MUMBAI: The first two weeks of October have already seen the launch of two mega shows with big celebrities – Bigg Boss on Colors with Salman Khan as anchor and the Amitabh Bachchan-hosted Kaun Banega Crorepati on Sony Entertainment Television.

The third show to hit the airwaves from Saturday is Star Plus’ MasterChef – the cookery-based reality show hosted by Akshay Kumar.
 
Both  Colors and Sony didn’t leave any stone unturned to create hype on their mega shows. Now it is time for Star Plus to see that the launch on 16 October gets maximum attention as a result of an elaborate 360 degree marketing plan with on-air, print, radio, outdoor and internet activations.

The channel first launched its music video with host Akshay Kumar, which had innovative use of kitchen sounds and visuals to recreate the show as a musical. Later, it used all its network strength to promote the show with concept explanation promos, use of graphics for channel indents and transition bumpers shot with Akshay Kumar and with Star Plus leads.

Later, countdown promos, footage promos, on-air secondary elements, 24 hour countdown clock across networks channels and in-show integrations across all key shows on Star Plus were used.

Star Plus is also doing a two-minute roadblock on the show concept across network channels as well as on external channels – CNN IBN, IBN7, NDTV 24x7. NDTV India, News 24, Live India, Times Now, Aaj Tak, Headlines Today, Tej, IBN Lokmat, E24, Star News and Star Majha.

Also, the music video is playing as part of content on Channel [V].

Meanwhile, on the radio platforms, Star Plus has launched a one-week campaign with high frequency spots across stations including Radio Mirchi, Radio City, Big FM, Red FM, Fever FM, Radio One and My FM. More than 40 spots a day are played. This includes listener interactivity, hourly countdowns, interview with Akshay Kumar on day of launch, RJ mentions and sponsorships.

For print, the channel booked covers, adverts and editorials across Grihashobha, Mukta, Sarita, India Today and multiple trade magazines. It also did a deal with Media Net for promotion in launch week.

Star Plus has used innovative strategies for outdoor activations. Glowing microwave and mobile vans with life size mixer and Akshay cutouts were used in Mumbai.

The channel also took 400 plus units across Mumbai, Delhi, Chandigarh, Ahmedabad, Jaipur and Lucknow to promote the show. It is also using transit media through bus wraps, railway station branding and bus backs and kiosks.

The most innovative promotion that the channel did for MasterChef was its online premiere even before the launch of the show on 14 October.

MasterChef will air every Saturday-Sunday at 9 pm.