With everything going digital today, people are becoming more aware of what they can and cannot connect with. This has led brands to become more creative with the content they create, how they create it and where it is hosted when it comes to marketing and promotion.
Picking the right platform to reach the right set of audience has become a crucial factor for brands to successfully host a marketing or advertising campaign.
YouTube Works Awards
#YouTubeWorks Awards (YTWA) is a platform that recognizes and awards brands for running stellar online campaigns, and this year was no different. The winners of YTWA 2022 meet all the criteria, marrying creative storytelling with digital technology to create some truly stunning videos.
Josy Paul, Chairman, and Chief Creative Officer, of BBDO India, & Chair of the Jury, said, “The quality of nominations we have reviewed this year has been fantastic and our discussions were made more valuable with perspectives from within YouTube’s creator ecosystem. It’s great to see that brands are keeping in lock-step with the possibilities and potential of YouTube’s dynamic growth, not just in viewership, but in the range of opportunities – from smartphones to the living room and from Shorts to podcasts – the platform now provides brands to make creativity a lever for business growth.”
The selection of the winning campaigns was based on 8 categories, with each category highly distinctive from the other. While many qualifying campaigns touched a chord with viewers, the winners of the YouTube Works Awards 2022 India, stood out for various reasons. Here are some insights into a few select winners and their campaigns.
1. Attracting New Audiences Through Influencers
Brand: Knorr (HUL)
Agency: Mindshare India
Campaign: Cook with MaKaPa Winning Category: Local Connection
Talking about the campaign, Grand Jury member Vikrant Mudaliar, CMO of Dream 11 said that Knorr’s campaign for the launch of their new product is a “masterclass on using local influencers to reach new audiences and break into a new market.”
Popular regional creator chef, Mr. MaKaPa, who has nearly 1.02 million subscribers on YouTube, collaborated with renowned celebrity Chef Damu (with 1.26 million subscribers), in a live cook-along show. With each having a huge pool of subscribers from various demographics, the video reached a whopping 9.1 million views.
Together, they made a classic local dish from scratch, injecting humor and interaction for the launch of Knorr’s chicken cubes in Tamil Nadu. This fun campaign by Knorr helped the brand to launch successfully in Tamil Nadu with a 10% increase in repeat purchases.
2. Small Changes Can Result In Big Wins
Brand: Dairy Milk (Mondelez)
Agency: Ogilvy, Wavemaker
Campaign: #GoodLuckGirls
Winning Category: Big Screen, Big Results
Post-pandemic, it became crucial for Dairy Milk to stay relevant at a time when people were becoming self-aware and making conscious choices. In order to bring that connect back to its audience, Dairy Milk did something truly thought-provoking, and did it brilliantly.
It brought back to life one of its most iconic ad campaigns but with a twist. The brand recreated an old classic and swapped genders to break stereotypes and stir brand loyalty among viewers. This ad by Dairy Milk became the most viral video of this year’s IPL season. The video gained 330M+ impressions, $670K earned PR, and an 18% increase in sales.
YTWA Grand Jury Member Atique Kazi, President of Data, Performance, and Digital at GroupM, said that Dairy Milk has impressed everyone through its use of internet-enabled TVs to not only modernize an old classic but break stereotypes in the process as well.
3. Challenging The Status Quo With Thought-Provoking Content
Brand: Cottonking
Agency: Fifth Estate
Campaign: Bhaidooj
Winning Category: Long-form storytelling
When we talk about social issues, very few brands can say send across a message that truly connects with its viewers. Through its Bhaidooj campaign, Cottonking highlighted one particular social issue in a way that resulted in over 85% of viewership from women. The video helped increase store visits from women by 25% and inspired 8M+ views.
Despite being a menswear brand, it stood up for women and shone a spotlight on the role of a woman in a male-dominated family setting, resonating with a new audience and locals.
Speaking about the campaign, YTWA Grand Jury member Prajakta Koli, Founder of Mostly Sane, said, “Brilliant use of long-form storytelling by Cottonking to champion women, attract business growth and a new customer base.”
4. Inspiring Action Through Innovative Thinking
Brand: Listerine (Johnson & Johnson)
Agency: Blink Digital
Interactive Avenues: Listerine DCO Campaign
Winning Category: Media Innovation
With the help of YouTube’s search engine capabilities, Listerine targeted two groups of people — those who actively sought health-related information and those who were looking for oral health solutions.
The brand then displayed highly relevant contextual dynamic ads that were tailored to the viewers’ behaviors, time of day, and specific interests.
YTWA Grand Jury member Vikram Sakhuja, Group CEO of Madison Media, said, “Outstanding use of contextual ad targeting by Listerine — raised awareness and reached target audience brilliantly.” The campaign led to 283.3M+ impressions, 31.5M views, and a reach of 69.68M.
YouTube has become a crucial platform for brands to showcase their latest campaigns. It offers a lot of diverse audiences the ability to understand a brand better through the content it creates, while also allowing marketers to measure the success of their campaign.
With YouTube Works awards, YouTube has established an aspirational way to celebrate brands that are creating compelling content that connects with the audience, while leveraging the video platform in the best way possible.
