Standing Out In A Saturated Market

Kho Gaye Hum Kahan was a 2023 coming-of-age drama film that was released on Netflix in December 2023. Starring Siddhant Chaturvedi, Ananya Panday, and Adarsh Gourav as three friends who navigate their goals and relationships against the pressures of social media, the film promised to be THE friendship film for this generation, much like the other cult Excel Entertainment films Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara and Dil Chahta Hai. 

Our goal? Build awareness, build visibility and create a buzz about the film! In a highly cluttered environment, we aimed to use the theme of the film and talent excitement to create an extremely buzzy campaign, and make KGHK the must-watch holiday movie from Netflix India!

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The Game Plan: Nostalgia Ft. Innovation

We identified key connects - Friendship, Music & Media- the glue that binds our cohorts together and resonates with the key attributes of the film. Next, we devised a multi-channel campaign that included activations, social content, podcast features, and other media innovations (AR Mural, Microsite, Friendship Billboard). Our strategy was to evoke nostalgia and bridge the generational love for friendship-centric movies, effectively capturing a moment of the generation we live in. The creative platform focused on bringing friendships to the forefront of the conversation with the tagline “Dost First, Post Later,” highlighting the value of real-life connections over social media optics. 

The Campaign:

1. Celebrating Iconic Friendships, then and now:

‍We created a series of billboards featuring other cult Excel Entertainment films to evoke nostalgia and hype for the film. We also designed an immersive, augmented reality mural on Carter Road, Mumbai, celebrating timeless friendships depicted in iconic Bollywood films, from "Dil Chahta Hai" to "Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara" and now "Kho Gaye Hum Kahan." Painted by Ranjit Dahiya of Bollywood Art Project, with an AR filter by Post Office Studios, the mural created tremendous buzz, earning over 20K impressions and 5K uses.

2. Hone Do Song Drop:

‍The cast launched the first song at NH7 Weekender alongside OAFF and Savera, performing in front of nearly 25,000 attendees.

3. Cinema PSA:

Ahead of the Dunki trailer, a PSA message from the cast encouraged audiences to put their phones away and enjoy the trailer, aligning with the film’s theme.