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Tag: Divya Dixit

  • ALTBalaji ropes in 13 brands for new web series ‘Cartel’

    ALTBalaji ropes in 13 brands for new web series ‘Cartel’

    Mumbai: OTT platform ALTBalaji has brought on board as many as 13 youth-centric brands for its mega-starrer release “Cartel”. The association draws upon the synergies between the show’s and the brands’ young TG.

    The list of partners on the thriller entertainment series includes Reliance (digital media partner), Voyage (accessories partner), USTREAK (Esports platform), Ugaoo (nature partner), Flyrobe (wardrobe partner), Growfitter (fitness partner), Ferns N Petals (gifting partner), Ixigo (travel partner), Bollywoo (fashion merchandise partner), Josh (short format app executing #CartelChallenge), Dunzo (food delivery partner), Mission Green Mumbai (NGO partner), and Invisible Lounge (hospitality partner).

    “Cartel is a tentpole property for us with a stellar star cast and storyline. The team went all out to promote this show and reach the intended audience via successful partnerships,” said ALTBalaji, SVP – revenue and marketing, Divya Dixit. “All of these brands have been chosen carefully and are helping us gain maximum momentum. The brand associations purely depend on the show’s content and target audience and how both the brands can benefit from each other’s audience base.” 

  • ALTBalaji and Josh collaborate on new web series ‘Cartel’

    ALTBalaji and Josh collaborate on new web series ‘Cartel’

    Mumbai: ALTBalaji has announced its association with short video app Josh for the web series titled “Cartel”. The platform has roped in more than 138 actors for the upcoming thriller.

    Josh will begin promotion with the #CartelChallenge urging users to generate videos with dialogues from the series. The association with ALTBalaji will involve multiple collaborated activities including actor videos, social media content, contests, and giveaways, said the press statement.

    “The association is a perfect fit as both Josh as well as ALTBalaji are youth-centric brands that are encouraging and supporting indigenous talent and creativity in India. Through our ‘#CartelChallenge’, we aim at promoting ALTBalaji’s new release by leveraging the power of bite-sized, snackable content,” said Josh, head of creator and content ecosystem, Sunder Venketraman.

    Commenting on the partnership, ALTBalaji’s SVP- marketing and revenue, Divya Dixit said, “Josh is a made in India short video app catering to the youth and mass India just like our platform, which is majorly youth-centric. Also, UG content and influencers promotion enhance the surrounding noise on the show and encourage deeper audience involvement. This partnership allows us to reach and involve our target group effortlessly.”

  • Understanding ALTBalaji’s ‘under 35 viewers’ with Divya Dixit

    Understanding ALTBalaji’s ‘under 35 viewers’ with Divya Dixit

    As ALTBalaji senior vice-president – marketing and revenue, Divya Dixit has played a pivotal role in driving the company’s vision in the fast-growing and dynamic OTT sector. She carries over two decades of experience in business, marketing and brand building across the digital, OTT, broadcast, telecom, music, and retail industries. Before joining ALTBalaji in 2018, she was with ZEE5 where she conceptualised and developed the brand ‘ZEE5 ‘and ‘ZEE5 Originals’, as well as launched the platform and multiple original shows.

    At ALTBalaji, Dixit looks after marketing budgets and recovery via direct subscription revenue. She is also responsible for the overall growth of the platform, program scheduling, and analytics as well. Under her leadership, ALTBalaji has been one of the top three grossing OTT apps, having doubled its direct revenue YOY in the years 2018-19 and 2019-2020.

    On Tuesday, Balaji Telefilms announced its financial results for AMJ 2021, as per which ALTBalaji sold a total of 1.8m subs, up 35 per cent QoQ. Its direct subscription revenues stood at Rs 17cr. Boasting a current active subscriber base of 2.4m (excluding subscribers on partner apps), AltBalaji continues to drive growth for the Company.

    Interestingly the platform is also turning younger everyday with 80 per cent of the current viewers being less than 35 years of age. The brand has registered a 100 per cent YoY growth with respect to the same, especially in the hinterland markets. According to Counterpoint Research’s Survey, AltBalaji’s 25-35 audience accounted for 59 per cent of its users in 2019. The development is significant because ultimately it is this age group which drives the OTT market.

    Indiantelevision.com’s Ashee Sharma got into a freewheeling conversation with ALTBalaji, senior VP – marketing and revenue, Divya Dixit to understand this under-35 viewer base and more.

