'Bigg Boss' gets big marketing push

By GAURAV LAGHATE
Indiantelevision.com Team

(2 October 2009 8:15 pm)

MUMBAI: Viacom18-owned general entertainment channel Colors is leaving no stone unturned to capture maximum eyeballs for the Amitabh Bachchan-hosted Bigg Boss 3.

The channel is investing close to Rs 50-80 million to promote the third leg of the bid ticket property, just before its launch on 4 October.

Propagating the idea that ‘Bigg Boss is watching everyone’, the campaign includes an 89 city press plan and targets 70 cities in the Hindi speaking market (HSM) with print, radio, out-of home and on-ground activation.

Says Colors marketing head Rameet Arora, "Through this marketing campaign, our aim is to take the show to the viewers and engage them without intruding into their private lives."

As part of its out-of-home activity, 1500 hoardings have been put up pan India. In Mumbai and Delhi, the channel is planning to put up specially-designed hoardings, which will capture images of commuters from different cameras and show them on the hoardings in real time.

In Mumbai, the promotion campaign will also see 250,000 dabbawalas (tiffin carriers) wearing Bigg Boss masks, while commuters at local stations will hear some announcements adorning the Bigg Boss voice.

Colors has also partnered with Barista for special Bigg Boss meals and Big Bazar outlets for different promotional offers.

Meanwhile, Big FM is the radio partner while IBN7 is the news partner. The channel has also booked spots on 10 different channels to promote the show.

The Bigg Boss TV campaign comprises nine promos shot by Morse Code Productions with Amitabh Bachchan in locations including Singapore and Khopoli near Mumbai.

"The TV campaign is a perfect marriage between two brands - Amitabh Bachchan with Bigg Boss," says Arora.

Additionally, the channel will engage viewers with flash-mobs across the country. “Idea of flash mobs is never heard of in India. You may find people with Bigg Boss eyes surrounding you, suddenly, in places like bus stand and coffee shops. The message is that Bigg Boss is watching everything,” avers Arora.

The channel will also unveil a microsite dedicated to Bigg Boss 3 on the launch day. For the previous season, such a microsite had got 20 million pageviews and this time the channel is expecting the number double.

“The online response for Bigg Boss 2 was great with 20 million page views. This time we are expecting approximately 45 million page views on the site,” Arora adds.

Colors will also exploit the digital platform. It will release Bigg Boss content on mobile such as ringtones and wallpapers. Also, in the offering will be uncut versions and mobi-sodes of the show. Also 35 million SMSes will be send across operators, announcing the start of Bigg Boss.

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Colors ropes in six advertisers for Bigg Boss 3