The risky choice of becoming an IPL sponsor allowed Unacademy to boost its brand

In Unstartup, Nistha Tripathi tells how Unacademy ignored conventional work models to create new pathways to success.

Representational image | KL Rahul in post match presentation ceremony (Image: IPL Twitter) Text Size: A- A+ Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], April 1 (ANI): It was a co

I don’t like it,’ Gaurav told Karan. ‘I think it will work. Trust me,’ Karan replied. ‘Nahi kaam kare toh fire kar dena (if it doesn’t work, fire me),’ Karan broke the silence after a few seconds. ‘That’s not required. Okay, let’s do it if you believe in it,’ Gaurav gave him the go-ahead. ‘Gaurav and I rarely agree on ideas. We always have different views but it’s more of a debate rather than a fight. We both add a lot of value to the end results.

See, we both believe in taking risks and experimenting and we both want the company to be successful. So, it is a partnership of mutual trust and respect. There were teething issues in the start. Knowing how much of a perfectionist Gaurav can be, he would keep himself very involved in what we were doing. Eventually, he saw my obsession and passion for my work. We wouldn’t see eye-to-eye on certain campaigns but Gaurav always trusted me and let the team experiment. That is what makes our partnership so successful.’ Having tasted success with their first ATL campaigns, the Marketing team was now geared to experiment on an even bigger stage.

The opportunity came when Unacademy became an official sponsor of the IPL tournament in 2020. The IPL finale of 2020 was scheduled to take place on 10 November. The team wanted to end the tournament with a big bang, something that would stay in the minds of the audience long after the tournament had ended. Unacademy decided to premier a new ad film on 8 November. Associate director of Marketing, Arpita Bhattacharya, recounts the making of the iconic ‘Cracking the Game’ or more popularly known as the ‘Kya-Seekha (what did you learn)’ ad film. ‘We wanted to do something different from run-of-the-mill ads.

For us, Unacademy is all about learning. So how do we integrate learning with cricket was the question, all the while keeping it fun and fast-paced as our target audience is students. As a part of the sponsorship, we had access to all the match footage for promotional purposes. We thought why not use that and stitch a story around learning. We drew a correlation between different scientific concepts and the game.’ The first step was to write the script. Once that was written, Unacademy had to scout for appropriate footage. So, every day, the Marketing team would sit and watch the footage to pick such moments. ‘We would keep doing this every single day for weeks. We would then share that footage with our agency and they would help create a film. Of course, new footage was coming in every day. So, till the last day, our agency was updating the video. The footage had to align perfectly with the script. For example, we had Dhoni’s footage and his hand motions aligned with making a right-angled triangle. So, we used that for the Pythagoras theorem!’

The end result was a high-speed montage of a few of IPL’s most memorable moments to a catchy tune. The ad starts with a voiceover saying, ‘Oh student log, is IPL se kya seekha (Hey students, what did you learn from the IPL)?’ It went on to map everything from mathematical formulae to physics’ laws. It was a first-of-its-kind film in India. Most of the brands use such prime-time rights to talk about their product offering and make a sales pitch. It was an audacious bet by the company and till the last minute, Karan had no clue if it would pay off. Even within the company, opinions were divided. Some loved it, some didn’t. The 75-seconds ad film premiered on 8 November and within 24 hours, all doubts were put to rest when it clocked 2.8 million views on Twitter, with close to 8,000 retweets and 45,000 favourites.

The film, loved by students, media and experts alike, was lauded especially for its product-first approach. Many compared it to Nike ads in storytelling and editing—a towering compliment for an Indian company. Unacademy would go on to become an official sponsor of the IPL in 2021 as well. This time, they would break all the ceilings for brand integration and set new precedents for marketing in India. Combining Gaurav’s flair for integration with Karan’s eye for storytelling, Unacademy came up with advertisements which take place inside the commentator box.

There’s a short match clip, cut to Harsha Bhogle and Sunil Gavaskar (or other brand ambassadors) chatting in the box where they are discussing the match but also subtly referring to Unacademy’s benefits, cut to the Unacademy banner on the ground. The crisp editing made the whole ad look like a part of the live match itself and this led to interesting reactions from the audience. The brilliance of the campaign lies in its seamless continuity—the commercials would appear usually at the end of ad breaks and start with footage from the match. Many viewers who would disperse off in the ad breaks would come back running as soon as the ad started only to realize the match is yet to resume. Many viewers loved it, some were frustrated by it but nobody could ignore it. Karan says, ‘The whole point of brand campaigns is to start conversations and have people talk about it. And, on that yardstick, the ads were a massive success.’

This excerpt from Nistha Tripathi’s ‘Unstartup: How Unacademy Ignored Conventional Advice to Become a 3X Unicorn’ has been published with the permission of Rupa Publications.