Tag: Fully Faltoo

MTV India & Fully Faltoo announce a strategic partnership with Snap Inc

Mumbai: Viacom18’s Youth, Music and English entertainment (YME) cluster announced a strategic content partnership with Snap Inc. The cluster aims to provide its clutter-breaking content and innovations from Fully Faltoo and MTV India to Snapchat’s widespread user-community.

Snapchatters will get to enjoy snackable content and snackable clips of select content across genres and a variety of youth fiction and non-fiction shows—from Parodize Station and Bad Breakups from multi-format content destination Fully Faltoo, to pop-culture and genre-defining MTV offerings such as Splitsvilla, Hustle 2.0, new seasons of action-adventure reality show Roadies and more.

Speaking on the partnership with Snap Inc., Viacom18 YME cluster digital partnership lead Tarun Saxena said, “As we continue to scale up, we aim to close the fragmentation of touchpoints and offer our cluster’s rapidly growing content inventory to our audience through a multiplatform strategy. Engaging with the dynamic generation of Snapchatters, we see a great opportunity to achieve meaningful reach and deepen engagement with the youth across yet another canvas.”

Snap director media-partnerships-APAC Kanishk Khanna added, “At Snap, we are committed to localising the app experience for our Indian community and driving relevant, interesting content for them. Our partnership with Viacom18’s Youth, Music and Entertainment cluster will add value to Snapchatters and reinforce our local-first content strategy.”

As short-form content continues to permeate and significantly redefine mainstream consumption, snackable content has become the mainstay of audience engagement and transmedia storytelling. Riding this wave and surpassing its own benchmarks with a swiftly growing content library, the YME cluster is all set to revolutionise the category with unique digital partnerships.

August 3, 2022
Sociowash bags digital mandate for Viacom18’s music and English entertainment brands

Digital marketing agency Sociowash has won the digital marketing mandate for Viacom18’s music brands MTV Beats, VH1 and KaanPhod, English entertainment brands Colors Infinity and Comedy Central, and multiformat content destination Fully Faltoo YouTube channel, with NFT marketplace fullyfaltoonft.com.

Sociowash will be responsible for reinforcing each brand’s digital presence by conceptualizing relevant content that users can engage with daily. In addition to that, the agency will also work towards creating content that not only reiterates the quirky vibe of the brands but also emphasizes on creating dynamic and thought-provoking content for its viewers. This partnership will serve to further enhance the digital presence of Viacom18’s Music and English Entertainment brands, multi format content destination Fully Faltoo YouTube channel and fullfaltoonft.com.

All these responsibilities will be taken care of by the Mumbai branch of the Sociowash. The aim for Sociowash will be to synergize with these youth-centric brands and create active digital media content across all social platforms. Collectively, the brands under this mandate offer content across genres including comedy, music, snackable shows as well as Fully Faltoo NFT marketplace.

Viacom 18 marketing head for youth, music and English entertainment cluster Utsav Chaudhuri said, “With a unique mix of multi-genre and multi-platform content, our brands MTV Beats, Vh1, KaanPhod, Colors Infinity, Comedy Central are synonymous with pop-culture, and our new brand Fully Faltoo along with its NFT ecosystem will leverage the emerging pop-trends. With Sociowash, we aim to further strengthen our digital strategy for our content to reach and engage with the youth.”

“We at Sociowash have always believed in adding value to brands and maximising the digital footprint. After having done the same for the Viacom 18 network we are extremely delighted to have their YME cluster on board with us. Creating strategies that will resonate with the target audience, while using marketing for the good is what will positively help us and Viacom 18 reach greater heights,” commented Sociowash co-founder Pranav Agarwal.

May 14, 2022
Creating content for ‘FullyFaltoo’ is creatively liberating: Anshul Ailawadi

Mumbai: Viacom18’s youth, music and English entertainment (YME) cluster which operates the channels MTV, MTV Beats, Comedy Central, Colors Infinity and Vh1, has added two more brands to its roster including short video destination and NFT marketplace ‘FullyFaltoo’ and its music division ‘KaanPhod.’

