MUMBAI: Mobile is going to be a big part of MTV's upcoming launch Pyaar Vyaar and all that - its second experiment at using the soap formula to get in appointment viewing.
The mobile platform is being used as a key driver to promote Pyaar Vyaar and all that and MTV is hoping that using mobisodes will translate into success, Says MTV Networks India, VP marketing and digital, Vikram Raizada.
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Says Raizada, "This is the first time that a broadcaster is exploring the mobisode option for a soap." The series of short mobisodes of the teen soap opera last about 20 seconds each and offers users the chance to download a short preview on the same day each episode airs on the channel.
MTV has tied up with AirTel and Hutch cellular operators for this purpose. The mobisodes will premiere on 14 November, the same day the teen soap is launching.
The channel is hoping to use the mobile platform as a marketing tool for delivery and distribution of the programme aimed at the youth. Raizada avers, "The show fits the bill as mobile episodes as it is targeted at teens. And you can hook to the consumer around the clock."
Users will also be able to download the signature tune of the programme as a ring tone, graphics, screensavers, logo and games of the characters designed, which promptly provides other means of advertising the show and reaching the target audience.
MTV is looking at benefiting from the signature tune of the show as well. The channel is also launching a music video of the title track Pyaar Vyaar and all that sung by Bombay Vikings.
Besides using the new media, the traditional media is also being exploited ahead of launch via hoardings, bus shelters, magazines and print publications.
The channel has also tied up with FM stations Radio Go 92.5 in Mumbai and Radio City 90 in Delhi. The channel is also launching a contest - Apka Funda Kya Hai? Through the contest, the participants can express his/her views on various issues. Raizada does not rule out tie-ups with other FM channels in other cities as the show progress.
Pepsi is the main sponsor of Pyaar Vyaar along with Hero Honda `Glamour' Mentos, Hyundai and Lifestyle (style partner).
The channel will be using the titles of Warner Music, which will be a unique feature of the progamme. The usage of popular English songs from A-List performers like the Backstreet Boys, Micheal Learns to Rock, Mariah Carey, Brian Adams and the like will be the background score to the storyline, says MTV Networks, director programming and talent & artist relations, Ashish Patil, "This will be different from the current fare of soaps."
Besides, addressing teenage issues, the programme, which has Goa as the backdrop, would be presented in a season format whereby the first season comprises 40 episodes.
The show, which will air from Monday to Thursday at 8 pm, will have a good amount of repeats for the first two weeks, Patil says, mainly for sampling. Later the programme will have two repeats; one at 11 pm the same day and the following day at 1 pm, Patil points out.
MTV India's mobile play follows similar activity done earlier by MTV Networks International, which tied up with Motorola to launch an entertainment series for cell phones throughout the Asia-Pacific region, Latin America, and Europe. The series of eight short mobisodes of Head and Body, which last about two to three minutes each, feature comic sketches involving a man whose head is detached from his body and his various mishaps as he tries to keep them together. These mobisodes will be available through Comedy Central in the US.