    Edited Excerpts

    On ALTBalaji’s young viewer base and the value it holds for the brand

    Youth programming continues to be our focus at ALTBalaji. We are striving constantly to keep the stories as young, inclusive, and as vibrant as possible in the hope of making a difference to the future of society. Some of our top viewed shows in this category have been Broken But Beautiful Season 3, Puncch Beat, Dev DD, Crashh, Dark7white, and LSD.

    We are here to make disruptive content that breaks stereotypes and is relatable to New India, and this development is significant for us because it implies that our brand has been able to crack the code for the youth and those young at heart. It has made ALTBalaji the benchmark for other OTT platforms. We expect a steady surge in viewership, especially among the 18-35 year olds who are leading the binge-watching trend today.

    On the difference between this audience and the rest in terms of consumer behaviour

    Most of OTT consumption happens with viewers under the age of 35 years who are far more tech-savvy, however also most often the busiest. Shorter attention spans seem to be a universal thing with this demographic unless their interest is piqued. So it becomes necessary for us to create content that catches the viewers’ attention right from the get-go. Nowadays, content is all over the internet, and with the intense competition, cracking the code to a viewer’s interest is most important. We believe we have been successful in this regard. Our engagement metrics have gone up from 48 minutes a day in FY18-19 to 83 minutes currently and the audience comprises 21.29 per cent women, with men dominating at 78.71 per cent. 

    On the content and marketing strategy for the <35 yrs TG

    At ALTBalaji, digital marketing is an important element of the marketing mix. Associating with like-minded brands, engagement across short format apps, using actors’ social media reach, and activities with youth influencers for content promotion, have been our primary approaches.  We have a robust analytics platform with a live dashboard that provides us information on views and engagement, as well as the demographic details of our subscribers. This helps us in understanding behavioural consumption patterns, and drives our content and marketing strategies.

    The youth has most definitely made a shift towards OTT platforms over traditional means of entertainment. However, the debate over their preference for movies or shows is still on. ALTBalaji has noticed the people under 35 lean in favour of shows that break stereotypes and have unique narratives, and so we continue to launch shows across genres such as thriller, crime, romance, and drama, all the while maintaining our focus on out-of-the-box story ideas.

    Moreover, our content is tailor-made to attract larger audiences. Currently, in India, the most widely spoken language among approximately 70 per cent of the population is Hindi which has been the priority for ALTBalaji. 95 per cent of our content is Hindi originals, although various other shows have been dubbed to ensure that the content is not limited to the Hindi-speaking populace. . Our recent shows like Broken But Beautiful, Mai Hero Boll Raha Hu, His Storyy, and The Married Woman have given us a massive surge in viewership. 

    On the thought process behind targeting this age-group 

    This age group is the one that sparks maximum creativity among writers and content creators, and that’s because they have a voracious appetite for unique narratives. Also, it made sense to cater to an audience that is well-versed with technology, willing to experiment and pay upfront for content. The phenomenon of Binge-watching actually started them, and so, it was only reasonable for us to work with the low hanging fruit first. We saw a huge increase in subscriptions, with growth percentages doubling in multiple cities including Lucknow, Rohtak, Ludhiana, Srinagar, Guwahati, Shimla, and Ranchi, to name a few.

    On the impact on advertising revenue, and if attracted similar brands to the platform – brands that catered to younger audiences.

    In 2020 alone, ALTBalaji has partnered with almost 25-30 brands for various shows. Our marketing strategy includes brand collaborations as it helps us to reach out to a larger audience. The partnerships have also kept our existing users incredibly engaged with all the collaborated offers they receive. 

    Young brands including Imagicaa, Pipo Popcorn, My Imagine Store, Growfitter, Ferns N Petals, and Ixigo have recently partnered with us for our youth drama Puncch Beat 2. These associations include value-added services to our existing customers. For instance, Ferns and Petals, our official gifting partners for Puncch Beat 2, provided a 20 per cent discount coupon to our viewers on their next billing. Ixigo is associated with us as the travel partner allowing 20 per cent off exclusively for ALTBalaji subscribers. The offering is based on the insight that the youth love discovering the world. Growfitter, the fitness partner for our recent shows, provided free one-month Growfitter Premium Subscription to the ‘fitness-conscious’ contest winners. In addition, brands like Imagicaa, Pipo Popcorn, and My Imagine store have been roped in as entertainment, snack, and gadget partners, respectively, thus encouraging the new audience to get on board.

