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Indiantelevision.com's Media, Advertising, Marketing Watch
Viral marketing, ground activities take center stage for Sony's 'Deal Ya No Deal'
By HETAL ADESARA
Indiantelevision.com Team
(10 December 2005 7:00 pm)
MUMBAI: In today's cluttered television environment, constant hammering and in-your-face information is what sets the ball rolling for a channel or a show. And that is what Sony is looking at doing for its new shows - be it the second season of Indian Idol or the game show Deal Ya No Deal.
Deal Ya No Deal's launch on 23 November was preceded by outdoor and on-air teaser campaigns featuring the trademark suitcase of the show and also the anchor R Madhavan. Mobile vans and human banners galore were seen in the cities like Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkatta and Ahmedabad.
"We had 22 people carrying suitcases on their heads and doing rounds of the cities. Apart from this, we also did an innovation outside movie theatres. We had men posing as black marketers continuously saying 'Deal Ya No Deal, Deal Ya No Deal' in the true blacker style while distributing the show's pamphlet to theatre goers with the tune-in details," said Sony vice president marketing Nina Jaipuria.
Ground activities formed a major part of the promotions. Mobile floats did the rounds for 10 days in the above mentioned cities and Deal Ya No Deal was played with people on the roads. Prize money was in the range of 25 paise and Rs 50. Viral marketing with a difference was carried out in busSes and trains in Mumbai. "We placed people in high traffic zones in buses and also in trains where commuters were explained the format of the game show and played the same with them. The winners were given a suitcase full of chocolates," Jaipuria said.
A special contest is also being carried out with the show's radio partner - Radio Mirchi. "On Wednesdays and Thursdays, Radio Mirchi asks its listeners across all its stations to call in and tell them the number of the suitcase in which they thought the grand prize money of Rs 1 crore would be in that day's episode of Deal Ya No Deal. The winner of the contest would receive a small cash prize," explained Jaipuria.
The RJs would also be making the phrase 'Deal Ya No Deal' a buzz word and incorporate it in their script as many times as they could. For example, the phrase was used while reviewing the latest Yash Raj Films' movie Neal 'N Niki, wherein the RJ asked viewers to tell them whether watching the movie was a Deal or No Deal?
Like in the case of the second season of Indian Idol, Sony will be getting into content syndication with Vividh Bharati and create made-for-radio episodes of Deal Ya No Deal, which will go on-air from next week.
While on the topic of Neal 'N Niki, the channel has also partnered with Yash Raj Films' and hence the actors of the movie Uday Chopra (Neal) and Tanisha (Niki) have made appearances on the channel to promote Deal Ya No Deal. "We will also have them on the piano round of Indian Idol on Monday and as celebrity guests on Kudkudia House No 43," said Jaipuria.
Sony's news channel partner for Deal Ya No Deal, NDTV India will air specials featuring the contestants who had won more than Rs 1 million or more on the show. The news channel will also cover the special episodes of Deal.... like the Christmas and New Year episodes. Celebrity walk-ins and call-ins on the show like those of Varun Badola, Rajeev Khandelwal and Johnny Lever will also be covered by NDTV India.
Viewers can now also participate in the show by calling 123 from their Hutch phones and say Deal or SMS Deal to 123. From December, the contest will also be played on BSNL / MTNL and the number to call on is 1905 425 2525.
Viewers sitting at home can also play along with Hutch, wherein they have to SMS the amount of money, which is there in the contestant's box. The contest will be open only from 8.30 pm to 9.15 pm. The winner of the contest will be selected on random basis from the
entries received by Sony and will receive a cash prize of Rs 100,000. The winner of the contest will be announced on the same day on Ek Ladki Anjaani Si, which follows Deal Ya No Deal at 9.30 pm.
Apart from Hutch, the channel has also roped in Nokia, Dabur and Perfetti as partners for the show.
Madhavan will also be promoting the show in Kolkatta on 13 December, where he will play the game with people outside Big Bazaar. "We are also looking at doing the same thing in cities like Ludhiana, Amritsar etc," Jaipuria said.
The media too was bombarded with messages. Spots were aired on Cartoon Network, Disney Channel, NDTV India, Ten Sports, MTV, CVO and also on all FM stations including Vividh Bharati's 29 stations in the country.
And of course, unplanned publicity is more than welcomed as is the case with the Amul hoarding (shown here), which talks about Deal Ya No Deal and packs the punch with Zee's new game show with Manoj Bajpai -- Kam Ya Zayada, which will go on air from 12 December!
