Zee5 Global takes users back in time with Airplane mode

ZEE5 Global, the world's largest streaming platform for South Asian content, wanted to create an immersive experience to spread awareness and build hype for their upcoming web series TAJ: Divided By Blood. The brand partnered with mCanvas to create an innovative, engaging ad with a realistic portrayal of the dark side of history, based on the succession battle of the Mughal Empire.

The ZEE5 Global - TAJ mobile campaign wanted to reach 18- 45 year-old men and women, all non-resident Indians (NRIs) from the UAE, KSA, Kuwait, Oman, Bahrain, Singapore, and Malaysia. The primary audience included Indians and their families settled abroad, Bollywood and South Indian content lovers. The campaign reached over 4.4 million users.

To make this a memorable experience for users, the campaign leveraged "airplane mode" to give users a sense of traveling back in time. The ad introduced playing cards showing different characters to create a sense of curiosity and excitement in users about the Mughal empire. 

Speaking about the campaign, Archana Anand, Chief Business Officer, ZEE5 Global said, “TAJ: Divided By Blood was one of the most-awaited titles this year and we wanted to ensure that we were leveraging a highly innovative and eye-catching campaign to create awareness about this series. The impactful campaign, created in collaboration with mCanvas, had viewers engaged for 9.5 seconds on average with the interactive mobile experience and delivered an excellent CTR, all contributing to a highly successful launch."

The expandable ad begins creating intrigue to travel back before technology and witness the battle for the Mughal Empire. The last page of the book is shown, depicting the present. Next, the user is prompted to enable airplane mode. Once done, the pages dramatically flip back to the first page of the book to indicate a journey back in time, with fleeting shots of the show’s characters. On the first page, users see a feather writing a cryptic message, with a visual of the palace below it. The shot zooms in through the palace gates, giving users the feeling of entering the palace. 

Once inside, the user is shown five character cards and directed to tap and choose any two of them. Upon selection, the user sees only the chosen cards and the emotion between the 2 characters, that describes their relationship. Then, the cards zoom out and fade away, and Akbar's image appears on the screen. The closing screen features a YouTube video of the trailer, along with the series’ branding and other characters. The CTA "WATCH NOW" takes the user to the ZEE5 Global landing page, where users can enjoy the show on the ZEE5 app. 

In conclusion, Lavin Punjabi, Co-founder, mCanvas, CEO, Affinity Global had this to say, “We wanted to spread the word about ZEE5 Global’s new web series, with an interactive mobile ad to engage the audience. We leveraged technology, mobile sensors, and the tap feature, with an immersive experience to magnify awareness of the show. The innovative ad achieved a 6% CTR, 30 times higher than industry benchmarks - a testament to a successful mobile campaign.”