Colors eyes 20 per cent higher revenues from IGT Season 5

India's Got Talent, the Indian adaptation of the British format 'Got Talent', is back in its fifth season on Colors. The channel expects 20 per cent higher revenues from the property, with the ad rates being increased by about 15-20 per cent, as compared to the fourth season of the show.

Starting on January 11, the show will continue to be presented by Maruti Suzuki, while associate sponsors on the latest season of the show are Tata Ace and Amul Macho. The powered by sponsor on the show is L'Oreal Paris Total Repair 5. Colors claims it has already sold about 80 per cent of the total inventory.

The channel has a lot of repeat purchase advertisers, says Simran Hoon, national sales head, Colors. She adds, "There are many repeat purchase clients on our channel, whether it is on India's Got Talent, Bigg Boss or Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa. Specifically on India's Got Talent, the programme has consistently delivered on the innovation and performance front and as a result, many clients have now made India's Got Talent a part of their yearly impact buys like Maruti, Amul Macho and Tata Motors."

Hoon adds that many advertisers who want to target family audiences with a slightly more male skew have been consistent advertisers on India's Got Talent.

Though there isn't any change in the format, there are two striking innovations in Season 5. First, there will be a few category-focussed talents; the channel has even gone out to audition from circus talents. Then, there are underwater and acrobatic performances, too. In addition, there is a Golden Buzzer that provides phenomenal talent with a direct entry to the semi-finals based on the decision of the judges.

Produced by Fremantle Media India, India's Got Talent showcases talent from the age of 3 to 80 years on one common stage. The show will be promoted across 100 cities on outdoor and over 100 print ads across India. Rajesh Iyer, head, marketing, Colors, explains, "The idea is to build reach and impact because this is the fifth season and people know and like the format already. So, we are planning to burn 2000 GRPs on all Viacom channels, largely on Colors. We are going to 40 other channels outside the network, tapping 6000 spots. We are also tapping all radio channels with 8000 spots."

Two innovative radio initiatives have been designed to create radio airwave history. An Acapella act which will be presented by this season's participant 'Ki Umjer', which will be aired across radio stations and cities to showcase the international standard of talent to be featured on the show. The act is actually the art of composing music with hands and mouth. Plus, the channel in association with Red FM brings another innovation, wherein 30 RJs from across the country will get together in Mumbai to share their inimitable hosting styles to showcase the talented individuals from their respective cities.

Also, the channel has looked at on-ground differently in Mumbai. It will put the common man in the spotlight (literally) with the message, 'A common man like you will mark a history on India's got talent'. This will be done at Churchgate Station close to the show's launch. Another campaign on the outdoor medium in specific areas will see talented celebrities starting their journey towards creating history, including Sachin Tendulkar (Shivaji Park), Amitabh Bachchan (Allahabad) and Govinda (Virar).

Raj Nayak, CEO, Colors mentions that India's Got Talent is an important property for the network. "It is one among the many big non-fiction properties we do on the channel. The marketing for this show is on par with other big shows like Bigg Boss or Jhalak Dikhla jaa."

In an interesting initiative on digital, the channel will invite its followers to compose lines for a India's Got Talent Song, using the hashtag #IGTTwitterConcert. The initiative will gather lyrics a week ahead of the launch of the show. A rock band will string the song together and weave it into music, which will be released before the show's telecast on January 11.

Vivek Srivastava, digital head, Colors, says, "Each person who contributes will get a mention somewhere. Everything that we do for the show is themed around talent. We aren't really using digital as a sponsorship platform as of now, title sponsor gets mentions. The first aim is to get as many people as possible to hook on to the platform. Once we have a sizable mass on to the property on the digital front, then we might be able to monetise."

He adds that digital takes up about 15-20 per cent of the total marketing budgets on the show.

Manisha Sharma, weekend programming head, Colors, says, "This season, we take our search one step forward as we open doors to people who have taken their talent a level higher in terms of creativity and innovation by experimenting with performances on water and circus."

Speaking about how to keep the format-fatigue away from the fifth season, she adds, "It's imperative that we innovate and we are doing it. Since there is a variety of talent and performances that the show entertains, it's automatically exciting."