MUMBAI: "It is critical to identify the current need of the hour and then meet the gap." And that gap was more than filled by Indian Idol, according to SET India EVP and Business head Tarun Katial offering a "reality check" case study of Sony's biggest hit show.
 

 
With Indian Idol, Katial stated, the plan was to release a fresh lease of programming with viewer consent.
Said Katial, "People watch programmes and not channels." Keeping this premise uppermost, the first task at hand was to drive audiences to sample the show, which was done through different sets of online and offline promos at various stages of the show.

Once sampling of the show was ensured, the need of the hour was to ensure stickiness.

 
 
Phases of Indian Idol
Introduction of Idol (new concept in India)
Invitation of participation
Invitation to view
Invitation to vote
Gala Nights
Grand Finale

First came the on-air elements which were in tandem with the tag line 'Sab Kuch Bhula De'. The second rush of promos had the judges of the show giving their testimony. Followed by participant comments. Katial pointed out that what was common across all the sets of promos were that all of them very edgy and not just simple communication, which was the key. "All the promos screamed for attention and were very in your face."
At every point, it was said that the effort was to educate the viewer as to why they were not taking them to the gala stage, hence in turn building up to the gala special.

 
 
One of the hooks that encouraged voting was the outdoor promo that showed Rahul Vaidya (one of the final three Idol contrestents) crossed saying 'Voted Out'. The outdoor campaign encouraged a lot of Vaidya fans to actually vote for their next favourite so as to ensure that their next favourite won.
Online elements -

Tonight at 9 super
Music led pop-ups
Text based pop-ups
Final countdown
Vote for supers
All of the above elements led to the show constantly being in the audience mindspace also increasing the number of votes coming in.

Results
Strengthened Sony's Thursday slot and made it a leader on Fridays
Total number of votes received - 55 million.
Hit an all time high of 14.3 TVR all India C&S 4+ and 15.2 TVR in Sony's core TG ( 15 - 34 ) C&S HSM.