ITV

Tag: Zee Bangla

  • Bangla TV viewership sees sustained rise; Assembly polls insulate from Covid blow

    New Delhi: Even as the TV markets across the country reeled under the second wave, the regional Bangla market was insulated from its severe blow. The high-octane Assembly elections, which were also the longest-ever state polls to be held so far, kept the industry abuzz with a sustained rise in viewership.

    Overall, the viewership of Bangla news increased by 30 per cent during week 13-17 when the election process was underway, according to Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) data. The number of active advertisers on Bangla news channels also rose by 11 per cent during the election period, coupled with a 12 per cent growth in ad volume, as some national news networks also expanded their footprint into Bangla news to cash in on the election fervour.

    The data was presented by Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) India, head, client partnership & revenue function, Aaditya Pathak during the inaugural edition of the Tele-wise Bangla – the power of television organised by Indiantelevision.com on Tuesday. The day-long event was organised in partnership with Zee Bangla and witnessed insightful discussions with representatives from the field of television, advertising, marketing, and media.

    Impact of Second-wave & elections

    According to BARC, the overall television viewership across markets was subdued during the second wave. However, West Bengal witnessed less severe impacts, according to BARC. The state saw an eight per cent drop in viewership compared to last year, while the impact was much more severe in neighbouring Odisha, where the viewership declined by 18 per cent and north-eastern states of Assam and Sikkim where it dropped by 22 per cent.

    “In terms of Genres, the viewership for GECs sustained well during the second wave, with minimal disruption of original content. But, Bangla news and movie channels recorded higher viewership than the pre-Covid levels of 2020, partly on the back of tailwinds from elections,” said BARC India, head, client partnership & revenue function, Aaditya Pathak.

    West Bengal TV Market

    West Bengal contributes roughly 15.3 million TV households (6.6 per cent) to the overall national TV market of 210 million TV households. This share has increased over the last three years, from 5.9 per cent in 2019 to 6.6 per cent in 2021, contrary to the viewership trends seen in Maharashtra/Goa, south, or the Hindi-speaking markets (HSM). (All India, 2+, Total TV viewership in AMA ‘000, weekly avg). Also, while the daily tune-ins fell across markets in 2021, they remained higher in West Bengal vs 2019 levels, showed BARC data.

    As of 2021, the state has 35 channels on air that are part of the BARC ecosystem, out of which 21 channels are free-to-air (FTA), while 14 are on pay platforms. This includes 13 GECs, 10 news channels, six movie channels, four for music, and one each for kids and sports. The free platform contributes to 1.9 per cent of the TV viewership, while the share of the Pay platform stands at 98.1 per cent.

    However, unlike other regional markets like Maharashtra where Hindi rules TV viewership, the West Bengal TV market is dominated by its local language, Bangla which contributes 65 per cent to the overall TV viewership in the state, while Hindi’s share is 33 per cent. “In fact, Bangla is the fifth largest language in terms of TV viewership in the country, closely followed by Marathi,” said Pathak, “The average time spent on TV in West Bengal is also quite comparable to the Hindi-speaking market (HSM) average.”

    Since 2019, the overall ad volume share for Bangla channels has not wavered much since 2019 and remained in the 8-9 per cent range compared to the all-India levels. “It’s a GEC-driven market and the ad volume shares for Bengali GEC and movies have demonstrated growth over the years of 13 per cent and 22 per cent, respectively. However, news channels have witnessed a decline in ad-volume of almost 13 per cent compared to 2019,” said Pathak.

  • Tele-wise Bangla to bring together top names from media and advertising

    KOLKATA: Several players including big broadcasters have a strong presence in the West Bengal market. Zee Entertainment and Star TV Network were among the fast movers in the Bengali entertainment industry, followed by Sony, Viacom18, and Sun TV. Over the years, the market has grown to be one of the most important ones for those planning to expand their national footprint.

    The increase of original content, viewership, and advertisers also led the industry to turn its eyes towards the market. Several local brands, pan-India advertisers also began investing in the market. Even amid the pandemic, Bengali GEC and Bengali News continued to contribute three per cent of total volumes each in 2020. Regional growth is here to stay, at least for some time now.

    This Tuesday, 29 June, Indiantelevision.com is all set to bring together some of the industry’s biggest names from the world of advertising, advertising, broadcasting, and production to understand the potential of the market. The leading b2b publication will host the inaugural edition of Tele-Wise Bangla, presented by Zee Bangla.