    On the evolution of the business and subscription models of ALTBalaji

    Brands are increasingly starting to be aware of the growing popularity of OTT. Associating with the right brands would be a win-win for both partners by gaining visibility among the right target audience through in-show integrations and surround marketing. In 2020 alone, revenue from mobile internet advertising in India was Rs 7331 Cr and is predicted to rise to Rs 22,350 Cr in the next five years, increasing at a 25.4 per cent CAGR as per PwC’s Global Entertainment & Media Outlook 2021-2025. Utilising this fast-paced growth to the maximum potential will prove highly lucrative to businesses. However, the revenue model is still evolving. Constant innovation and timing are both the key and the challenge in this sphere. Getting it right could prove extremely fruitful for both players in the partnership.

    Talking of subscription models, there is a consumer out there for every content choice. AVOD/SVOD/TVOD are business models and the only choice the consumer has to make is if he/she wants an ad free experience or is comfortable with ads interrupting the viewing experience. As far as TVOD goes, it’s yet to see some traction in India as OTT platforms are still priced very economically. However, in developed countries where SVOD is largely the order of the day, TVOD as sampling for a particular piece of content works very well.   

    I believe in the long term SVOD is a more sustainable model, and the good news is that more and more audiences are willing to pay for content which has moved the SVOD needle up from 5 per cent, three years ago to almost 25 per cent currently. Our subscription model is priced at INR 300 annually while our quarterly plan costs 100, and half-yearly is set at 180. This is not just for youth but for democratisation of content in the country.

  • ALTBalaji launches monsoon special #ALTBINGEATHON campaign

    ALTBalaji launches monsoon special #ALTBINGEATHON campaign

    KOLKATA: ALTBalaji has introduced its latest monsoon campaign #ALTBINGEATHON to take a fun route to raise awareness around staying safe at home amidst the pandemic and lift spirits by binge-watching ALTBalaji’s entertaining content library.

    With 80 per cent of its audience aged below 35 years, ALTBalaji introduces this quirky campaign for the youth that encourages everyone to stay at home safely while giving them a wide variety of captivating content to explore and enjoy, the platform said in a statement.

    The OTT platform has also rolled out a social media campaign, reminding people to log into ALTBalaji and binge-watch their shows, amidst monsoons, with an engaging video.

    Speaking on the campaign, ALTBalaji’s marketing & revenue SVP Divya Dixit said, “Monsoon is the perfect weather to get into our cozy space and enjoy binge-watching our favourite shows while we relish the rains through the window. #ALTBINGEATHON is a reminder to our audience to go back and watch those shows they always wanted to. With 84+ Hindi original shows across all genres, we want our audiences to be spoiled for choice. We can only promise more and more entertaining content going forward.”

    With a strategy to focus on youth programming for the country, ALTBalaji’s offerings include premium, disruptive content and original series across genres. The company boasts of 4.7 million subscriptions during the year and currently has an active subscriber base of over 2.3 million.

  • Guest column: Winning over audience in post lockdown world

    Guest column: Winning over audience in post lockdown world

    My neighbour is an ardent Ronit Roy fan. Having not seen him for a while in any Indian serial or film, top that with a glum lockdown mood made her grumpy. One should have seen the look on her face when I told her about him featuring in ALTBalaji’s Kehne Ko Humsafar Hain. And behold, the platform had its latest subscriber. 

    Like her, millions of us have been hooked to Indian OTT platforms over the past few months. With more time in hand, they’re now open to consuming content digitally, and watching shows that they wouldn’t have watched pre-lockdown. OTT platforms have increased their subscription base by offering diverse shows with relatable characters and topics. Hence, making their service a value-for-money proposition to the viewers. 

    Today, viewers have access to more content than they ever could consume. The continued increase in the range and breadth of content libraries has created a paradox of choice — too many content choices often paralyze viewers’ decision of what to watch. A consumer’s subscription journey starts with an intent to experiment, a platform to explore, and concludes with a demand for premium content. Making quality, ease in operation, affordability, and accessibility a key factor in driving subscription plans.

    The Post Lockdown Plan

    The lockdown phase has acted as a catalyst in transforming the content consumption habit of the audience and bringing the Indian viewer to their screens like never before. The KPMG report titled ‘COVID-19: The many shades of a crisis’, reveals that the penetration of subscription-based digital models is set to accelerate. 

