Product/Service
Minimalist is a modern Indian personal care brand that has gained significant popularity for its clean, transparent, and ingredient-focused products. Among its portfolio, the Hair Serum stands out as a flagship product, addressing concerns such as hair fall, thinning, and poor scalp health. It is designed to appeal to both men and women seeking science-backed, minimal formulations that deliver results. With rising awareness around personal care and grooming, especially in urban India, the Hair Serum is positioned as both a functional and aspirational product. It caters to consumers who value efficacy, simplicity, and trustworthy formulations in their daily routines.
Objective
Minimalist’s primary objective was to increase brand awareness and drive recall for its Hair Serum offering. Instead of relying solely on traditional digital performance campaigns, the brand took a more contextual and brand-focused approach. By aligning with one of India’s most viewed sporting moments—the Border-Gavaskar Trophy Pink Ball Test Match—Minimalist aimed to reach an engaged and emotionally invested audience. The idea was not just to generate views but to make a memorable brand impression at a time when audience attention is high and distractions are minimal. This moment offered the perfect setting to connect the product with relevant, urban consumers in a natural and culturally resonant environment.
Geography
The campaign was designed to target audiences across the top ten metro cities of India. These cities included Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Chennai, Ahmedabad, and Kolkata. These regions were selected due to their high penetration of Connected TV usage, greater digital literacy, and higher consumption of premium personal care products. Urban centers such as these have a large base of young, aspirational consumers who are more receptive to modern personal care brands. These metros also reflect early adoption behavior and represent the core consumer base for a digitally native brand like Minimalist.
Target Audience
The campaign targeted cricket viewers residing in India’s leading metro cities. While the Hair Serum is used by both men and women, the campaign acknowledged the fact that the cricket match’s audience was predominantly male. That said, the messaging and product appeal were structured to be gender-inclusive. Male grooming has evolved significantly in urban India, and more men are now exploring solutions for hair fall and scalp care. At the same time, female consumers remain a strong user base for personal care products and often influence product choices in households. This balanced approach allowed Minimalist to make the most of the cricket viewership context without compromising the unisex appeal of the product.
Ad Options Utilized by Minimalist to Engage Their Ideal Audience
To effectively capture audience attention, Minimalist used midroll video advertisements on Connected TV during the live telecast of the Pink Ball Test Match on Disney Plus Hotstar. These were fifteen-second ad spots placed strategically during commercial breaks in the match. Midroll ads are proven to perform well in live sports settings because viewers are less likely to skip content during ongoing matches. Unlike pre-rolls that may be skipped or post-rolls that are often missed entirely, midrolls appear when viewers are already tuned in and waiting for the game to resume.
Minimalist took advantage of this behavior by placing short, benefit-driven ads that communicated the core features of the Hair Serum clearly and quickly. These ads ran on Connected TV devices, meaning viewers were watching on larger home screens in a relaxed environment. This created an ideal setting for message absorption, with non-skippable, full-screen delivery ensuring that viewers gave full attention to the brand’s communication.
How Did Minimalist Increase Brand Visibility Through the Border-Gavaskar Trophy on Disney Plus Hotstar?
Minimalist strategically increased its brand visibility by placing its campaign within the live broadcast of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy’s Pink Ball Test Match. This particular match format is rare and draws a great deal of attention due to its day-night schedule and the novelty of the pink ball format. Viewership for such matches stretches from morning into the evening, offering brands multiple windows to reach audiences at different times of the day.
By placing their ads during these high-engagement intervals, Minimalist ensured that its brand remained visible throughout the match, from the first session in the morning to the last over at night. This gave the brand strong exposure and helped reinforce its messaging across multiple touchpoints. The alignment with a culturally important, emotionally charged sporting event meant that viewers were already engaged—allowing the brand to ride this wave of attention and embed its product in their minds.
What Strategies Did Minimalist Use to Identify and Engage Their Target Audience?
Minimalist’s strategy focused on aligning the product with the interests, behavior, and viewing patterns of its ideal consumer. The cricket event was chosen not just for its popularity but because it matched the demographics of the Hair Serum’s target market—young, urban, digitally connected, and appearance-conscious consumers.
By advertising on Connected TV, the brand ensured that its ads reached households where premium content consumption is higher, and where brand messaging would be received in a more immersive, distraction-free environment. The fifteen-second creatives were designed to communicate the product’s utility quickly and clearly, without being overwhelming or disruptive. This approach respected the viewer’s time while delivering an impactful message about the product’s effectiveness in combating hair fall and promoting scalp health.
Could the Association of Minimalist with the Pink Ball Test Match Lead to Interest Among Customers?
Yes, the association of Minimalist with the Pink Ball Test Match was a strategically sound move to generate consumer interest. Cricket continues to be one of India’s most unifying and widely followed sports, and Test Matches—especially the rare Pink Ball versions—bring in a high volume of committed viewers. These are not casual viewers flipping through content, but deeply engaged fans who stay connected to the match for long durations.
By inserting their messaging into this emotionally rich environment, Minimalist created a stronger likelihood of product recall. The cricket format also enabled the brand to reach households during shared viewing moments, which is valuable for a unisex product like the Hair Serum. When a brand appears during a memorable match, it leaves behind an association that can trigger interest and purchase consideration later on. The campaign successfully embedded Minimalist into a high-interest cultural moment, making it more likely that customers would recall the product when considering their next personal care purchase.
Result
The campaign delivered high visibility and brand recall among cricket viewers in metro cities. By leveraging Connected TV midroll ads during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy Pink Ball Test Match, Minimalist was able to deliver its message to a relevant and attentive audience in a premium content environment. The strategic timing, coupled with a precise fifteen-second format, ensured that the product was presented at just the right moments.
The viewership skew, which leaned more than eighty percent male, was well-aligned with one of the brand’s key growth audiences for haircare. However, the message was crafted in a way that retained broad appeal, making it relevant for both male and female viewers. The campaign achieved a noticeable lift in awareness and recall metrics, confirming that the brand message had landed effectively. By placing itself at the intersection of high cultural relevance, viewer attention, and product fit, Minimalist created a campaign that not only generated impressions but also lasting impact.
