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  • How IPL anthems helped popularise the brand

    How IPL anthems helped popularise the brand

    NEW DELHI: IPL’s electrifying debut aired on 18 April, 2008, and India has been hooked ever since. Every year, more and more people are tuning into the sporting tournament, cheering for their favourite teams and players, and sharing their excitement on social media. The viewership for this ‘grand festival’ of cricket has massively risen and for brands, it’s more like an advertising bonanza. Every year, the latter put their best foot forward to connect with the audience.

    In a similar fashion, both the IPL committee and teams have consistently released interesting anthems to fire up fans and increase the recall of both team and tournament to the next level. It involves roping in advertising agencies and production houses to create films that reflect the audiences' craziness and love for the tournament and the team. 

    Read more news on IPL

    This year is no different. Even though Covid2019 appeared as a deterrent in the early days, the relentless will of players, committee and broadcaster got it all together in the end. The franchise released the anthem Aayenge Hum Wapas, which resonated strongly with people for its ‘we shall overcome’ message. It showcased how people eagerly waited for the tournament and featured stalwarts of the game including the likes of Virat Kohli, MS Dhoni, Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumra, KL Rahul, and many other players.

    Soon after, Mumbai Indians also dropped the latest avatar of its theme song 'Aala Re'. 

    Interestingly, all these anthems were carefully conceptualised keeping in mind the current Covid2019 situation. Each of them focused on adhering to safety norms, wearing masks, maintaining distance and other precautions.

    Right from advertisers to marketers to the audience, the IPL anthem is something that everyone looks forward to, for the  a spellbinding video supporting it, and over the years it has managed to leave an imprint on the audience. From ‘Ek Happy India Wala’ to ‘Come on Bulaava Aaya Hain’ to the most famous one ‘Jumping- Japang’ by Farhan Khan has struck chords with the viewers.

    With the nation currently in the throes of IPl fever, indiantelevision.com has curated a list of all the anthems and popular campaigns presented by the franchise over the decade.

    IPL Season 1 (2008): “Cricket Ka Dharmayudh”

    Probably the best of IPL promos, the official song of IPL 2008 remains to be one of the most awesome theme songs of IPL.

    IPL Season 2 (2009): “Divided by Nations, United by IPL…

    As the tagline says, the IPL brought nations and rival players together. To this day, it comes across as one of the most meaningful IPL ads, the beautifully-shot video depicts how different cultures from around the world are tied by a sporting event. Back in 2009, the IPL was played in South Africa owing to the ongoing Lok Sabha elections in India.

    IPL Season 3 (2010): “Saare Jahan Se Acha” & “Lautaaya”

    This IPL theme will remind you of Lagaan and Chak De India – two of the most popular sports films in Indian cinema. Also, you’ll be delighted to see how Ayushmann Khurana was shaking a leg to the musical tunes of IPL 2010.

    IPL Season 4 (2011): “Dum lagake mara ray”

    Dum Laga Ke Mara Re was all about peoples’ craze for IPL and its popularity which cuts across demographics and national boundaries. The video showed IPL fans dancing on the streets, even breaking into some of umpire Billy Bowden’s signature moves, to welcome the new season of the sporting extravaganza.

    IPL Season 5 (2012): “Aisa Mauka Aur Kaha Milega”

    The official track of IPL 2012 focused on the theme of ‘opportunity’. Composed by Salim Sulaiman, the song’s lyrics underscored how the IPL promotes young domestic players and allows them to make their mark on one of the biggest cricketing platforms in the world.

    IPL Season 6 (2013): “Jumping Zapak”

    Remember Farah Khan dancing to the tune of Jumping Zapak with people everywhere, be it the station, the office, or any other place? The song had a simple message which was a big hit nonetheless: have fun and enjoy the IPL anywhere.

    IPL Season 7 (2014): “Come on Bulava Aaya Hai”

    Every year from April to June, the nation descends into IPL madness, with many people sitting glued to their TVs for every single match. The concept behind the seventh season’s theme song was: drop whatever you are doing, because you’re invited! Don’t miss out on watching the IPL!

    IPL Season 8 (2015): “India ka Tyohaar”

    The IPL is no longer a mere sporting event, but a full-on festival in India. During its eight edition, IPL launched India Ka Tyohar, which is arguably the most appealing anthem ever and still resonates with people.