The cluster garnered 9.8 billion impressions across its TV and social media platforms and its sports content clocked a watch time of 80 million viewing minutes in 2021. The 2021-22 season of La Liga garnered a cumulative reach of 14 million which is more than the reach of UEFA Champions League. NBA, broadcast on MTV and Vh1, saw almost 50 per cent of its audiences coming from rural markets. Viacom18 is planning to launch a full-fledged sports channel that brings to question whether sports content will remain on MTV.

The YME network is bringing a fresh season of “MTV Roadies” this time held in South Africa and the second season of its music reality show “MTV Hustle.” Comedy Central has added seven new English shows that have never been viewed in India to its programming. The cluster also announced the launch of a new IP called “The Inventor’s Challenge” on the English entertainment channel Colors Infinity. The production of the show is underway.

Spearheading the expansion of the cluster brands on digital and its fresh content slate is Viacom18 head – YME cluster Anshul Ailawadi. He spoke to IndianTelevision.com on his outlook on sports, English entertainment, NFT, and entering the music IP business.

On relaunching the FullyFaltoo brand

FullyFaltoo is one of our very own brands that we’re reviving. The thing about MTV is that people are used to seeing a certain kind of content and perspective on MTV. We may or may not always do that with FullyFaltoo. It is creatively liberating to have a different platform. You have some recall but not too much baggage. The team can push the envelope in a way that they might not have necessarily been able to do for MTV. That’s because you’re creating on a clean slate.

For young people, narratives can vary and you can tell a story in 30 seconds, three minutes, or eight minutes. Fully Faltoo is our attempt at that. It is basically digital-only fun content. The content will be available across all video platforms whether it is YouTube, Facebook, or our own OTT Voot and Jio. We have over a dozen shows in the pipeline and in the coming months, you’ll see us drop at least three to four episodes per week on FullyFaltoo.

The team behind FullyFaltoo is a mix of people who’ve been working for the cluster for some time now and some new folks who’ve joined. We have a programming team for channels, a creative team that works on promos and short-form etc, and a content team. These teams are working together to create the output.

On the learnings from FullyFaltooNFT drop

Our first drop with 3000+ pieces was sold out in 36 hours. The onboarding process was fairly simple. Our partner GuardianLink built the entire tech stack and managed the payments. We only allowed settlement in fiat currencies and didn’t accept crypto otherwise the pricing would have been very different.

No one has seen how the NFT space will grow so I wouldn’t dismiss its revenue potential. I think that can change very quickly. If I told you ten years ago that someone would make a living out of creating videos, you’d be sceptical.

From a brand engagement perspective, we can do something special only for those fans who own our NFTs. An experience that money can’t buy. That would add value to our own properties whether it is “Roadies” or “Splitsvilla.”

We’re planning our next drop-in for three to four months only because there’s so much for us to learn as well. The learnings from the first drop were interesting. It will help us innovate further. The timeline for the next drop can change by the way.

On launching music division KaanPhod

The brief to the team is any music that you think should be heard. There are no limitations in terms of genre. The first season of “Open Mic” will feature ten artists, ten music videos and 25 songs. It’s an interesting mix of Bollywood-style music, folk music, hip-hop etc.

We’re tying up with certain partners to monetise the IP who will aid our conversations with streaming platforms. The IPs will also be monetised on social platforms such as YouTube and Facebook as well as our TV channels. We keep getting brands on MTV Beats but with our original IP we’ll try getting a brand to sponsor the music video opening up another avenue for monetisation.

On the insight driving youth, music and English entertainment cluster

We conducted a lot of research post-pandemic which showed that people are looking forward to escaping into a new reality. This insight might mean different things to different people; however, our interpretation was that people wanted to experience a better version of the world that they currently reside in. Going forward, the revamp of our shows such as “Roadies,” “MTV Hustle” and the positioning of our brand will be aligned with this insight so that the viewers’ escapist tendencies are satisfied.

