Roopak Nair, vice-president, product and marketing, JetSynthesys Pvt. Ltd, says the idea behind the TVC was to showcase how “real” the game is, one of the biggest selling points for products in this segment. The TVC also highlights the fact that Sachin not only features in it but has lent active feedback and is an integral part of the game, he adds.
“This is the first time a cricket game features on air, so making a mundane, conventional download ad wouldn’t have cut it. The core message of the game is as real as it gets and I think the mix of motion capture, high-end graphics and likeliness, coupled with the peppy number, conveys the realism we’re trying to highlight,” says Nair.
The company plans to air a second TVC sometime next year, while this campaign is timed till mid-December and targets every Tendulkar fans or sports lovers in general. The game has reached a million downloads so far.
Shamir Tandon, music director and founder of Music Boutique, which was behind the song and TVC, says the campaign aimed to fill the hearts of cricket fans with emotions for one of their favourite cricketers, connect with the audiences with more than just a dialogue, and leave them intrigued and wanting more.
“Also music, just like cricket, is a medium one can never go wrong with,” he adds.
Asked why the team didn’t create something new other than the song that was already seen by viewers, Tandon says the popularity of the number made them retain it.
“The song had amazing traction when it was launched with over 10 million views on the 100MB app and social media. Fans also wrote to us saying this was unique and apt, and also it had the game visuals. So it made sense to recreate that magic. We decided to retain this as an anthem which will have an instant connect,” he says, adding that they are contemplating to introduce the song again with a twist in the near future.
Jet Synthesys products are available across mobile, e-Sports and PC gaming, with mobile games catering to Indian and global audiences. According to Nair, the mobile gaming segment in India is a few billion downloads annually and is growing at 30-40 per cent annually. “Our monthly user base in mobile games is over 10 million. In mobile games we see the market mature over time and see phenomenal opportunities to own a share of the pie in casual, casino, sports and action genres.”
The online gaming industry in India is pegged at over $360 million, and it is projected to grow up to $1 billion by 2021 with over 310 million gamers countrywide by then, revealed a Google-KPMG report published this May.