe the execution (20% of vote)

The crime unveils the story, the characters and the tension. Instead of following the path of a traditional whodunit, leverage the characters, their secrets, passions & underlying motives Leverage the star cast and highlight the shades of grey in them It’s a Whodunnit that ultimately becomes a Who died? The crime is more complex than visible & the criminal is a mastermind. Leave breadcrumbs for fans Leverage the pulp fiction sensibility of this small town, big scale murder mystery- in nuance, look and feel. After all, a pulp fiction(al) novel holds the final answers to this murder mystery Reflecting the unique, small town setting of the film, it helps differentiate and contextualise. Pick nuances from there

List the results (30% of vote)

The fans were hooked. Several celebrities and Influencers joined the bandwagon to decode the quotes and get to the bottom of the matter. What started as the inspiration of the plot of the film turned into a code that our audience was trying to solve, Hence building heightened intrigue towards the film.