On reinvigorating the English entertainment genre

The NTO impacted the distribution landscape for the English entertainment genre. In India, there is an opportunity for people who want to consume English content on TV. It is a medium that has very different friction because you have the opportunity to curate content. That’s a huge need gap and I think brands like Colors Infinity and Comedy Central are helping drive the curation story. I do think there should be more original English content on TV. The combination of Indian English content on OTT platforms and on English channels is a very robust conversation.

On creating original shows for English entertainment

In the past, we’ve done shows like “The Stage” and “Bffs” with Vogue, but “The Inventor Challenge” is a unique initiative in the English entertainment space. We have just launched the call for entries and the production of the show is underway so I can’t share more about that right now. It has been a really steep learning curve for us and a lot depends on the kind of inventors we are able to get on board. The team is working day and night to ensure the show is a success.

“The Inventor’s Challenge” is based on an international IP called “Everyday Edisons” that we’re adapting for Indian audiences. It is a little bit different. The show is about the journey of a young inventor who conceptualises an idea and takes it to prototype.

On whether sports content will find a permanent home at MTV

In some form, sports and sports-related content will be available on MTV. Though, we have to be careful about one thing. For us, properties that we picked up on MTV were strategically scheduled for the morning or late evening because our free commercial time (FCT) is very critical for us. MTV is not becoming a sports-only channel since our network will also launch a dedicated sports offering.

It is interesting that 50 per cent of audiences for the NBA came from rural markets giving it a chance to be sampled by so many more homes. Emerging sports may be interesting to audiences in tiers 2, 3 provided that you do two things. One is making them less intimidating and the second is localising the language format. That means creating clarity on what the sport is, its rules, and sparking general interest. The second thing that we did was telecast NBA on MTV in Hindi which is something that nobody else has done.

This period will be an inflection point for non-cricket sports across the length and breadth of India. It’s already happening and you’ll see that kids’ interest in sports like football is growing at a much faster clip than maybe even cricket. When you look at conventional ratings, you’ll see that in terms of absolute ratings there is a difference between cricket and emerging sports but in terms of growth, the latter is growing much faster.

March 11, 2022
Viacom18’s YME cluster launches new business division ‘KaanPhod’

Mumbai: Viacom18 youth, music and English entertainment cluster has created a brand-new business division called KaanPhod to provide emerging musical artists an opportunity to showcase their talent. The cluster comprises brands such as MTV, MTV Beats, Comedy Central, Colors Infinity, and Vh1.

KaanPhod will co-create original music IPs with emerging artists and distribute them across platforms. The division is set to launch a show “Mic Test” that will introduce ten promising new artists and their original tracks which will also be made available for viewers on television (MTV, MTV Beats, Vh1), social and streaming platforms.

The brand has also launched its maiden short-form video offering called Fully Faltoo, with over a dozen web shows and snackable content. This year the cluster is returning with the new season of MTV Roadies which is shot in South Africa with new host Sonu Sood. It is also returning with the second season of the rap reality show “MTV Hustle.” English entertainment channel Colors Infinity has announced a new show called “The Inventor’s Challenge” which highlights the journey of an idea from paper to a working prototype of the product created by amateur inventors.

The clusters brands garnered 9.8 billion impressions on content across TV, social media and the networks streaming/OTT platform Voot in the past year. The business unit was also able to draw viewers during non-prime time through its sports content.

The YME unit recently launched the Fully Faltoo NFT platform that saw more than 3000 digital collectibles sold out within a couple of hours. The marketplace offers a range of diverse digital collectibles from its iconic brands like MTV, Vh1 and Comedy Central.

“Viacom18 YME is the only brand in its category that brings to the youth uniquely entertaining ‘escape clusters’. With fiction, non-fiction, sports, short-format and snackable content, and a foray in the metaverse, the brand has its finger on the pulse. The YME division will reinvent, reimagine and risk as it pivots across platforms in a way that is daring and contemporary, just like the audience it caters to,” said the statement.

