How Prime Video partnered with PivotRoots to generate peak audience interest for Farzi

Farzi is an original crime drama series starring Shahid Kapoor and Vijay Sethupati on Prime Video India. The series revolves around Sunny (Shahid), who is catapulted into a high-stakes world of counterfeiting when he creates a perfect fake currency note. Things get complicated when Michael (Vijay), a fiery, unorthodox cop leading an anti-counterfeiting task force, gets on his tail.   

Prime Video India wanted to generate peak audience interest for the new Indian original series. They partnered with PivotRoots to run campaigns that would maximise unique reach without overwhelming potential audiences with frequent ads.   

Campaign Objective:

The primary objective of the campaign was to create a significant buzz leading up to the series launch, ensuring that Farzi became a resounding success and a potential franchise for future seasons.

Strategic Approach:

1. Innovation and Technology  

To maximise reach, PivotRoots employed a TREE TRUNK strategy, under which it centralized Video & display execution through a unified programmatic exchange (DV360) and partnered with Sizmek to serve rich media creatives through the exchange, providing target audiences an immersive experience across Youtube and top news, cricket, gaming, lifestyle, and entertainment sites / apps.   

2. Target audience  

The target audience was 18-44 years old, male and female, largely Hindi-speaking individuals that are existing OTT consumers or have paying capability with a probability to subscribe for a paid OTT service.  

3. Getting creative   

• The campaign was kickstarted with the trailer launch that garnered 20 Million views within a span of 48 hours! 
• A multilevel story telling via Youtube Lineups targeting every Trending Video on Youtube was enabled. 
• Playing on the title Farzi, which means fake, PivotRoots ran prank banners across 10+ sites where users were shown fake ads with outrageous offers and claims. Once users engaged, a video played asking them to not engage with such “Farzi” banners and watch Farzi, the show, instead.   
• An AR experience was created on farzi10.com, where users could scan a ₹10 note to watch 5 minutes of exclusive content before release. This site was promoted through banner ads across biddable.   

• During the launch, PivotRoots ran immersive animated rich media banners programmatically across 20+ sites to immerse audience into the world of the show.   
• PivotRoots also deployed Google Display pack that ensure ensured 100% coverage across Entertainment and Review sites.  

Campaign Results:

The campaign's impact was nothing short of phenomenal:

• Programmatic campaigns across video and display buys achieved a reach of over 150 million unique audience members.
• The digital display efforts drove a staggering 540,000+ visits to farzi10.com within a week.
• Farzi emerged as the most-watched Indian original series on Prime Video, boasting an impressive IMDb rating of 8.4.
• Farzi's influence extended beyond the screen, as memes and reels inundated social media platforms, solidifying its place in pop culture. The series firmly established itself as a superhit intellectual property within Prime Video's esteemed catalog, alongside other critically acclaimed titles such as The Family Man, Mirzapur, and Panchayat.

Conclusion:

The success of Farzi serves as a testament to the power of innovative digital campaigns in capturing the attention of audiences and driving record-breaking viewership. By leveraging cutting-edge strategies and technologies, Amazon Prime Video, in collaboration with PivotRoots, successfully created an unprecedented level of anticipation and awareness for the series. Farzi's groundbreaking opening has not only secured its place in the annals.