Modi's Gen Z masterstroke: PM creates social media buzz with gamers days before Lok Sabha polls
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's engagements with top creators and gamers has fuelled social media frenzy and highlighted his strategies to connect with Gen Z voters ahead of elections.
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On March 8, Prime Minister Narendra Modi shook up social media with a lot of excitement when he handed out the inaugural National Creators Award to some of India's leading creators like Ranveer Allahbadia, AiyyoShraddha, Kamiya Jani and others. The internet went wild with videos, photos, reels, and stories galore. Fast forward to April 10, and a new scene unfolded, a group of gamers got a chance to chat with the PM for close to 2.5 hours. Unsurprisingly, the sneak peek video on the PM's official YouTube channel has already racked up nearly 1 million views, 10,000 comments, and over 74,000 likes.
Adding to the buzz, many top gaming creators have proudly pinned their images with the PM on their social media profiles. So much so just after a 2.36 minutes teaser. The full video drops this Saturday, April 13.
As one YouTube user, Yash Gajhbhiye, put it, “Marketing to young audiences just before election. Wah Modi ji wah”.
Echoing the sentiment, another user Bishakha Rajput commenting on the same thread said, “Modi Ji jante h ki aaj ki generations se kese vote le sakte hai.” (Modi ji knows how to get the youngsters’ vote).
Experts are nodding in agreement.
This Gen Z-focused approach by political bigwigs is all about connecting with the youth on their turf.
Politicians and political parties across the board are transitioning from tradition to trends when it comes to poll content. Especially when it comes to social media heavy campaigns.
This year's election campaigns are all about memes, viral reels, and catchy phrases.
And who better to lead the trend than PM Modi?
Whether he's taking a dive into the Arabian Sea, snorkelling in Lakshadweep, or rubbing shoulders with creators, he's leaving no stone unturned to win over the young hearts and votes.
His party’s approach is no different. As per sources, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has partnered with a host of meme marketing agencies as part of their 2024 election strategy to create snackable and shareable content.
Memes, a significant aspect of pop culture, offer the potential for virality but also make a buzz.
“The key stakeholders of the General Election seem to have understood the sheer scale and impact of meme culture thriving among the youth,” said a digital content expert.
What's more, even the Election Commission of India (ECI) is leveraging the power of social media to engage young voters before the Lok Sabha elections.
The ‘Turning 18’ and ‘You are the One’ campaigns are all a part of the ECI’s target to get more young and first time voters to polling booths.
The ECI has even onboarded actor Ayushmann Khurrana as their ambassador to woo young voters.
Overall the high focus on young voters and also the millennial voters who are both digitally active has also pushed political parties and candidates to go big on digital media. Digital spends on political ads on platforms like Google and Meta are proof. As per Google’s Ads Transparency Center, in the last months alone Rs 42. 40 crore has been spent on political ads. The highest spender in this period is BJP with spends to the tune of Rs10 crore.