    The day-long virtual summit will open with a welcome note by Indiantelevision.com founder, CEO, and editor-in-chief Anil Wanvari. BARC India client partnership and revenue function head Aaditya Pathak will share insights on the viewership trends in the market. Kantar Insights Division director Puneet Avasthi will give a glimpse into the consumer profile in West Bengal.

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    In the session ‘Gauging the Might of the market’, representatives from Big Bazar, Godrej, ITC, Maruti Suzuki, Shyam Steel, Wavemaker India will discuss questions like what are the opportunities leveraged by brands on Bengali channels, how different are the approaches to strike a chord with Bengali audience, what are the most lucrative genres to invest in along with many other pertinent issues.

    As the regionalisation of TV channels has made it easier for the local brands to reach a specific audience, advertising spends on the channels have also risen. Leaders from Rollick Ice Cream, Ajanta Shoes, Initiative Media, Keya Seth Aromatherapy will deliberate on the growth of media spends in the last few years, challenges post-Covid, media spend ratio of local to national brands in the session ‘New Bastions for Growth’.

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    From a content perspective, the market has always seen progressive shows and experimentation with new concepts. With more formats of content now available, the audience has grown to accept content that is pushing the boundary of creativity. The panel will focus on the evolving content consumption trends, innovations, content investment in the West Bengal market in presence of spokespersons from Zee Bangla, Colors Bangla, Shashi Sumeet Productions, Acropolis Entertainment.

    To register: https://www.indiantelevision.com/events/telewise-bangla/

    The virtual event will begin at 3:00 pm on 29 June and will be live-streamed on YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter. 

    Join us for an insightful discussion! 

  • HiPi ties up with Zee Bangla’s Dance Bangla Dance

    New Delhi: Short-video platform HiPi has tied up with Zee Bengal’s dance reality show -Dance Bangla Dance to provide viewers with a steady dose of interactive content, to engage on the HiPi app.

    Dance Bangla Dance is back on Zee Bangla from 12 June, offering a flurry of entertainment for 22-24 weeks at stretch. Viewers can also be a part of the reality show via the HiPi app, where every week they can win cash prizes by simply showcasing their dance talent through fun hook step challenges, it said on Tuesday. Contestants will also participate in these weekly contests on HiPi giving viewers access to off-screen entertainment from their profiles on the HiPi app.

    Commenting on the collaborative initiative, HiPi, Zee Digital Publishing and CBO, CEO, Rohit Chadda said, “HiPi has come a long way to expand its platform to users across the country via contests and challenges to set the benchmark for entertainment higher. The collaboration with Dance Bangla Dance is a fun initiative that gives opportunity to dance creators across India to show their talent and it shall define viewer entertainment as it should be.”

    The whole contest would be divided into two parts: the creator and the viewer. As viewers, one can enjoy the dance reality show on Zee Bangla and stand a chance to win a cash prize of Rs. 9,999 every week by performing a hook step as per the weekly dance theme. Meanwhile, the creator contest each week will feature 20 Dance Bangla Dance contestants posting their videos on HiPi. While the weekly winning contestant can zero in on a cash prize of Rs.9,999, the grand winner from the 20 contestants will bag a cash prize of Rs. 2 Lakh, a 3-month contract with HiPi and a verified profile on the app.

  • Zee Bangla salutes the spirit of motherhood

    Zee Bangla salutes the spirit of motherhood

    New Delhi: Mothers have been a symbol of care, nurturance, and sacrifice of self over others. A year into the pandemic the sheer desperation and helplessness around us have made all of us more compassionate and caring.

    In these troubled times, Zee Bangla pays homage to ‘motherhood’ by celebrating the latent motherly instinct in all of us. Leveraging a unique linguistic facet of the Bengali language and culture which does not distinguish action between genders, Zee Bangla has developed a digital video to celebrate the inherent motherly affection in all of us. This film builds on the “concept of motherhood” from a parenting lens.

    The channel has developed a digital video in conceptualization with L & K Saatchi & Saatchi to celebrate the inherent motherly affection in all of us.

    Sharing his views on the campaign, Zee, cluster head, east, Samrat Ghosh said: “Zee Bangla, in line with its brand promise to stay closer to the spirit of Bengali culture and language, has always celebrated the peoples’ desire to overcome their inner shackles to chart a path towards a better tomorrow. This campaign further builds a new way of looking at the true spirit of motherhood to imbibe a sense of compassion and care amongst all. We believe this campaign will manifest our brand belief ‘Notun Chande Likhbo Jibon (orchestrating life in a new rhythm) and strengthen it further.”

