How Farzi achieved the biggest India opening for a Prime Video original series   

Farzi is an original crime drama series starring Shahid Kapoor and Vijay Sethupati on Prime Video India. The series revolves around Sunny (Shahid), who is catapulted into a high-stakes world of counterfeiting when he creates a perfect fake currency note. Things get complicated when Michael (Vijay), a fiery, unorthodox cop leading an anti-counterfeiting task force, gets on his tail.    

Prime Video India wanted to generate peak audience interest for the new Indian original series. They partnered with PivotRoots to run campaigns that would maximise unique reach without overwhelming potential audiences with frequent ads.    

OBJECTIVE   

The objective of the campaign was to generate the maximum buzz in the lead-up to the launch and ensure maximum top-of-the-mind awareness about the show, making it a successful IP for seasons to come.    

STRATEGY   

Innovation and Technology   

To maximise reach, the agency employed a TREE TRUNK strategy, under which it centralized Video & display execution through a unified programmatic exchange (DV360) and partnered with Sizmek to serve rich media creatives through the exchange, providing target audiences an immersive experience across YouTube and top news, cricket, gaming, lifestyle, and entertainment sites / apps.   

Target audience   

The target audience was 18-44 years old, male and female, largely Hindi-speaking individuals that are existing OTT consumers or have paying capability with a probability to subscribe for a paid OTT service.   

Getting creative    

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• We kickstarted the campaign with the trailer launch that garnered 20 Million views within a span of 48 hours!  
• We enabled a multilevel story-telling via YouTube Lineups targeting every Trending Video on YouTube. 
• Playing on the title Farzi, which means fake, PivotRoots ran prank banners across 10+ sites where users were shown fake ads with outrageous offers and claims. Once users engaged, a video played asking them to not engage with such “Farzi” banners and watch Farzi, the show, instead.    
• An AR experience was created on farzi10.com, where users could scan a ₹10 note to watch 5 minutes of exclusive content before release. This site was promoted through banner ads across biddable.   
• During the launch, PivotRoots ran immersive animated rich media banners programmatically across 20+ sites to immerse audience into the world of the show.    
• We also deployed Google Display pack that ensure ensured 100% coverage across Entertainment and Review sites.    

RESULT   

150+ million unique audience reach with the Programmatic Campaign across Video and Display buys.   

Drove 540k+ traffic to farzi10.com using Digital Display in a week.   

Farzi became The Most Watched Indian Original Series on Prime Video with an 8.4 IMDB rating. Farzi memes and reels took over social media cementing its pop culture influence and establishing itself as a superhit IP in Prime Video’s catalog alongside titles like The Family Man, Mirzapur, and Panchayat.