Smith & Jones' digital adventure with cricket

The manufacturer of instant noodles, sauces and cooking pastes is all set to bombard the digital media with 400 video clips.

Smith & Jones has decided to take a different route in digital media. Instead of focussing on paid digital advertising, the company has decided to build its brand through a series of video clips.

The food company will create and release a series of 400 high-definition video clips in the next 10 days, which will not be associated with food or any of its products, directly.

The video clips in the series, titled 'Smith & Jones Cricket Ka Tadka', will be of short duration (about two minutes each) and will be related to cricket coaching. The clips will teach various elements of cricket, including batting, bowling and fielding, in a step-by-step manner to the youth. The company aims to target the age group of 10-20 years with this series.

The clips will feature Zubin Bharucha as a coach. Bharucha is a former Ranji player from Mumbai, and is currently the batting coach of the IPL team, Rajasthan Royals.

At the end of each video clip, the company will add a short, three-second message to promote Smith & Jones Instant Noodles.

The videos will be uploaded on YouTube.com ( Facebook and will also be made available on other platforms, such as mobile and the video-on-demand service of various DTH and IPTV players.

Speaking to afaqs!, a spokesperson of Capital Foods, the brand owners of Smith & Jones, says, "The idea is to leverage the upcoming cricketing season -- ICC World Cup and Indian Premier League, take digital ownership of cricket and build our brand in a subtle manner."

He adds, "This attempt of launching a digital cricket academy through 400 videos is very similar to what MRF Pace Academy did in the offline world. There are millions of kids in the 10-20 years age-group, who are interested in learning cricket from top-notch professionals, but have access to only local coaches. Through this digital distribution channel, we aim to complement their local, physical cricket coaching."

Though the videos are not related to Smith & Jones products directly, yet the company expects that cricket videos can build a strong brand salience in the target group.

The video series is designed in association with The World Cricket Academy (WCA).