“The last two years have been unprecedented for young South Asians,” said Viacom18 head – youth, music and English entertainment Anshul Ailawadi. “They’ve emerged stronger after grappling with a once-in-a-generation black swan event. This is the right time for the youth, music and English entertainment (YME) cluster to pivot. In the coming fiscal we will scale up and revamp each and every legacy property from Roadies to Hustle to Splitsvilla and launch newer formats. We will double down on our growing digital presence and launch a multiplatform short video offering ‘Fully Faltoo’ along with ‘KaanPhod’ – a platform to discover and mount emerging musical talent and original songs. The success of our maiden NFT offering will be followed up with more Web 3.0-focused initiatives. We’ve also worked on a new slate of international English content for Colors Infinity and Comedy Central. The team is geared up for an action-packed year like never before.”

March 10, 2022
The market for NFTs cannot be restricted by demographics: Anshul Ailawadi

Mumbai: Viacom18 YME (Youth, Music, and English Entertainment) cluster stepped into the fast-emerging NFT-verse in January with the extension of its ‘FullyFaltoo’ franchise that went on from being a show on MTV and a brand solutions studio, to now an NFT marketplace that will launch its diverse range of digital collectibles. These exclusive collectibles will also have creations inspired by pop culture properties like ‘Roadies’ and ‘Bakra’.

“The move was spurred by the thought that we have a really rich legacy of edgy and unique artwork that has played a key part in the life of most of our consumers. Taking this association a step further, how can we give them a chance to own it?” says Viacom18 head- youth, music, and English entertainment Anshul Ailawadi.

The marketplace fullyfaltoonft.com is powered and facilitated by NFT ecosystem technology framework GuardianLink.io.

Commenting on the partnership as well as the relevance of NFTs for iconic youth brands like MTV, Vh1, and Comedy Central in India, GuardianLink.io co-founder, and chairman Keyur Patel shares, “MTV resonates with GenZ at all three levels – brand, art, and emotions. With its understanding of the youth and a great legacy of popular art, MTV is poised for success in the NFTverse. I see this as the coming together of some of the most interesting creative assets by an interesting brand in an interesting space!”

‘NFT’ what?

Non Fungible Token (NFT), essentially blockchain-certified digital art, is a rare, and unique asset deemed as a ‘collectible’. It appreciates over time in value as it is traded or auctioned.

The technology involves three aspects. First is the basic tech that can be scaled to facilitate global participation in the NFT auction. Secondly, so as to make the process more inclusive, multiple payment gateways like credit/debit cards, UPI, and crypto are to be enabled. The third and specific aspect is that of ensuring the security of minting, transferring, and storing NFTs. This secures the NFTs against theft and forgery. Guardian’s high-impact NFTs are protected by its Anti.RIP technology and legitimacy protocol explained Patel.

Just the way all talk about ‘Non Fungible Tokens’ starts with demystifying this apparently loaded term, Viacom18’s campaign around its NFT debut, too, begins with educating the audience about the basics.

“Aimed at both the brand loyalists as well as fence-sitters, our communication has a lot of explanatory stuff around what are NFTs, and how to engage with/trade them. Basically, the first phase of the campaign will be more about ‘trust building’, whereas, the subsequent phases will delve into technicalities like the risks and opportunities involved,” says Ailawadi.

Even though heavily focused online, there’s also an on-air component to the promotions. Additionally, Viacom18 is targeting online spaces and communities such as Reddit and Discord that have audiences engaging in lively conversations around NFTs.

Takers all across

Ailawadi believes that the crypto revolution is spread across the country, and the market for NFTs, therefore, cannot be restricted by demographics. “We are clear about the fact that our brand loyalists will be the first set of adopters. They are present all over India, in the metros as well as in towns like Kochi and Chandigarh that are not tier1. ‘Fence sitters’ who understand that there is a legitimate offering backed by an iconic brand out there, will come next.” he asserts.

Needless to say, the audience for NFT has a younger skew. However, refraining from generalising, Ailawadi adds, “there are risks associated with NFTs, so people who either do not understand or do not have an appetite for them should think before engaging with them.”

While the digital natives have had a predominantly virtual mode of expression, interaction, and existence at large, when it comes to NFTs, the question that’s being asked is whether they would also like to own something unique virtually?

