Before 2002, Pakistani TV viewers had access to only one TV Channel. But with the advent of media privatization in 2002, there was an immediate boom with over 80 free-to-air TV Stations available to viewers. Over the passage of time, TV airspace became cluttered with advertising inventory, making it increasingly difficult for brands to leave their mark.

To break through to the clutter, branded content was the way to go. Recently many brands, realizing this potential, have jumped onto the content bandwagon producing dramas, talk-shows, game-shows, reality content, food & cooking shows, travelogues and documentaries. However, locally developed content, being brand-led and not insight-centric, fails to hit the right chord with the audience. Branded music content was non-existent until 2008 when Coke Studio came into being followed by a flurry of other music related content by other brands.

Online represents a rapidly growing segment of the youth population. Social media, particularly Facebook and YouTube, form a large portion of online activity. Popular TV content is also consumed actively through YouTube. However, following religious controversy, YouTube was blocked in Pakistan in September 2012 and has remained inaccessible since.

Season 5 spanned over 3 months and consisted of 5 episodes featuring 6 languages, 16 artists and a total of 25 songs aimed at bridging the ethnic gap.

The visual identity was inspired by the Mandala, interpreted as a square within a circle, symbolized the balancing elements of diversity to create a sense of unity and harmony, the heart of Season 5 philosophy.

A universal promo was released at the beginning of the season with mini promos released every 2 weeks, before each episode. Individual songs were aired to increase the overall reach. Billboards were put up before each episode featuring its respective artists. The sessions were aired on 30 TV and 11 radio channels. The songs were also injected into the youth via YouTube, Vimeo, Facebook, the official website and Mobile.

Campaign Duration: 3 Months

TV: Because of the strength of the content, 22 out of 30 TV channels aired Season 5 free of cost.

Digital: Despite the restriction on YouTube, phenomenal results were shown:

• +14.6 Million hits on YouTube, +41,677 comments and 66,121 likes.

• +180,060 New Subscribes on Official YouTube Channel of Coke Studio

• +45,998,349 Minutes Watched on YouTube Channel of Coke Studio

• +5.91 million views on the Official Website

• Largest Facebook page in Pakistan; +1.81 million fans, +50,790 likes, +25,319 comments and +6,224 shares.

• 1750 blogs referencing Season 5

Print: 125 Print pieces referencing Season 5 with an average of 1.91 hits per day

Results in terms of Brand Indicators (Confidential):

• Volume Growth: +38pp vs. PY

• Coke Studio Awareness: +16pp vs. PY

• Coke Studio Watched: +12pp vs. PY

• Coke overtook Pepsi in Association with Music and TOM

Reach: Total of 31 million youth, which is 93% of our target audience, watched Season 5. They chanted songs in languages different than their own, ultimately bridging the ethnic gap in Pakistan.