    IPL Season 9 (2016): “Ek India Happywala”

    Ek India Happy Wala showed how good elements in the society are what defines a country, and everyone should look for happiness, unity, and harmony instead of negativity.

    IPL Season 10 (2017): “Das Saal Aapke Naam”

    On  This upbeat symphony was dedicated to the tournament’s die-hard fans and viewers, who ensured IPL’s longevity in spite of a host of scandals marring its decade-long run.

    IPL Season 11 (2018): “Yeh khel hai sher jawano ka”

    Inspired from the iconic song Yeh desh hai veer jawano ka in the Dilip Kumar-starrer sports drama Naya Daur, this video of this anthem plays back thrilling moments from preceding seasons of the IPL.

    IPL Season 12 (2019): “Game Banayega Name”

    Game Banayega Name shone the light on newcomers taking on star players in the twelfth edition of the IPL. The lyrics humko bhi ek mauka do encapsulates the rookies’ hunger to prove themselves and determination to make it big.

    Extra innings! Here’s a round-up of a few popular ad campaigns by IPL over the years.

    Bharat Bandh

    One of the satirical promos launched by the franchise was the ‘Bharat Bandh’ ad, which humorously portrayed politicians throwing a fit when they heard about the 51-day nationwide shutdown. The reason? IPL, of course!

    Tashreef Tokra

    Do you still remember Tashreef Tokra? The ad showed a large number of people carrying chairs and making an outdoor stadium in a busy market to watch their favourite game together. The dialogue Aisa mauka aur kaha milega captured the fanaticism of a cricket fan which overshadows everything else.

    Sare Jahan se Acha

    The second edition of the IPL was held in another country. In order to make their homecoming a moment of reckoning, the third season went big with the Sare Jahan se Acha campaign, which evoked a sense of patriotism among people.

  • IPL clocks 269 million viewers in opening week: BARC-Nielsen

    IPL clocks 269 million viewers in opening week: BARC-Nielsen

    NEW DELHI: Dream 11 IPL has started with a bang as the much awaited tournament clocked over 269 million viewers in its opening week, as per the BARC Nielsen data. The tournament clocked over 60.6 billion viewing minutes across seven matches and 21 channels.

    The viewership, this year, was higher despite one less match played in the opening week and also the tournament was showcased on fewer channels in comparison to 2019. As per the data, there are 21 TV channels presenting IPL in 2020 in comparison to 24 channels that showcased the matches in 2019.

    Interestingly, in 2020, the tournament also witnessed 15 per cent growth in the viewing minutes over 2019. There is also a growth of cumulative reach of one percent and 21 per cent growth in average impressions per match. In 2019, there were 32.2 million impressions per match whereas 2020 clocked 39 million impressions per week.

    Match 1 (Mumbai Indians vs CSK) clocked 11.2 billion viewing minutes along with 52 million impressions and a cumulative reach of 158 million. All the three parameters performed better than the last year as there was a growth of 65 per cent in viewing minutes, 29 per cent in average impressions and 21 per cent in cumulative reach.

    Match 2-7 clocked an average of seven billion viewing minutes with each match garnering at least 34 million impressions and a minimum of 100 million cumulative reach.

    44 per cent of the television households watched the game live with over 57 per cent of male audience in it. The data indicates that there were over 11 million more viewers per match when compared to the last year.

    Interestingly, the total advertising volume for IPL 2020 opening week was 15 per cent higher than the last year. There was a significant increase of 19 and 22 per cent in the advertiser and the brand count.

    And finally, on the OTT front, the overall user base saw a growth of 32 per cent. Disney + Hotstar user base grew by 99 per cent during this time and fantasy sport apps also witnessed a surge of nearly 80 per cent. The smartphone usage and video streaming went up by 8 and 13 per cent during this period.

  • BharatPe banks on cricket for next growth phase

    BharatPe banks on cricket for next growth phase

    NEW DELHI: From Bollywood to cricket. That’s the path fintech brand BharatPe is taking. Bharat Pe, which is positioned as the one stop shop for the payment as well as capital needs of India’s large retailer network, has signed up 11 top cricketers as its brand ambassadors. Among them figure: Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, KL Rahul, Mohammed Shami, Ravindra Jadeja, and Suresh Raina. 