  • Zee Bangla launches new season of Dance Bangla Dance

    Zee Bangla launches new season of Dance Bangla Dance

    New Delhi: Zee Bangla is back with the eleventh edition of its popular dance show- Dance Bangla Dance, with actor Govinda as one of the judges. The new season will be aired at 9:30 pm on the weekends, starting this Saturday.

    Govinda will be accompanied by Bengal’s icon Jeet and actress Subhashree Ganguly on the judges’ panel. The show will be hosted by Ankush Hazra along with Bengali actor Vikram Chatterjee. The participants will be put under the tutelage of gurus – Om Sahani, Devlina Kumar, Rimjhim Mitra, and Soumili Biswas, all popular faces in Tollywood industry. 

    What sets Dance Bangla Dance apart this year is the fact that there is no age bar on participation, said the channel on Saturday.

    Commenting on the launch of season 11 of Dance Bangla Dance, Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd, cluster-head (East), Samrat Ghosh said, “Dance Bangla Dance celebrates the spirit of dance. It is a form of expression that brings people together, allows them to be creative and innovative, and is a way to escape the stress and cares of everyday life. Staying true to its tagline ‘Nechei hobe muskil ahsaan’, season 11 will salute the never say die attitude of humans with dance. In keeping with the brand identity ‘Notun Chhondey Likhbo Jibon’, we aim to inspire the viewers to identify the potential within and orchestrate life in a new rhythm through our offerings.” 

    Govinda, who will be judging Dance Bangla Dance Season 11, said he is looking forward to returning on the new stage in a new avatar. “The energy level of the show gets me excited and I love it when my work gets me to groove. The new season will bring to you some incredible talent from all age groups and will surely make you twirl to their rhythm. We are looking forward to your audience as we begin this new journey,” he said.

  • Covid aid: Zee Bangla Cinema says ‘we’re there for you’ with amraachhi.org

    Covid aid: Zee Bangla Cinema says ‘we’re there for you’ with amraachhi.org

    NEW DELHI: Zee Bangla Cinema, in association with its digital partner Mind and Matter, has launched a website named Amra Achhi (amraachhi.org) which means ‘We are there’ to provide all Covid-related help to people in West Bengal. 

    The website is a one-stop destination for all information related to Covid-19 care in the state. In a statement, the channel said the sole objective behind launching this site is to ensure people get all the helping hand and also encourage others to contribute to their fellow citizens in this difficult situation. 

    The uniqueness of this platform is that it will grow organically through a crowd-sourcing model. Through this initiative, the channel will enable people to volunteer for their locality and show their comradeship with one another.

    This initiative will also encourage people to become Covid heroes in their locality and assist families affected by the pandemic. It aims to extend the helping hand to the needy ones by supplying essential medicines, utilities, and rations. 

    Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd cluster head-east Samrat Ghosh urged people of West Bengal to visit the site and do their bit for those in need. 

    “This platform will bring all the people together who want to be there with you when you indeed need them. I would appeal to everyone in West Bengal to visit the site and come forward to become a Covid hero in their locality. We believe this small initiative along with help from our viewers can make a big difference in these challenging times,” said Ghosh. 

  • Zee Bangla took the digital route to celebrate this years’ Poila Boishakh

    Zee Bangla took the digital route to celebrate this years’ Poila Boishakh

    MUMBAI: In keeping with the saying “Baro Mashe, Tero Parbon” (Thirteen festivals in twelve months), Bengal is undoubtedly known for its endless love for festivals and their festivities. Poila Boishakh, being the first day of the new year, is celebrated by Bengalis all over as it marks a fresh start, a dawn of new hope and aspirations.

    Zee Bangla has long been a custodian of the intricacies of Bengal’s heritage whether it is celebrating the many festivals and their traditions or reviving Bengal's art forms as they get passed down to the next generation. The brand believes in celebrating each festival with great enthusiasm while keeping alive the traditions handed down over Bengal's illustrious history, keeping alive the brand's promise – ‘Notun Chonde Likhbo Jibon’.

    Although this Noboborsho was different from other years due to the lockdown’s effect on the Bangla New Year spirit, Zee Bangla hosted a virtual ‘Probhat Pheri’ celebration for all its viewers.

