Case Study: How LockUppp garnered 200 mn+ views within a month of its launch | #casestudy

With Kangana Ranaut as the host, the LockUpp marketing strategy revolves around drama, the controversial celebrity contestants, and the smart use of new age and traditional media by ALTBalaji and MX Player.

Touted as the ‘Most fearless reality show’, LockUpp was released on ALTBalaji and MX Player on 27th February 2022. Helmed by Kangana Ranaut as the host, Ekta R Kapoor’s reality show witnesses celebrity contestants locked up inside the jail, battling for basic amenities. According to statistics, LockUpp has garnered 200 million-plus unique views on ALTBalaji and MX Player within the first 32 days of its launch.

Here’s a look at the LockUpp marketing strategy, understanding how the creators used digital media, influencers and social media marketing to keep the buzz afloat around the show constantly.

Execution

Announcement Post

As 2022 commenced with speculations around Ekta Kapoor’s new reality show, the content czarina took to social media to put the rumours to rest by announcing the debut of the series.

The Media Conference

Post the announcement, the makers promised to share all the details about the new reality show on 3rd February 2022 at the LockUpp: Badass Jail Atyaachaari Khel Press Conference. A star-studded event held with the media fraternity, the conference answered many questions that viewers and the media had about the upcoming show.

Revealing The Host

The Press conference revealed the name and the format of the show and Kangana also revealed that 16 contestants were to be locked up where they will have to compete, to survive in the jail with basic amenities. With a seemingly unabashed presence, Ranaut was instrumental in generating conversations and curiosity across social media platforms.

This was followed by the release of posters with the queen of Bollywood taking over the internet.

Soon, the teaser trailer was released, and the audience got glimpses of the show’s theme with the quirky host.

Contestants’ reveal also happened in a different style whereby as part of the PR highlights the Host Kangana Ranaut filed complaints against the most controversial personalities who were later introduced as the contestants on the show.

Trailer Launch in Delhi

The makers released a series of teaser videos before finally releasing the trailer, to bring the whole concept of the ‘Atyaachaari Khel’ to the viewers.

This was followed up with the release of the show trailer with the host Kangana Ranaut and producer Ekta R Kapoor at a gala event in the capital city Delhi. Both Kangana and Ekta also visited the sacred Bangla Sahib Gurudwara in Delhi to seek blessings for the show.

LockUpp’s trailer now has more than 44 million views.

During the event, a fantasy metaverse game, based on a reality show was launched by Kangana Ranaut as well. Post the announcements and trailer release, #KanganaKaLockUpp was seen trending on social media channels.

The makers also introduced participants for LockUpp: Badass Jail, Atyaachaari Khel. This included names such as Nisha Rawal, Poonam Pandey, Kaaranvir Bohra, Munawar Faruqui, and Babita Phogat amongst others. Media interviews were also lined up for these participants to promote the show.

As part of the promotional strategy for LockUpp the brand partners helped curate stylish and unique LockUpp giveaway boxes that had branded orange convict t-shirts, toy handcuffs, fitness bags, fitness memberships, house plants, etc, and were well received by influencers, partners, media houses, media partners and promoters.

Collaboration with Influencers

To bring out some of the nuances from the show, the Brand collaborated with influencers like Jannat Zubair Rahmani, Ronit Ashra, Sorabh Pant, and Faisal Shaikh who shot videos with Kangana Ranaut as part of the LockUpp marketing strategy. In line with the theme of a lock up, the influencers were presented with a few pertinent questions with an opportunity to free themselves from the shackles of the jail.

Jannat Zubair Rahmani

Faisal Shaikh

Ronit Ashra

LockUpp Game

Keeping the audience at the edge of the seat, Ekta R Kapoor also launched a fantasy metaverse game – LockUpp Game. Based on the reality show, the game is a simulation of Kangana Ranaut’s LockUpp which enables the players to experience the show in augmented reality for the first time in a fantasy game format.

The metaverse has some cool features wherein the players and audiences can ‘spin the wheel of fortune’ and predict winners, get contestant cards, action cards, and trade to rev up the gamification of this experiential unique metaverse.

The game also launched tokens under the name of each of the participants. Each token for every inmate can be traded and the audience can win cash prizes.

Brand Collaborations

21 brands leveraged LockUpp to engage with its huge audience base. The platform also collaborated with brands like RED FM, Growfitter, Glance Roposo, PVR Multiplex, and short format apps like Moj, ShareChat, Josh, Triller, Dailyhunt, and Chingari reaching out to different set of varied audience with LIVE interactions, contests and campaigns.

The official radio partner – RED FM did a witty campaign playing their tagline and the vibe of the show ‘LockUpp mein sabki bajti hai, Aaj kiski bajegi’. Keeping the momentum up of the collaborations, multiple chains like PVR, Bright Outdoor Media, Vijay Sales Stores, Screenox and 24SEVEN promoted the show via their digital screens and hoardings.

Further, brands like Bollywoo, The Bake Shop India, Mobikwik, Ugaoo, Bollywood Samachar, Ferns N Petals added to the mix with coupon codes, payment offers, special promotional offers, Facebook & Google Inventory meant for the show audiences.

Red FM

PVR Cinemas

Bollywoo

Short Format Apps Trends and Challenges

Short format video partners on the Show like Chingari, Sharechat, Triller, Josh, Glance, Roposo, and Moj organized LIVE Interactions with eliminated contestants and created trending content with #LockUpp.

Memes

The creators have been using memes to converse with the end audience, creating witty content inspired by the viral moments from the show.

Out of Home Promotions

With Bright Outdoor Media as the OOH Partner – Tier 2 cities and Metros saw the strategic placement of LockUpp hoardings.

DOOH Promotions

To encash the celeb quotient and appeal to a wider audience, promotions across categories were done including television, newspaper, and radio.

Filter

Alt Balaji introduced a LockUpp Filter on Instagram to connect with the audience. In this filter, people will get to know the sweet and funny reasons to be inside LockUpp.

Jio Bot

LockUpp team created an artificial intelligence (AI) based chatbot called Jio Bot to interact with fans. The chatbot enabled fans to connect with Kangana by asking questions on the conversational AI platform.

The Show Launch

After a series of pre-buzz initiatives, the show was launched on 27th February 2022. According to the media reports, LockUpp became the highest watched reality show on Indian OTT space with 200 million views in just 32 days.

Post release, the makers kept the conversations going through memes in line with the candid and fearless theme of the show.

Trending

From Kangana Ranaut to Karan Kundra to some loveable contestants like Munawar Faruqui have trended on Twitter, since the launch of the show.

Results

• Show Audience: 200Mn Plus in 32 days since the show launch
• Short Format Promotions: 4.7 Bn Plus Views approximately till date.

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