    The 11 cricketers will be featuring in an ad  campaign which is being directed by a top Hindi film director. The purpose: build BharatPe’s brand identity, apart from explaining its unique features, positioning and thought process to merchants. The sportsmen have been banded under a group which has been called BharatPe XI. The ad campaign is set to be unfurled closer to the festival period and will encompass TV, radio, OOH, digital, as well as print media.

    The company, which is heavily funded by top investors like Sequoia, Beenext, Insight Partners, Steadview Capital management, Ribbit Capital, Coatue and Amplo, had earlier roped in Bollywood A-lister Salman Khan for its launch campaign #AbDukandarJitega.

    BharatPe group president Suhail Sameer, who got on board the fintech firm as recently as August 2020, points out that the Salman association helped the brand get noticed, and connect with the merchant community who were  loathe to use digital payment options.

    “We decided to go ahead with cricket this year as it is one sport that brings Indians together, irrespective of their region, religion, or financial status,” he explains.

    Read more news on BharatPe

    Co-founded by Ashneer Grover and Shashvat Nakrani, BharatPe’s mission is to make financial inclusion a reality for Indian merchants, especially across tier 1, 2 and 3 cities. BharatPe, since its launch, has been empowering shop owners with a single zero MDR UPI based QR code which allows them to accept payments from any app  – like PayTm, PhonePe, Google Pay, BHIM and 150+ other UPI apps – at no cost to them. The cash goes directly into the retailer’s bank account and he or she can earn interest on it and even take loans if the need arises.

    Sameer shares that the initial task for BharatPe was to create awareness amongst the merchant community and educate them about how digital payments work.  Says he: “We have invested time and effort to educate the merchants and built trust with them. We offered them the convenience of accepting digital payments, irrespective of the consumer’s preferred choice of digital payment.”

    The Salman campaign helped the company on board merchants in tier-1 and tier-2 towns and cities. As of early 2020, it had managed to rope in close to three million retailers. Average transaction values which were Rs 500 earlier rose by 60-65 per cent in early 2020.

    SAMEER THINKS BOLLYWOOD
    AND CRICKET ACT AS UNIFIERS

    Covid2019 and the lockdown hit BharatPe hard, with transactions dipping in the first few weeks. But with the country unlocking, these have been picking up pace. Even merchant signups have ballooned to five million, and the target is to take that number to six million by end this fiscal. BharatPe is present in 35 cities and processes five crore plus monthly UPI transactions.

    “In September, we are already at 50 per cent above the pre-Covid2019 levels in the value of the transactions we process (at $4 billion annually). We aim to close the year at a run rate of $5 billion in annual total payment value,” reveals Sameer.

    Currently 15-20 per cent of the total transactions come from tier-2 areas and the next wave of growth will come from tier-2 and 3 markets, Sameer reveals Covid2019, which accelerated digitisation in the country has benefited BharatPe, like many other digital first brands, as consumers are choosing to go in for contactless transaction with the pandemic still raging.

    The company is on an expansion spree even on the lending side – an activity which was kickstarted a year ago. So far, it has disbursed loans in excess of Rs 250 crore, despite the Covid2019 related slowdown. It has set a target  to disburse around Rs 700 crore in the next six months. “We did consciously slow down on our lending during the lockdown months, but have scaled well since July 2020,” highlights Sameer. “We are confident we will surpass Rs. 700 crore for the rest of the year, and are internally gearing for higher numbers.”

    He is also sanguine that the cricketer-led advertising campaign will redefine how fintech marketing can be done. In the process, it will help BharatPe get closer to its goals.

  • BharatMatrimony ads draw parallels between cricket & marriage

    BharatMatrimony ads draw parallels between cricket & marriage

    NEW DELHI: BharatMatrimony, a leading online matrimony player, is known for contextual content during IPL and often rides on topical news. The brand is again back with its cool contextual posts driving social engagement and this time it is relating cricket with marriage. BharatMatrimony is wooing fans with relationship lessons from cricket and IPL humor besides clever creative content on interesting match moments.

     

     

    For instance, the brand recently shared a creative that mentions – 'Cricket is a game of two competing sides, in marriage, husband and wife are on the same side.' BharatMatrimony has been sharing such humourous and witty creatives for a few days now.

     

     

    These creatives are being released on the social media platforms and aim to build a deeper connection of the brand with the audiences through topical marketing.

