Q&A: Danish Khan of Sony Entertainment Television on the sixth season of Indian Idol

CI: Could you elaborate on the challenges in marketing Indian Idol's new season?

Danish Khan (DK): The biggest challenge for us is to differentiate Indian Idol amongst a dime-a-dozen reality shows. Indian Idol essentially brings out the journey of a person from nobody to being somebody. Our marketing campaign highlights that there are many idols behind one Indian Idol. This campaign has been rolled out across media, in TV, print, outdoor, radio, digital.

CI: The TV campaign is already on air. When does the campaign gain momentum on other mediums?

DK: There would be a lot of outdoor activity - like a flash mob, for instance - to build the recency around the event. This visual activity will help in driving the brand experience closer to the launch date. The campaign starts on radio on 21 May. We plan to start with the top three to four channels based on Indian music and reach out to a large audience base. Since Indian Idol is not a niche show, it is only justified that one reaches out to maximum people through the top radio stations of a city. We have an aggressive outdoor plan which kickstarted on 15 May in 25 towns and cities.

We are fairly active on social media as well and you'll see a big push over there around the last one week prior to the launch of this season of Indian Idol. Currently, we are visible on some key websites with a high engagement quotient. These are not entirely music-based websites but sites that generally reach out to youngsters and young ad folk as well. 

CI: Do you observe any mark difference in advertisers' response to your marketing initiatives around this show?

DK: Well, Close-Up and MTS are already hugely associated with this season. Besides that, the 8:30 pm slot on a weekend has always garnered premium traction from a lot of advertisers.

But I must share that a lot of clients look at the bigger picture, and yet there are people who still plan their inventory on a weekly basis. Our job, though, is to build properties and create an aura around it.

CI: How do you plan to innovate on engagement for the key sponsors like Close-Up and MTS?

DK: Over the last two years, we have ensured larger integration for our sponsors. But this is largely a 'work-in-progress' area at the moment and needs to be evolved. But what's clear is that we intend to integrate the content in a better way for our sponsors and advertisers at large.