How to manage without beer during lockdown, shows Kingfisher in its campaign

At a time when everyone is feeling anxious and worried about the pandemic and the changing dynamics of the lockdown, Kingfisher has released a fun video that shows how Indians have been dealing with their beer cravings in the lockdown period. With Spring Marketing Capital as the agency behind the video, it introduces us to different types of characters as beer lovers and their dilemma in the lockdown.

Watch the video here:

Talking about the campaign, Sandeep Balan, Partner, Branded Content, Spring Marketing Capital, said the objective behind the video was to essentially capture the love for beer. He said the characters of the video have been inspired by the people we see around like our friends and neighbours. “We observed a lot of these things on the internet and we thought as a creator, it is important for us to put the piece out there. We wanted to celebrate the different kinds of beer lovers in a way, so that was the essence behind the film,” he said.

The video that has been uploaded on ‘Cheers!’, Kingfisher’s YouTube channel, has since been shared widely on social media. Talking about his experience of collaborating with United Breweries again after he joined Spring Marketing Capital, Balan said, "It was a good feeling to come back and work for a brand that I have closely worked on for the last seven years."

"It was easy writing for UB considering I have been so used to writing for UB and Kingfisher. It's a good feeling as the love for the brand is pretty much there. The good thing is you know the dos and don'ts of a brand and what to convey because most of that has been articulated when you were working for the brand so that helped me. It was a good homecoming," he added.

It was challenging to shoot a four-minute content piece during the lockdown but technology helped the team stay connected, said Balan. "You have no set, you have to rely on the physical living spaces of each of the actors. So, you choose your characters in a way that they're able to pull it off. You have to coordinate with them pretty closely and see what their physical living spaces look like and plan the shot accordingly. Another challenge was to take the shot on video chats and then send it back to the actor with feedback. However, it went smoothly with the help of technology and that's how we bypass most of the challenges," he said.

During his time at United Breweries, Balan has made some exceptional content pieces like the instant beer mix that went viral during the April fool’s week last year. "One of the last pieces I had written before I left UB last year was the fool’s day prank 'instant beer mix', which had gone viral. This one ended with calling out the fool’s day prank, so it connects," he said.

According to Balan, the lockdown brought positives for the content space.  "When you can't plan your expensive ad shoots and you can't be active, this is the inky route that allows you to be active. A lot of people have been forced to look at content in a new light and they're looking at content actively," he said. "It's a good creative challenge for you to have and it helps you look at what you want to create in a totally different light, which I guess is a big positive," he added.

The brand also released a music video titled 'Divided by screens. United by Kingfisher' last month, aiming to spread positivity by staying connected during the lockdown last month. The campaign that was released on social media encouraged people to connect with friends through technology over a beer.

Kingfisher has carried out some notable content pieces in the past like 'What's Your Status' and 'The Half Day Rant'. Both of them went viral on social media and resonated deeply with the young audience.