In Conversation with Vaishali Sharma
While talking with Vaishali Sharma, Head – Marketing & Communications, Sony Sab and Sony Max Hindi Movie Cluster, she explains how Sony SAB’s image has evolved over the years and shares the newly refreshed brand philosophy. She also expresses her views on the importance of picking out the right shows, subjects and characters by any channel.
Q. Sony SAB has undeniably become a ‘living room brand’ that provides enjoyable viewing experiences. What makes it a leader and what difference does it offer from its competitors?
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 shows currently running on Sony SAB and the ones that will be launched in future are entertaining and not preachy or discriminatory in any way. While there is this current trend of supernatural characters on shows across other channels, Sony SAB stands apart by producing values driven lighthearted content that the entire family can sit together and watch comfortably.
Q. You recently refreshed your brand philosophy from comedy to happiness with the ‘Khushiyon Wali Feeling’ Campaign. What was the rationale behind this campaign and how did the consumers react?
With the New Tariff Order into 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. As Sony SAB reaches new heights and strengthens an ever-growing loyal audience base, it’s time to tell a new story to its viewers which we are doing with this new campaign driven from the insight that “jitni insaan ki khushi badhti hai, utni hee duniya mein insaniyat bhi badhti hai”. Hence, we are celebrating this enormous growth with this new campaign.
With this campaign, our is aim to get the consumers to view Sony SAB as a brand with a heart, one that showcases light-hearted values-driven content that the entire family can sit together and view.
Q. Despite the various rebranding exercises, because of the kind of content it aired, Sony SAB is generally perceived as a comedy channel. How has the brand’s image evolved over the years? Do you think this campaign will push the objective further?
The first big step of evolution happened two years ago when we embarked on a new journey, which took the brand and the ethos forward in a way with the changing times, both in terms of our content and product offerings in terms of the value it offers. And now, we have successfully moved from being a pure comedy channel to a space which is much larger, without compromising on the value, that is, providing meaningful entertainment.
So, whether we are dabbling with family stories like Bhakharwadi and looking at fantasy like Aladdin: Naam Toh Suna Hoga or Tenali Rama, they all are human stories which people relate to.
The aim of this campaign is to get customers to look at Sony SAB as ‘a brand with a heart’. For many years, Sony SAB has been delighting the hearts of its viewers and keeping them happy. In fact, we don’t just entertain but go beyond and we are the only channel that operates in that sweet spot of happiness. With the new campaign ‘Khushiyon Wali Feeling’, Sony SAB now 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. Happiness is one such emotion which, the more you spread, the more it comes back to you.
Q. With the content game getting stronger each day, how important is it for a channel to pick out the right shows, subjects, and characters?
It’s really important, I feel. The customers will now choose a platform and mode of entertainment if it has good content and an emotional connect. Hence, 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. So, the television industry has to be mindful of the fact that only relevant and distinct content will work after this big shift. One of the key points that differentiates us from our competition is our ability to create characters that click with the audience – be it Jethalal or Aladdin, Tenali or Elaichi, it is our characters that people keep coming back for and which bind them to our content. They’re the ones people relate to and find their own reflections in which makes our content so sticky and so appealing
Q. OTT vs Television- Is it a tug of war or an era of collaboration?
I wouldn’t call it a tug of war. Both OTT and the television have their own sets of audiences which also happen to overlap sometimes.
Q. How is Sony SAB planning to make changes in its marketing and advertising plans to generate better awareness and traction among its customers, especially post TRAI’s new MRP regime?
Sony SAB has had a fantastic response from consumers post the NTO. As our numbers indicate, we have grown to become No. 2 in the 2+ All HSM with the highest time spend which is a great indication of consumer preference post the NTO. We will continue to grow and expand our reach with all the marketing efforts that we have planned.
