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Sony plans high budget campaign for Indian Idol 4
Now that the music reality show is in its fourth season, Sony Entertainment Television has decided to take up a fresh marketing approach
The fourth season of the music reality show, Indian Idol, produced by Miditech, will be launched on September 19. The first season of Indian Idol went on air in 2004. Since then, several music reality shows have sprouted across television channels. Taking these into account, Sony Entertainment Television (SET) has decided to take a fresh approach to promoting the latest season of its show.
Towards that end, SET India conducted a qualitative research study to get audience feedback and insights into audience tastes. Danish Khan, head, marketing, SET India, says that as per the research findings, Indian Idol connected better with the youth than most other music reality shows. “Viewers in the age group of 15-25 years perceive Indian Idol as not just a singing show, but as a platform for the youth to showcase their talent,” Khan tells afaqs!
Indian Idol traces the journey of an ordinary youth, and not just good singers, to becoming a singing star – right from auditions to the final stage. According to Khan, that’s what makes Indian Idol different from the other music reality shows.
The analysis helped SET India zero in on a USP for the show, to be highlighted in the communication. “We found that our USP was a strong connect with the youth,” says Khan.
The first phase of the promotion will be to create a brand campaign across television, print, radio, Internet and mobile.
The first TV commercial, a brand image film, went on air on August 27. As a runup to the launch of the show, this will be followed by more than 10 promos, which will focus on the participants, the competition and the judges.
Post-launch, SET India plans to conduct Gali Jamming Sessions, in which the 30 shortlisted contestants will go to 20 cities in an open van and perform at places such as hostels, campuses, college canteens, coffee shops and malls to interact with the audience and render a brand experience. This activity will kick start by the end of September. City concerts will be held in the final stages of the competition.
A music video was launched on August 15 to announce the show and there will be another one soon. A special website, www.indianidol.sify.com, has been created. It is equipped with messenger, chat, blogs, forums and videos. The channel hopes that the website will function as a social networking site and an online community will be built around the show.
Last year, Indian Idol 3 debuted with a TVR of 3.66 (as per TAM Media Research data on C&S 4+, HSM). But the show took a beating soon after the launch of Zee’s Hero Honda Sa Re Ga Ma Pa and STAR’s Amul Voice of India.
SET India is believed to be spending in the range of Rs 5-10 crore for the promotional activities this time and officials there are confident that the marketing blitzkrieg won’t go unnoticed. With 600 outdoor units across 31 cities, 32 newspapers (multiple editions), websites and all radio stations across Hindi speaking markets being used as promotion vehicles, it would indeed be difficult to miss it.
The channel has roped in nine sponsors for the show as of now. These are: Bajaj Allianz, Tata Sky, Tide (P&G), LG, Airtel, ITC, Tata Motors, Parle Agro and Sony India.