Art and Culture Public Relations / December 16, 2020
Positioned him as a personality who is a fitness icon and an inspiration for the youth
Context
Mohammad Kaif is a seasoned cricketer who is also synonymous with athleticism, agility and leadership. Hailing from the family of cricketers, the sport was always in Kaif’s blood but he surpassed his father and brother’s achievement to become the first Test cricketer from a large state like Uttar Pradesh. Just like on the field, Kaif is very active off-field too. With 1.1 Million followers on Twitter and 213K followers on Instagram, Kaif’s social performance is often the talk of the town. Presently, Kaif does cricket commentary for various matches and in the future years envisions on becoming a mentor to the younger players.
Communication’s narrative:
WBS identified a clear roadmap to emphasise and highlight Mohammad Kaif’s identity of being “Youth Fitness Icon”. The campaign revolved around positioning him as a seasoned International cricketer who symbolizes athleticism, agility and leadership.
Our Strategy
As a strategic communication partner, we have supported the communication narrative on the pillars of Revive, Establish and Retain. He has contributed in multiple ways to India by winning matches for the country. Wishbox Studio revived and established his recognitions by highlighting those in the media. Kaif had captained the Indian team to victory in the Under-19 World Cup in 2000. Mr. Kaif’s most famous feat was winning the Natwest Series in 2002, chasing a mammoth score of 326 with 87* (off 75 balls) against England at The Lord’s. For his stupendous performance against the Bangladesh series in late 2004, he earned the first man of the match award. Also, he was named “Man of the Series” for his consistent performance in all the three ODIs. In February 2017, Gujarat Lions named Kaif as the Assistant Coach for the Indian Premier League. In December 2017, Chennai Super Kings named Mohammad Kaif as the fielding coach for 2018 Indian Premier League.
Our PR approach and intent was in creating a strong recall value among the fitness & sports segment of the press so that he is reckoned as a fitness Icon among youth.
The “Solution”
The primary challenge was to resuscitate the popularity and achievements of the ace cricketer Mohammad Kaif. The aim was to highlight his forgotten achievements and then glory which he had brought to India. WBS came on board to provide a strategic solution with a strong communication narrative. The constant flow of information to the media supported by in-person meetings to apprise about various verticals helped us to narrate the journey of the brand. Led by lifestyle, sports and fitness verticals, the team arranged various meetings to familiarize the media with his works. WBS lined up briefing meetings and in-person interviews with various sports and lifestyle writers. A unique action plan was chalked out to adapt a holistic communication approach for the overall profiling of the sportsman and create a recall value. Detailed interviews were conducted to delve deeper into the life and accolades of M.Kaif and to showcase how he was wearing multiple hats of a fitness enthusiast, leader and an ace cricketer. We took this opportunity to promote M. Kaif as an inspiring figure where we shared his various aspect of life from being a celebrated cricketer to a doting father to his kids.
Outcome
M Kaif 2.0 or the other was very well accepted by the media. NDTV had hosted a youth conclave where M. Kaif was invited a panelist.On the media front, his detailed interviews had appeared in Ht City, Ht Brunch, Times Now, The Times of India, Sunday Guardian, Mid-Day, IANS etc.
