Sony SAB aims to go big with Khushiyon Wali Feeling. In order to popularise the feeling and motivate consumers to become protagonists of happiness, their marketing plan consists of digital as well as on-ground activities. “As part of the campaign, we are choosing happiness ambassadors every month, asking people to nominate the happy people they have in their life. We will get them onboard as Sony SAB Happiness ambassadors,” says Vaishali Sharma, Marketing & Communications Head, Sony SAB, PAL and Sony MAX movie cluster. SAB artists will be taken onto the streets to spread cheer and joy amongst those need it the most. Here’s more.
How do you feel this campaign will add value to your brand and the advertisers who want to be associated with Sony SAB?
The aim is to get customers to look at Sony SAB as ‘a brand with a heart’. With the new campaign, Sony SAB stands for the belief that if you are happy, you tend to pass on that happiness, making the world a better and a happier place to live in. Given the nature of our new campaign and the growth that Sony SAB is seeing we are confident that more and more new advertisers will be able to see the value of a strong positive association with us.
Is there a significance to the timing of the campaign?
With the New Tariff Order implementation, it brought about a huge shift in the television industry, shaking up all the channels. However, Sony SAB has seen enormous growth and great numbers even post NTO. I think we’ve grown the most compared to everybody else. Our time spent was at 120 odd minutes per week pre-NTO, however, this time spent has now reached a historical high of more than 160-170 minutes a week. We have been delighting viewers for ages and we are the only GEC offering happiness as an emotional benefit. As Sony SAB reaches new heights and strengthens an ever-growing loyal audience base, it is time for the channel to take on a larger purpose.
Also Read: Sony SAB refreshes brand philosophy: Happy people make happier world
Are OTT platforms and the trend of individual viewing something a channel like Sony SAB, that caters to families, be wary of?
It’s all about meaningful content. The customers will choose a platform and mode of entertainment if it has good content and an emotional connect. For us, the key is to be a meaningful brand with a strong emotional connect for the customers as they now have the choice to buy or not buy your channel. Given the fact that TV is a family viewing tradition, Sony SAB is offering content for every member of the family. Meaningful content will always find a place in viewers’ life and we are confident we will continue to grow our viewership base.
When it comes to marketing a channel to families, are there concerns of alienating youth (with access to OTT)?
Not really. Our biggest viewers’ segment is the youth, aged between 15 to 21 years. This is followed by a very huge chunk of the audience in the age group of 30 to 40. Sony SAB is a living room brand and because of this new MRP reality, every member of the family is a vital decision-maker in this process. Having said that, a lot of our content is geared towards entertaining various segments of the audience. While we have shows like Tarak Mehta ka Oolta Chashma and Bhakharwadi which appeal to the entire family, we also have shows like Aladdin: Naam Toh Suna Hoga and Jijaji Chhat Per Hai that clearly have a younger audience. While a Tenali Rama even appeals to children. So, for us, our audience mix is very beautifully balanced and we intend to keep this balance intact.
Do you feel the content of Sony SAB is in sync with the changing family dynamics observed in urban spaces?
Sony SAB, with its impressive line-up of fresh programs and light-hearted values-driven content ranging from daily family comedy to path breaking concepts, is dedicated to promoting an enjoyable family-viewing experience and can truly be defined as the ‘living room brand’ with something to appeal to everyone in the family. The very fact that our channel is in the top 5 channels across the country goes to show that it is right in sync with the audience.
Where do you draw the line when it comes to creating content that gets viewership but also promotes stereotypes, especially in an environment where marginalised groups are increasingly voicing opinions and the chances of a backlash are high?
We believe as the campaign says, if you are happy, you tend to do good things to others. Hence, the shows that are currently running on Sony SAB and the ones we will be launching soon will be entertaining and not preachy or discriminatory in any way. Being a family channel, we are always very careful towards the content we deliver, so as to make it suitable for every member of the family to be able to enjoy together without alienating anyone in any way. That is our key strength. As a brand, we have very respectful, positive and meaningful content that is forward-looking and progressive as well.
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