    There has been a significant rise in the viewers’ appetite for online content. Moreover, streaming platforms are giving viewers fresh and new content, thereby increasing the amount of time spent on the service. Add to that, the growing apprehension that exists amongst viewers will see them embrace entertainment experiences in the ease of their home.

    Nailing Nuances

    In recent times, the Indian streaming industry has grown from strength to strength giving rise to an unprecedented transformation in content creation and consumption. This has seen leading content providers take deep dive into the viewer's preferences and demand to curate engaging content and enticing subscription packages. What leading platforms have got absolutely spot-on is their increased focus towards personalization and adapting seamless technology.

    In the race to drive subscriptions, content creators and providers are presenting stories filled with local flavour and global relevance spanning genres and languages. Most are deploying and experimenting with technology-driven services. This allows them to offer a more personalized catalogue of content, in a manner that sees the viewers coming back for more. 

    Taking Your Content to the Users 

    There will never be a dearth of content in the Indian OTT space. In such a scenario, relevance makes the biggest difference between these leading players. The platform that delivers a host of offerings to the right audience makes for a leader in the industry, while the rest follow. 

    Owing to the large viewership from Tier II and Tier III markets, OTT players like us are tapping into the Bharat audience by associating with micro-influencers. This word-of-mouth advertising has worked its charm across the country. With renowned faces endorsing the content offered by the platforms, there has been an incremental growth towards roping in new audiences. 

    The shows and their diversity have paved the way towards consumer segmentation as well as streaming players catering to different demographics in their own way. Partnerships with leading telecom providers have also seen the content being amplified to a wider audience who are at the receiving end of clutter-breaking content for the same price. 

    This is a trend that’s going to stay as it's a win-win situation for both the provider as well as the consumer. 

    Ease of Consumption

    The rise of digital content consumption has made the delivery of enhanced user experience take primacy as one of the key objectives of the streaming platforms. Through adopting innovative and data-driven design approaches – the quality of the user experience has become a deciding factor for a user to choose among the various available services in the market. 

    Understanding the target group and their challenges have seen streaming platforms today offer a host of payment options and subscription packages that align to their consumption patterns. Going down the platform-agnostic route has paid dividends as they provide users a customized experience leading to an increased level of engagement, thereby resulting in more subscriptions. 

    From a content segmentation and a garnering subscription point of view, one needs to start looking at expanding, acquiring, and retaining audiences. Rest assured that there will be a content library, that like always will regale audiences, along with subscription models, that assure the viewer a service that is value for money.

    The author is SVP marketing, analytics, and direct revenue, ALTBalaji. The views are personal and indiantelevision.com may not subscribe to them.

    Follow Tellychakkar for the consumer facing news & entertainment

  • Digital marketing becomes mainstay for OTT platforms during COVID-19

    Digital marketing becomes mainstay for OTT platforms during COVID-19

    MUMBAI: The COVID-19 pandemic has thrown a spanner in the works of every single organisation. Even as the media and entertainment industry comes to terms with this ‘new normal’, the over the top (OTT) industry seems to have got a thrust. As digital viewership keeps increasing week on week, it is imperative for streaming services to ensure viewers are aware and engaged.

    Right at the beginning of the lockdown, several services opened up their premium content for free viewing. Since there is hardly any chance in the resumption of OOH advertising in the next few weeks or even months, OOT platforms are mulling over innovative ideas to attract and retain customers. In part two of this series, we explore how these platforms are communicating to its consumers who are stuck at home and hungry for good content.

    The BARC-Nielsen report states that VOD viewership on digital is at 3 hours 59 minutes a day in week three of lockdown, with a 12 per cent increase from pre-COVID time. This is being fuelled by movies and original series. Understanding this change, services have shifted their OOH spends to these two mediums.

    On the digital front, ZEE5 is focusing on reach and frequency campaigns along with expertise on entertainment and news websites. “News and entertainment are our two key segments on digital and TV now since people’s attention is currently diverted there. We have moved a lot of our OOH display advertising to the digital medium. We have also started a lot of video advertising,” says ZEE5 India SVOD marketing head Reilly Rebello.

