A Surprise Toast from Opera Coast

The company reached out to creative professionals who use iPhones or a iPads, with a unique initiative called the #OperaCoastSurprise, to introduce the browser.

Web browsers have been around for 20 years and there have been many changes in the way they operate. But the fundamentals of each web browser - be it Microsoft Internet Explorer, Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox - has remained the same: to facilitate web browsing.

Since devices meant for web browsing have undergone a change, the browser's conventions can get in the way of browsing on touch-driven devices. Therefore, Opera Software, the company behind Opera browser, has launched Opera Coast as a web browser for iPhones and iPads.

It has been appreciated across the globe for its fresh look, design, intuitiveness, originality, unconventionality and functionality. To introduce the browser in India, the company reached out to creative professionals in India who use iPhones or a iPads, with a unique initiative called the #OperaCoastSurprise.

"Since creative people are well known to have cracked a big idea while wasting time instead of consciously working on it, we thought Opera Coast would be a great app for them to help them waste time well," the company said in a note.

Opera had sent across a surprise package of Kinetic sand along with a personal note to each professional. Kinetic sand has special properties that make the sand soft, stretchy and non-sticky - one can make shapes with it on the desk without it getting messy. The package was sent to Narendra Nag, Asia Digital Leader, MSLGROUP, Natasha Badhwar, blogger, media trainer, film-maker, former journalist and now a entrepreneur; Karan Singh, psychological illusionist; Sattvik Mishra, co-founder and CEO of internet media company ScoopWhoop.

These professionals showed their appreciation of the browser on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. The company has also released a video of the same activity. Speaking about the objective behind the campaign, Mrunmaiy Abroal, director of communications, South Asia, Opera Software, says, "Our objective behind the #OperaCoastSurprise campaign was to reach out to iOS users in the country and introduce them to the awesomeness of Opera Coast. Opera is known for doing things differently, and our outreach for this product also had to be something that stands out from the crowd and matching the brand personality of Opera Coast."

The campaign secured over 300,000 impressions. But the major success was to reach out to a targeted audience, in a way that created a ripple effect of sorts, at centres of influence.

Opera has millions of users in India. However, most of them use, and are familiar with the Opera Mini browser, which works on all kinds of smartphones and basic phones. Also, a majority of our users are men, in the age group of 18-24 years, attending college or working full time. So what challenges does the company face in India?

"Our marketing challenge right now is to spread awareness about our other browser products such as the Opera for Android. For this, it is important to widen our reach to a new demographic of mobile Internet users. We are confident that unique campaigns like #OperaCoastSurprise will help us in engaging and increasing Opera users in the country," informs Abroal.