WhatsApp launches brand marketing campaign ‘Message Privately’ in India

WhatsApp India's new global brand marketing campaign around privacy

The campaign

Through a series of two films, that show relatable everyday real-life instances, WhatsApp puts out the message of it being a safe space for users to share their most personal moments with their loved ones.

• The ‘golden jubilee’ film narrates a story of an older couple, who are too shy to profess their affection publicly but manage to exchange private messages on WhatsApp on the occasion of their 50th wedding anniversary celebrations amid their family.

• The ‘dream job’ film, depicts a young woman’s story who receives exciting news from her cricket coach. She shares it with her mother by messaging her on WhatsApp and sharing a mother-daughter moment while keeping the privacy intact from other people.

The launch plan

• The integrated marketing campaign launches on television with two lead films and plans include amplification through radio and OOH.
• In addition, it would also include content tailor-made for Instagram and Facebook in the form of vertical short-format stories, Gifs, and motion posters to drive relevance.

CXO speaks

The campaign comes at a time when privacy has emerged as possibly the single largest concern, even as social networking and messaging sites like Facebook and WhatsApp grow in size and penetration across the globe. India is no different from the growing need for privacy.

• As per Avinash Pant, director - marketing at Facebook India, the campaign’s task is to highlight that the privacy provided by WhatsApp through end-to-end encryption, is not just a feature, but a feeling and one that leads to real human connections. The campaign is built on several real-life stories from our everyday lives, he adds.

• This campaign, according to Pant, is an affirmation of the faith of two billion people around the world who trust WhatsApp to deliver their personal messages every day.

Agency speak

• Comparing WhatsApp to the living room setting - private and intimate - Josy Paul, chairman, BBDO India says, “it’s that safe place where we can all thrive and that’s our truth which is what we set out to capture through relatable stories and moments.”

• Interestingly, in the films, the exchange between the characters is never revealed and remains private, which is deliberate. Adds Paul, “the campaign brings to life the joy of privacy in all its everyday drama and diversity. It’s privacy that leads to beautiful moments of progress.”

The big question

• “How is this brief relevant for Indian audiences”, was always a question before all of us, says Shimit Amin, famous Indian filmmaker and director of the campaign.

• Localisation is a key in the global campaign that has been launched in many markets already. “WhatsApp is such a daily part of our lives in all sorts of ways and that goes without saying, but it was critical to focus on where privacy would play an important role in an Indian context”, says Amin. The team went through various experiments to arrive at what finally seemed to be the working formula.