Learnings from 2020
Guest Column: Pankaj Balhara, Deputy Business Head, Music Cluster, ZEEL, shares the lessons that entertainment industry learnt while functioning in the pandemic
As we start the New Year, Pankaj Balhara, Deputy Business Head, Music Cluster, ZEEL, shares some of the lessons that 2020 has taught the industry.
- TV is the king
We always had the conviction within network about the power of TV, and all those questions were put to rest with the trends and data seen during the lockdown that OTT and TV can co-exist. The consumption of TV by our TG (the youth) also increased during the lockdown, but overall, it has remained consistent over the past 4-5 years.
- Resilience and innovation of our industry
If Covid-19 has taught the entertainment industry anything, it’s that we can’t continue to go on as we have been. After a break of 100 days due to the national lockdown, it was ‘start camera, action’ again for the entertainment industry. But even in this phase, the industry has shown the resilience to innovate and adapt successfully. During the lockdown, the television industry introduced content which was shot from home. TV merged into the virtual space and everyone in the entertainment industry managed to run their operations innovatively. Adapting to the new norms, TV constructed stories and scenes to keep everybody reasonably distanced. With the ongoing pandemic in mind, makers created new shows that reflect the socially distanced moment. What's exciting overall is that Covid has pushed the industry to work in so many creative ways.
- TV and food are two true loves for Indians
The Covid-19 pandemic has pushed television viewership to record levels as it has seen unprecedented growth. Television consumption at this scale hasn't been witnessed or even imagined before. TV continues to attract maximum new eyeballs as the coronavirus outbreak keeps people home-bound. With social distancing and work-from-home being the new normal, families have found themselves with a lot more together time, be it having their food or watching their favourite movies or shows together. Same goes with the food, as the pandemic made us house-bound, we began buying, cooking, and eating very differently. Today, both television and food has taken a centre stage at homes for family bonding and entertainment.
- And above all, life and entertainment must go on!
There is no historic parallel to the crisis and uncertainty brought about by Covid-19. But the pandemic has taught us that we don't need too much to be happy. There can be a pause, but life doesn’t get stagnant. The show must go on.
Launching a music channel during Covid-19
In keeping with the brand philosophy of ZEEL – Extraordinary together, we as a network came together and managed to pull off a brave feat. Working in sync with all partner agencies, we launched ZEEL’s first ever Marathi music channel in October 2020, in the midst of Covid-19 pandemic, when most players are cutting spends and cancelling or postponing events and projects.
The consumption in Marathi is increasing year on year. We have seen around a 30% increase in the last four years. With viewership growing, this was an obvious extension for us to add a music channel. Though Covid-19 did put some brakes in our plans, but with minor delays, we were able to launch the channel that promises to be true to Marathi culture.
ZEE Vajwa believes in seizing this moment and living it up because ‘Kshaan Zingaat tar life Zingaat’. This channel is dedicated to all Marathi music lovers and the Maharashtrian youth. It offers the best Marathi film & non-film songs and non-fiction shows. Each timeband is crafted keeping in mind the Marathi music viewers content preferences and lifestyle at core. ZEE Vajwa ensures a unique music viewing experience for the Marathi music lovers. We have kept our viewers at the core while designing our channel from nomenclature, packaging, music selection to category first content all weaved in to amplify every moment into a mahual.
Though we could not use certain mediums to reach out to audiences, it was efficiently compensated by our network strength & use of digital medium. Launching a channel in the current scenario was a challenge, but we designed the campaign to use the two most powerful media in today’s time – TV & Digital. Our launch campaign #Fulltovajwa reached millions of viewers by generating 3.7M+ views & 283K+ engagement on social media. We received a fabulous response from advertisers with six channel partners. Though it is only the third week of launch, we already became the No. 1 channel in terms of reach (Source: BARC). We want to be a brand to celebrate & promote Marathi music and coming year, viewers will see multiple initiates which will bring alive this promise.
Disclaimer: The views expressed here are solely those of the author and do not in any way represent the views of exchange4media.com
