How Pilgrim leveraged the power of video content for increasing engagement

Pilgrim, a D2C personal care brand, recently rolled out a nationwide campaign – #PilgrimNeDhoondNikale. The quirky campaign video features actor Yami Gautam being interrogated by curious Korean natives about the secrets behind her luscious locks. With a clever twist, Yami divulges that it is not her, but Pilgrim who has discovered these secrets, and she can be seen sharing the secret, that is, the Korean Hair Growth Serum, with the fascinated natives. The personal care brand sources these hair care secrets from Jeju Island in South Korea.

Pilgrim further amplified this launch through influencers and garnered 20 million+ reach on Instagram and YouTube in the period of a month. It also increased the sales of the hero product, that is, Korean Hair Growth Serum, by 3X during the period. The campaign was further lauded on LinkedIn by various stakeholders, including D2C investors like Arjun Vaidya appreciating the creative thought.

In conversation with Adgully, Konark Gaur, who took charge as Pilgrim’s Chief Marketing Officer in January this year, speaks at length about the #PilgrimNeDhoondNikale campaign, bringing onboard Yami Gautam as the brand ambassador, the marketing strategy, and much more.

The #PilgrimNeDhoondNikale campaign has gone viral and has created a lot of buzz. What was the inspiration behind this campaign and what were your goals in terms of brand awareness and engagement?

The inspiration behind the #PilgrimNeDhoondNikale campaign was to create a captivating announcement of Yami Gautam as Pilgrim’s hair care range ambassador and showcase our unique Korean Hair Growth serum. The tagline, #PilgrimNeDhoondNikale, was created to highlight the brands’ USP that we, at Pilgrim, go around the world to discover the world’s best ingredients to solve individual personal care concerns. We wanted to break through the clutter and deliver a memorable concept that would resonate with our target audience and generate intrigue about our products.

Our catchy tagline and, of course, Yami’s exceptional delivery, created the right buzz and made the campaign go viral. Further, the phased announcement approach allowed us to build anticipation and engage consumers, thus, maximising the impact of the campaign.

The campaign’s primary goal was to elevate awareness for the brand and our hair care range. By leveraging Yami Gautam’s influence and amalgamating her personality with the brand, we aimed to boost recognition and establish a positive brand image. We strategically highlighted the exceptional Korean hair care secrets sourced from Jeju Island, aiming to captivate our audience and generate interest. Our next goal was to foster engagement by sparking curiosity, promoting social media interactions, and igniting conversations surrounding the campaign.

By achieving these objectives, we solidified our position in the beauty and personal care industry, expanded our customer base, and drove sales of our hair care products, with a particular focus on bestseller Korean Hair Growth serum.

How did you strategise and execute the campaign to ensure its success? Were there any particular challenges that you faced along the way?

The idea was to capture the audience’s attention with a quirky and unique concept, generating curiosity and intrigue. The video featuring Yami Gautam being interrogated by Korean natives added an extra element of interest, resulting in increased engagement from the audience. To build anticipation, we divided the campaign into three phases: the pre-buzz phase, the grand reveal and the amplification.

During the pre-buzz phase, we shared snippets and videos on social media platforms, which hinted towards a mysterious woman’s abduction having taken place to create curiosity and generate chatter among our audience. Our audience had no idea that it was Yami who we were talking about. This generated significant anticipation leading up to the grand reveal, making a more impactful impression.

To maximise our reach, we leveraged the power of influencers to amplify the campaign and expand our target audience. Not only did we choose skincare and lifestyle creators to amplify the Korean Hair Growth secret, but we also collaborated with comic creators who gave a funny spin to “Pilgrim ne Dhoond Nikaale” and ensured mass reach. The appointment of Yami Gautam as our brand ambassador played a crucial role in attracting attention and increasing brand visibility.

The BPC industry introduces new faces and products each day. Our key challenge was to build a recall for the brand and the hero product in this competitive space. Our brief was to stand out and establish a strong association between Yami Gautam and our hair growth serum in the minds of consumers. We solved this challenge by building a campaign that was both informative and entertaining for the viewers. Employing a creative and memorable approach to our campaign ensured that Yami’s presence and the unique qualities of our product left a lasting impression.

What specific marketing channels and tactics did you employ to promote the campaign and reach your target audience?

We implemented a comprehensive marketing strategy to promote the campaign and effectively reach our target audience. Our primary marketing channels included owned media platforms – Instagram and YouTube, where we strategically released snippets, videos, and the grand reveal video. These platforms allowed us to engage with our audience visually and leverage the power of video content.

The brand also took a unique approach by using LinkedIn to create curiosity among the business community through short campaign videos featuring our co-founders and leaders. Additionally, we also utilised other owned media channels, such as our website, and social media to share campaign updates and behind-the-scenes content. The announcement of Yami Gautam as the brand ambassador and the campaign’s quirky concept also garnered media coverage from various publications, further increasing brand visibility.

How did you measure the impact and effectiveness of the #PilgrimNeDhoondNikale campaign? Could you share any key metrics or success stories?

The ‘#PilgrimNeDhoondNikale’ campaign achieved significant results and successfully spread the word about our Korean hair care secrets. The brand experienced a notable 2x increase in sales of the hero product, the Hair Growth Serum, on the website as well as marketplaces. The campaign’s reach was extensive, capturing the attention of over 33 million viewers on Instagram and YouTube, and fostering significant engagement across multiple platforms. The announcement garnered extensive reach on earned media, with prominent publications covering the news. The creative idea behind the campaign effectively conveyed our brand message and generated awareness about our unique Korean hair care secrets sourced from Jeju Island in South Korea.

Sales Performance: Hair Growth serum sales doubled on our website and on major marketplaces, including Amazon and Nykaa. The best part is that we saw a 90% uplift in sales across our haircare category, especially for our Korean sulfate-free shampoo and Argan oil hair conditioner.

Social Media Target: We hit our target of 13K jump in followers on Instagram in a month.

Innovative influencer marketing: An out-of-the-box thinking about using comedy creators instead of just skincare influencers worked in our favour. This disruptive choice helped us reach our internal targets for influencer reel views and achieved 33 milion views overall. We also tapped into regional content creators and we found a steep rise (40%) in views from the South.

Did the campaign lead to any long-term benefits for Pilgrim in terms of increased sales, brand recognition, or customer loyalty?

Yes, the ‘#PilgrimNeDhoondNikale’ campaign indeed yielded substantial long-term benefits for Pilgrim. One of the key outcomes was the notable increase in sales, which can be directly attributed to the campaign’s success in effectively reaching and engaging our target audience. Moreover, the campaign played a pivotal role in elevating brand recognition, as it reached 33 million viewers on Instagram and YouTube, generating significant engagement across various platforms. The extensive earned media coverage surrounding the campaign announcement further contributed to enhancing brand awareness. By leveraging the unique creative idea behind the campaign, we solidified our position as a frontrunner in the hair care industry, reinforcing our brand's leadership and expertise.

Are there any upcoming campaigns or marketing strategies that you can share with us? How do you plan to maintain the momentum generated by the previous campaign?

To maintain the momentum generated by a previous campaign, we will continue engaging with our target audience through various social media platforms providing them with valuable content, offers, and updates on new products. Further, you’ll continue to see Yami at the forefront of the brand as she promotes our exciting upcoming hair care range.