    Voot Select and Viacom18 youth, music and English entertainment head Ferzad Palia is confident that Voot Select, which launched days before the country went into lockdown, has a huge slate of originals that can easily attract consumers. With the ongoing crisis, the aim is to focus on creating awareness. One of the ways is through chat shows with talented artists from their shows. Palia says that Voot had intended to take this approach even without a lockdown.

    According to Palia, the impact lies in how effectively they use the two available mediums – TV and digital – in the crisis as the words need to be maximised.

    ALTBalaji, the streaming service from the house of Balaji Telefilms, struck a deal with Zee TV to air some of its family dramas. The duo also has an OTT partnership in place. ALTBalaji marketing, analytics & direct revenue SVP Divya Dixit says that for them, digital marketing comprises all social media handles, platforms and websites that are being accessed by the audience.

    “We create backlinks across our media communications to ensure our website witnesses a continuous influx of new and existing users. Influencer marketing is another tool that has worked wonders for us and the shows. When you see actors and vloggers talking about the show and the characters directly with their fanbase, it tends to create a personal bond with the audience and engages them in the journey of their favourite characters and actors,” she says.

    She adds that memes have become mainstream and an important and engaging tool for marketers. So, ALTBalaji has incorporated meme marketing as an integral part of its marketing campaigns. “Besides Instagram and Twitter, we also actively use WhatsApp to engage with audiences,” she adds.

    Switching over to digital, ZEE5 has started moving press screenings online. Rebello says that they have sent the key information to reviewers and media people along with a link to a 20-30 minutes preview.

    MX Player launched eight shows in March and the first week of April for which campaigns were seen across social media to create personalised experiences. “We have digital PR, an increase in spends on mobile marketing, optimising performance marketing to reach out to viewers at every possible touchpoint as well as contextual advertising. More so, since our own platform hosts 75 million daily active users, we have used our own internal inventory to cross-promote across categories. It’s more personalised with focused audience buckets,” MX Player marketing and business partnerships head Abhishek Joshi says.

    Hungama Digital Media COO Siddhartha Roy states that on the basis of the double-digit growth in consumption Hungama Play has noticed on the platform since the beginning of March, it will continue channel marketing spends on the digital medium for the next set of original shows that are ready for release.

    It is an opportune time for streaming platforms to target existing customers as well as attain new ones to sample the content in the hope that not only viewership but also revenue through advertising and subscription will increase over time.

  • How OTT players re-calibrate OOH advertising during social distancing

    How OTT players re-calibrate OOH advertising during social distancing

    MUMBAI: The world continues to grapple with the COVID-19 pandemic, an unprecedented crisis in living memory that has almost crippled our everyday lives and left the whole country deserted. And the reality has been unpalatable to the media and entertainment industry, especially the outdoor advertising segment, which is bearing the brunt of the stay-at-home/social distancing stipulations.

    The out-of-home (OOH) medium has been one of the go-to points for OTT services in India so much so that leading streaming platforms had started outdoing even retail brands in OOH advertising. Now, with that option totally shut, streaming services are looking at ways to re-calibrate their ad spends. 

    In this new series, we explore how the OTT industry is coping with its communication strategies amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. We start off with the OOH industry. 

    As people have suddenly been forced to shift to seek entertainment online, digital advertising has gained traction. However, none of the platforms denies the importance of OOH in the media mix.

    ALTBalaji marketing, analytics & direct revenue SVP Divya Dixit says that the platform has been at the forefront of executing creative and innovative OOH formats for its varied shows. However, she mentions that their strategies have always been a mix of varied tools, and in times such as these, they seek to explore the rest of them with innovation and uniqueness. 

    "For marketers, with OOH advertisement being suspended, it does create a dent in the overall marketing outreach. As all of us exercise the mandatory stay-at-home-stay-safe measure during the lockdown, audiences across the country are now consuming content digitally every part of the day. In such a situation, digital marketing, buoyed by social media, influencer marketing, meme marketing, OBD calls, SMS and email blasts etc., can prove to be the best bet for brands right now. Especially for a digital-first platform like ours, it promises to play a crucial role in the overall marketing mix, seeing 50 per cent of the allotted marketing budget," she adds.

    Hungama Digital Media COO Siddhartha Roy comments that the stay-at-home measure has enabled the TV and digital media to find captive audiences while the audience for OOH and other forms of outdoor and experiential marketing has decreased dramatically. "As a platform, we realised a long time ago that our audience is present on the digital medium; hence, our marketing strategy, even in the past, has been heavily skewed towards digital and social platforms," he says.

