A CASE STUDY IN REPOSITIONING
From Felt to Front Page
How Equations PR reframed PokerStars from a card-room cliché into a category of skill — through women-player stories, national press, and influencer amplification.
POKERSTARS INDIA
REPOSITIONING
EARNED MEDIA
THE BRIEF
Key Objectives
PokerStars India arrived with a perception problem. Fun, ubiquitous, but stuck in the card-room cliché. Their ask of us was threefold — and only the third could be measured in coverage.
OBJECTIVE · ONE
Change perception of poker in media
Move the conversation from “gambling cliche” to “modern skill game” in national press rooms.
OBJECTIVE · TWO
Establish PokerStars as a new-age game
Position the platform as a credible home for strategy-led, skill-first play — not luck.
OBJECTIVE · THREE
Drive awareness among millennial India
Make PokerStars a leading online poker platform among the 25–35 cohort — earned, not bought.
THE STRATEGY
Find them. Frame them. Amplify them.
One coverage thesis, run three ways: a sourcing pillar for genuine women-player arcs, a writing pillar that turns those arcs into front-page stories, and an amplification pillar that lets national figures lend their reach to the brand.
01
Identify Success Stories
Surface real player journeys and concrete achievements.
02
Craft Narratives With Women Players
Develop engaging stories of women players — challenges, stakes, victories.
03
Utilize Influencer Endorsement
Bring influencers in to amplify each story’s reach — Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Big Boss, MS Dhoni.
THE WORK
Where the coverage actually ran.
100+
Stories Placed
20+
Front-Page Outlets
4
Influencer Waves
THE IMPACT
What the numbers said back.
12 months, one thesis: coverage rose, the conversation reframed, and the brand sat on a position its category hadn’t previously owned.
100+
Coverage Volume
Player success stories in top publications
Front-page placements in trade press and lifestyle dailies — each carrying the women-player arc.
150%
Public Interest
Increase in public intent to play along with the legal team’s intervention
Positioning poker as a game of skill with extensive media outreach — not a one-off campaign spike.
200%
Brand Visibility
Boost in awareness via influencer waves
Through valuable partnerships: Big Boss, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, and MS Dhoni platform announcements.
THE REFLECTION
What stuck.
THE OUTCOME
A new story about poker and a new perception of Poker as a game of skill in India.
Equations PR
STRATEGY · EARNED MEDIA
A CASE STUDY IN REPOSITIONING
From Felt to
Front Page
How Equations PR reframed PokerStars from a card-room cliché into a category of skill — through women-player stories, national press, and influencer amplification.
THE BRIEF
Key Objectives
PokerStars India arrived with a perception problem. Fun, ubiquitous, but stuck in the card-room cliché. Their ask of us was threefold — and only the third could be measured in coverage.
Change perception of poker in media
Move the conversation from “gambling cliche” to “modern skill game” in national press rooms.
Establish PokerStars as a new-age game
Position the platform as a credible home for strategy-led, skill-first play — not luck.
Drive awareness among millennial India
Make PokerStars a leading online poker platform among the 25–35 cohort — earned, not bought.
THE STRATEGY
Find them. Frame them. Amplify them.
One coverage thesis, run three ways: a sourcing pillar for genuine women-player arcs, a writing pillar that turns those arcs into front-page stories, and an amplification pillar that lets national figures lend their reach to the brand.
Identify Success Stories
Surface real player journeys and concrete achievements.
Craft Narratives With Women Players
Develop engaging stories of women players — challenges, stakes, victories.
Utilize Influencer Endorsement
Bring influencers in to amplify each story's reach — Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Big Boss, MS Dhoni.
THE WORK
Where the coverage actually ran.
THE IMPACT
What the numbers said back.
12 months, one thesis: coverage rose, the conversation reframed, and the brand sat on a position its category hadn't previously owned.
Player success stories in top publications
Front-page placements in trade press and lifestyle dailies — each carrying the women-player arc.
Increase in public intent to play along with the legal team’s intervention
Positioning poker as a game of skill with extensive media outreach — not a one-off campaign spike.
Boost in awareness via influencer waves
Through valuable partnerships: Big Boss, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, and MS Dhoni platform announcements.
THE REFLECTION
What stuck.
A new story about poker and a new perception of Poker as a game of skill in India.
“We make our bets on the people who already are the story. Then we let press find them.”
Bring us your hard brief.
Equations PR works where earned coverage has to do real work — category-shifting, narrative-led, and measurable at the newsroom door.
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Pokerstars
Objectives
PokerStars is a Canadian-based company and the world’s largest online gaming portal. The agnecy had a unique challenge of changing the perception of poker from a game perceived as gambling to a game of skill.The agency rose to the challenge and is successfully changing perceptions across the country, with success stories of how Indians with regular jobs have taken to Poker and how this has been a game-changer in their lives
Impact
- Moved the needle in terms of how poker was perceived as a game of skill by showcasing player success stories
- Raised interest among the masses who began seeing Poker in a new light. Poker emerged as a lucrative business and career opportunity.
- With great efforts, the agency managed perceptions around Government regulations by weaving positive stories in the media on Poker being a mindsport.
- Media perceptions proved invaluable, which resulted in top associations like the one with Big Boss and actors Nawazuddin Siddiqui, MS Dhoni who came onboard as their brand ambassador.
- Leading portals such as MensXP, Hindustan Times, Midday, etc carried the key messages devised by the agency