     

     

    “IPL came after months of lockdown and we knew that people were going to be glued to the TV. Besides, the rapid pace of digital adoption and the lack of outdoor entertainment during Covid-19 offered a good opportunity for us to ride the buzz by sharing relatable content to the audience. And they seem to be loving it. As a brand, we constantly look for opportunities to spark or add to a conversation. Cricket and BharatMatrimony are a perfect match,” explains Matrimony.com GM – marketing Rajasekar KS.

     

     

    The matrimony brand is clearly trying to leverage the cricket fever and create traction for the brand. Interestingly, the creatives are a witty take on cricket and unlike a lot other posts and ads doing rounds on social media.

     

     

    In March 2020 also, the brand garnered a lot of attention from viewers for it's relevant messaging for Covid2019. From "Spread the message, don't spread the virus" on the eve of lockdown to "It's all in your hands" that talks about the choice to stay at home and fight the virus, not to speak of washing hands with soap frequently; to tips on staying safe to sharing helpline numbers, has been posting relevant content to engage with the people.

     

     

    BharatMatrimony has been a very old hand in this category and has done several interesting campaigns in the past that were well received by the audiences.

  • Brands leverage Rahul Tewatia moment

    Brands leverage Rahul Tewatia moment

    NEW DELHI: Over the years, IPL has given birth to several big stars who haven’t just entertained the crowds but went ahead to become viral-sensation.

    The latest to be a part of that elite club is Rajasthan Royals’ Rahul Tewatia who smashed five sixes in one over in a match against Kings XI Punjab and turned into an overnight sensation.

    The 27-year-old all-rounder stunned the cricket lovers with his skills in Sharjah as he helped his team to score a win against Kings XI Punjab.

    Tewatia made his IPL debut for Rajasthan Royals in 2014, but never become a household name until Sunday when he changed the game. After signing up for Rajasthan Royals in 2014, he played only 1 game in IPL 2015. He was bought by the Royals for Rs 10 lakh.

    Netizens went crazy after seeing his performance and #Tewatia started trending on the platform. Rajasthan Royals changed its Twitter bio to pay tribute to the 27-year-old all-rounder.

    The team’s new Twitter bio now reads — “Hoping 2020 does a Rahul Tewatia”.

    It was an excellent opportunity for brands to chip in and leverage the moment. Several big brands joined the conversation and congratulated him in their own signature style.

    View this post on Instagram

    One Tewatia Password for victory. #IPL2020

    A post shared by Paytm (@paytm) on

    https://www.instagram.com/explore/locations/281012965923077/ipl-2020/?utm_source=ig_embed

  • HDFC Life Partners with Sportskeeda for IPL 2020

    HDFC Life Partners with Sportskeeda for IPL 2020

    Mumbai: HDFC Life Insurance Company, one of India’s leading life insurance companies, signs an official sponsorship agreement with Sportskeeda for IPL 2020.

    With the sporting world still gradually being reinstated to normalcy, the biggest franchise T20 cricket tournament – Indian Premier League 2020 promises to be that rush of adrenaline which will get people of the country cheering and in high spirits again.

    Sportskeeda, whose reach and brand recognition are unrivaled in the Indian cricket and sports world, expect over 45 million monthly users and 800 million monthly impressions on the website during the span of the cricketing extravaganza and will be at the forefront of bringing the IPL frenzy to the users with a series of innovations that promise an experience like never before.

    Read more news on HDFC Life

    The all-new customized HDFC Life's ‘Live IPL Tracker’ will help users stay updated on their favorite teams, showcasing detailed statistics in the form of a visual treat, that will transform the run-of-the-mill data points into a snazzy fan experience. This lies in line with HDFC Life that has proven to be an award-winning one-stop comprehensive life insurance solution provider for all things, including a range of individual and group insurance solutions that meet various life stage needs of customers like protection, pension, savings and investments, health, etc.

    Apart from this, other impactful and design-led properties shall also be provided to HDFC Life that will take user engagement to the next level by enhancing the overall fan experience and the association will increase awareness and help in building relevance of the various life insurance solutions provided by HDFC Life.

