Background

During the pandemic lockdown, Nigerians found themselves confined indoors with limited options for free entertainment, particularly in the Streaming video-on-demand (SVOD) sector. Airtel seized this opportunity to launch Airtel TV, offering free access to a wide range of entertainment content. Unlike other SVOD services that require a premium subscription, Airtel TV provides free access to Airtel subscribers with data-loaded plans. This move was also a response to the audience’s growing desire for Airtel to produce a film or TV series based on their popular branded commercial asset, “The In-laws.”

Idea

The core idea of the “Live Free” campaign was to promote Airtel TV as a free entertainment solution during the lockdown. The campaign leveraged user-generated sentiment online, where audiences expressed their wish for Airtel to create a full-length film or series featuring characters from their beloved commercials. This led to the creation of a movie trailer for “Amaka Must Go,” a promissory film based on “The In-laws” characters, to generate buzz and excitement around Airtel TV.

Strategy

The strategy focused on creating a strong emotional connection with the audience by:

• Tapping into the widespread desire for accessible entertainment during the lockdown.
• Utilizing popular characters from Airtel’s branded commercials to generate interest and engagement.
• Promoting the campaign across various digital platforms to maximize reach and impact.
• Encouraging user interaction and content sharing to enhance the campaign’s virality.

Execution

The “Live Free” campaign was executed through a multi-faceted approach:

• Movie Trailer: A compelling trailer for “Amaka Must Go” was produced, featuring well-known characters from “The In-laws” commercial series. This trailer was shared extensively on social media and digital platforms.
• Social Media Engagement: The campaign utilized platforms like Twitter to engage with users, responding to their comments and encouraging them to share their excitement about the upcoming film and Airtel TV.
• Influencer Collaborations: Popular influencers and celebrities were engaged to amplify the campaign’s reach and drive more traffic to Airtel TV.
• Interactive Content: Users were encouraged to participate in online discussions, share their thoughts on the trailer, and create their content related to the campaign.

Outcome

Amaka Must Go from the “Live Free” campaign successfully positioned Airtel TV as a leading free entertainment platform during the lockdown. The key outcomes included:

• Twitter Top 10 List for 2 days
• N0. 1 most downloaded on the Apple Play Store and N0 2 on the Google Play store following the launch.
• 1.9million views on Youtube
• 7.1 million views on Facebook
• 1.3 million views on Twitter
• An average of 60,000 downloads to 600,000 downloads in the first Month
• Rocketed to 1M downloads by the second month

Film: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D8blw46upEI&t=21s
Case video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vFnV_xqvgdA&t=9s
Theme Music-Amaka Must Go: https://on.soundcloud.com/9Ets7ggcxDw3FsKF7