    Zee Bangla, a connoisseur of the cultural elements, has always pioneered Bengal’s indigenous ingredients and tried to revive the intricacies of Bengal’s heritage so that they are passed down to the younger generations.

    This Poila Boishakh, the channel took the initiative to celebrate the Bangla New Year with an aesthetically curated and vibrantly appealing 'Probhat Pheri' Live Streamed on Zee Bangla’s official Facebook page on Thursday, 15  April, from the large and prestigious EMC campus in Kolkata.

    Welcoming the year 1428 with great enthusiasm, Zee Bangla celebrated a delightful concoction of its distinguished culture and traditions with Bengal's favourite art forms. Bengal’s tradition and culture are imbibed in its art forms, its music, and its dance, and what better way to welcome another year with a Probhat pheri showcasing these.

    The celebration began at six in the morning with mongal sankha dhwani, followed by a cultural performance including a Rhythm orchestration with dhaak, khol, bangla dhol, an on-stage representation of a famous dance drama, and a recitation-based dance performance. Not only this, but the viewers also witnessed some popular art forms such as Santhal Nach, Chau Nach, Ronpa Nach, Uday Shankar’s fusion style and Robindra Nritya.

    Bengal’s diversity is not only in the art forms but in the attire. For the Probhat Pheri, the women dressed themselves in the traditional laal-parh shada saree and showered flower petals while holding up ‘Kulos’ as they walked along. The men on the other hand were seen wearing dhuti-punjabi and Bengal’s traditional big and colourful masks.

     

    Here are the Facebook live links:

    1.        https://www.facebook.com/ZeeBanglaIndia/videos/1445027282510801/

    2.       https://www.facebook.com/ZeeBanglaIndia/videos/858669174990680/

  • Zee Bangla begins 2021 on a sweet note with Mithai

    Zee Bangla begins 2021 on a sweet note with Mithai

    NEW DELHI: Bengal, known for its rich culture and heritage of sweets, has witnessed an evolution. With the rise of consciousness around health and innovation in sweet making, the traditional sweets of Bengal are dying a slow death much like the culture of joint families which are slowly losing relevance in today’s fast-paced lifestyles.

    Zee Bangla has always pioneered Bengal’s indigenous ingredients and revived intricacies of Bengal’s heritage so that they don’t become extinct. A classic example of the same is bringing back the folk and kirtan forms into its mega musical reality show Sa Re Ga Ma Pa which beautifully emphasises the brand promise – ‘NotunChondeLikhboJibon’. And with its new launch – Mithai, the brand has embarked on a journey to revive the lost traditional sweets that Bengal was once famous for.

    Mithai is a warm, ‘mishti story’ of going back to the roots, celebrating family values and rituals. It revolves around a business family which has stood strong for over 50 years by staying true to self. The Modak family, residing in south Kolkata, is known for its traditional Bengali sweets and has many franchises across the city. They are a joint family celebrating relationships and every occasion in the true sense. But Siddhartha (Adrit Roy), of the current generation of the family, had a difficult childhood with losing his mother at a young age and staying away from the family for an impressionable amount of time. He has grown up dreaming of going beyond and doing things on his own. He is the modern-day health-conscious man who doesn’t like sweets and has no interest in being part of the family business.

    While our male lead has a worldly outlook, our female protagonist Mithai (Soumitrisha Kundu) comes from rural Bengal. Mithai was born to a sweet-making karigar family and is a karigar herself. She makes delicious monohara sweet and comes to Kolkata every day to sell them. On one such day, she is introduced to the Modak family. As she immediately wins everyone’s hearts, she takes up the challenge to get Siddharth to lover her sweets. Thereon, she embarks on a journey to bring Siddharth back to the family beliefs and take the business to greater heights.

    The concept is entirely developed and produced in house and directed by Rajendra Prasad Das and written by Shaswati Ghosh. The show will premiere from 4 January, Monday-Saturday at 8 pm.

    This show will revisit many forgotten parts of Bengali culture specially sweets like monohara and showcase the rooted nostalgia of a joint family. It will also have an eternal love story following the most basic and relatable concept of human relationships- opposites attract via portrayal of two sides of Bangaliyana – the urban and the traditional.