    HDFC Life EVP e-commerce and digital marketing Vishal Subharwal said, “Increasing the awareness of protection & risk transfer using appropriate life insurance products is critical, especially given that the world is emerging from a pandemic. The staging of the IPL is a testimony that things are surely but slowly getting back to normal. With Sportskeeda, we have the right platform to reach out to the right audience groups and raise awareness about HDFC Life's products.”

    Sportskeeda head marketing and partnerships Ajay Pratap Singh said that they had previously worked with HDFC Life during the 2019 IPL season and that it is an absolute pleasure to serve them again! Hope to make this endeavor a grand success.

  • 200 million tuned in to watch the opening match of IPL: Jay Shah, BCCI

    200 million tuned in to watch the opening match of IPL: Jay Shah, BCCI

    Season 13 of the Indian Premier League has opened to a grand start with millions of audiences across the world watching it on their television and mobile screens. It is one of the biggest live sports events that is happening after a gap of nearly six months. The matches are played in UAE.

    Star India is the official broadcaster for the tournament and its live feed is available in multiple languages. On the other hand, the network is streaming the matches live on its OTT platform Disney+Hotstar.

    The tournament kickstarted on 19 September and the first match was played between Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings.

    BCCI secretary in a tweet quoted the Broadcast Audience Research Council and mentioned that an unprecedented 200 million people tuned in to watch the match.

    Shah further went on to claims that it is the highest ever opening day viewership for any sporting league in any country- no league has ever opened as big as this.

     

     

    His claim was further acknowledged by Star Sports in its retweet where they mentioned the same number and claimed it as a record.  

    However, there is no official communication from BARC on this data until the filing of this story.

    In 2019, the reach for the tournament across TV and digital was 462 million. 

  • Edtech brand Great Learning tells perseverance is key to success

    Edtech brand Great Learning tells perseverance is key to success

    NEW DELHI: Great Learning has launched its first multi-film ad campaign featuring brand ambassador, Virat Kohli. The campaign consists of a series of ad films titled, ‘Power Ahead – Jo Seekhta Hai Wahi Aage Badhta Hai’. It focuses on the importance of lifelong learning and showcases how upskilling is a necessary step for students and professionals to power ahead in their careers. The ad films will air across 40 national channels like across sports, entertainment, news, and music. The ad films will also be aired on OTT platform Disney + Hotstar throughout the Dream 11 Indian Premier League 2020, for which the brand is an Associate Sponsor. The campaign has been conceptualized by Sideways and directed by Cornerstone.

    The ad films open with Virat addressing the audience while reflecting on Great Learning’s philosophy of lifelong learning as a necessity for success. Virat himself personifies this philosophy and believes that career success comes to those who are always looking to learn something new, especially in a world where things are changing so rapidly around us. While striking a conversation with the viewers, Virat emphasizes the need to keep learning to stay on top of one’s game. ‘Cricket ho ya koi bhi career jo seekhta hai wahi aage badhta hai,’ he quips in these films.

    Read more news on Edtech brands

    Great Learning CMO Aparna Mahesh said, “We are excited to launch our first set of commercials with Virat Kohli during the biggest sporting event of the year, the IPL. Virat represents the aspirations of Young India. He is someone who is so passionate about his game, pursues excellence relentlessly, and keeps improving through disciplined effort. We believe he will inspire millions of learners to chase career excellence with the same passion and reach their goals through high-quality education provided by Great Learning. This campaign with Virat will elevate the Great Learning brand to a  higher level in terms of awareness as well as a preference when people think of high-quality professional education.” 

  • Facebook launches another phase of More Together campaign

    Facebook launches another phase of More Together campaign

    NEW DELHI: Facebook has launched the next phase of its ‘More Together’ campaign in India ahead of the much-awaited cricket and festive season. The campaign underlines the brand belief that people can do more together than alone.

    Facebook unveiled its first ‘More Together’ campaign in India earlier this year with an objective to showcase how people across the country can do more together by harnessing the power of their connections on the platform. The underlying theme of the campaign was further amplified by real stories about how people came together on Facebook during the lockdown to help and support one another which was reflected in the second phase of the campaign. As we move closer to the widely celebrated cricket and festive season in the country, the latest phase showcases the power of connections and people coming together to help, support and celebrate with each other. 

