Hike gets users to Gang Up

Hike Messenger's new campaign asks consumers to create their gangs on the messaging app to experience the fun that the latest upgrade, Hike 4.0, can bring to their social conversations.

Hike Messenger has launched a brand campaign that is intended to reach over 200 million consumers. The campaign roll-out comes on the back of the launch of Hike's product update, Hike 4.0, which is five times faster and loaded with over ten new features.

The campaign, with its tag line 'Got a Gang? Get on Hike', aims at showcasing the 'World of Hike' by bringing alive groups of friends. It asks consumers to create their own gang on Hike and experience the fun and spice that the product features can bring to their social conversations.

The ad, conceptualised by Lowe Lintas, depicts a gang of friends in a dingy bar. They unfailingly quarrel with each other every night. A drunken brawl breaks out between them over the same topic and with clockwork precision, at 10 pm daily. Back to senses after a while, they realise the need to patch-up and their mutual apologies find the perfect expression in Hike's stickers.

Speaking about the campaign, Kavin Bharti Mittal, founder and CEO, Hike Messenger, says, "Our goal with this campaign is to highlight those quirky groups that you cherish so much in your life, and how that world would be so different, better and more expressive in so many ways with Hike. This campaign truly brings out all the great things about the latest version of Hike, Hike 4.0, which is a big step up from where we've been."

The 18-week-long campaign will run across television, print, digital, radio and outdoor to inform consumers about Hike 4.0's features like sticker suggestions, free calling, group chats with over 500 people, multi-type file transfer up to 100 MB, enhanced privacy options, photo filters, doodles and much more. Each product feature and its benefit are brought alive by a different group of friends shown in different situations, along with a storyline that makes the campaign fun to watch.

"The all-new Hike, with its unique features, is an intelligent messenger in the world of instant messengers. Our campaign aims to bring alive the fun that these wonderful features can bring to social interactions and conversations. 'Got a Gang? Get on Hike' is an inescapable invite from the world of Hike to join in and have fun," adds GV Krishnan, president, Lowe Lintas.

To engage with consumers and make messaging more relevant, Hike has also announced special sticker packs for all major festivals in India, starting with Raksha Bandhan. Rakhi sticker packs on the Hike app were made available to Android users on the Google Play store and Apple users on the iOS App store.

Launched in December 2012, Hike claims to have acquired over 35 million users. The app boasts of a fairly young user base with over 90 per cent of them being under the age of 25 and residing in India. The Hike chat application has localised features, which are developed keeping in mind the infrastructural and cultural requirements of the country. Some of its key features include Hike offline - that lets one message their friends even when they're offline and hidden mode - that allows users to hide their private chats with a password.