    ZEEL cluster head – east Samrat Ghosh said, “As a brand, we are deeply rooted in Bengali values and cultures – and we put continuous effort to bring it alive both in our fiction and non-fiction offerings into new rhythm. We are sure that such efforts of ours would help our viewers to relive and reconnect with the strong culture and value of Bengalis. Mithai is a story of Bengali culture of “togetherness” in staying in a joint family, a story of exhibiting strong family values, a story of sharing happiness and sweetness– and all these will centre around in the revival of a traditional mishti called monohara.”

  • Zee5 to stream Zee Bangla’s latest offering ‘Aparajita Apu’

    Zee5 to stream Zee Bangla’s latest offering ‘Aparajita Apu’

    MUMBAI: Zee Bangla has strengthened its primetime line-up with the launch of Aparajita Apu. The serial started airing on 30 November 2020 at 8.30 pm and now, it will be available on the network’s OTT platform, Zee5.

    Aparajita Apu is the story of a young and passionate girl Apu, who isn’t afraid of taking a strong stand against any injustice. She aspires to fulfil her dream and become successful in order to help her dad. In the promo, it can be seen that Apu’s elder sister is getting married. All of a sudden, her in-laws stop the marriage and demand dowry. A determined Apu protests such behaviour and threatens to call the police.

    The show is produced by Susanta Das, who is also the creator of Krishnakoli, Ke Apon Ke Por, and other hit Zee Bangla serials. Krishnakoli is one of the top-rated programs from the channel, listed at fifth position in the latest TRP ratings.

    Aparajita Apu will mark the debut of model-turned-actress Susmita Dey. For the uninitiated, the actor stepped into the industry as a model and participated in a beauty pageant. In the past, she has been a part of a few modelling projects.  

    The role of the show’s male protagonist, Dipyaman, is played by Rohaan Bhattacharjee. His character revolves around being a loving son who belongs to a family that believes in a disciplined and structured lifestyle. He is kind, honest and helps Apu to fulfil her dreams. Prior to this, Rohaan did two comedy-dramas- Bhojo Gobindo and Koler Bou.

    Krishnakoli, Rani Rashmoni,Phirki, Ki Kore Bolbo Tomay, Jamuna Dhaki, Jiban Sathi, , Soudaminir Sansar, Pandab Goyenda, Goyenda Ginni are the other prime time programs of Zee Bangla. Kanyadan, the Bengali dubbed version of Marathi serial Tula Pahate Re are some of the upcoming projects listed by the channel.

  • Bangla channels pin high hopes on Durga Puja

    Bangla channels pin high hopes on Durga Puja

    MUMBAI: Durga Puja, that time of the year when an entire city descends into wholesome chaos. The fervour sets in days ahead, and during the five-day celebration the streets are teeming as revellers go pandal-hopping, bhog sampling, throng anondo mela (fun fair), indulge in shopping sprees, and a dozen other fun-filled activities. But due to Covid2019, pujo festivities are a lot more toned down this year, with the risk of public gatherings looming large on people’s minds.

    With the outlook that folks will stay at home rather than jostle with crowds, Bangla entertainment channels have taken up an aggressive stance programming-wise to maximise viewership and ad revenue during the pujo period.

    How Bangla channels are wooing viewers

    Sony Aath is trying to dial up the celebrations with a slew of fresh programming. As part of Sunday Funday, the most popular slot on the channel, it will air special Durga Puja-themed episodes of hit family shows – Gopal Bhar, Nut Boltu and NIX. With the recent premiere of new show Baalveer during this festive season, the channel’s also lined up six Honey Bunny movies. A Sony Pictures Networks India Sony Aath and English cluster business head Tushar Shah said, “We are witnessing tremendous interest from the advertisers and a few of them, including Cadbury and Colgate, have already signed up.”

    Colors Bangla, too, has a treat in store for its viewers. “There will be a special morning programme titled Sree Sree Sarodiya Durga Pujo. It will provide the audience with a spiritual experience by giving an essence of the various rituals associated with pujo. Evening show Golpe Gaane Pujor Adda is a show with singers and actors entertaining our viewers with popular music and memories. Both the shows are presented by Hellman’s Mayonnaise and powered by Brooke Bond,” said Colors Bangla business head Rahul Chakravarti.

     

     

    This year a lot of devotees will be offering pujo “virtually”, a trend that had started a few years ago, wherein viewers could do darshan and pushpanjali and get pronami too. TV and digital channels can broadcast these events and let worshippers enjoy the festivities from the safety of their homes. Bangla celebrities and influencers are also being roped in to familiarise their fans with the concept of virtual celebrations along with AR/VR darshans from their apps.

