Türkiye’s First Mall Series on YouTube:
AVM Sakini (Mall Resident)
At a time when shopping malls were very popular in Ankara and YouTube series were gaining attention, we decided to do something unconventional – shoot a series in a shopping mall. With the support of Ankara Taurus AVM, this project marked the debut of our Digiso format.
- RMarketing Strategy
- RDigital Marketing
- RVideo Production
Services We Provided
- Marketing Strategy
- ^Content Marketing Strategy and Planning
- Digital Marketing
- ^Social Media Management
- ^Digital Campaign Management
- ^Video Content Production
Launched in June 2017, the AVM Sakini series ran until February 2018 and consisted of 28 episodes, each slightly longer than 10 minutes. This challenging series project, which was shot in a shopping center, offered a unique atmosphere due to the cramped and demanding working conditions. Through the involvement of influencers and well-known actors, it gained attention and reached over 2 million views and more than 22,000 subscribers – all with a digital marketing budget of almost zero.
One of the most critical processes for the series was the selection of actors and extras, which was done exclusively through direct applications. In addition, the process of integrating famous artists into the project was also led by Siu Digital.
How We Started?
Shopping centers, cool in summer and warm in winter, have become centers of life in all our cities, transforming into modern urban places where people from all socioeconomic classes spend some of their time. Taurus Shopping Center in Ankara has expressed a desire to prepare a project together with Siu Digital to help visitors get to know the mall better, recognize the facilities it offers, and spend more time there.
After the first meeting with the management of Taurus Shopping Center, the project goals started to take shape:
- ZStand out from other shopping centers in Ankara.
- ZInform potential visitors about what the shopping center has to offer, since it is relatively new.
- ZIncrease the number of visitors to the shopping center.
- ZCreate attention-grabbing, high-quality content for new digital platforms, thereby increasing digital engagement rates.
What We Did?
Shooting a series in a shopping mall was a challenge because of the need to work comfortably, to take into account the privacy concerns of visitors, especially under the KVKK (Personal Data Protection Act), and to respect the restrictions of the national and international brands located in the mall. However, the idea of a series format, which we believed would be much more beneficial for interacting with young people, who are the main target audience of the mall, and for the great interest of Turkish viewers in TV series, excited us from the first moment. There was a significant difference between shooting an ordinary video and producing a series with continuity and an engaging storyline. We performed all of the following with a team and a fleet of equipment that consisted of Siu Digital’s in-house resources:
- ZAll scripting for the 28 episodes was done within Siu Digital.
- ZSiu Digital not only directly received applications for the critical process of selecting actors and characters for the series, but also handled the involvement of well-known artists in the project.
- ZA second-hand bookstore was set up in the mall, and all decoration and equipment details were determined in consultation with national and international brands in the mall and the mall's management. Permissions for all shoots outside the mall were obtained by Siu Digital from the relevant authorities, and the entire operation was carried out by Siu Digital.
- ZThe series was shot entirely with camera and lighting equipment from our agency's equipment park. Almost the entire team involved in the shooting and post-production was made up of Siu Digital staff, with the exception of experts such as make-up artist, hairdresser, composer, and instrumentalist.
- ZWith the exception of Nusret Çetinel (Hulusi Baba), who played the role of a guardian-like character, the cast consisted of young and successful individuals who had received their training at strong conservatories in Ankara. The actors quickly became popular among the audience, so that signing sessions and concerts were organized to give the audience the opportunity to get in touch with the actors.
- ZMeetings were organized with influencers who could engage the target audience, as well as famous actors who also appeared in the series, to develop organic content marketing, and significant returns were achieved.
Result
The release of an Internet series filmed in a shopping mall captured attention from the first day. Especially in Ankara and the Çankaya district, where the mall is located, the miniseries, which spread organically by word of mouth, has found its place among Siu Digital’s successful and original projects.
- ZThe total number of views on AVM Sakini's YouTube channel exceeded 2 million, with over 22,000 subscribers.
- ZThrough digital PR and influencer marketing activities conducted on YouTube, 83% of views were achieved through organic distribution.
- ZMore than 18,000 people participated in the surveys included in the episodes.
- ZAll content was shared a total of 3,700 times and commented on 5,200 times.
- ZDuring the broadcast of the series, traffic on Taurus AVM's website increased by 30%.
- ZThe number of visitors on Mondays and Tuesdays when the set was built and filming took place at Taurus AVM increased by 7.5% compared to the same days in the previous weeks, and the total number of visitors during the broadcast of the series increased by 3.5% compared to the previous periods.
- ZTaurus AVM's revenues increased by 15% during the broadcast of the series.
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