    Broadcaster-led platforms, like VOOT, ZEE5, etc., whose traditional business has also been bullish on OOH, accept it as a key component of the media mix. Voot Select and Viacom18 youth, music and English entertainment head Ferzad Palia says that outdoor is very important when a new service is launching, especially in markets like Mumbai. But he also adds that they have never been over-indexed on outdoor; hence, cutting back on this area is not a huge change. While having an outdoor option could have been an advantage, he mentions the OOH spends are being shifted to a mix of TV and digital ads.

    ZEE5 India SVOD marketing head Reilly Rebello also echoes Palia's thoughts. While terming OOH as a key component of its advertising mix, he does not forget to mention that there are a lot of other mediums that have been used regularly. Rebello also says that they are focusing a lot on digital and TV. ZEE5 India is doing heavy targetted advertising on the ZEE5 app while focusing on other digital mediums. A major part of ZEE5's OOH cost has moved to the digital medium.

    However, TheSmallBigIdea CEO and co-founder Harikrishnan Pillai has a different take. He is of the view that outdoor was never a pivot platform for OTT. According to Pillai, while OOH builds perception and is a great reminder medium, it is seldom the core medium. "What outdoor helped OTT do is place itself alongside broadcast television in terms of scale. Over the years, TV has built a perception on the back of the outdoors. So for OTT, which is digital-first, absence of outdoor doesn't matter much in these times, since TV, too, isn't making much use of it," he says.

    "Given the stay-at-home, stay-safe mandate, a lot of outdoor media has had to be removed from the marketing media mix, but at MX Player, we firmly believe that all else can wait, but your daily dose of entertainment must go on. We've gone live with eight shows just in the month of March and the first week of April," MX Player marketing and business partnerships head Abhishek Joshi states.

    While OOH hoardings stay barren for now, the hope is that the industry will be back on track after this crisis passes us.

  • ALTBalaji and ZEE5 launch first Stereoscopic 3D 360 VR narrative film with ‘Ragini MMS Returns Season 2’

    ALTBalaji and ZEE5 launch first Stereoscopic 3D 360 VR narrative film with ‘Ragini MMS Returns Season 2’

    MUMBAI: ALTBalaji and ZEE5, two of India’s leading homegrown platforms, have imprinted their mark, by being the first in the Indian OTT space to create an interactive, and engaging VR  experience. Taking innovation, a notch higher, the makers introduced an industry-first Stereoscopic 3D 360 VIRTUAL REALITY narrative film at the recent trailer launch event of their upcoming horrex – Ragini MMS Returns Season 2. The specially curated 3D VR narrative from the series presented a surreal experience for the audience’ present at the event.  

    Audiences were in for an incredible visual treat as they were given VR headsets that immediately transported them to the terrifying yet sensual world of Ragini. Experiencing interesting glimpses from the series in an up close & personal fashion, the 10-minute long VR film entertained some and offered a spine-chilling experience to others. The story begins with Meena Sharma played by Sunny Leone, going to a villa and things start to slip out of hand on the first night itself when she senses something is wrong with the place. It also gives a sneak peek into the world of Ragini Shroff, a final year student played by Divya Agarwal. As her closest friend, Varsha is getting married; she goes on an all-girls trip with her friends to celebrate a bachelorette weekend.

    Commenting on this, ALTBalaji Sr. VP and Head Marketing Divya Dixit says, “VR is one of those emerging technologies that is leading the way for interesting and innovative storytelling formats. More than being an extension of entertainment, VR storytelling is unique as it creates exceptional immersive worlds and soundscapes. Even though it is still at its nascent stage, we are extremely proud to become the first OTT platform to adopt this sophisticated technology. We seek to be pioneers in using virtual reality in mainstream entertainment.” 

    Ambisonics VR Labs founder Shatadru Sarkar, the Studio that created the VR film said "We are thrilled to have worked with ALTBalaji on bringing the Ragini MMS franchise to life in virtual reality. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first stereoscopic 3D 360 VR film out of India, and we hope ALT's foray into the immersive media space brings more attention to this new format. We truly believe that this is the next 'game changing' innovation in the increasingly crowded OTT space, and an evolution in consumer experience, from story-telling to story-living." 

