Social Media Campaign Review : How Castrol Executed #ZipFactor Campaign by Crowdsourcing Ideas For ICC WT20

Castrol Cricket, the official Performance partners of the ongoing ICC WT20 have actively been a part of the various aspects of cricket; not just as sponsors for the tournaments, but also for the various programs which help enhance the different areas of the game.

Objective

Castrol, as the Performance partners, had a campaign objective to crowd source ideas and devise a new technique to measure the player performance in the ongoing ICC WT20, so as to avoid the fallacies of the tried and tested orthodox methods.

Execution

Phase I

The campaign kicked off with a video which saw Rahul Dravid challenge Harsha Bhogle on the drawbacks of the traditional methods used to calculate player performance in the shorter format of the game. The challenge was to create a more efficient system of measuring player performances.

Accepting the challenge head on, Harsha called for ideas from Facebook and Twitter fans and followers to come up with suggestions, hashtagged as their #t20solution. The first phase was primarily hosted on Twitter, welcoming suggestions from followers on the same. In order to provide a direction to the campaign, Castrol Cricket posed 3 different questions on the various aspects of the game to get public responses.

Phase II

The next phase saw the launch of the #ZipFactor Facebook application, a new technique to calculate player performance which has been devised on the basis of the ideas crowdsourced from Twitter.

The #ZipFactor Facebook application is a gaming app, also available on iOS and Android devices. The #ZipFactor also promotes the Zip boosters USP in Castrol Activ Scooters. The #ZipFactor application was launched well in time for the beginning of the ICC T20 World Cup tournament and shall end with the final match.

With options like ‘Predict the Zip Factor Player of the Match’ and ‘Zip Quiz’, participants stand a chance to win a MotoG and other prizes daily with the mega prize being a gearless scooter.The application also provides an option to increase points by inviting friends on Facebook to try this application, encouraging more and more participants.

While Harsha Bhogle, along with some cricket statisticians, kept tweeting about the benefits of the Zip Factor, he also discussed the same in a Google hangout on 26th March, 2014. The hangout session was live streamed on Youtube.

Positives

This campaign points out a very important error in the calculation methods of player performances in T20 cricket. But, instead of just focusing on the flaws, it also provides a satisfactory solution for the same. The presence of reputed names in the field like Harsha Bhogle and Rahul Dravid add credibility to the campaign.

Also, the fact that the timing coincides along with the ICC WT20 Championship, makes it relevant and much sought after as it provides a new perspective to the game. The Zip factor formula has been devised after much crowd sourcing of ideas on platforms such as Facebook and Twitter ensuring the engagement of people from the very first stage. This campaign has efficiently used various platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Youtube and mobile applications.

The short tenure and swift activities of the campaign add to its grip. Participants' engagement in both phases has been well planned and executed. The application is based more on the lines of Fantasy League which has gained much popularity since the previous seasons of cricketing tournaments, mainly the IPL.

Scope of Improvement

While the Zip Factor application is fun and interesting, it also has too much stuffing to focus on one, which leads to confusion. The interiors of the app provide fewer details about the upcoming match or its players, giving little option to anyone less interested in the game to participate.

This application mainly serves its purpose to those who are deeply involved and aware about the game. Fans who have little interest in statistics such as strike rate and economy rate may feel disconnected. The application could have had a better integration technique. Also, the point system lacked clarity.

Conclusion

Castrol has executed a brilliant concept to not only promote the brand and its association with the game but has also given a new perspective to the T20 cricket experience. This could be further useful in domestic T20 cricket tournaments or any other T20 cricket tournaments in India and abroad. This could  very well be the next intervention and progress in the game.

However, its transparency and success rate shall determine its future! Thumbs up to this campaign and good luck to the team for more such campaigns to come!