Posted:
pitching It Right
Anil Merani
Posted online: Friday, August 12, 2005 at 0000 hours IST
If marketing alone would have decided TRP ratings, then Sony Entertainment channel (currently no 2) would have been far ahead in the race irrespective of whether you tune into the show or not, you will definitely recall the name of the Sony show thanks to its aggressive promotions...
When they launched their hit soap Jassi Jassi Koi Nahi the channel went into overdrive with a blitzerkeig of on and off screen promotion raising the curiousity of the viewer, who was tired of the never ending saas bahu fights. Egged on by the cute promos, the public immediately took a liking to the bespectacled, ugly duckling who had the brains to go up the ladder, but lacked the required social etiquettes and grace. Speaking on the marketing wave, Nina Jaipuria, Vice President Marketing & Communications, SET reinstates, "Sony has consistently pioneered marketing innovations through associations that deliver widespread reach and consumer connect while ensuring a brand fit with our programmes and its characters. We will continue to innovate and reach the consumer through innovations that help us bring our programmes and characters alive for their fans and viewers across the nation." Knowing that they had hit a jackpot with Jassi..., Sony decided to make this show their prime property and used it extensively to promote their other brands as well. Lead actress Mona Singh co-anchored the Miss India (As Jassi) pageant 2005 which was aired on SET. After the successful launch of Jassi..., the channel mandarins promoted their other big ticket show, Indian Idol in an equally big way. The talent hunt was extensively promoted with a 360 degree marketing campaign, which included print, radio, cable, television, besides One alliance partners, such as MAX, AXN, HBO and Discovery, online, outdoors, direct marketing and other consumers connect activities. Sky balloons, walking inflatable and bus-backs were some of the innovative tools utilized to fuel the buzz around the show. All the above media and non-media vehicles were effectively utilized through the different phases of Indian Idol like registrations, auditions and finally voting. Not wanting to take any chances in a very fierce battle for fleeting audience loyalty, the channel went in for some unconventional ideas for on-ground buzz : Groups of singers were sent out in the streets of Mumbai and Delhi singing as well as cueing people to watch the show. Similarly over 2 lakh posters were stuck on vehicles at high traffic areas in Mumbai & Delhi (18th & 25th Nov) with the message from one of the contestants urging them to watch Indian Idol and vote for him/her. Last but not the least key clients, media planners received crank calls, asking them to watch Indian Idol, in an unobtrusive, sporting manner. The channel also made extensive use of the internet to create awareness about the show(the channel target audience is any way young and thus uses this above medium quite regularly) By logging the Indian idol web site, www.indianidolonset.com, viewers could instantly check out all the drama(on-stage issues and the backstage gossip), excitement, humour, suspense, music and much more. Exclusive streaming video footage and photographs were also available at the click of a mouse.
Who can forget the mobile phone, which was used by the audience to vote the Mumbai manoos Abhijeet Sawant as the Indian idol(over 4 crore sms were received) besides voting, the cell was also used to offer wall paper downloads and other interactive competitions, again as means to keep Indian idol in public memory. For talent show Fame Gurukul the channel has tied up with music channel MTV, which will air its take on the show. This five day week show is an insight into what's going on at Gurukul and the contenders who are eliminated are shown with their reactions and expectations. According to MTV marketing director Vikram Raizada MTV stands for music and Fame Gurukul is tilted towards music. Therefore, it makes perfect sense to tie up." Coming back to Jassi..., SET entered into an arrangement with Archies, the leading gifting and greeting company for a unique and interactive contest -"Who Loves Jassi" for its customers across all its 450 outlets in the country. The aim of contest was how Armaan and Jassi used Archies cards to express their love for each other. The contest requires participants to answer three simple questions and complete a slogan on the show "Jassi Jaissi Koi Nahin" and Archies. 250 lucky winners won personally autographed gift hampers by Jassi and the luckiest 10 got a chance to win an Archies sponsored trip to the sets of the show in Mumbai. Speaking about this association, Tarun Katial, Executive Vice President and Business Head, SET had said Jassi Jaissi Koi Nahin is a show that cuts across all segments of society and enjoys a loyal viewership across the nation. Jassi as a character is extremely popular and we have consistently explored opportunities to help fans and viewers of the show interact with their favourite character. Archies is all about expressing oneself in most thoughtful ways and this is exactly what helps Jassi and Armaan express their love for each other. We are delighted to have partnered with Archies in this unique contest that will help viewers interact closely with Jassi. This massive publicity around Jassi has really helped the TRP rating of show." According To Parmeet Sethi who plays Raj, the promotions has really given the show a big boost. The fact that the show has been given a extension speaks a lot about its fan following. Yet another example of excellent innovation was to make the Indian Idol finalist sing seven songs for Jassi Jaissi Koi Nahin. Even when Arman and Jassi finally got together it was accompanied by a romantic music video sung by Abhijeet Sawant. Raju Singh composed the music and Bosco & Ceaser choreographed the video. SET knowing how much the youth is influenced by fashion is using well known designers to promote their shows under the concept 'Shoppertainment'. Satya Paul-designed saris carrying Jassi name are being sold in stores across country, so you have a Jassi billboard even in malls(good strategy). Similarly Sony and Piramyd Ltd. have joined hands to promote their new line of a pre't collection being sported by 'Angad' (Played by Mohhamd Iqbal Khan) - the lead star of Kaisa Ye Pyar Hai. The Piramyd collection will be showcased in the upcoming episodes of Kaisa Ye Pyar Hai through July and August 2005. SET will also shoot a special episode with the cast of the show at the Piramyd retail outlet and Angad, the rock star, will also perform live at a Piramyd Megastore event.
Anil Merani
Posted online: Friday, August 12, 2005 at 0000 hours IST
If marketing alone would have decided TRP ratings, then Sony Entertainment channel (currently no 2) would have been far ahead in the race irrespective of whether you tune into the show or not, you will definitely recall the name of the Sony show thanks to its aggressive promotions...
| Anil Merani |
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The importance of Jassi to SETs marketing dept is clear from the fact that its doing cross over with other serials i.e sometime back the CID team had crossed over to investigate an attempt on Jassi life and Rihhaee team also made an entry in Jassi... This short mixing of stories ensures good publicity for both the shows. However this marketing blitz by SET is not pleasing everyone specially people connected with their other show, they believe that while it is good for the channel to promote some driver shows, other prime time shows too need promotion. One such star who appears in Kkusum said on terms of anonymity that the channel gets hyper about the show only in spurts (like they recently organized a fashion show for the serial) but they again go into slumber, such a hap hazard approach is detrimental to the show's health.
am i the only one who feels like strangling Mrkatiyal🤢i feel like filing a case on sony
Cricket
Marathi TV
Ufff Yeh Love Hai Mushkil
Jhanak
