STAR Plus celebrates love after marriage

Every general entertainment channel is not only launching new shows to attract its target audience, but also looking at innovative solutions to help their shows gather viewer mindshare.

For its latest offering, a primetime fiction show called Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai, which premiered on January 12 at 9.30 pm, STAR Plus launched a massive on-ground campaign, seeking to establish a connection between the show's premise and its target group.

The idea was conceptualised by the STAR team and executed by Jagran Solutions with the objective of driving sampling and engagement with the concept of the show, and turning it into an unforgettable experience for the target group.

The campaign targeted the six cities of Delhi, Ahmedabad, Indore, Lucknow, Ludhiana and Mumbai.

Anupam Vasudev, executive vice-president, marketing, STAR India Pvt. Ltd, says in an official communiqué, "Yeh Rishta… is a very traditional and endearing concept with the central idea of finding love after marriage. With this programme, STAR Plus has once again invested in its belief that relationships need to be nurtured and constantly renewed. In keeping with this commitment to our viewers, STAR Plus has created an opportunity for 50 couples from across India to renew their marriage vows and revisit those magic moments when they were first bound in matrimony."

With a heavy tilt towards on-ground activation and radio, the campaign started with local ground events and on-air quizzes, testing the compatibility of couples whose marriages were arranged by their families.

The campaign will culminate in a grand event on January 20 at the Taj Rambagh in Jaipur, popularly known as the Jewel of Jaipur, where the selected 50 couples will renew their marital vows. The event will have lots of surprises and will also feature an interactive session between the real-life and reel-life couples.

Ambika Sharma, national head, Jagran Solutions, speaks about the genesis of the campaign. "The campaign was to mirror the show’s concept – falling in love after marriage, a concept that is extremely prevalent, but hardly talked about. The name of the show itself says it: Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai. When we saw that the show was based on such a relevant concept, we decided that to be able to renew one’s marriage vows ‘after falling in love’ would be a cherished memory. Thus, the activation found its roots in the search for the 50 most compatible couples who could renew their wedding vows in a royal setting."

In order to look for these 50 couples, an exclusive Yeh Rishta… mobile unit was created by Jagran Solutions, which covered the busy areas of the cities like marketplaces, conducting compatibility tests and organising some compatibility games on the spot. Likewise, Big FM aired a series of love compatibility quizzes. While 35 couples were selected through the ground activation, the rest were chosen via the radio route.

The GEC heavily promoted the activation in print and on radio via Big FM. The brief given to all the publications – Sandesh in Ahmedabad, NaiDunia in Indore, Dainik Jagran in Lucknow, Delhi and Ludhiana, and Navbharat Times in Mumbai – was to ensure enough buzz through contests promoting the concept of the show.

Vasudev says that the activation has received a very encouraging response from the target group.

Sharma adds, "The initial response is extremely good – the concept has touched a chord with the consumers. We are getting hundreds of queries from excited couples who find that their lives mirror the theme."