Presentation at the IAMAI Marketing Conclave (June 9-10, 2015) in Mumbai. The story of how we reached 26 million users on a shoestring with a video clocking 7 million views, and shared by 3.5 lakh shares. This is how we did it :) Includes best practices for viral video marketing.

1. How we reached
25 million users
on a shoestring.

2. about me
discovering method to the madness

3. story of a viral video
26 million reach
7 millions views
3.5 lakh shares
- nominated for best viral marketing campaign (India Digital Awards)
- won award for marketing innovation (DMAI)
“most shared brand Facebook post in APAC in 2014”
(Campaign Asia)

4. challenge
to execute a content strategy that catapults ixigo
towards a larger reach at a low cost and builds on
its current strength.

5. objective
• to create an impact on the users’ travel habits.
• develop useful and share-worthy content.
• create brand awareness.
• create an effortless personal connection with fans.
• engage and acquire new fans.
• integrate brand DNA with content

6. how we did it
on 27th August 2014, ixigo released a 2 min 30 secs video on travel hacks
striking a perfect balance between brand promotion and usability.

7. video execution: in-house production
Cost of production, distribution and promotion: $500
• From jewellery hacks to luggage hacks, it covered almost everything that
you’ll need to know while packing your bags smartly.
• The video was created in a way to hook a viewer in the first few seconds.
• Key points are conveyed through words on the screen so that they can be
easily understood without sound. (worked well with Facebook)

8. why did we make a video?
• Most people prefer videos over white papers, long articles, case studies
and even live demos.
• The purpose was to drive high engagement and leverage and take our
chances on Facebook's native video.
• In an age of information overload, it's vital for businesses like ixigo to offer
content that is easy to digest. And nothing works better than a 2-3 minute
video.
• As per the annual CISCO report, by 2015, 1 million video minutes, the
equivalent of 674 days--will be shared on the Internet every second.

9. platforms used for promotion

10. numbers - 1st week
Day 1 Day 2
YouTube
300 views
Facebook
50,000 views

11. numbers - 1st month
Video reach 24,666,112
25% FB userbase in India
16% Interner userbase in India
more than population of
Australia, Saudi Arabia, Sri
Lanka
Video views 4,104,974
Video likes on FB 414,815
Video comments on FB 51,854
Shares on the video 223,150

12. numbers - 6 months

13. day on day increase in the video views
Days

14. highest reach recorded

15. what worked for the video
Short and crisp -- If you want something to be shared virally over the web, it
has to be short. This video was a 2.3 minute, crisp guide to smart packing.
People are more likely to share something if they have a strong, positive
response to it
People want raw content that feels genuine to them - People don’t want
highly photoshopped/edited stuff, they want stuff that feels genuine to them.
“How-to” guides work really well. The simplicity and the basic edits of the travel
video did bring out the authenticity of the hacks explained.

16. video ROI: cost vs reach
With INR 30,000, ixigo was able to
achieve a reach equivalent to
that received by the brand
commercials on Star Plus and
other similar GECs after
spending INR 9 lakh.
Brands spending INR 15 lakh or
more find it difficult to get a reach
of 5 million on IPL.

17. traditional media vs ixigo’s video

18. competition analysis - 2 weeks

19. engagement

20. applied learning
● Made for mobile screens: clutter
free, 2-3 minutes length, formats
● Got 250k views on Facebook
● Another 250k when a famous
politician shared it.
● Adding a ‘Call to Action’ button
on the video got 6% CTR, app
downloads jumped. (ROI)
● A user downloaded it and posted
it on his Facebook page, which
got another 2.4 million views!
visa free video

21. applied learning
hotel hacks
video
● 15 second rule, make it
compelling (3.5 million views:
changed it)
● Got 850k views on facebook
● Viral on whatsapp: no way to
measure, stories still come today
● Featured on popular
international blogs around the
world
● ‘Call to Action’ applied on the
video, got 5% CTR (ROI)

22. applied learning
rickair - executive class in auto rickshaws
● topical content & news-jacking
● brand DNA

23. best practices - video marketing
• Tuesday /
Wednesday
launches
• Multiple versions:
FB, YT, Whatsapp
• Initial seeding: cross
platform, core group
• Facebook is the new
YouTube: boost after
organic peak
• Outreach to 3pm
content blogs,
bloggers, news
distribution strategy

24. last words
- Don’t make an Ad (BS detectors)
- Don’t start with intent of ‘viral’ (result)
- Obsess about your users, train eg.
- Think storytelling, not high production
- Why would anyone share it? Earn it
- Always be News-Jacking
- First impression & 2nd First impression
- Users first, branding next; give value
- Make it for mobile screens
- Facebook native video; Whatsapp;
CTA buttons

25. last words
It’s not about being creative;
but about being creative consistently
Do 10 experiments; 2 will work
just like movie studios
80% of success is showing up - Woody Allen
execution is everything

26. thanks :)
Aashish Chopra
Tweet me up @aashishc
LinkedIn - www.linkedin.com/in/acway
ixigo videos
YouTube: www.youtube.com/ixigorocks
Facebook: www.facebook.com/ixigo/videos