Dice Media partners with Unacademy in Operation MBBS S2

Pocket Aces, India’s leading digital entertainment company, has broken ground with its hit medical drama series ‘Operation MBBS’ crossing a whooping 1.5 billion YouTube impressions and 88 million video views for Season 1 on Dice Media. The channel, in association with its long standing partner, Unacademy, returns with Season 2 making it India’s first web series covering the pandemic from the perspective of the medical fraternity. In an emotional approach, the show brings to light the unprecedented situations and its impact on the medical community when the COVID-19 pandemic hit the world. The series will also unfold a myriad of situations that take new turns in the lives of the three protagonists as they gear up for the most crucial 2nd year of the MBBS degree. The pandemic also proves to be a turning point for the trio, as they experience first-hand the sacrifices made by doctors for their patients’ well-being, and is a lesson for all to take back with them. Premiered on 15th March, the critically acclaimed series has garnered 38.4 million viewership till date with episode 2 and 3 trending  at #1 on YouTube for 2 days each.

Season 2 follows the journey of Nishant (Ayush Mehra), Huma (Sarah Hashmi) and Sakshi (Anshul Chauhan) into their 2nd year of MBBS, which is regarded as the ‘Honeymoon Period’. Far from it, the central characters go through their own personal and professional battles which are depicted in 2 timelines - pre & post COVID-19. Nishant is determined to change the careless image that has been created about him. Being branded a management quota student, he firmly believes he is worth much more and seeks out to earn that recognition from his peers and faculty. Sakshi on the other hand, displays courage and stands up for what is right only to attract disciplinary action from the Dean. Huma continues to struggle with anxiety stemming from the pressures to succeed, which begins to affect her mental health. As they attempt to understand COVID-19 and its treatment, the trio go through a turbulent time, as emotions run high, sacrifices are made, and the severity of the pandemic plays out in front of their eyes.

Unacademy came on board as a brand partner for Operation MBBS Season 1 to build awareness around its medical test preparation courses and boost subscriptions. Based on a Brand Lift Study conducted with Nepa, the series played a pivotal role in creating visibility for the brand where 80% of the respondents recalled at least 3 features mentioned about Unacademy in the series and 65% respondents downloaded the app post viewing the series.

Over the course of the second season, Unacademy’s user journey is shown through Lata - a NEET-UG aspirant who, with the help of Nishant, is introduced to the app. The app’s new and highly interactive features like live polls and gamified quizzes have been seamlessly woven into the narrative. As the intense storyline progresses, audiences are introduced to Yash, a resident psychiatrist at the hospital and an Unacademy Educator who also serves as a frontline warrior putting him in a unique position to inspire his students. The series also features the other hallmarks of the app like ‘Legends On Unacademy’ which gives students access to industry leaders and a chance to seek the right guidance from them. The app’s measurable success is shown through Sakshi’s conversations with Aakash, who cracked his NEET exam in the first season, and has now secured admission in AIIMS.

Speaking about the association, Aditi Shrivastava, Co-founder, Pocket Aces and Showrunner of Operation MBBS said, “Aspiring medical students studying for NEET are a huge audience for Operation MBBS and for Unacademy as well. This is what makes the partnership with the brand so organic to the show. In Season 1, we showed that low-income students that don’t necessarily understand English can still successfully study from the Unacademy app. In Season 2, we built characters to not only portray the students but also show the integral educator side of the app. We have really pushed creative boundaries with this never before seen portrayal of COVID-19 doctors in India, and are glad to have a long standing partner like Unacademy on this journey.”

Launched on 15th March 2021, catch the five-episode series of Operation MBBS Season 1 and Season 2 on Dice Media’s Youtube channel.