Hike messages youth with quirky ‘close friends’ capers

Hike, a free messaging app from BSB (Bharti SoftBank) launched in December 2012, has rolled out an online marketing initiative for the Indian market.

Four ad films created by Taproot India on the theme ‘Keep close friend close’ are part of the app’s first digital campaign. The month-long campaign aims at increasing awareness and downloads of the app.

Each of the films showcases a humorous situation involving close friends. In one of the films, two boys fight over who should go on a ride with their friend on his new bike. As they argue, a young woman plonks herself on the pillion, saying, “Chalo baby, let’s go”. Another young man walks into the picture, admires the bike, and squeezes himself between the bike rider and the protesting girl, as supers announce that there are friends, and then there are ‘close friends’. The protagonist leaves viewers with the message, “Download the Hike messenger and stay connected to your close friends.”

Watch the other films from the campaign here:

Kavin Bharti Mittal, head of product and strategy, BSB, said, “We’ve built an exciting product in hike. Not only was the feedback from our users overwhelming but we also become one of the fastest growing messaging apps in the world; all in just four months of the launch. As the next phase to our launch, we believe its imperative for us to communicate with a wider market. Today with the Indian youth being online more than ever before, a pure digital strategy made sense to create a connect with our users.”

Santosh Padhi, chief creative officer and co-founder, Taproot India, said, "Though we are not one of the first ones in India to bring this service, we are very positive that the youthful brand positioning 'Keep close friends close' and the quirky communication will make sure Hike Messenger becomes the youth’s close friend soon."

Credits
Client: Hike, a BSB venture
Creative agency: Taproot India
Production house: Jamic Films
Director (film): Abijeet