The PR stunt turned into a guerrilla marketing campaign, being amplified digitally and via social media across Instagram, TikTok, Facebook and YouTube as thousands of pieces of user-generated content flooded the internet following the PR stunt.Delivery platform noon Minutes recently leaned into guerrilla marketing, led primarily by a PR stunt, which involved placing a noon Minutes delivery rider alongside a lookalike of Bollywood actor Amitabh Bachchan at one of Dubai’s busiest streets at the Deira Gold Souk.
The campaign was brought to life in collaboration with influencer marketing agency Plug Media, which handled every bit of the PR stunt from concept and staging to filming, talent/bodyguards and social media amplification.
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The stunt was engineered in a way that the noon Minutes delivery rider was the only one permitted within the ring of bodyguards surrounding ‘Amitabh Bachchan’ when he was spotted at Deira Gold Souk.
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The delivery rider stayed beside the Amitabh Bachchan lookalike from arrival to exit across Deira Gold Souk, even as a massive crowd of more than 300 people gathered to snap pictures and take videos.
During the time that the noon Minutes rider and the lookalike were escorted through the crowded souk within the ring of bodyguards, the rider took a selfie and video called his mom with ‘Amitabh Bachchan’.
@akashpera Amitabh Bachchan spotted at Gold Souk, Dierra in Dubai? Look at the crowd! Only @noon driver got a selfie ❤️ #amitabhbachchan #goldsouk #dubai #noon
As a result, every single shot of the lookalike – whether taken by the noon Minutes rider or the hundreds of people surrounding him – showed the noon Minutes rider at the centre of attention, ensuring that all ensuing coverage, articles and reactions featured the noon rider and promoted the brand.
The brand’s objectives were to spark viral, international, high-impact buzz, but at a low-cost in a manner than would keep noon Minutes in every frame. The aim was to build awareness and help secure future shoppers for noon Minutes.
The PR stunt turned into a guerrilla marketing campaign, being amplified digitally and via social media across Instagram, TikTok, Facebook and YouTube as thousands of pieces of user-generated content flooded the internet following the PR stunt.
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The campaign also garnered earned media coverage across the UAE, with regional and international pickup across the Middle East, India and global digital outlets – all without any additional spend on a paid media push.
“This means we didn’t choose the coverage; they chose us and our campaign to share,” said Ahmad Mahmood, Founder, Plug Media, in conversation with Campaign Middle East. “The combination of a crowded public space, the feeling of FOMO (fear of missing out) felt by the crowd, and the short-form video resulted in maximum organic reach and sharing. Earned media extended credibility and scale aligning with the objective to achieve outsized visibility with minimal spend for noon Minutes.”
He added, “Gen Z and young millennials online were the target audience. Emotional, authentic and viral stunts matter most to this generation, so we took a route that resonated with them. By making the noon rider the ‘relatable hero’, the stunt aimed to position noon as a brand that Gen Z consumers can connect with today, and shop from tomorrow.”
The success metrics of the campaign, measured in views, engagement, earned media and brand visibility speak for itself.
The campaign received more than 2.95 million views in total, garnered more than 51, 400 in active engagement, including 43,000 likes, 5,000 shares, 1,500 comments, and was picked up by more than 10 established international and regional publications in the form of earned media coverage.
CREDITS:
Client: noon Minutes
Agency: Plug Media