    Clyde DeSouza, who directed the VR film added, "With this VR film adaptation of its hit series, ALTBalaji has shown foresight in introducing Virtual Reality filmed entertainment to mainstream OTT, setting the stage for Immersive media created in India."

  • Through its latest marketing innovation, ALTBalaji launches off by taking the interactive ooh route for mom: mission on mars

    Through its latest marketing innovation, ALTBalaji launches off by taking the interactive ooh route for mom: mission on mars

    MUMBAI: ALTBalaji, India's leading home-grown OTT platform, in their latest bid to capture the imagination and attention of the viewers has launched a campaign unlike any other by adopting an innovative OOH (out-of-home advertising) hoarding to promote its recent original M-O-M: Mission on Mars. The hoarding featuring the four lead characters and a rocket which is shown taking off, placed at a high-visibility locale in Mumbai, is leaving everyone mesmerized. The rocket on the hoarding is visually appealing where it moves upwards and downwards in motion immersing one in the world of space and science; the show's core theme. This latest marketing innovation by ALTBalaji is a testament to their core value of providing content and offerings that rise above the rest.

    Speaking on the innovation, Divya Dixit, Senior VP and Head Marketing, ALTBalaji says, "ALTBalaji stands for innovation and disruption whether in content or marketing. Marketing the show, that has science in its core element, in a never-seen-before manner, lies perfectly in sync with adopting new-age technology that appeals to our target audience. The innovation hoarding doesn’t just grab eyeballs, but registers in the minds of the audience owing to its novel concept.With each show the challenge is to break the mould and do something new appealing to the audience."

    Mission over Mars, is certain to inspire not just women but people across the globe, to pursue their dreams with utmost sincerity and dedication and that ‘nothing is impossible.’ With 44 Originals as part of its vast and diverse, multi-genre content library, ALTBalaji continues to entertain the audiences across the globe like never before. Shows like ‘Apharan,’ ‘Home’ ‘The Test Case’ ‘Kehne Ko Humsafar Hain,’ ‘PuncchBeat’, ‘Karrle Tu Bhi Mohabbat’ have received adulation and accolades aplenty from all corners of the world and M.O.M is sure to join their ranks.

  • White Rivers Media powers launch campaign for ‘Kehne Ko Humsafar Hain’ S2

    White Rivers Media powers launch campaign for ‘Kehne Ko Humsafar Hain’ S2

    MUMBAI: White Rivers Media helped ALT Balaji, the OTT platform from Balaji Telefilms Ltd, in successfully launching the second season of one of its marquee series Kehne Ko Humsafar Hain by creating a three-week long digital campaign ‘Will the heart ever be happy with what it has’,  for its promotions. The idea was to establish the show’s premise, where the audience could experience a heightened emotional relatability.

    The 360-degree campaign was inclusive of packaged as well as organic content, which pushed POVs of the characters to maximise social sentiments of audience w.r.t each during pre-buzz. With a concentrated approach, the campaign flowed towards the launch, while instigating an equitable conversation around dynamics of a complex relationship, aspirations of an emancipated woman, and life after divorce.

    White Rivers Media chief executive officer and co-founder Shrenik Gandhi said, “We’ve been associated with ALTBalaji since its inception. If a show comes from Ekta Kapoor, one knows it has to be about breaking records and much more! This campaign brings back the nostalgia of success we achieved for the brand with this marquee show’s first season. This one is even special because we broke through all pre-set benchmarks from the previous year. We are very happy with the positive response and look forward to a similar response for ALTBalaji’s power-packed line-up this year.”

    ALTBalaji senior vice president and head of marketing Divya Dixit said, "Ekta Kapoor undoubtedly understands the pulse of Indian OTT entertainment better than anyone else, and produces one blockbuster after another. Kehne Ko Humsafar Hain is very special to us as a concept, and so was this launch campaign for this second season. Right from the build-up of this campaign to the launch of the show and activity line-up, it has been a data-intensive and strategic call. It gives me immense pleasure to see that what was once up on our whiteboards is now at play on digital grounds with collaborative help from White Rivers Media. We are also grateful to our millions of subscribers for their support and we are glad it is winning hearts.”

    February being the month of love #GetLoveZoned being the social theme at ALTBalaji; the launch hit close to home with its matured take on love and relationships. The campaign has already hit 20 million views on social media itself in 2 weeks and is rearing to go forward. Netizens, influencers, and celebrities across the country have flooded all social and digital platforms with outpouring of love.