Tiny episodes, big hooks: How micro-dramas are advertised in India

There was a buzzword that dominated conversations last year: micro-dramas. From media executives and creators to directors and brands, the format has become the latest obsession in digital entertainment.

According to Viren Sean Noronha, co-founder of the creative agency The New Thing, the shift towards micro series and content intellectual properties (IPs) originated with creators in the West and is now gaining significant traction in India. At its core, a micro-drama is a form of content characterised by continuity – a format that audiences recognise, return to, and emotionally invest in.

Though several apps run these short-form shows, one question remains: how are micro-dramas being advertised?

Micro-dramas aren't marketed like OTT shows

Platforms agree that micro-dramas cannot follow the OTT marketing model, which relies on large launch campaigns across ATL and BTL. Instead, micro-dramas focus on volume, speed, and continuous discovery.

Saurabh Pandey, founder & CEO of Story TV, a micro-drama streaming app, explains that OTT typically builds up a single release with heavy promotion, while micro-dramas operate on high-frequency releases supported by strong storytelling and rapid social discovery.

Most marketing happens on social media, with select episodes released for free and the cast promoting the show on their profiles. ATL is reserved only for a few blockbuster titles.

Balaji Telefilms’ Group CRO, Nitin Burman, says releasing “10–12 micro-drama shows every week” makes OTT-style launches impossible.

Noronha believes these shows already have a marketing playbook.

“Just join the conversation that’s already happening,” he says. “Put out the most reactive clip with a sensational caption – the kind that makes people ask in the comments, ‘What show is this?’ ‘Where can I watch it?’ If your comment section is doing that, you’ve nailed the format.”

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Instead of anticipation, the category runs on momentum.

Micro-dramas require a marketing system that “thinks like a storyteller but behaves like a product team,” says Keren Benjamin Dias, AVP–brand planning at White Rivers Media, a digital marketing agency. The emotional craft comes from entertainment marketing, while execution comes from performance marketing.

“From OTT, we keep the storytelling ingredients, like episodic pacing, character arcs, and tension points that matter. From performance, we bring the speed aspects like rapid testing, multiple creative versions, and daily behavioural reads that shape what goes out next,” she adds. 

The three-second battle for discovery

Micro-dramas' most decisive battleground is discovery, which is fiercely competitive.
Dias explains that when someone opens a short-video app, they want emotional payoff in seconds. Audiences don’t come searching for micro-dramas; they bump into them.

To find what stops the scroll, teams test many hooks, discovery clips, and seeding angles. Continuous testing and rapid feedback are built into the system because today's solutions may not work tomorrow.

At Story TV, this is treated as a live process. Pandey explains that within the first few days of launch, their teams can already tell whether to increase or reduce marketing spend – and the strategy evolves accordingly.

From feed to app

Once attention is captured, the challenge is converting curiosity into app installs. The teaser model dominates here.

Burman says Balaji creates 90–120 second sharp creatives that pause the story and leave viewers wanting more. Distributed on Instagram, YouTube, and other platforms, these teasers lead to the download page.

Dias adds that sampling is one of the strongest levers in this category. “Platforms release either the first episode or a high-tension scene outside the app and lock the continuation inside. The ‘finish the story’ pull becomes a powerful trigger for installs.”

The cost of the first subscription is usually very low, for Quick TV users can subscribe for just Re 1 (the regular cost is Rs 699/month), whereas Kuku TV allows users to watch the first ten episodes for Rs 2, and subsequent batches for the same price.

Creators then use narrative CTAs—stitching reactions, POVs, or cliffhangers that naturally lead to “watch the rest on the app.” It feels like a continuation, not an ad.

Adityoa Suranna, casting director for Nailpolish, Criminal Justice Season 1, and several micro-drama series with Ashnoor Kaur, Zareen Khan, Nikki Tamboli, Monica Choudhary, and others, says the format's biggest strength is its natural alignment with modern viewing behaviour.

“Micro-dramas are made for a mobile-based audience. In most homes there may be one or two televisions, but there are four or five phones. Automatically your potential viewership becomes much higher.”

Actors, creators and the new micro-drama star system

Micro-dramas also create stardom. Pandey notes that some faces are now micro-drama stars. Kinshuk Vaidya returned to acting through Story TV's blockbuster micro-dramas. The ideal mix combines well-known TV actors and emerging stars.

Creators bring the feed's culture. Using big names can pique interest, but natural moments turn casual viewers into loyal ones. The smartest platforms blend both: actors pull people in, creators keep them there, says Dias. 

Noronha says community engagement matters more than follower numbers when using celebrities and influencers.

“Someone with 100,000 engaged followers is more valuable than someone with millions but no real engagement.”

Marketing assets built for the feed, not the billboard

Traditional assets don’t last here. Micro-dramas use micro-trailers, reaction-friendly clips, meme-ready frames, character GIFs, and carefully engineered “accidental” moments planned for discovery.

Dias says assets that don’t loop well, spark comments, or make viewers think “I need to see what happens next” rarely get media attention. Each asset guides which characters, tensions, and storylines to highlight.

Micro-dramas are designed for sharing. From punchy dialogue to meme-worthy scenes, content spreads naturally on social media.

Suranna points to platforms like ZEE5 Bullet, where writers are being briefed to create dialogues and scenes that can instantly turn into viral clips.

“If the dialogue is punchy and relatable, people naturally share it. That’s where the virality comes from,” he says.

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Burman says completion rate, next-episode clicks, and binge behaviour are tracked near real time. When a micro-drama becomes meme material, reaction bait, or creator commentary, attention costs drop dramatically.

Story TV uses both performance- and brand-led campaigns, with performance slightly ahead. Sach Ya Kalesh, their first micro-drama non-fiction reality show, launched with brand-building efforts, while others were driven by the story’s strongest hook.

Why brands are investing closely

For agencies and brands, micro-dramas are becoming a serious storytelling sandbox.
Dias thinks the format favours sharper storytelling over louder storytelling, making every moment emotional. The integration opportunity is especially powerful for brands because the story lets them act like characters and shape the narrative without selling.

“What a micro-series lets a brand do is own the format,” Noronha adds. “Even if a celebrity appears, the recall remains for the brand’s IP. And there’s a strong reason for audiences to stop and watch – they recognise the format.”

Suranna notes that micro-dramas are a powerful vehicle for branded entertainment. “Every medium has its own loyal audience. But for brands, micro-dramas offer lower investment and potentially higher eyeballs.”

Brands today are far more precise about where their customers are.

“A brand like Skoda knows its buyers are not sitting in a remote village watching TV. Their audience is on digital platforms. So brands are shifting their spending accordingly,” he adds.

Recently, Myntra launched a six-episode micro-drama series with digital creators to capture the wedding season and promote affordable fashion for every event. Instagram launched a micro-drama series in India called Party of Two to engage Gen Z and encourage creativity.

PS- After working on this story, my Instagram feed turned into a loop of micro-drama clips. The stories captivated me so much that I stayed, clicked, downloaded the app, and continued watching. And that, in many ways, explains everything.