    Read more news on Facebook

    Speaking about the campaign, Facebook India director-marketing Avinash Pant  said, "Over the last few months we have witnessed really powerful stories of how people came together through our platforms to face and conquer challenges during these unprecedented times. Our last two phases of the More Together campaign were a testament to this collective power. As we head into the festive season that's set to be unique this year, we wanted to highlight how our collective actions can create beautiful outcomes. We hope people are inspired by these stories, and see a world made better when they come together".

    The campaign will have four 30 second films over the course of the tournament and will be available in 6 languages. The first film showcases a girl making a post on Facebook expressing her desire to bring the cheerful atmosphere of a live cricket match into her house. This gets all her friends enthused and the excitement spreads.  And just like that, we see a jersey manufacturer getting a big order. 

    The core campaign has been conceptualized and executed by Taproot Dentsu, the creative agency from the house of Dentsu Aegis Network (DAN) India. 

    Talking about the inspiration behind the campaign Taproot Dentsu  senior creative director  Neeraj Kanitkar explains, “Our previous campaign told stories of people using Facebook to really look after each other. The upcoming cricket season presented us an opportunity to tell new stories- of the profound power of small but collective actions on Facebook which could lead to a deep and meaningful change in the lives of so many. We will keep rolling out such stories through the duration of the tournament, serving as an inspiration to people to keep sharing their ideas on the platform. And hopefully set in motion the wonderful consequences of people coming together.”

  • Sapangeet Rajwant and the art of building Bigg Boss 14

    Sapangeet Rajwant and the art of building Bigg Boss 14

    Bigg Boss is all set to return to the television with its season 14 starting 3 October 2020. The show commands a massive loyal audience that loves to watch the participants locked in the house. Every year, when it launches on the Hindi general entertainment channel, Colors, there is a lot of chatter around the show, its host – Salman Khan, the participants, politics, fun, fights and a lot of other things. There is no doubt that Bigg Boss  has been earning loyal sponsors and huge earned media year-on-year for the network. As a result, the teams at Viacom18 are putting their entire might to make it even more entertaining and exciting for the audiences. 

    Viacom18 Hindi mass entertainment brand solutions, marketing & digital head Sapangeet Rajwant says, “Bigg Boss is one show that over the years has brought the viewers together and been the most sought after entertainment reality show. But the pandemic has bought a change in consumer sentiment wherein they’ve made a seamless transition to digital mediums. Digital is the most growing medium, I think marketing, therefore, will be redefined.  We would now look at investing in the right places to ensure the mediums we choose hereon are more effective and collaborative.”

    Rajwant should know. She has been at the forefront of building the Bigg Boss brand over the years through effective promotions across media, right from print to on-ground to digital to television. Given that, the show is a tentpole high impact property for the Colors, no efforts are being spared to continue pushing and promoting just like in previous years. A major blitz with budgets at the same level as last year is planned.

    Indiantelevision.com’s Shikha Singh got into a converation with the savvy marketer to get insights into what’s planned for this season. Excerpts from the conversation:

    Read more news on Bigg Boss

    What is the marketing strategy for Bigg Boss this year?

    Bigg Boss has a magnetic appeal for brands and marketers alike. Due to the huge fan following and the constant chatter that is there about the show, the brands look forward to associating with the show. The show because of its mass appeal is usually talked about on a daily basis. Hence from a marketing standpoint, the idea is to build the campaign and create conversations. This year though, we have tweaked our marketing strategy as owing to the pandemic there are a few mediums that have become redundant and therefore focus has been more on television and online. 

    We are relying specifically on television heavily as it is one medium that has stood the test of time throughout this lockdown and the viewership has only grown in the past few months. Fortunately for us, Viacom18’s network channels have great strength and it provides us conversions across genres. We will also be going outside the network and tapping different news, movie, and music channels to create awareness about the tune in time of the show. We aim to generate a lot of content in the online space on social media and have planned innovations that you will witness soon. We will also look at tier 1 and tier 2 cities for print advertising in editorial format.

    What was the thought behind the Bigg Boss campaign?

    Bigg Boss is a cult show that has a massive and loyal following. The show has grown year-on-year and the last season of Bigg Boss broke viewership records both on television and online. The year 2020 has been the most trying and difficult year for humanity in the recent past.  Hence, we had to come up with a theme that could give a befitting response to 2020 and announce the return of the show- ‘Ab scene paltega, kyunki Bigg Boss dega 2020 ko jawaab’. With everyone looking eagerly towards the first rays of a restart and television being a surreal medium that helps you find an escape, the viewers will get a chance to witness things that they deprived of this year- A theater, spa, mall etc in the Bigg Boss house. It will be a peek into what a ‘regular’ life looks like. A welcome change to the past year; it’s bound to change the scene in every household when it comes on their television sets.

