Let’s Crack CSE, a multidimensional, co-branded programme, was conceptualised and executed by The Hindu Group by leveraging its strengths of content creation, credibility, connection (with the key influencers), and command in the CSE (civil services examination) space.

The goal was to create relevant, reliable, and engaging content for readers and build salience for the brand Unacademy, an ed-tech start-up focused on democratising education using technology.                            

The ₹26 million (US$313,724) revenue project by The Hindu Group for Unacademy was derived from the pandemic-induced scenario where all physical coaching institutes had to shut down. This lack of access to training institutes for civil service aspirants and students shifting from offline to online learning was leveraged, and Unacademy’s Let’s Crack CSE programme was launched. 

The lockdown that led to the closure of physical coaching institutes. The Hindu Group’s 143-year-old legacy of being an integral part of CSE aspirants’ preparation was effectively utilised to grow and engage its learners by building consideration for brand Unacademy in the minds of Civil Services aspirants.

What we did

The mid-term co-branded association with The Hindu aimed to amplify Unacademy’s reach to its target audience and create value for existing learners of Unacademy by co-curating content with The Hindu.

High-quality, engaging content was created on Unacademy platforms for existing learners of Unacademy by giving access to powerful speakers. It was a multidimensional campaign to build salience for the Unacademy brand in the space of UPSC preparation.

The first-of-its-kind content licensing deal gave access to The Hindu’s copyrighted editorial content to Unacademy for teaching and analysis and marketing purposes.

Further, we created a weekly column, Let’s Crack CSE, in The Hindu wherein the top educators of Unacademy shared their critical analysis on various subjects related to UPSC preparation. The column was an image-building exercise for Unacademy’s educators as they shared space along with our editorial leaders and the distinguished experts who contribute to our newspaper.

The column ran every Monday for six months across our print and digital platforms. Along with this, CSE Mentor’s workshops were created, enabling live interaction between Unacademy educators and various subject matter experts with the objective of offering holistic learning and a deeper understanding of various subjects to the aspirants.

The six-month campaign received a great response with respect to reach and creating positive imagery for brand Unacademy. The weekly column was co-created with The Hindu internal edit team and Unacademy business team as per The Hindu style of writing. Front page communication was strategically designed to build traffic for the weekly column and to build engagement, Unacademy organised a live session where the subject of the weekly column was discussed at length, and learner queries resolved.

A roaring success

In total, 14 CSE Mentor’s Workshops were conducted with eight external speakers and six from The Hindu edit before the prelims and final exams. We hosted an eclectic mix of speakers from the fields of public service, science and technology, environment, law, and philosophy (who were identified and onboarded in close coordination with our editorial team). These were conducted as live one-on-one conversations between the expert and an Unacademy educator.

With a total reach of over 13 million in print and e-paper, 1.93 million reach on the Web site and 20.1 million reach on socials, the association enhanced the perception of the Unacademy brand. UPSC aspirants became increasingly aware of top Unacademy educators as they saw their images and read their critical analysis of various key events and topics on The Hindu’s print and digital platforms.

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