Sparking a reel – to – real change with Sachin Tendulkar in “Sparks”, DBS Bank is now set to light up lives in Mumbra, #TrueStory!

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Sparking a reel – to – real change with Sachin Tendulkar in “Sparks”, DBS Bank is now set to light up lives in Mumbra, #TrueStory!

Sparks, first launched in 2016 and rolled out across DBS’ key markets, is a first-of-its-kind web-series featuring a set of young, enterprising bankers and inspired by true stories of how their very own, go beyond.

Surmounting challenges faced by customers, business clients and communities alike with a personable and inventive touch, these bankers embody the “Live more, Bank Less” spirit, enabling them to live life to the fullest.

2 years and 8 episodes in, it was DBS Bank India’s turn to launch Sparks locally. Given the low awareness of DBS in India, the overt nature of branding and the quintessentially Asian content values, would Sparks be able to generate the success of its innovative predecessor, the “Chilli Paneer” series in 2014-15? Here too, the team at DBS took yet another inventive approach.

Sheran Mehra, Head, Group Strategic and Marketing Communications at DBS Bank India, says “Sparks is a flagship and region-wide brand asset for us. We preserved its essence but decided to enhance it. And who better than our brand ambassador Sachin, with his own true story to do the job. Inspired by his work in making play accessible to kids, 2 marquee episodes were created for the India launch. Here, the bankers step in to help bring his dream alive – helping kids play, even after dark. We now had a relevant story for India that needed to be socialised with the masses correctly. So, targeting Sachin’s loyal fanbase was the first port of call.”

A monologue of Sachin talking about his larger purpose outside of his 24-year cricketing career was created and posted across his social media handles, becoming a top Twitter trend and amplified by various content publishers. His search for the right partner was shown to culminate in his coming together with DBS India where CEO Surojit Shome and Sachin decide to #SparkAPurpose – lighting grounds so kids may play. It showcases Sachin’s true calling in empowering kids and DBS’ true values in doing good, bringing in its network of social enterprises engaged in solar lighting.

Subsequently, a multimedia campaign through OOH, in-cinema and digital, bolstered by series-related and contextual (cashing in on the FIFA rage, for instance) content, joining millennial conversations, content and media innovations, etc. broke.

The results have sparked a very keen interest in the brand, with YouTube reporting nearly 973.9% lift in keyword searches, boding well for its awareness in India. And it looks like it will bode well for the kids too – DBS is taking its first step in turning this vision in “Sparks” into a reality by lighting a playground in Mumbra, transforming the lives of over 6,000 children in an area much neglected, but teeming with sporting talent. Stay tuned to DBS Bank India’s social media handles and join the mission. Meanwhile, the stats tell the story so far:

Total views garnered across trailers and the 2 episodes: 28.7 million

Total engagements garnered on social (likes, shares, comments): 1.03 million

Total views and engagements garnered from Sachin’s handles: 3.3 million views and 663k engagement

Total views on the episodes alone: 6.6 million

Average cost per view for episodes across platform: 0.57 INR!

Average watch time per episode: 5:06 minutes (over 50% of episode 9) and 5:25 minutes (36% of episode 10)

Retention rate: On average, 40% of those who have watched 25% of either episode (DBS’ internal qualifier for quality views) have gone on to complete them.

YouTube videos:

Sparks episodes with Sachin:

go.dbs.com/SparksEP9
go.dbs.com/SparksEP10

Sparks trailers:

Sachin’s monologue:

Sachin’s chat with DBS Bank India Surojit Shome to #SparkAPurpose:
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