    Due to the pandemic the on-ground activities are halted, so how are you planning to engage with the viewers?

    The lockdown has put restrictions on on-ground events and activations but on the other hand, we have also seen a surge in television viewership and digital platform consumption. We will be focusing our energies and investing in television and digital mediums for a greater ROI and measurability. A lot of programmatic buying happens on digital and on TV too and we will continue to do it.

    Most importantly, is the marketing budget for Bigg Boss similar, increased or reduced as compared to the previous year?

    We have not made budget cuts for our marketing but we are focusing on optimizing it. For the new season, we will be restricting the use of mediums but we will channelise our energies into planning creative engagement ideas. Rather than reaching out to five different mediums, we will probably stick to only one or two mediums but you will see heavier buzz and bigger innovation. We don’t want to compromise on the reach and frequency and that remains our focus.

    How are you going to promote the show on TV?

    When we look at the last few months, television is the only medium that has remained steady and it has been the biggest driver for all the broadcasters. It is the only medium that not only gives you the desired reach but also conversion and effectiveness for the campaign. Hence, television is going to be the primary medium in all the campaigns. As I have mentioned earlier,  Viacom18 has a huge network strength and it provides us with a large range of channels across genres and delivers higher conversions due to affinity. Having said that, we will also go to non-network channels to see where we get incremental audiences. We will be doing huge bursts of our promos across channels.

    Coming to digital, what is your individual plan for each platform like Youtube, Facebook, Instagram? For example, are you looking at buying a mast-head on YouTube, or how you have partnered with AliveNow to launch an immersive Instagram AR filter for Bigg Boss? Will you be using the same technology this year?

    The primary aim is to be innovative and engage with the audience across platforms and hence we have customized strategies for each platform. For example, Facebook and Instagram are more viable and have a large user base. We are planning to leverage all its features like polls, reels, Q&A, stories, IGTV, etc. to dish out short bursts of snackable content in fun and creative ways that encourage two-way communication and engagement. On the other hand, we are also planning a pure video consumption-led YouTube feature for longer video pieces like mashups, contestant journeys, music videos etc. However, there are also times when we may use both together for a live stream simulcast as well. On Twitter, sparking debates, holding celebrity AMAs, asking people’s opinions and engaging with fan clubs using exclusive content works the best.  So it’s all about continuously trying different approaches and we will be using each of them.

    Read more news on Bigg Boss 

    Will you be collaborating with any influencers?

    A show like Bigg Boss has such mass appeal that in every household, there will be at least one individual rooting for the show. In this case, in every household, there is an influencer and they help us drive conversations about the show. Having said that the contestants of the Bigg Boss from the last season or the contestants from the current season act as brand endorsers. Moreover, the fan clubs and viewer base can be equated to an influencer and they automatically generate a lot of hashtag and short format videos that help us drive our campaign.

    Will you be using old Bigg Boss moments, winning spots or making of the show as a promotional strategy?

    Definitely. Bigg Boss is one of the most popular reality TV properties with massive amounts of conversations, debates, and points of view being put across by fans and celebrities regularly. So yes, leveraging past moments is always a strong pillar of our digital campaign strategy and one that has always worked terrifically for us. Simply put, the show is about real people – and people identify and relate with it – making them extremely passionate about the show. Probably this is why you will see the show trend on Twitter organically almost daily when on-air.

    IPL is doing heavy promotions across all platforms, whereas Bigg Boss has just started its marketing and promotional activity, how much do you think you will be able to make space for yourself in terms of creating buzz?

    Both IPL and Bigg Boss are huge and most anticipated properties. Last year we reached out to some 213 million audiences on the back of just the announcement of the show. This year, when people are deprived of entertainment, there will be more people flocking in to watch the show. We have started the conversation of Bigg Boss from August and both the properties have their own fan base. Having said that, there will be a very minimal clash between both the properties as  Bigg Boss on weekdays starts at 10:30 pm and IPL starts at 7:30 pm making the overlap of only 10 per cent.