In this regard, Patel shares an insight stemming from the origins of the phenomenon. “Basically, NFTs got their momentum from the GenZ gamers who collect goods in the virtual space through in-game purchases. With the coming of NFTs, they realised that they can now have authentic stuff for their game that can not only be bought and stored but is also tradable. That’s when this whole thing picked up.”

Why NFTs

Non Fungible Tokens became a phenomenon last year when the digital artist known as Beeple sold an NFT of his art for $69million through an auction at Christie’s. That was the defining moment for the world of digital art. NFTs could make brands and celebs.

What was yesterday just another digital fad for the uninitiated, is today a rare collectible for the loyalists and buffs, and it has the potential of evolving into a ‘utility’ or ‘asset’, sooner than anticipated. Giving an analogy, Patel observes that NFTs will be in the same space as a 140-character tweet which fetches nearly Rs four million today.

Commenting further on the current and future value of NFTs, Aliwadi remarks, “Many of us had a predilection for collectibles like postal stamps, coins, or tazos in our younger days. While we always had the chance to collect and trade, the opportunity to authenticate and showcase them was limited. Collecting NFTs is the digital equivalent of philately or numismatic, which takes care of these two pain points as well. NFTs can be authenticated by virtue of having a digital signature, and once you are on a marketplace or prominently displaying them on social media platforms, the world will surely notice.”

That’s about the current value of NFTs, but going forward the possibilities are enormous. “Imagine having a chance to attend MTV Supersonic backstage with an MTV NFT. That’s some time away though! We’ll eventually be there,” reckons Ailawadi.

February 14, 2022
Viacom18 to launch its first NFT marketplace Fully Faltoo

Mumbai: Viacom18’s youth, music and English entertainment (YME) cluster is all geared up to set its foot in the rapidly growing digital space of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) with the announcement of Fullyfaltoonft.com. The NFT marketplace, set up by GuardianLink.io – a pioneer and innovator of NFT Technologies, will go live globally on 14 February.

NFT, essentially blockchain-certified digital art, has been gaining popularity among brands, artists, and celebrities both in India and globally. Viacom18’s Fully Faltoo NFTs will offer ‘fully valuable’ digital art conceptualised and created by the team that brings to life brands like MTV, Vh1 and Comedy Central in India.

This initiative will also mark the extension of the Fully Faltoo franchise that went on from being a show on MTV and a brand solutions studio, to now an NFT marketplace, that will launch its diverse range of digital collectibles. Giving fans the opportunity to claim ownership over edgy and unique digital art pieces, the exclusive collectibles will also have creations inspired from iconic pop culture properties like “Roadies” and “Bakra,” that will be up for auction across the globe, said the statement.

Speaking on the introduction of Viacom18’s maiden NFT offering, Vicaom18 head for YME Anshul Ailawadi said, “The global media and entertainment industry has recognised the power of NFTs. As one of the world’s largest media markets, India is uniquely positioned to be at the focal point of this Web3 revolution.”

“The brands that make our YME portfolio – MTV, MTV Beats, Vh1, Comedy Central and Colors Infinity, have always stayed ahead of the curve when it comes to emerging trends and pop culture. Our entry in the NFT space with Fully Faltoo is another step in the same direction. We look forward to building FullyFaltoonft.com as the go-to destination for must-have digital art,” he added.

With industry-standard security layers enabled, the NFTs can be bought at a set auction price. Users will have to register on the platform to be able to make a purchase through the use of a custodian wallet. The security layers set up by GuardianLink.io are to ensure the security of minting, transferring and storing NFTs.

“As a technology framework ecosystem, Guardian has always been on the forefront of the race to build and operate some of the largest marketplaces and most advanced creative NFTs in the space,” remarked GuardianLink.io co-founder and CEO Ramkumar Subramaniam. “With its foundation in creative media, Guardian has led the race in terms of designing high impact creative NFTs protected by our Anti.RIP technology and legitimacy protocol.”

The cluster will roll out an elaborate integrated marketing plan that will leverage Viacom18’s presence on digital and linear TV to create awareness about FullyFaltooNFT.com. The Fully Faltoo campaign will also aim at educating consumers about non-fungible tokens and digital collectibles while attracting them to bid on the platform.

January 20, 2022