Summary
The innovation was unique because we identified the trends at speed during a tumultuous time. We were the only ORIGINAL content on television during this period. We provided the joy and magic of ITC products along with the education of how to prepare the mouth-watering food to the people of this country. We created original and relevant content for the people of this country while they were facing dire constraints .
Challenge
India entered a strict lockdown which spread over 68 days disrupting supply lines and bringing to halt most of the commercial activities. TV channels ran out content and people were confined to home. TV viewership went up – especially in non-prime time where it went up by a massive 80%. Cooking became one of the newfound passion and activity for numerous people across the country. Recipe was the most searched word on Google. ITC foods has a great range of products varying from staples like atta, spices to biscuits to noodles catering to the myriad needs of the Indian consumer. Add to that we had the mouth-watering ITC Masterchef frozen snacks and alongside all these were the magician of gastronomy the world-famous chefs from ITC hotels.
Objective
The objective was to embed ITC products into people's lives at this stage and give wings to their culinary experiments and pursuits, simultaneously showcasing how the range of numerous ITC products could be used to give a twist to simple mouth-watering recipes.
Strategy
All the TV channels were airing repeat shows due to lock down restrictions. Social media were buzzing with user generated content. ITC took the high ground to entertain the country with the most buzzing subject matter of the hour, that's to land a cooking show of the season with the TOP MOST chefs from ITC Hotels called 5 Star Kitchen. It was a 13-episode show aired across 33 channels of Star Network in 7 languages and OTT platform Hotstar. The show was hosted by the leading anchor Dheeraj Juneja. 12 gastronomy magicians (chefs) from ITC hotels created magical food in 5 Star Kitchen show. The show was slotted during the non-prime time on weekends starting 23rd May 2020. To make the show more engaging a contest was rolled out asking viewers to submit their recipes on the brand page. The viewers participated enthusiastically, and the top 3 entrants were featured in the final episode. 157 hours of original programming was telecast across 33 channels combined with 51480 sec of advertising time and a promo campaign which delivered 478 GRPs at All India. The program reached a whopping 15.7 crore people in India. Hotstar delivered 1.2 Mn views. All episodes had 3 recipes, seamlessly showcasing how ITC products could be used to enhance the various food items.
Data
Significant uplift was seen across brands with about 4% even in the established brands: 45% in the exposed group recall more than 5 brands from ITC range. Awareness and imagery of ITC hotels saw double digit gains The TG liked the show and wanted more of such content:
Solution
The innovation was unique because we identified the trends at speed during a tumultuous time. We were the only ORIGINAL content on television during this period. We provided the joy and magic of ITC products along with the education of how to prepare the mouth-watering food to the people of this country. We created original and relevant content for the people of this country while they were facing dire constraints and we executed all of this during the RESTRICTION of LOCK DOWN, delivering unmatched scale of reaching out to 15.7 Cr people.
Results
The series was created when the lockdown was in force. This meant everything had to be done remotely. The series was shot using mobile phones while adhering to all covid guidelines. Significant uplift was seen across brands with about 4% even in the established brands: 45% in the exposed group recall more than 5 brands from ITC range. Awareness and imagery of ITC hotels saw double digit gains The TG liked the show and wanted more of such content:
