By now, Srikant Tiwari has become a household name.
The original series from Amazon Prime India The Family Man has quickly turned into one of the most hyped offerings of the OTT space in recent memory. Lauded by the Indian audience and critics alike, the show’s second season created a lot of buzz even after 18 months of season one’s release.
How did Amazon’s marketing team pull off this promotional campaign so successfully despite a global pandemic? We’ll take a closer look at their tactics in this blog.
How it Started
Let’s take a trip down memory lane.
In 2019, the protagonist Shrikant Tiwari, played by Manoj Bajpayee, was introduced to audiences through a mysterious hashtag: #SrikantKuchChupaRahaHai (#SrikantisHidingSomething).
It all began when “Srikant” began hiding small clues across Amazon Prime Video’s social accounts.
For example, a verified Twitter handle @SrikantTFM started sending out riddles and clever coded emoji puzzles to top brands and celebrity influencers.
A few examples of the big names that engaged in friendly banter were Gautam Gambhir, Shilpa Shetty, Preity Zinta, Siddhant Chaturvedi and Aayush Sharma. Some of the brands included Fassos, Sony Music, Zee Music Company, etc.
See the screenshots below:
The results?
Well, the influencer hashtag campaign enjoyed enormous success: reaching 8.5 million people and leaving an impression on over 65 million.
Taking the Engagement Offline
Now we come to 2021, and the release of the second season.
Not wanting to stop at social media engagement, things took a step outside the digital world.
Amazon Prime booked an intriguing Promoted Tweet urging the audience to call a phone number and find out where Srikant Tiwari was.
Soon, #SrikantKahaHai (#WhereIsSrikant) started trending on Twitter.
When curious viewers called, they were in for a surprise. None other than Manoj Bajpayee’s voice greeted them on the other end! When the call ended, they immediately received a link, redirecting them to Prime’s YouTube channel.
This fun teaser marketing moment took fan engagement to the next level.
Jumping on the Meme Bandwagon
The primary objective of their hashtag activity was to generate as many fan-made memes as possible and to create FOMO on social media.
Amazon Prime collaborated with popular meme pages across Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook to create anticipation, buzz and curiosity.
You’ll undoubtedly remember seeing some hilarious and relatable ones on your newsfeeds:
Several police departments noted the popularity of this format, like the Mumbai Police, Uttar Pradesh Police and Nanded Police. They started actively taking part in the meme trend to share their advisories.
Here’s Nanded Police’s take following the recent season:
Using Unorthodox Influencers
Finally, comes time for their masterstroke campaign.
The second wave in India already had marketers in “cautious mode”. Yet, Amazon continued its promotion efforts with a unique influencer campaign.
The #TheFamilyManJobHunt campaign was launched with the idea to explore the storyline of Srikant finding a new job to appease his wife:
“Srikant” was interviewed by business stalwarts like Ritesh Agarwal (Founder and CEO of OYO Hotels and Homes), Manu Kumar Jain (VP of Xiaomi), Kabeer Biswas (CEO and Co-Founder of Dunzo) and Ankur Warikoo (Co-Founder of Nearbuy).
A series of entertaining short “virtual interviews” full of fun banter caused quite the stir among both corporates and netizens.
This unique approach to digital advertising added value by creating brand awareness. Instead of using clichéd Instagram or YouTube influencers, Amazon Prime proved that influencer marketing is nothing but a gimmick aimed at targeting consumer psychology.
This partnership went both ways. The collaborative campaign helped the CXOs and their brands gain more visibility and followers as well.
What Can Marketers Take Away From these “Family Man” Campaigns?
Amazon once again proved how they’re ahead of the game. They deployed a 360-degree content-based campaign, the unique use of memes and influencers, and innovative digital advertising to ensure that their show is on top of viewer’s minds.
We’re living through a time where fully immersive marketing strategies are required to create a buzz among the consumers.
With endless engagement options opening up, brands must get creative and strategies like these can help you stand out.
Digital advertising is every marketer’s bread and butter, and that’s where we can help amplify your brand’s reach and consumer engagement. HT Media’s digital properties entertain and inform Indian audiences, bringing in over 150 million visitors per month. So, get ready to put your creative cap on and visit us here to take your brand to the next level.
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