    Zee Bangla and Zee Bangla Cinema cluster business head Samrat Ghosh notes that the broadcast industry has pinned its hopes on advertisers. The festival holds immense potential for all stakeholders, especially in the eastern states of West Bengal, Orissa, Assam and Bihar where the arrival of Mother Goddess Durga is celebrated with a lot of pomp and gaiety.

     

     

    Ghosh said, "The viewership is definitely soaring high and the ad-ex market has also started picking up. I am hopeful that during the festive season advertisers will also help us to revive the ad-ex market. Apart from the usual categories that advertise, we will see a lot of automobile, consumer durable brands doing promotions. The local retail brands are also reviving and have started advertising." He is optimistic about the retail market bouncing back in terms of ad spends.

    Apart from special programming on the small screen, Durga Puja is always associated with big ticket movie releases. Keeping movie lovers in mind, Colors Bangla is tapping into its wide repertoire of 200+ Bangla titles and dedicated each day of pujo to a superstar. From Saptami being devoted to fans of Jeet to Ashtami being Mithun Chakrabarty’s day, special movies of superstars will be showcased on the channel.

    Brands & advertisers shift focus to safety

    With market sentiments improving over the last few months, brands have started coming up with new and dynamic ways to connect with consumers. Advertisers across categories are looking forward to pujo. Wavemaker India managing partner Mansi Datta sees this as a wonderful opportunity for brands to capitalize on buyers’ upbeat sentiments and resonate with them. Durga Puja, traditionally a good time for channels to increase their ad revenues, will help them to make up for losses incurred during the pandemic period.

    “This is the time of year for ‘NEW’… Children are told to wait for pujo to get new things. People splurge and indulge. Retail sector claims that for West Bengal, 30-45 per cent of annual sales happen during Durga Puja. This is the reason pujo period marks the highest media activity,” said Datta.

    There’s a marked shift in consumer patterns too, and in response, brands have also adapted their seasonal messaging to showcase and promote hygiene, safety and social distancing – while remembering to have a jolly good time, of course.

    For instance, the state government has issued a 17 point guideline, with most Durga Puja associations following it strictly and even deploying more safety features. In keeping with these measures, Colors Bangla has launched a special campaign urging viewers to adhere to social distancing norms. Chakravarti shares: “While our faces may be masked, our hearts will be filled with joy and our eyes will reflect our happiness. This is a message that we are amplifying through our special pujo campaign.”

    State of the market during pujo 2020

    Estimating the size of the Durga Puja economy has mostly been a fraught prospect, although a 2013 Assocham report pegged it at Rs 25,000 crore, growing at about 35 per cent CAGR. The report projected its size to be Rs 40,000 crore by 2015. If that figure were to be extrapolated to 2018 and 2019, the size would be at Rs 1.12 lakh crore and Rs 1.5 lakh crore respectively. As per the estimate, the pujo economy contributes a little over 10 per cent to West Bengal’s GDP.

    Sujata Dwibedy, trading director for Dentsu International’s Amplifi India group, observes: “If we add up the Puja economy of Odisha, Bihar and Jharkhand – which also celebrate the festival with equal fervour, if not more splendour – the economy of each of the states get a contribution of about 7-10 per cent to the their GDP during Puja. However, 2020 is an exception and the growth will dip extensively because all the outdoor activities, pandals, melas and markets – where traditionally a huge amount of spending takes place – would be restricted.”

    She further adds though there was a huge drop in consumption of products in the April-May-June quarter, from July onwards many businesses are back to last year’s levels. Brands diversified and started producing health and hygiene-related products and survived. Media consumption was high, but advertising spends dropped and businesses other than a few categories saw a huge dip.

    Traditionally, multinational brands across industry verticals rode on the Puja sentiment through a mix of above-the-line and on-ground activation. “Since this year, the on-ground activations and pandal related events might not be possible, brands should think of innovative ways of reaching out to the consumers. Food, garments and household purchases are the themes of this festival. So, tying up with the food techs, e-commerce and gifting companies could be innovatively used,” suggests Dwibedy.

    The duration of Durga Puja to Diwali (or Kali pujo) is a jackpot for brands and consumers. Moreover, advertisers are using every medium to attract eyeballs – from newspapers, billboards, bus/local trains, activations to OTT, social, search of locations, food-spots and pandals in digital. It is a great time for payment apps and BFSI to focus on electronic payments and making things lucrative as well as simpler.