Indiantelevision.com > Media, Advertising & Marketing Watch > Real bets big on 'Sarkar' to promote channel

Indiantelevision.com's Media, Advertising, Marketing Watch

Real bets big on 'Sarkar' to promote channel

By ANINDITA SARKAR
Indiantelevision.com Team

(25 February 2009 11:30 pm)

MUMBAI: Real, a Hindi entertainment channel promoted by Real Global Broadcasting (RGB), has kick-started its marketing and promotional activities ahead of its launch on 2 March.

Real will focus on promoting its programmes rather than the channel which targets 15-34-year-olds with a mix of reality, fiction, movie, music and kids content.

The marketing will be high on the big ticket reality show, Sarkaar Ki Duniya. Game show Poker Face is the other property that will be marketed extensively to highlight the channel’s brand proposition across the target.

Says RGB marketing head Vidhyuth Bhandary, “The strategy is to promote the channel through our big ticket and non-fiction shows Sarkaar Ki Duniya and Poker Face. We have already pushed Real across 200 hoardings and 300 buses in Mumbai through our differentiated properties.”

Positioned as a channel that aims to entertain viewers with an urban-oriented mindset, Real will use various media platforms including television, radio and out-of-home. While BBDO has been given the creative mandate, OMD has been roped to handle the channel's media account.

The channel has tied up with radio stations such as Mirchi and Red FM for integrated marketing and promotional activities. According to Bhandary, the properties have been “cleverly integrated” within the radio programming mix so that while they remain non-intrusive, they also help in cross-promoting the brands.

“Radio Mirchi exhibits quite a good presence across all the metros and even smaller cities. Therefore, we have partnered with this station for Sarkaar Ki Duniya. Red FM is our partner for Poker Face. We have also bought spots on Radio City and Radio One,” Bhandary explains.

As 15-34 age group remains the channel’s core target group, internet and interactive digital platforms are clearly the other marketing districts that the channel is planning to attack.

“We have already constructed a game around Sarkaar Ki Duniya to drive internet traffic towards the channel. We have also tied up with Yahoo for various internet promotions,” Bhandary ventures.

Currently, Real is advertising commercials across approximately 20 channels that cater to a variety of genres including news, kids, lifestyle and movie. Some of these channels are Aaj Tak, India TV, Star News, NDTV 24x7, Hungama, MTV, Zoom and 9XM. The channel will also be propagated through the other Turner network channels – HBO, Cartoon Network, Pogo and CNN.

“Our plan is to remain focused and targeted so that our investments are channelized in the right direction,” Bhandary quipps.

As part of its on-ground initiative, Bhandary states that Real is tying up with various retail outlets and malls in a bid to have a “viral effect on its promotional activities through word of mouth”.

On the programming front, the channel will have an initial line of three hours of original content that will also include three fiction shows.

“Our original programming will capture the 8-11 pm slot. Movies will be run during weekends from 7 pm onwards while we will have a kids’ block on weekdays from 9-10 am in the morning and again from 4-5 pm in the evening,” says RGB president Sharda Sunder.

Quite like Viacom18's Colors exploiting content from kids entertainment channel Nickelodeon, Real too will utilise the Turner library to fill up the kid’s programme slot.

Real is a digitally encrypted pay channel and will be distributed through the Zee Turner bouquet. It will be available nationwide on cable systems and digital platforms including Dish TV 103. The channel can be down linked from IntelSat – 10.