Bindass switches roles on ground to promote new reality show

Last weekend saw the launch of yet another reality show, Big Switch on Bindass, where 10 seriously rich brats are plucked from their lavish lifestyles and dropped into the claustrophobic confines of a Mumbai slum. To help them survive this challenge, each will be paired with one 'buddy' from the slums, who will act as the friend, ally, guide and teacher for the participant.

The goal of the participants from well-to-do families is to complete tasks successfully, so that the winner can fulfil one aspiration of a slum kid – such as a dream holiday. The show, which is likely to comprise 13-15 episodes, is created by Endemol India.

As a part of the on ground campaign done by Candid Marketing, promoters, dressed like rich, college-going youngsters, travelled in Mumbai locals to distribute cushions to the commuters. The richly textured cushion covers carried the logo of Big Switch, along with the show timings (7 pm on Saturdays). Bindass claims to have distributed more than 7,000 cushions during the activity. Next, the promoter offered 'cutting chai' to college goers outside various colleges in Mumbai, Ahmedabad and Pune. While giving away the tea, the promoters said, "I am getting ready for the Big Switch."

Interestingly, cars were parked in malls and youth hangouts, with the boot space transformed into 'paan' stalls. People hanging out in these areas were offered 'paans' by the promoters. Also, promoters will be travelling across the four cities in cycles, spreading word about the show.

While the BTL campaign was spread across Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Lucknow and Pune, the outdoor campaign focused on Mumbai (75 sites), with a few locations in Delhi and Ahmedabad. In-store branding has been done in 100 Planet M stores and Café Mocha outlets across Pune, Mumbai, Delhi, Gurgaon, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Jaipur. Bindass has also entered into a tie up with Cinemax in select cities for multiplex branding.

The channel claims to have budgeted an ad spend of approximately Rs 4 crore for the entire campaign.

Heather Gupta, channel head, UTV Bindass and UTV Movies, shares with afaqs! that the strategy of giving a daily dose of a reality show is mostly employed by the GECs. "Our TG comprises youngsters and we would not like to keep them glued for longer hours every day as they have several other things in life to focus on," she says.

Defining the TG for the show, Gupta says, "We hope the show will click with college students and those who have just got their first jobs. We have undertaken an intensive research to identify the right participants for the show. Most of these are in the age group of 19-20 years."